Masterful Media Relations

Way back when I had just left the restaurant industry and got hired on with my first (and only) PR agency (that's not my own), I learned from the worst about media relations. My old boss got everything wrong when it came to developing relationships with the people who can make or break our efforts on behalf of clients. The line she used that really sticks with me is "Screw the media -- they don't pay us." Even a PR neophyte knew that was a stupid attitude, and only deepens the negative attitude many in the media have toward PR people.

I ignored the boss's advice. Within a year of starting that job, bigger agencies were calling me to set up interviews. How did they know anything about me? They asked journalists in Dallas who the best media relations people were and my name kept coming up. Some of those opportunities seemed pretty good, but I decided I'd rather enter the world of the gainfully self-employed. After all, if a complete nonsensical ninny could make a living at this business, I could reverse engineer everything she practiced and be more successful.

While my old agency had a revolving door of clients, often leaving after the first six months, I've got three clients that have been with me for 9-10 years now. Am I bragging? Ehhhh...maybe a little.

Back to media relations, I really enjoyed this article that compares media relations to dating.

#1 is my favorite:
1. The best pickup line is a basic introduction
Are your legs tired? You know, because you’ve been running through my mind since you walked into this place. That’s an example of a bad pickup line in dating circles. You know what the most effective pickup line is? Hello, my name is [insert your name].
The same goes for media relations. A fancy opening line, no matter how clever you think it is, will only result in a reporter rolling their eyes at you. Introduce yourself professionally, let them know who you are and why you’re calling and you’ll get things off on the right foot. Don’t use a cheesy pickup line when introducing yourself to a journalist.

One time I pitched a CNET reporter on an app called LobsterTunes in a manner that was probably too cute by half. But with an app called LobsterTunes, what's a PR guy to do? She called me on it and said she might have been more interested if I'd left off the cheesy intro. Now I leave the cheese for after I've gotten to know a journalist better and they can tell by the clever pitch that I've got my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. It's like the kind of jokes you can tell your old buddies that wouldn't have told them when you first met them.

That said, you don't want to come off as dry. You can be clever without being cheesy. I appreciate cleverness, but just make sure your pitch doesn't peg the cheese-meter.