I want to make it clear that in our profession, we’re not telemarketers. We don’t “dial for dollars” and we don’t hunt down members of the media at random hours of the day as if we were a gaggle of girls running after Robert Pattinson down the red carpet.
What makes a GOOD publicist is an understanding of the industry. Knowing what you’re pitching, who you’re pitching and more importantly WHY you’re pitching your clients to them.
But what makes a GREAT publicist? That’s easy…make it personal. Calling the media and having that relationship where you speak your first name and they know your voice. Also, know when to call. For example, the tabloids go to print on Tuesdays so we know never to call on a Monday…period.
I spoke with a few of my media friends and they definitely had some thoughts to share.
John Biggs, Editor-in-Chief of Crunchgear.com and contributing technology writer for The New York Times, Laptop, Men’s Health, Linux Journal, Popular Science and others said, “I hate it when they email and then immediately call.”
It makes sense if you think about it. Keep in mind that John is probably inundated with hundreds of emails a day…and with his travel schedule who has time to respond to every single email as it comes to his inbox?
Besides, if it is time sensitive, he will get back to you.
One of my favorite people in the world, who shall remain anonymous, writes for a national men’s publication and said, “I don’t like when they call to follow up on email invitations. If I wanted to go to your event, I’d have written you back.”
He also went on to say, “I don’t like the publicists who are so excited to get you on the phone that they turn into telemarketers, trying to get as much information out as they can, without pausing, making me have to interrupt them to tell them I’m not interested.”
Bottom line: Our profession is personal. Our name is on everything we send out, whether it’s a simple email response or a press release that’s distributed on the wire. We’re proud of what we do and how we do it, and I guess you can say I’ve also had the great fortune of meeting some fantastic people and making some new friends along the way.
Christie Burgner
Senior Account Executive
