Let’s dig into our last Pet Peeves edition this year. At least, until we come back in January with December’s Pet Peeves. What a year it was! No PR agency could have saved 2020 from all the crises it had to face. Now is the time to get all the ducks in a row and prepare for 2021. Fingers crossed the vaccine will be rolled out as soon as humanly possible and that we can have a much better year.
The mistakes founders and PRs make are as old as the world, thus we keep collecting some of the biggest pet peeves journalists had each month. If you follow their advice, or their Twitter feed, 2021 might be an extra fruitful year!
When pitching a journalist – make sure that your press release is right to the point to avoid journalists speculating on what you are on about
“It’s nothing personal, it’s just business”. Unless you know a journalist personally (and well!), never approach them via more “personal” platforms: mobile phones, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram
As old as the world: always get journo’s name right. There are no excuses!
Thinking of sending out a mail merge? Think again!
And we thought GDPR would get rid of unsolicited newsletters… guess we were wrong. Make sure your newsletter for the press (if you have one) is a result of the journalist’s own initiative and that there is a one-click unsubscribe link in your emails.
As PR professionals, we must make journalists feel special, and do our best to think outside the box
Press trips in 2020? We suggest waiting for better times and the world getting back on track!
As a PR professional – you sell your time and time is of the essence. You must make sure that you do your due diligence, research and being confident that your pitch is relevant to a journalist you are reaching out to
A couple of things to remember. You do not pitch multiple journalists from the same publication for no reason – and definitely not at the same time! You definitely do not add all of the journos in the same email thread! It’s your responsibility to choose the right contact. Spray and pray reeks of desperation and shows you haven’t done your homework.
Homework is important! People may have the same names and work for different publications (we know, what a shocker!). So prior to reaching out: check their Twitter account!
Once your press release is approved and you are ready to send it out to your media list – double or triple check it! Are your contact details on there and correct? Are the quotes attributed to relevant people and their titles right? If in doubt – ask your colleagues. Once you hit that “send” button – there’s no coming back
It is great when you can refer to an article that was written before, but…have you actually read it..? Then show it. If you’re going to be this vague, then you’ve already ruined all your chances.
Jokes are great when they are timely, relevant and… actually funny.
Someone pitched this German journalist the idea of… having the journalist come up of an idea to cover their startup! Nice try! Jokes aside, if you’ve never done PR before, and don’t know anyone that could help, it would make sense to spend some time researching and educating yourself on how to do it properly.
Following up via phone is an old-school practice, which is not welcomed by most journalists nowadays. It is ok to send a follow up via email. But it is not ok to call and ask “So, hey, did you get my email I just sent you”. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
If you have a press section on your website make sure that it’s putting in the work for you! Add the press kit, press releases if relevant and, of course, your PR team’s contact details.
Actually, for most journalists it’s OK to follow up. But make sure you add value with your follow-up. Otherwise, yes, you’re just ‘circling back’ on something that might have not been interesting enough.
It is up to each publication and their editorial teams whether they decide to add links to your website or not. The role of a journalist is not to boost your SEO, but to deliver news.
