With continually reduced staff, freelance budgets and increased global events with local impact, in today's ever-evolving media market, public relations takes creative ideas, genuine relationship-building between a brand and reporter, with the biggest ingredient to successful story placements: time. Even with passionate interest from editors and journalist, a single evergreen profile can take six months from pitch to publication, which is why publicists often work multiple stories at a given time to ensure continued consistency in their results. One story may be in the fact-checking phase right before publication, another journalist is working on the pre-interview in preparation to pitch the story to their editor, and another editor may be arranging photography assets, which happens before fact-checking. The result for clients: a profile averaging every two to six months. 

With all those moving parts, it's no surprise that entrepreneurs want to take a pause from Public Relations during their slower seasons to maximize their rest. Despite the lack of revenue, Publicists often welcome a break from pitching a client especially if it's a short month or two-long pause. A break in your PR campaign can have benefits beyond recuperating before a busy season. For freelancer writers trying to find the right publication for their desired angle about a client, there is less pressure to find a home as soon as possible. They can take their time researching editors, asking for referrals, and crafting a perfect pitch without a million follow-ups from the publicist. For momentarily-deflated writers who have received passes on stories about the pausing client, a few months can turn the tide of social conversation where that angle would be timely and therefore accepted. 

Especially for single entrepreneurs in the need of a break from public relations from being burnt out with interviews, media interactions and creativity is severely effected, take a break from PR. Your publicist doesn't want an interviewee running on empty with runoff thoughts and missed key message opportunities. As entrepreneurs, we create our best with a full cup. A month of rest can lead to more money making opportunities with a creatively strategic mindset than when you're stretching your brainpower thin.  

If you've had a passing or invasive thought along the lines of "wow, if I do one more interview I'm going to scream into the abyss" or are starting to have anxiety nightmares revolving around press, definitely consider pausing your public relations campaign during your next slow season. Your sanity and publicist will thank you. Every publicist is different so inquire about your publicists expectations from taking a break. As long as you don't exceed two short breaks a year, taking a month or two long pause won't impact your campaign significantly, though it will delay it noticeably. Because of the multi-prong and long-lead nature of media relations, its no surprise that inconsistent public relations efforts yield inconsistent results. 

As mentioned above, during any given month, a publicist is working with a number of journalists and editors in various stages of writing a story about the client. Publicists typically work on about three to five stories per client per month. Many of those stories overflow to oncoming months.  When a client pauses, a publicist will inform every journalist that is working on a story that the client is taking a brief pause and intends to come back. Publicists must notify the journalists in regard to transparency in the relationship, in addition to avoid working without compensation. Often times, unless the story is already written and only awaiting photography and fact-checking, the journalists take the story off their pitch list and won’t pick it back up until they’re pitched by the publicist signifying the client has returned. That could extend a three to six month timeline for a story by the length of the pause, potentially longer if the pitch process takes longer with a change in social conversation.


If your business goals hinder on consistent profiles around your company, products or thought leadership regularly, consider talking to your publicist about a break in interviews rather than a break in services. Your publicist can continue to secure interest and line up interviews for you upon your return from your time away from interviews.

If you are moving forward with taking a break, be conscientious of timing. Public Relations agencies can have pauses when they are not taking new business. Publicists know to expect the unexpected and anticipate a revision or shift of strategy when a client resumes their campaign. When clients take a pause in their retainer, they can lose the privileges of clients - many agencies have set dates and times for discussing new business, even if you are a returning client. Have an idea of your restart date when you pause with your PR firm and give them enough [2+ weeks] notice when you're ready to return. 

Switching public relations firms between a break can maximize your time away from media relations when you're dissatisfied with your current service. The time away from pitching are ideal for any re-strategizing or passing off services to a new firm. Every public relations expert has different connections and areas where they exceed, therefore trying out a different PR firm can yield different and potentially better results. Before you switch, make sure to doublecheck fine print of your previous contract as well as your new contract. Always make sure there's an out to any multi-month or ongoing contract (15 - 30 days is desireable). Any contracts without a mutual resignation process in place is often a major red-flag in the PR industry. Note that when switching firms, stories being written with one PR firm usually don’t carry on if they’re before the photo and fact-checking process.

