| CHAPTER 10 |

IN CONCLUSION: RULES FOR PR SUCCESS

“Publicity geniuses are different from you and me. They have the stomach for it. This temperamental combination of imperviousness and egomania that allows them, compels them, to dominate the media . . . means, too, that they dominate reality, that’s their world and we just . . . well you know.”

—Michael Wolff, writing in Vanity Fair

As we come to the close of For Immediate Release, I thought I’d offer important (and sometimes irreverent) rules I’ve learned working in the PR field. These bites and nuggets are to be used, and remembered, as you make your own journey through the wild world of media and PR chaos. Though they’re not in any particular order, consider them 50 tips for success in PR.

1. Attention is the most valuable form of currency in PR and marketing. Getting the right attention must be done strategically and consistently.
2. Digital media and self-created content give everyone a voice. For good and for bad, self-created content is tremendously important—and realize with today’s media world everyone’s opinion counts. Blog, comment, and join the conversation when it suits your purposes and goals.
3. PR works best with evolution rather than revolution. A rabbi with whom I study the Torah (the Jewish Bible) says religion is a series of steps. It provides a good analogy to change in business and PR strategy. If you gradually take two steps forward, you might fall back a step. That’s okay. It’s easier to recover from one step backward than it is if you hurry and take four steps at once and then another four. You might trip and fall three or six steps behind—it’s much harder to get back up to speed from that point.
4. PR has been and will always be about building relationships. In an earlier era, you needed only to worry about a few beat reporters, gossip columnists, or talk show hosts. Today it’s also about knowing bloggers, Twitter communities, influential Diggers, Facebook groups, or other collectives.
5. Everyone loves a great storyteller—become one. Your story is your ticket to people’s hearts and minds. A great story can motivate a person to go from passive to participant. Participate in media training and then rehearse and prepare. It matters.
6. Write well. Understand the value of communicating properly, particularly in press releases, because they will often be used verbatim as news stories—it’s called “churnalism.” Yes, there’s a name for it now.
7. Gossip is information delivered personally. Make it work for you and not against you. Think strategically: how can you use what you hear to do better, be better, and serve better?
8. Success and media attention come with a price; learn to accept it and adapt accordingly.
9. Don’t try to be something you’re not: authenticity may mean saying no to opportunities that may not fit your brand or work against your core mission and values. Politicians need 51 percent of a market to succeed; brands can win with a much smaller market share and become very successful.
10. Don’t expect privacy. Privacy doesn’t exist in today’s open social media world. If you post something on Facebook, employees, clients, and the media can see it.
11. Get to know reporters. Offer to buy lunch, dinner, drinks, etc. Give out your cell phone number. Get to know them and it will pay off. You will be called not only as a source but also as a background resource. You can offer exclusives, speak comfortably off the record, and receive helpful information.
12. Be a giver, not a taker. Share information strategically and offer journalists tips but don’t demand favors.
13. The boss is always an asshole. Don’t assume that when they’re fawning over you it is real. Get used to it. Don’t necessarily trust the reporter interviewing you or the smiling receptionist so easily—they could be out to harm you. Learn how to operate a recorder so that you can record interviews, allowing you to show context and accuracy for anything you say.
14. Tell the truth and do so with clarity, sincerity, and passion.
15. Citizen journalism and “media” are everywhere. Anyone with a cell phone is “the media.” They can film you whether you are giving a speech or buying coffee at the deli, and the resulting video can forever change your life.
16. Don’t expect the media to love you. They can write something bad. Be prepared for it.
17. PR doesn’t mean spilling all the beans. Learn how and when to keep secrets, and when you shouldn’t be talking to the media. Information is power.
18. If there’s bad news, let it come from you. Your “stakeholders” don’t want to read about a crisis in the paper; the story is best if it is coming from the source.
19. Protect yourself. If you wouldn’t talk to the cops without a lawyer, why would you talk to the media without your PR representative? In a crisis, have a good crisis and media attorney and PR person at your disposal.
20. Under-promise and over-deliver: consistently exceeding expectations builds loyalty and great word-of-mouth PR. If you disappoint people, you’re in for a long, rough ride. Without credibility there can be little trust, and bad feelings will be made public.
21. Make sure all messages are aligned with your brand. Don’t say one thing to customers and get caught doing something else. Every time you decide to try a new campaign, make sure it holds up to your overall strategy. Consistency wins trust.
22. Lead by example. Stay connected with your employees and don’t ask or expect them to do something you wouldn’t do. They are your on-the-ground PR force.
23. Allow everything about your brand to reflect your brand. Your offices, appearance, and demeanor should reflect the spirit of your brand messaging.
24. Share what you know. Stay informed and constantly build knowledge of your industry so your insights, wisdom, and ideas are fresh. People will want to hear what you have to say; that’s how you become a thought leader.
25. Learn to cut your losses. We’ve had to resign clients when they no longer fit for our business. It’s an unfortunate reality that you must eliminate aspects of your business that are no longer serving your mission.
