Last weekend, I watched the 90’s classic cinematic masterpiece “Seven,” a film that introduced most of the world to the beauty that is 90’s-era Brad Pitt, as well as to the horror of “what’s in the box.” Everyone knows that pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth are the famous seven deadly sins of life, but as I headed into the workweek with the movie still on my mind, I realized that public relations has its own version of fatal mistakes we can make. PR is consistently ranked as one of the most stressful careers – and with good reason. It’s an incredibly fickle industry that requires you to be thick thinned and relentlessly persistent in order to succeed. That said, even the toughest of PR peeps can fall victim to what I’ve determined to be the Seven Deadly Sins of PR. Committing one of these crimes may not leave you eternally damned, but it will diminish your coverage and overall success and should be avoided at all costs. If not done right, PR can be a nightmare to correct and it might be worth outsourcing any public relations needs to experts. You could choose to outsource to a public relations agency in the Philippines, New York or even Dubai but as long as the firm you use is experienced and knows exactly what they’re doing, you should see good results.
- Lack of Research. Taking an extra 15 minutes of your time to read through a few recent stories the reporter you’re pitching has written and tailoring your pitch to fit their beat can be the difference between getting ignored and landing a story. Relying on Cision means you’re being lazy – just because Cision says they are a business reporter, doesn’t mean they cover every single industry or aspect of the business landscape. Doing your homework is a crucial part of doing your job, and doing it well.
- The Never-Ending Pitch. Reporters receive hundreds of pitches a day, and if your angle is buried in the middle of a 4-paragraph email, they’re not going to read it. Limit your pitches to two paragraphs max, using your time to quickly establish what the angle is and why their readers will care. If they bite, you’ll have a chance to provide them with any additional relevant information, but your original outreach needs to be short and sweet.
- Overpromising. Whether it’s to the client or to a reporter, this is a big no-no that will only result in problems down the road. Overpromising and under delivering is a recipe for disaster, every time.
- Making Follow Up Calls. This is a highly debated topic, but I’m going to take a stand and say that follow up calls do not work with national media. When a reporter is interested in your angle, they will get back to you. Like us, they’re glued to their devices. Follow up emails are OK only when you’re following up to offer new information. Otherwise, leave it be and move on to the next target.
- Failing to Think Like a Business. It can be easy to focus solely on landing a story in the largest national outlet you can find, but sometimes those placements don’t help clients achieve their actual goals. It’s important to think like a business owner, not just a publicist, and make sure that you are shaping your media strategies to be impactful in helping your client achieve their goals.
- Not Paying Attention to Trends. Industry trends can be a goldmine for proactively securing coverage for your client. Pay attention to what’s going on in your client’s industry and always keep your eyes and ears open for trend stories that they can be tied to.
- Thinking Inside the Box. Our clients pay us for our creativity, so sticking with traditional approaches won’t get you very far. Even if you think there’s no way a client will go for your idea, present it to them anyway. You may be surprised by the response you get, and at the very least, you’ll show that you’re capable of bringing ideas to the table.
