Communication
Getting people to talk about you: PR explained properly
There is a real difference between «I say so» and «they say so about me». Press relations exist for exactly that: getting other people to tell your story.
Press relations do not buy space: they get newspapers and media to tell your story. A published story is worth more than a paid advert, because somebody else is doing the talking. Getting in takes newsworthiness — something an audience genuinely cares about — a well-made release and a targeted list of contacts. It is not immediate: it takes months of persistence, but a well-placed article keeps working long afterwards.
You can call yourself the best as often as you like. But when a newspaper says it, or a website, or a trade title, it is another thing entirely. Press relations exist to get the media telling your story, not to buy space: it is the difference between «I say so» and «they say so about me». And when other people say it, people believe it more.
There is a real difference between «I say so» and «they say so about me»: when others say it, people believe it more.
Why being talked about pays
A good press file is two things at once: a calling card and a sales tool. When a prospective client reads an article naming your company, the negotiation changes tempo. You are no longer starting from nothing: you start from an endorsement that came from outside, from somebody who had no reason to do you a favour.
The problem is that if nobody talks about you, that material does not exist yet. It has to be built. And you build it by becoming, every so often, a piece of news.
Becoming news: newsworthiness
The key idea is newsworthiness: producing something a specific audience cares about. Existing is not enough, nor is opening your doors. An opening on its own is not news: a hundred places open every day.
But tie that same opening to a current issue people care about, and suddenly it can be told. That is where the craft sits: things, as well as being what they are, are also what they look like. Change the point of view and the story changes with it. The same fact, told from the right angle, goes from non-news to something a journalist actually wants to publish.
The press release, in ten rules
The tool that carries the story to newsrooms is the press release. It is a different channel from advertising you pay for: here the visibility has to be earned, as it does at events. To be taken seriously it has to follow a few rules.
- No advertising. If it smells of promotion it goes in the bin. You tell a fact, you do not sell.
- The right language. No technical jargon where it is not needed: the reader has to follow it.
- A sharp headline. It has to say straight away what the story is.
- A clear structure. Who, what, where, when, why, how: everything needed, in order.
- Numbers instead of adjectives. «A hundred kilometres on three litres, 50% fewer emissions» says more than «extremely high efficiency».
- One page only. Background material goes separately: the release stays short.
- The human element. A quote from the owner or from whoever did the thing gives it a voice and credibility.
- Good pictures. Quality photographs, ready to use, not heavy grainy files.
- A second read. Read it again the next day with a fresh head: the mistakes come out.
- Timing. Send it with the right lead time before the event, not at the last minute.
Who to send it to, and what to expect
The release goes to a targeted list of journalists, titles and blogs in your field. Chosen one by one, not scattered: a hundred right contacts beat a thousand random ones. One email reaching the person who actually covers your subject is worth a thousand fired into the void.
And then it takes patience. The results are not immediate: building relationships with newsrooms and getting noticed takes months of persistence. But it is work that accumulates. A well-placed article does not expire: it stays there, keeps being found, keeps generating value long after the day it ran.
PR and advertising are not the same thing
It is worth keeping them apart. Advertising is paid for: you pay and you say what you want, how you want, where you want. Press relations win the space with a story, and somebody else does the telling. You do not control every word — and precisely for that reason, when the piece runs it carries a weight no advert can buy. It is the writer's independence that makes you credible.
- Press relations get the media telling your story: «they say so about me» weighs more than «I say so».
- Getting into the papers takes newsworthiness: the same fact, from the right angle, becomes a story.
- A good release, a targeted list and months of persistence: a well-placed article does not expire.
Frequently asked questions
What are press relations for?
They get newspapers and media telling your story, rather than buying space. It is the difference between «I say so» and «they say so about me»: a story published by a third party is worth more than paid advertising space, because somebody else is doing the talking.
When does a company become news?
When it produces something an audience genuinely cares about: that is newsworthiness. An opening on its own is not news, but tied to a current issue it can become one. Things, as well as being what they are, are also what they look like: change the point of view and the story changes with it.
What is the difference between PR and advertising?
Advertising is paid for and lets you say what you like. Press relations win the space with a story, and somebody else does the telling: that independence on the journalist's side makes the message more credible and gives it more weight.