Savvy public relations professionals learn how to leverage everything at their disposal to their employer’s or client’s benefit.
One such way to do this is to keep an eye out for emerging trends that you can hook your employer’s or client’s products/services to. You can call it bandwagon-jumping if you’d like, but in my book, if [...]

According to Professor Rulon L. Bradley, Ph.D. (my 1st public relations counsellor at Brigham Young University), the most important skill I would learn in BYU’s PR program was writing.
“As a professional, 70 percent of your time will be spent writing,” Dr. Bradley used to say.
Back then I thought he was nuts. Today? I’m not so sure.
I [...]

If you’re having difficulty reaching a journalist, here’s a suggestion:
Sometimes it’s better to try calling journalists at the very beginning or very end of a day.
Try it sometimes.
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BONUS TIP:
This suggestion often works for trying to catch anyone [...]

If you handle public relations or investor relations for (or with) a publicly traded company, this tip will serve as merely a reminder.
However, if you’re new to the IR world, please note that before sending out a news release for a publicly traded company you need to send an advance copy of your release to [...]

Pop Quiz:
Which of the two examples below is the most correct (from a public relations perspective)?

Riley spent over $300 on a new outfit.
Riley spent more than $300 on a new outfit.

The correct answer, boys and girls, is No. 2.
The word over is typically used to describe a relationship between one object or person with another, [...]

So the question is this: Is it CEO or Chief Executive Officer or chief executive officer?
Here’s our multi-part answer to this PR Rule of Thumb.

The same standard applies to the CEO title as any other title (as outlined in Politis PR Tip #75: Capitalize Titles or Not?). If the name precedes the title, then the [...]

When it comes to spelling professional titles — president, chief financial officer, vice president, etc. — in public relations documents, the rule of thumb is as follows.
When a person’s name is used in a PR document for the first time

If the title comes before the name (such as XYZ Company President Mary Jones), then the [...]

Clearly, if you need to “tell” readers there is more to come on a subsequent page in a public relations document (see “Politis PR Tip #73: Use ‘More’ at Bottom of Multi-page Documents,” you also need to tell readers that they’ve reached the end of the document.
The best way to do this is putting the [...]

If you are writing or producing a public relations document more than one page long (such as a news release, backgrounder or White Paper), please use the term “more” at the bottom of each page. This tells the reader there is additional information to follow on the next page.
This can be written as

- more -,
MORE,
more, [...]

Okay, this is another A.P. bugaboo of mine for public relations people.
But if it was/is important enough for the Associated Press to create specific state appreviations  for use in datelines, why wouldn’t you (as a PR pro) want to use this A.P. style in news releases? 
To me, this is a simple way of showing professional [...]

There are a few Associated Press Style Guide rules that have stuck with me from my college days. Case in point, cities in datelines.
Simply put, the A.P. says there are certain cities (both in the United States and internationally) that are notable and/or unique enough that they should used alone in a dateline.
For example, if [...]

If you’re in public relations, pick a style and stick with it.
A style? Sure — a writing style.
The Associated Press “style” of news writing if probably the most commonly used (and taught) when it comes to both PR and journalism. But there’s also the New York Times “style” and the Chicago Manual of Style form [...]

If you’re a public relations or investor relations professional who works for (or represents) a publicly traded company, remember that Wall Street likes predictability — predictable expenses, predictable profits, predictable locations (annual meetings held in the same place year after year), and so forth.
One simple way to communicate predictability to investors is through the timing of [...]

If you’re at a trade show or other major event where there are a number of journalists meeting with lots of companies, consider using your business card to your advantage. How?
Use the back of your business card as a miniature billboard to help remind journalists what you discussed during your visit.
There are two ways to [...]

For the first time ever, the Consumer Electronics Show did NOT accept printed press kits in its media room in January 2010.
As the largest U.S.-based technology trade show held each January in Las Vegas, this decision is a big, big deal, especially when one considers that there were more than 5,000 journalists at CES 2010.
And [...]

Depending upon the venue where you’ll use press kits, you might want to temporarily change the “face” of your kits so journalists will know that something’s new or different at this event.
One way to do this is to produce crack-and-peel labels that can be affixed to your press kit cover. This way, you can provide [...]

Every press kit must include at least one business card, either from someone working at the organization itself or from its public relations/advertising/marketing agency.
Standard press kits are typically die-cut on the right-hand pocket flap so a business card can be inserted directly into the pre-cut slots.
If, however, there is more than one person whose cards [...]

