I Don’t DO Public Relations, I Write for Public Relations
Well, not to look gift horses in the mouth, because I am truly appreciative . . . but so many people recommend me to colleagues in response to the inquiry, “Can you recommend someone who does PR?”
And then I have to have the conversation with the inquirer about how I write for PR but I’m not a PR practitioner, per se.
Sure, I can write an AP-style, professional and polished news release – I do them all the time and have done so for years. I can write your executive bio, elements of your media kit, a backgrounder, a pitch sheet, and a story pitch (whew!). And with a background as an advertising copywriter, I can help clients develop their messaging, ad concepts, and taglines, write copy to promote their goods and services in any medium, and create a strategy to get the word out.
But I don’t do PR. That’s for the PR practitioners for whom I freelance.
NOTE: To a finer point on that point, I have had clients on retainer specifically for public relations work, and those were fruitful and fun engagements. I’ve written press releases and feature releases I’m proud of and that got placed in the press that mattered to those clients, expanding their market presence and visibility to the public.
I’ve gotten clients opportunities to contribute to major trade publications in their field with great success, and developed relationships with editors because we always presented professional material that mattered to them. And, because I’m a copywriter, those clients turned to me for marketing copy, blog writing, and website updates as needed so it was a win-win for both parties.
But I digress.
Back to doing vs. writing PR. What’s the difference? Several very significant ones.
- Media relations. Public relations professionals spend considerable time developing relationships with editors and producers, to whom they pitch their clients as expert resources or pitch story ideas (to be written by their clients).
- While editors may respond to my pitches or press release submissions (because I accompany them with a personal cover note), and some local media folks recognize my name, I don’t have a subscription to a nationwide media database that is updated continually. Nor do I have 20+ years of cultivated relationships with members of the media, as my colleagues do. My agency clients (the PR pros who use my writing services) have them.
- PR pros work the phones and email, they stay in touch with editors and producers all the time to find out what they’re looking for to engage their readers/viewers/listeners.
- Media training. This is a service that prepares corporate leaders and others to speak to the press—what to say, how to stay on message, and presentation/speaking skills.
- I’ll get up in front of an audience and talk about anything without notes or speak off the cuff (and I have), but I don’t know how to teach someone how to do that—even with their talking points in front of them.
- Crisis communications. Nope. I’m happy to refer you to someone with that experience. I will consult and provide my viewpoint on strategy and offer somewhat sage advice, but I don’t “do” crisis communications.
- Public affairs support. Nope. It’s a necessary function but nothing I’ve done.
- Getting clients on speakers’ bureaus. I could probably do that, given I can write up a whiz-bang profile and an engaging cover letter but again, it’s not what I do. I’ll stick to advertising and marketing materials (and public relations writing). That said, if you want to start booking lectures and speaking engagements to promote your book, your new product, or anything else, I’m not your gal.
- Industry insights/inside views. Although I stay abreast of the issues and topics related to my clients’ industries, so that I can find opportunities for including them in a story, sourcing a topic to write about for their blog or a social media post, or adding to their website, I am not as closely entangled with this effort. When a company engages a PR firm, they’ll have an account manager who does this.
Additionally, public relations professionals often develop the story pitches, although I’ve been called upon to write up a cogent pitch based on their input. I write everything else so why not?
And . . . when a story pitch for an expert byline has been accepted, I am engaged to interview that agency’s client and write the byline article (ghost writer). The agency or practitioner has already done part one of the heavy lifting and I’m delighted to take it from there (and hand off a draft for further collaboration and eventual submission by that PR pro).
Copywriting vs. PR writing
Advertising copywriters write to sell a product or service. We’re about coming up with the concept and executing on that with a measure of creativity (and yes, I think in headlines quite often). Companies/brands pay for their advertising to be placed—online, on the air, or in print.
PR writers write to tell the news about a product or service (or its company/brand). They are selling, in a sense, to the media people who will decide to place the story, have the expert speak at an event or on the air, The PR world has gradually expanded to encompass more general marketing activities, but its core remains rooted in getting earned media—that neutral third-party endorsement by way of a mention, quote, spotlight, news story, etc.
“Take out the adjectives”
I remember when I first started freelancing for Caryl Communications gazillion years ago. That’s where I learned about writing news releases, story pitches, fact sheets, and more. Caryl said to me, “You’re too descriptive; take out all the adjectives.”
Well, I took out SOME of the adjectives for her, but I was not about to abandon my advertising roots nor my writing style completely in order to write a press release. I was always glad to be assigned a feature release because I could keep in some of those pesky adjectives.
Straight news releases are in the “just the facts” realm but I really enjoy writing feature releases. These are soft news, stories disguised as news releases (written in AP format) and they—you guessed it—tell stories about the subjects (they’re a back-door way to get the company/client mentioned, by the way). I enjoy the interviews with subjects to prepare for these, and enjoy putting them together. Feature releases often get placed because of their human-interest angle.
Anyway, long story short—thank you to those who refer me as someone who “does PR,” and while I can help out for local news with a modicum of success, you likely need to speak to one of my colleagues when you need a PR firm. I can refer you to professionals with expertise in certain industries or practice areas.