Follow-Up: You're Doing It Right (Grady Britton Edition)

Wanted to give some kudos to the team at Grady Britton this morning.  Most specifically, Lindsay Yale.

When it comes to press coverage, I am constantly preaching the need to:

1. Stand out from the crowd

2. Be proactive

3. Be timely

(not exactly in that order)

Take yesterday.  I had more than 100 pitches in my inbox already and it was not even noon.  As a PR rep, your job is to help me sift through the fluff and figure out why I should cover your story and how I can do just that.

Enter Lindsay.

Yale and I have spoken in the past so rather than sending me a standard release, she shot me a two line e-mail asking when I had time to speak with her about a couple of story ideas.  (Note: this not only makes the reporter feel important, it also shows that you believe your story is important enough to warrant the extra attention).

When we got on the phone that afternoon, Yale is concise and to the point.  She’s confident in her delivery which tells me she believes the story is worth my time and important to our listeners (Note: wishy washy “if you think you might have time” pitches come across as weak.  BELIEVE in what you are selling).

She’s offering a medical pitch that ties into Colon Cancer Awareness Month.  She’s got multiple angles that we could pursue for the story and experts available to talk about each one.  She’s also flexible on timing.  Needless to say, we did the story.

(Author’s Note:  During the conversation, she also slips in a mention for another story in the works which she can follow up on later …. talk about forwarding one story into the next).

Lindsay clearly understands the needs of a reporter, how to get their attention and how to maximize coverage opportunities.

The question now becomes …. what practices do you see here that you are not currently using but COULD start using TODAY?

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