12 Apr
2011
The single most asked question I get from prospective clients is if either I, or the team I have assembled to handle an account have connections to a particular publication, media outlet, or industry analyst research firm.
Beating the drums of my client's stories is based being helpful to journalists, bloggers and industry analysts. Oh - these are my Ludwig drums - circa 1967.
While it certainly would make my job easier if I could respond with an absolute vote of confidence with: "....oh sure, we personally know and work with all 300 analysts at Gartner or the 30 or so business editors at The New York Times," the realities are that while I certainly consider us well connected, it is physically impossible to have on going relationships with every journalist and analyst in the technology universe.
Why I Work For Journalists, Bloggers, and Analysts and NOT for My Clients
The realities are this: if you have a good story and a well thought out media strategy, you don't have to be "connected." You have to know how to effectively pitch and provide compelling stories and content.
Even with my having a good contact in place, my job is to work for the media, bloggers and industry analysts and not for the client. The client pays me to be helpful to this universe and deliver great story ideas - hopefully based on what my client has to offer, and the story we want to share.
I have personally sold stories in major media outlets and very industry specific trade publications to journalists I have never worked with. And I have done many of these through pure email dialogues without ever having a real time phone conversation.
If you have a compelling story, a body of work in place that helps you be a trusted source of content, it will not only make your PR team's job much easier, it will enable you to be discovered and found.