Everyone’s heard the cliche “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” right?
Guess what? That phrase is a cliche because in most instances it’s true.
When it comes to press kits, you have to include photos. This means

Physical photos,
Digital photos saved on a DVD, CD-ROM or thumb/USB drive, or (at a minimum)
Web addresses to online versions of downloadable [...]

For those instances where it makes sense to produce a physical press kit, I also recommend (where possible) that companies include digital copies of the enclosed public relations materials as well.
Such digital copies can be available on a

Thumb drive (USB stick),
DVD, or
CD-ROM.

Enclosing digital copies of your publicity materials will make it even easier for journalists [...]

Okay, so maybe this is another “no-brainer” free public relations tip. But . . . rather than assume you know this one, let me spell it out for you.
Please insert Web addresses (URLs) within the materials you include in your press kits.
Simple? Sure.
But one of your goals as a PR professional should be to make [...]

Hmmmmm . . . lemme guess. If breaking news and information goes in the right-hand pocket in a press kit folder, where should background materials and info go?
Yup! Background information and materials should go in the left-hand pocket of a press kit.

As I wrote in Politis PR Tip #58: Press Kit Idea No. 2 – Standard Format is Best, when most journalists pick-up a press kit for the first time, they
“. . . grab it, flip it open, scan it quickly to see if there’s anything newsworthy they’re interested in . . .”
Maybe it’s because English [...]

With 25+ years under my belt (on the agency side) as a public relations and strategic communications professional, I have definitely seen tons of press kits in my career.
And although I’m not a graphic designer by training, I have some definite ideas about design, especially when it comes to functional design.
In my opinion, design run [...]

Although I (David Politis) have been providing professional public relations services for more than 25 years, I also labored for 10+ years as a self-syndicated columnist writing “Utah Tech Watch,” which was carried weekly by the Daily Herald (in Provo, Utah), the Deseret News and The Enterprise (both in Salt Lake City).
I bring up my [...]

As the last few public relations tips have suggested, even in today’s digital media world, there’s still a need for physical press kits.
In other words, chances are you’ll still need printed PR materials. And if that’s the case, then you need to keep all those publicity materials — the releases, Fact Sheets, backgrounders, bios, etc. [...]

If you print publicity materials — news releases, fact sheets, biographies, backgrounders, etc. — make sure every sheet includes 24X7X365 contact info.
Make it easy on your readers. Include

Your name,
Company name,
Phone number(s), and
Email address

on every page.
That way, no one will have to look very hard (or far) to know how to get in touch with you.

As explained in Politis PR Tips #53 and #54, “Printed News Releases Still Matter” and “Printed Press Materials Still Matter,” we at Politis Communications still believe there is value (at times) in having printed PR materials.
That being said, if you are going to print public relations materials, please use both sides of the page when printing [...]

Everything I wrote in “Politis PR Tip #53: Printed News Releases Still Matter” applies to every other piece of public relations information/material you can think of:

Company Facts Sheets,
Product/Service Facts Sheets,
Company Backgrounders,
Product/Service Backgrounders,
White Papers,
Industry Overviews,
Bios,
Spec Sheets,
Q&As (Question & Answer documents),
FAQs (Frequently Asked Question documents),
Company Histories,
Timelines,
PowerPoint Presentations,
Financial Tables,
and more.

For all of the occasions/events/venues listed in Tip #53, [...]

In spite of the fact that the entire public relations / marketing communications world is going digital, there are still occasions where printed news releases still matter.
In fact, not only do printed press releases still matter, in some cases they are absolutely crucial.
Occasions (and venues) where printed news releases are still valuable include

Press conferences,
Trade shows,
Industry [...]

Be honest with yourself for a second.
Does every bit of news coming out of your company (or client) deserve a full-blown news release? Probably not.
Does that mean said news isn’t “news worthy?” Not necessarily. You the reader are probably better equipped to answer that question than I am.
But rather than abandon certain news nuggets because [...]

Whenever a celebrity or famous person gets in trouble, it’s news, right?
So imagine my shock today to see that an Pro Bowl NFL running back had been let go (essentially fired) because of what he posted on Twitter. {See Politis PR Tip #45: Think Before You Tweet.}
Clearly Larry Johnson wasn’t sacked by the Kansas City [...]

According to the latest numbers on Wikipedia, there are more than 4.1 billion cell phones in the world today.
According to the latest figures available from the CTIA, cell phone users in the United States sent more than 740 BILLION text messages in the first half of 2009, meaning that we’re on track to approach 1.5 [...]

