PR With a Personal Touch
Our lives are really very busy, and technology has made it very simple to send others messages via email and text messaging. The art of writing correspondence has been completely lost, and the truth is most people make very few phone calls. Sometimes you really need to speak to the person you are dealing with in order for your message to get across completely.
When you are attempting to get a reporter to do an article about your company then the personal touch may have much better results if you speak to them on the phone rather than just contact them via email and text. If you truly want to increase your chances of making a solid impression on the reporter schedule a meeting so you can look them in the eye while you are talking.
You will not be able to make a lot of eye contact meetings with the busy schedules you both have, but phone calls are a possibility. There are a few things you need to remember about talking to these professionals on the phone.
The first thing you need to know is that this profession works on deadlines. They are always watching the clock and they are always in a hurry. They truly do not mean to be rude, or to brush you off, but they are likely trying to finish three tasks at one time. To get the reporter to really understand what you want them to do and why you think they should do it, you need to grab their attention quickly and state your point.
Write out what you are going to say on the phone so that you can see where you might shorten your description of what you want the reporter to cover for you. You want to be able to tell them what you need without losing them in the details.
When you get the reporter on the phone the first thing you need to do is introduce yourself and acknowledge that you know they are busy by asking for permission to speak. Ask them if they have two or three minutes to listen to you. Assure them that it will only take you about one minute to tell them the reason for the call.
Have your written notes in front of you so you can tell them all of the pertinent details in this short amount of time. Be straight to the point and do not drown the conversation in extra information.
After you have given your pitch tell the reporter that you know you caught them off guard and that you appreciate their time. Ask them if they have time for a further discussion or if they would prefer you to call back or send a detailed email covering the subject. Ask their advice on how to get the story covered and make it plain that you are appreciative of their expertise.
These phone calls can double the positive results that you get from reporters.
