Vancouver's own Brian Wong is a PR master, and doesn't need me to tell him he's going places

Vancouver's own Brian Wong is a PR master, and doesn't need me to tell him he's going places

Two promoters tried to pitch me on writing free articles for them this morning. Neither seemed to know much about CEO.ca, nor get to the point about what's in it for readers (and or me, the writer), so I ended the calls rather quickly.

Several years ago, I met Cameron Herold, the Back Pocket COO, who was the PR mastermind behind 1800GotJunk, at a TEDx conference I was attending with Brian Wong (pictured). Cameron shared with us some basic steps for generating free PR that led to my first successful public relations activities. Brian, on the other hand, has never needed any help generating a ton of free press.

Cameron taught me it's critical to spend 10-15 minutes researching the journalist you're about to pitch. You'll want to make sure they cover the relevant topic, and to be familiar with their latest few months of articles.

Next, think of a few headlines and article ideas that would be a fit for the journalist that could also serve your purpose. Consider the writer's readers first, not your own needs.

Then pick up the phone and call the writer (NO email pitches, they don't work) and get right to the point.

"Hi, it's [your name], I loved your piece on X, and I think I have a great story idea for your readers, do you have 30 seconds to hear me out?"

Here you're showing respect for the writer's time and the work they do, and they'll usually give you a few more minutes to hear your pitch.

After the journalist says okay, convey your headline/article idea that is a pre-determined fit for the writer. Have a few prepared examples to support the idea, including one from the company (your company) that you're pitching.

If the journalist likes the idea, they may write about it and quote you.

A few more Dos and Dont's for generating free PR:

  • Do have no expectations generally. Don't be afraid of rejection, just try another writer.
  • Don't spoon-feed an entire article written by you that the writer could pass off as their own, that's a major no-no.
  • Don't outsource PR unless you're drowning in cash or have some sort of crisis. A CEO can easily generate as much free PR in the time it takes to manage a PR company acting on his or her behalf. Plus a pitch is always more effective when it comes from the CEO rather than a hired gun.

Lastly, don't over-estimate the value of having your name mentioned in the media. It feels nice but it's not something you should care that much about.

To give a recent example, over a million copies of the Financial Post were printed containing my Lukas Lundin interview last Tuesday, which mentioned CEO Chat. The day it ran we saw no real uptick in user registrations. But a few days before, I spoke at an event to 300 people, and offered a couple of free premium articles to anybody who joined CEO Chat that day, and converted roughly 100 of them on the spot.

With that said, my mom was very impressed with the Financial Post article!

More on Free PR at Cameron Herold's blog: http://www.cameronherold.com/blog/category/free-pr/

Follow @CameronHerold on Twitter