Mashable (one of the top tech news aggregators and news sites on the Web), reported in August that 8% (eight percent) of companies with 1,000 or more employees had fired someone for misusing social networking sites.
How stupid can some people be? Well . . . check out this crazy post on TheNextWeb.com where the author [...]

Ya know everything I just wrote in Politis PR Tip #47 about being careful about what videos you upload onto the Web? The same rules apply for photos.
The Cautionary Tale: Be careful about the photos you upload onto the ‘Net.
In other words, think before you upload that photo.

I spoke last week at Utah Valley University as a guest lecturer for a introductory Mass Communications class.
One of my recommendations before I left was this:
Go check out your MySpace, Facebook and YouTube accounts and delete any video that you might be embarrassed to have your grandmother see.
Unfortunately, the advances in technology have made it [...]

Do you know the term “dooced?”
It means to get fired for what you’ve written on a blog (or Website).
The term comes from the now famous blog, Dooce.com, written by Heather Armstrong, who was fired for things she wrote about her then place of employment (back in 2002).
The good news for Armstrong was that she was [...]

NFL Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson was today released by the Kansas City Chiefs, just 75 yard short of breaking the team career rushing record of Priest Holmes.
The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back (and the patience of team ownership and management)?
According to the Associated Press, it was Johnson’s Twitter post (”tweet”) on [...]

Be honest with yourself: Not every thing that happens at your company (or client) is newsworthy — certainly not to every reporter or media outlet – regardless of what your boss or client may think.
Nevertheless, I’d bet that something newsworthy is happening each and every week at your company/client organization.
The challenge is to

Set proper expectations internally,
Target the [...]

Want better pick-up on your press releases? Then consider what artwork you can use to help tell your story.
Such artwork can include

photographs, 
video clips,
pie charts,
diagrams,
drawings/illustrations,
screen captures,
and more.

Your artwork might even be a provided via one-on-one, on-camera interview with a key executive or employee.
Remember the cliché: A picture is worth a thousand words?
Just because it’s a cliché, [...]

Eschew obfuscation? Absolutely!
In case you’re a bit murky on the term, Dictionary.comdefines these words thusly:

es-chew: to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid
ob-fus-ca-tion: to confuse, bewilder or stupefy; to make obscure or unclear

In other words, avoid making things confusing, bewildering or unclear.
Or said in Plain English, K-I-S-S: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
This is what we try [...]

Finally, with the formal universal launch last week of “Twitter Lists” on Twitter, there is a new tool available for the enterprising PR professional to identify the best journalist for a particular story idea.
Specifically, it is now possible to use a search engine to find lists of journalists on Twitter that others have already assembled.
For [...]

If you’ve decided to use Twitter as one of the tools in your PR toolkit, good for you.
If so, you should definitely check out MediaOnTwitter.
Although it’s one of several online lists/of journalists on Twitter available on the Web, MediaOnTwitter has more than 1,200 journalists listed, making it (in my opinion), one of the best lists [...]

If you can identify a journalist who is using Twitter, chances are you can begin to get an idea of the topics that are of particular interest to that journo.
For example, while preparing to launch Schwinn’s new Tailwind electric bicycle at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, we used Twitter to find and identify journalists at [...]

If you’re still at a loss at who to pitch at a given media outlet and there is no Editorial Assistant on staff, try contacting the Managing Editor.
Most media outlets have at least one M.E., even broadcast outlets.
Just recognize that Managing Editors tend to be very busy senior journalists, so be brief and to the [...]

If you’re still having difficulty identifying the best journalist for a particular story pitch, try contacting the Editorial Assistant.
This is a position one will typically find on magazine staffs, but occassionally at other media outlets.
Yes, this person will likely be one of the most junior people on the editorial staff. That’s okay. Chances are they’ll [...]

Even if you use Vocus or MediaSource, you can speed up the process of finding and identifying the best journalist for a particular story pitch by using keyword searches.
Here’s how this can work.
Presuming you have identified the “best” media outlet for your story idea, use the search feature on the outlet’s home page and enter [...]

So now that you’ve identified the best media category (or categories as the case may be) and the best media outlet(s) for your story idea, how do you identify the best journalist to pitch?
Aha! That’s the tough question.
At our agency we use Cision’s MediaSource to help us identify both media outlets and specific journalists to [...]

What happens if you’ve identified the right category of media outlets for your story idea, but can’t decide which specific media outlet to pitch?
Simple. Tweak your pitch to come up with more than one slant to the story.
For instance, going back to the idea found in the previous tip (Politis PR Tip #33), let’s say [...]

