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How to grab an Editor’s Attention

The Do’s and Don’ts of Basic PR

 

Meet Gracey, editor of DolceDolce.com.  She has worked as an editor and feature writer of glossy magazines in different cities. In addition, she  was one of the founding editors of Russian Vogue. I have also been a city newspaper columnist and now publish www.docledolce.com  an international weekly online magazine for urban professional women.  Gracey has worked with dozens of PR professionals; "I adore many of them.  Some have even become dear friends."

 

Thank you Victoria.  At www.dolcedolce.com we receive volumes of emails from PR companies seeking attention for their clients. Some of it is excellent, as is the follow-up. Some is a disaster. 

There are many articles written about how to grab attention from busy editors.  Yet, I still see so many PR people who don’t get it right.  So here is my handy cheat sheet of Do’s and Don’ts when trying to attract the attention an editor and gain valuable page space.

The Don’ts

Don’t contact me without knowing who we are and what we do. This seems basic, but often we receive inappropriate requests from PR people who have no idea what www.DolceDolce.com   is or who or our readers are. We have a main page that is  to easy access and has all that information. Most media outlets have similar pages on their websites. We are also listed, as are most media outlets with the main listening media listing services. They have our demographic information. If you really want work with us, go to our site and look at it. You will avoid wasting  my time and looking like an amateur.

Don’t solicit our attention if you are just fishing. I take dim view people who go on fishing expeditions. “Fishing” is extending an invitation or offering a something and then asking for more details or attaching conditions before making good on your invitation or offer. Do not waste my time. I will not tolerate PR people who want to pick and choose among outlets as they go along. It is unprofessional and rude. Decide who you want to work before you contact me.

Don’t cheapen an expert interview. If we decide to feature one your clients in one of our Q&A interviews please tell them not use fancy fonts, caps, underlining or  jargon when responding by email. We prefer black type and clean writing.  The other flourishes make for a lot of extra editing. We also will edit out and take a dim view of excessive product mentions. This is an expert interview not a commercial. We have interviewed renowned writers, artists, doctors, and other varied experts. We look for true excellence, not people selling something. A good interview will interest a reader in whatever the client has to offer most effectively.

Do not ask us to review a product or business from your press release or images. We only review items that one of our staff has used or seen. Our readers trust us to be accurate and honest, that’s how we have gained our impeccable reputation and why we have influence.

Do not send unsolicited materials or samples to our office. We are open to anything that will interest our readers, but this just wastes your clients’ money and creates waste. It is better to send an email first so we can tell you if an item, book, product, or service, is appropriate for us and then direct you to the correct editor.

Do not act confused or offended if I, or one of my editors, call you on the phone in response to your email. Some of us still like human contact with the people we deal with. If I call you, it is because  your email said, “call me ". I remind you; you want some thing from me. Try to be interested, friendly, helpful and enthusiastic.  We are all busy, I am calling you because it works best form me to speak with you. Answer your phone or return my call in a timely manner.  You may be surprised how well it works out for you; you may get a feature or several items form that one call.

The Do's

Do learn to put all your pertinent information clearly in the first two or three paragraphs of your press release. Use the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when and why. Tell me why my readers should care. This is key. Where does your story, item or product fit into my agenda? The best releases do this. I also like an offer of: interviews, studios, samples etc…What can you offer us to work with? Tell me.

I will use things that are not presented this way, but press release done this way go to the top of the pile of almost any busy editor.

Do follow through on requests and promises promptly. Also let me know what you can't do. If client, image or sample is delayed or cancelled, let me know ASAP. I will not hold that against you. If I have to chase you, I  will not work with you again.

Do not expect us to publish sales or specials. Buy an advertisment!  Those things are not news or feature item.

Do send an email more than once. Technology is fickle and emails can be deleted or lost accidentally.

Do follow-up an email or with a friendly call. Avoid Mondays and Wednesday for follow-up in most offices. But please introduce yourself, ask if it is good time and tell me what you need politely. Do not begin your call, “did you get my email?” I get many, many emails.

Do send a Word Doc as well as a PDF. I like to have both. A PDF is useless if I want to cut and paste complex names and list of dates. Please make my life easier. Also please, send me high-rest and low- res images. I do not want to go a photo site, log in, register etc. I have better things to do. It is presumptuous to think any editor has time to go to these sites. Send what we need.

Do have professional images of your client or product ready. This seems like no-brainer but we are always scrambling. We can shoot the products if we have them, but bad client images are really an issue. Make your client look good.

Do use minimal, eco-packaging for samples they will not break. We love pretty things, but we do not need extra packing, peanuts or trendy non reusable packages of any kind. Also we love digital press kits. Save the trees!

Do send thank you emails. They take a minute and everyone notices.

 

~~~

To learn more about Gracey and her lifestyle online magazine, visit: www.DolceDolce.com

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