Are you a PR?
Journalists need PRs, and PRs need journalists, but it’s not easy knowing how to forge that relationship.
I have strong ideas about how I like to deal with PRs. So, if you want to work with me, read on...
Many PRs communicate with journalists through press releases. Personally, I regard this as a strategy destined to fail.
That's because I need original and exclusive ideas to present to my editor. I want those ideas to be tailored to me, and I want to know they haven’t been touted around to dozens of other journalists.
Once an idea has reached the press release stage, I know I’ve missed the boat. So although I receive 20 or 30 press releases every day, I barely read them.
How should you approach me? Simple - just send a short email, or pick up the phone. Most good ideas can be explained in a few lines.
This doesn’t work for every micro-nugget of news. If your client has installed a thalassotherapy pool, or is featuring a new golf course in Mauritius, I’m unlikely to bite your hand off.
I’m looking for genuinely new ideas: different kinds of travel experiences, new uses of technology, new trends in travel. Try the coffee break test - if it's worth mentioning to your friends or workmates over a coffee, I might be interested.
You may know that I also run a mailing list of 300+ travel PRs. If you’d like to be on the list, and receive occasional requests for information, please email me.
Do you want to know what I think about PRs?
Read: 10 top tips for PRs
And what they think of us travel writers...?
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