Last tip I wrote about the need to focus the right story idea on the right journalist.
In fairness, however, I might have gotten a bit in front of myself. Maybe the first thing a public relations practitioner needs to figure out when it comes to story pitching and placement is to identify the right media [...]

Want to land a story in your favorite media outlet? Make sure you focus your pitch on the right journalist (or producer) for the story.
For example, if you’re going to run a story idea by Brice Wallace of the Deseret News, you better have a business angle for your pitch.
Conversely, if you’re working on an [...]

In today’s hyper-connected world, what with email, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles and other social media & social networking sites/services, it’s easy to get all caught up in developing a tech-only approach to working with journalists.
Sometimes, however, the best thing for a PR professional to do is to pick-up the phone and call that reporter.
It’s [...]

Then again, sometimes the best answer to a question is “This doesn’t apply to me.”
Ergo, researchers should also seriously consider giving research participants the option to answer, “Does not apply” in surveys and questionnaires.

Sometimes the real answer to a question is “I don’t know.”
Researchers make a big mistake if they do not give respondents the option to answer “Don’t know.”
‘Nuff said.

A common research mistake is not giving participants the option to give a neutral response.
For example, consider the following sample survey question:
How do you feel about President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize?

Extremely unexcited
Somewhat unexcited
Somewhat excited
Extremely excited

Unfortunately, writing a question in this manner does not give respondents the opportunity for a neutral response, such [...]

No! This is not a blog post about some male enhancement product. Today we’re writing about research.
Simply put, when it comes to conducting research, the number of individuals contacted in any form of research study truly does matter.
When considering any target market it is extremely rare that you’ll be able to gather data from every [...]

Okay . . . so I took a couple of months off since writing the last Politis PR Tip. I’m back in the saddle once again; maybe not every day, but adding to this list nonetheless. So . . . here goes.
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Since many public relations campaigns [...]

Here’s a simple idea for you.
If you leave a voice mail message for someone, make sure to leave your phone number — TWICE. It will make it easier for the person you called to write or type down your number.
And if you really want to be courteous, say it differently the second time around.
For example, [...]

I was reminded this morning about a basic underlying principle of public relations that seems so obvious that I almost wasn’t going to include it here (but I decided to anyway).
That principle is this:
Tell the truth.
If you ever want to undo all of the goodwill and positive vibes you have generated for your company, client, [...]

Chances are that in most instances you’ll continue to proofread the way you always have — start at the beginning through to the end and make edits as you go.
One additional idea to consider, however, is to proof read by reading backwards. In other words, you will start at the the very end of the [...]

Should you use a spellchecker? Absolutely. Is it enough? Absolutely not.
Anytime you write or edit a new document, you need to check your spelling; in this regard, the spell-checker features of many leading software applications do a wonderful job . . . as far as they go.
Unfortunately, most spellcheckers do NOT include grammar functionality. As a [...]

If you’re not doing so already, you should meet with journalists, analysts and bloggers at trade shows and conferences.
The larger the event, the more journalists likely to be on hand. That spells an opportunity for you to conduct pre-scheduled and impromptu media interviews and briefings at your booth.
I’ve found there are always journos willing to meet at [...]

In spite of thinking to the contrary, bad things happen.
That’s why you must have a Crisis Communications Plan prepared and ready for use at your company.
If you work in public relations, corporate communications, marketing or in executive management and your firm does NOT have a Crisis Communications Plan in place, ready to be implemented at [...]

Whether you’re pitching a story idea to a journalist or crafting your next news release, one way to increase your chances for media coverage success is to think visually.
What I mean by “think visually” is to consider what artwork could be used with your story, whether that’s

still photography,
video footage or
some form of 2-D graphic (like [...]

You’d think that crafting a Yes-No question in a questionnaire would be easy, right? Well, not really.
Think about it: Have you ever been asked a Yes/No question and realized that your true answer should be

I Don’t Know / Undecided, or
Maybe, or
Does Not Apply?

When writing simple Yes or No questions in a research study, we recommend [...]

If conducting a survey is a great way to gain greater understanding and insight into various target audiences and “publics,” it stands to reason that certain data gathered through primary research will also make great fodder for journalists.
Depending your approach to primary research, chances are you can leverage your research efforts into very positive media coverage [...]

Want quick insights into any “public” or target audience? Then conduct a survey.
Such surveys and/or research studies can be as long or as short as you need/want them to be. That’s your call based upon what information you’re trying to gather or insights you’re attempting to gain.
For the record, we recommend both SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang.
Both [...]

