Playing Nice with Reporters

Way back when I was learning the ropes of PR, my ninny of a boss said we shouldn't care about what reporters think in response to our incessant "nagging" -- they, after all, don't pay our bills. Fortunately I ignored her and treated the journalists that I dealt with as if they were, in fact, my paying clients. I sought to give them the information they wanted -- when and how they wanted it. And before long I was getting calls from other PR agencies trying to recruit me because local journalists told them I was among the best at media relations.

So here are some tips to dealing with your friends on the other side of the Internet:

• Respect their beat. Research what kind of stories the reporter typically covers and either tailor your "pitch" appropriately to their beat or don't bother them at all.
• Help build the story with compelling media. App developers, that means screen shots, app icons and links to videos demonstrating how your apps work in the real world. Which leads to #3...
• Keep attachments to a bare minimum. Set up a Media page on your website and include links to press releases, images and videos that they can access when they want them rather than clogging up their inbox with files they may not want or need.
• Speaking of media, print media will have different requirements than online media. That little low-res screen shot on your website may reproduce fine in a blog but will be very grainy when published in a glossy magazine. If you're contacting print media, be prepared to have higher res images available.
• Don't forget to include your contact info. I forgot this important little 4-line section at the end of one email and was on the receiving end of a scolding because the reporter had to figure out how to get in touch with me.