26. Hire people who represent your company and your spirit. It’s often said a company’s culture is determined by its CEO, but it’s also shaped by its receptionist. Realize your brand is cultivated by your employees and the PR they put forward.
27. Handle documents with care. In today’s world, anyone can be a source, and not just because of citizen journalism. Many tabloid papers give and trade favors with PR people. While at a private club one day, I was amazed to find confidential materials left behind by an attorney. With no interest in the case, I sent them to a media contact. For three days in a row it was a media banner story. That writer repaid the favor many times over via soft stories for clients in that publication. (I am waiting for some well-known person’s BlackBerry to be stolen, followed by “fake” tweets sent out under his or her name. It’s just a matter of time before it happens.)
28. Let your customers speak. Some of the best content is user or customer generated because it becomes a conversation. When customers feel they are part of the dialogue with a brand, they feel more attached to it. And that attachment can help your PR message spread.
29. Never underestimate the personal PR power of happiness and speaking positively. Smile when you meet someone, or just pass out random smiles when you meet someone’s eye. It does so much for you and the other person; a sincere, friendly manner is disarming and is the quickest way to relax others and draw them over to your side. Use spin positively.
30. Don’t be complacent during “down times”—they can be your best opportunities. So many of my colleagues seem to shut down during holidays. As long as media comes out the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas week, work. It’s a great time to get your fluffy media stories placed because you are competing with fewer people for media space.
31. Make time for the little things that go a long way. Make an extra effort to do those little things: thank clients and customers for their devotion, thank employees for their hard work, and send birthday cards to journalists. They will return your kindness in the form of referrals, loyalty, and more positive stories.
32. News is entertainment. Be entertaining, exciting, interesting, and relevant.
33. Remember the sexy factor. Media is always looking for an excuse to run pictures of good-looking people or sexy stories. Capitalize on that fact.
34. The best ideas don’t work until you work the idea. When you have a PR idea, think it through, try it out, and experiment—don’t put it on a shelf.
35. Live an ethical, balanced life with honor, integrity, and laughter. This pays big dividends for your business and life and your PR.
36. Photographs exist to break up the type. People consume media for information (news), but also for entertainment and visual stimulation. If you can, include a great image with your media pitch.
37. Reporters and producers often work on defined schedules and deadlines. For events, work around them and realize that news assignments move quickly. The reporter’s day can start before dawn and go well into the night.
38. Old-fashioned networking never gets old. Put yourself personally and professionally at the center of networking, whether it’s forwarding an interesting and relevant news story to colleagues via e-mail, helping to organize a social gathering, and so on. When you assist a colleague in the industry, or a reporter with a story you aren’t involved in, it allows you to win long-term in PR.
39. There’s always more to achieve. If you secure coverage in the USA Today, set your sights on The Wall Street Journal next time.
40. There’s always an emergency. In today’s media world, they need your response now—no one cares if your Aunt Mary is dying or if there’s a flood in your basement. The story is still being written and the only question is—will your take be included or not?
41. Read the news. Know what’s going on in the media so you can tie your PR strategy and relevant comments to the trends and stories of the day.
42. The media chases each other’s tails. News assignment editors, although powerful, have limited power and a great deal of responsibility. If they make a mistake and fail to cover something that turns out to be important, their job is on the line. If one outlet does a story, the competitor will want it, too. Figure out how you can use the tail chasing to your advantage.
43. PR is a 24/7 career. The news never stops. When a bomb goes off at 8 p.m., newspapers, cable channels, and digital media are running updates continuously.
44. Don’t believe your mom’s PR (all the time). Be honest about what you’ve got to work with, and then work with what you’ve got. Deal with reality—PR only works if it’s based on something real.
45. Look for marketing co-ops, especially if budget is an issue. There are many ways to get great visibility for a fraction of the price by sharing the spotlight with complementary brands that attract the same audience.
46. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Given the surplus of marketing ploys out there, chances are there’s already an effort going on or a story line that ties in well with your brand that you can piggyback and ride the wave. For example, if you’re a beverage brand that caters to the college market, do product seeding through an event that’s already taking place on campus.
47. The media loves stunts. If you want to clear the clutter and make headlines within 24 hours, produce a marketing stunt in a media-centric area. Provided the stunt is well thought out, well-timed, über-creative, and provides an outstanding visual, you can make headlines and the story and visual can get syndicated.
48. Utilize and understand SEO. Optimize your website. With today’s world, search engines matter more than any individual story.
49. Hire great PR people. The public’s sense of your brand comes from what the media says and how you turn up in search engine results. Good PR people can help ensure all of it reinforces your brand message. (And don’t be so cheap on PR—don’t expect the world with tiny budgets.)
50. Work hard. Work really hard—the harder I work the luckier I seem to become.

I’d love to hear your PR rules, along with your PR war stories and challenges, so write to me at [email protected].