the PR roundup: January 2023

Well, happy new year to you all!

I spent most of 2022 super poorly so I'm thrilled to be back and see that a RIDICULOUS amount of people have signed up to hear this PR Roundup. Whoa, no pressure Kez.

In this issue, we're talking royal media storms, how to keep a journalist interested in your biz, press pages, and of course, a PR rant from me.

And if you have any questions about PR and getting media eyeballs on your business, comment below to be featured in next month's roundup.

Kerri x

A royal media blitz

It's no coincidence that Prince Harry's media interviews and book leaks just so happened to be around the time of his autobiography 'Spare' which launches today.

The convenient 'leak' of snippets from the book and royal fight allegations started (cleverly) just days before the book launched. Funny that.

In my PR and journalist circles, many are saying his on-camera interviews have been "car crash tv" and painful to watch. They said there is no clear angle in his message - "I want to reconcile with my family" but then speaking badly about them.

Whatever his angle, I'm pretty sure there's a PR team rubbing their hands together at the media coverage and book sales right now.

Don't lose a journalist's interest...

Isn't it annoying when we head to a website, love their stuff, want to buy it or make an enquiry, and there is NO contact info.

Well, the same goes for the eyeballs of the media. If they have to search for the deets or it's nowhere to be found, you could be missing out on MAJOR media opportunities.

For more chances of a journalist reaching out to you, here's what to do...

• Add your contact form to the main menu at the top of your website (and sidebar if you have one)
• Create a press page which has all your info and direct contact details. This is the page journalists will be looking for.
• Anywhere you add your contact details, add someone's direct email and phone number. Journalists and Editors are in a rush - we can't wait for your admin@ to respond to a contact form in two weeks.

A lil personal update

It's been a hot minute now since I launched New Forest Business News and I have to say I'm loving every minute of it.

Getting to write about companies and business news in my favourite area which I'm lucky to call home, is super dreamy.

2022 was pretty tricky. I'll be honest - I kinda went MIA for a while. Living with multiple chronic illnesses is hard. Throw in self-employment and single parenting, and well I sometimes go off the radar!

But I'm excited to make this year more fun, more productive, more healthy, and generally more awesome. And more PR Roundup-y!

Reader questions answered

"For most small businesses I think it would be useful to learn how to get in touch with journalists in their niche." -Claire

Before we reach out to journalists, we need to find them. Start by searching for them on Twitter. Lots of journalists were nervous after the recent Elon takeover and talked of leaving the site. Fortunately, most remain from what I've seen and we can use Twitter as an awesome search tool.

Type in "[topic] editor/writer/journalist" in the search bar, click the 'people' tab and see who pops up!

This will give you the start of what I like to call your media hit list. A list of people who write about your specialist topics and stories relating to your business.

• Some journalists put callouts to hear from experts on their social media so start following them and reply when they need someone with your expertise.
• Find their email address - this may be on their Twitter profile or have a dig on the media outlet's website.

Once you get a feel for what individual journalists and writers publish, you can start to see where your business and personal expertise can fit in.

➡ If they write about business finance and your new finance app solves a huge problem - tell them about it, throw in stats from a survey and anything to pique their interest.

Send your ideas in a quick email. Or a DM on Twitter if they're active on the site.

My PR rant...

Don't email a journalist ONE day after sending them a boring-as-hell press release and say "did you get my email" or "are you covering my story".

I'm all for a follow-up, (I've worked in PR for ten years) but give them time. A polite and gentle nudge a few days after is fine IF the story is amazing. It could be that they forgot to reply.

But remember, if you do follow up, do it nicely. They're busy and a rude email could cost you the opportunity.

As an Editor of a smaller news website, even I find these emails irritating. So imagine how frustrating it is for staff at a national newspaper receiving thousands of emails a day.

And that's all folks!

It's been awesome putting this together for you and I'd love to hear from you. DM me your burning PR questions or drop a comment below.

Kerri xx

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