I received an email today by someone asking to be on my radio show.
Without using names, here are key points you ought to know.
Doing you own PR is possible, but you MUST know the rules in the PR game.
I started golfing last year. The first thing I did was take golf lessons. They were expensive, but guess what – I am playing at the same caliber, with even longer drives, than my coworkers who’ve golfed for 20 years and more!
Why did I catch up so fast? Simple. I learned rules and proper technique before developing a ton of bad habits.
It’s the same with PR.
First, let’s start with the things done right in that email I mentioned – She sent a personalized email saying where we met. And she seemed very calm and down to earth with what she wanted. So what went wrong?
First, she didn’t put anything in the subject line. I was actually deleting her email but the words, “We met in Victoria,†caught my eye.
And, she spoke using terms of her topic (which I didn’t understand). So I didn’t want to book her because I didn’t know what she was going to talk about (in simple benefit driven terms).
Also, the media release she sent to radio stations started with, “Dear Editor.â€
Are you wondering what’s wrong with that?
Well, there are no editors in radio! We have producers, and newspapers and magazines have editors. So when I see, “Dear Editor,†I wonder if the person has any clue about radio – and then I say I won’t chance it, and I move on to my next guest possibility!
The moral of the story is:
Get some media training before you invest in a PR firm or before you try doing this yourself.
If you want some great people who really know what they are talking about when it comes to PR, I recommend:
Jeff Crilley, the TV reporter in Dallas Texas. His book, Fr.e.e Publicity, is a must own.
www.jeffcrilley.com
And, Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, is terrific
Finally, I do recommend my ebook – The Insiders Guide to Fre.e Publicity
At: www.onairpublicity.com/buyebook.html
Wayne Kelly
The Radio Guy