For the record, it’s NOT enough to identify the best or right media outlet for a story idea.
You also have to identify the right journalist too.
That may be a

reporter,
editor,
producer,
anchor, or
blogger.

It might even be an editorial assistant. (And yes, I am absolutely serious about this last suggestion.)
How will you know?

Check out the masthead (if one [...]

It should be clear to everyone in the public relations/marketing communications industries that the publishing capabilities afforded by the Internet/Web have created a lot of pressure on traditional, mainstream media outlets, as shown by the ongoing of layoffs in the MSM world.
Notwithstanding such pressure, as well as the ongoing affects of the economic downturn, there [...]

If you want to generate positive media relations results, then you need to “become” an expert in your particular field of choice.
[NOTE: When I use the words "you" or "your" in this Tip, the advice also applies to positioning your boss, client or colleague as an expert too.]
If you are selling/marketing products or services with any [...]

You can call it Web 2.0 or the Next Generation Internet; I don’t really care.
But you need to use social media and/or social networking tools, services and platforms in your public relations, marketing communications and investor relations efforts. (And that means both for your company/clients, as well as for you personally.)
We recommend you do the following:

Create [...]

One key trick to being successful at media relations is to make sure you divide editorial contact databases into smaller segments. These can/should be based upon

beats covered (new products, sports, health, etc.),
title (reporter, reviewer, feature writer, etc.),
geography (city, state, region, country),
industry focus (personal computers, legal, athletics, women’s issues, etc.),
media type (newspaper, online only, television, radio, [...]

If you’re still writing (and distributing) news releases, media alerts, public statements and/or news briefs, I seriously recommend you use a commercial wire service.
The best commercial wire services have relationships with all of the leading media outlets and the top search engines on the Internet. As a result, by using a commercial wire service, you [...]

Maybe it’s your boss’ fault or your client’s fault.
But for some reason you’ve got to squeeze two company names and a product name and some adjectives and adverbs all into one little ol’ headline. Okay, that happens sometimes.
If you’re being forced into a longer headline scenario, consider this.
Shorter headlines are still better, so try to [...]

Shorter headlines are harder to write than long headlines. I get it.
Nevertheless, short headlines are typically better than long headlines.
This works for news releases, email subject lines, articles, columns, ads, brochures . . . just about anything that needs a headline.
Rule of thumb: Write shorter headlines.

At its core, public relations involves identifying one or more targeted publics. Seems pretty obvious, right?
BUT . . . if you have NOT identified (in advance) who you are targeting, and why, you are destined to fail in your PR efforts.
Your campaign might be centered on reaching/educating/influencing

graduating college seniors,
single mothers,
state legislators,
retail investors,
hourly employees, or
15- to [...]

With apologies in advance to the memory of Francis Pharcellus Church (long-time journalist and author of the world-famous “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” editorial that ran in the New York Sun on September 21, 1897), I emphatically state that
“Yes, news releases still matter.”
I believe releases matter for several reasons, but for this vehicle, [...]

When emailing a journalist, blogger or analyst, never, never, never send an attachment with your email — EVER!
The one exception to this rule is IF you have been given permission in advance to attach a file to your email, then go ahead and send the attachment.
Beyond that? Never! Never! Never!

When you call journalists (after introducing yourself and who you represent), the first words out of your mouth need to be
Are you on deadline?
The truth of the matter is that journalists are always on deadline, but even more so today with the advent of online publishing systems.
Not being courteous enough to utter those four simple words [...]

If you work in public relations and do NOT include some form of around-the-clock contact information on every PR document you distribute to journalists, you are a fool.
What am I talking about? Just about anything, such as:

Press releases.
News briefs.
Media alerts.
Fact sheets.
FAQs.
Q&As.
White Papers.
Industry Overviews.
Biographies.
Photos.
Graphic Images.
Business Cards.
News Releases.
Websites.
Etc., etc., etc.

If a journalist is on deadline and he [...]

If you can pass the “elevator pitch” process (that fun test thrown at entrepreneurs by Venture Capitalists) and you are able to describe your product or service in 30 seconds or less, surely you can highlight the essence of that same product or service in 50 words or less – right?
And when you’re done and [...]

Venture capitalists call it the “elevator pitch.”
Simply put, creating an elevator pitch means that you can explain what your product or service does in 30 seconds or less. When done, you should be able to do this in a way so your grandma will understand what the heck you’re talking about.
If not, you should go [...]