Unless you're running up credit, don't consider money when thinking about a pause. Because a single story can take six months from first pitch, taking a two month break can derail a number of stories already past the pitch or even interview process. Journalists don't know that a client is coming back, and therefore they may completely scrap the story and restart at the pitching process. Missing two months in PR can cost more in missed opportunity from potentially secured placements than two months of your PR retainer. 

Any good publicist can navigate breaks when their clients require it to keep going. Make the decision on taking a break from your public relations campaign based on your needs. 

By Melissa A Vitale 

Be sure to check out the first post in this series: PR Your Self: Social Media is your Bestie

Press Kits or Media Kits are a hotly debated topic in Public Relations. Some publicists swear by them and others refuse to rely on them. Most publicists fall somewhere in between: without an on-staff graphic designer, (which is rare for boutique PR operations) media kits can cause more problems then they solve. Publicists, if using them, don't need the fanciest media kit to relay the information to journalists and going back and forth with clients on design elements is a waste of time. However, if brands commission their own media kit from a talented graphic artist, a publicist will absolutely use a stellar existing brand representation. 

While a media-kit isn't a fix-all to getting press, it can help busy entrepreneurs and experts garner more media coverage without a publicist. If you have a detailed website showcasing services or products, you likely have enough to easily create your own media kit. A media kit is a PDF that includes images, relevant links and brief written information answering the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of a brand or individual for interested press. Media kits can help busy entrepreneurs automate the process for incoming press requests. When a journalist reaches out, you can send them your media kit to help them plan how they want to approach the story. Maybe they didn't know all the products you offered or all the expertise available. It moves the conversation along quicker than without one. 

Many journalists keep media kits on file for easy-reference when considering sources for a story. When starting their initial research on a company to profile, a media kit helps a journalist understand a birds-eye view of a company to help organize their thoughts. Journalists cold-outreaching to a company may search for the term "media kit" on the website to make sure the brand is press-friendly. A media kit signals to editors and writers that a brand or individual is media-ready. Having a media kit available won't immediately bring in press opportunities, but you'll be prepared to take advantage of them when they either come knocking, or if you find them through social media. 

While I do recommend you make a media kit, I don't recommend you put it on your website available for download. You won't know who's reading your media kit and what that information can do in their hands. While of course you don't want to include intellectual property in your media kit, you never know what a troll will do and you don't want your viral moment to be someone making fun of your hard-work. Instead, on a dedicated press page, include an email address that journalists can use to request a press kit or media kit. You'll want both of these terms on your website since some journalists use control+F or a google search to find what they're looking for. You don't want them to miss you because you used press instead of media kit and vice versa. To make sure journalists will reach out to request your Media Kit, create a dedicated press email that is separate from your general "contact us" email which may or may not be monitored. 

What to Include in your Media Kit: 
A media kit can be multi-page or a single page. You'll want to include the brand basics like logo, website, social media handles, and a brief company description or boiler plate that includes the brand's mission and background. A founder bio and "available for interview" is a must-include as well.  Available for Interviews--also shortened to AFI--is a short list of topics of expertise that a journalist could interview on for a relevant story. If you're a cannabis brand, you may be able to comment on consumer trends or market predictions. If you're a sex party host, you may have topics like consent and how to prepare for your first play party on your AFI.

If the company sells products, a media kit should include some lifestyle images of the different collections, in addition to stand out descriptions and prices of the brand's best-sellers. Along with showing pictures to keep your kit dynamic, provide links to a dropbox with high-resolution, photos that are already licensed for use in press. If the company owns cool locations like an aesthetically interesting warehouse, a farm, production facility etc, include a quick shot and description of those sites. Journalists often like to tour unique facilities for industry insider stories and including these can help spark an idea for an on-location shoot. Make sure to include any attention-grabbing metrics. If you're a podcast, include your listeners. If you're a brand, include your sales or revenue if you can. Finally, have a contact email for any press requests. It can be that same press email from your press page or you can give them the email of the CMO, publicist or co-founder for boutique brands. 

Assuming you have most of this information and content already, putting together a quality media kit can take a couple of hours. I always recommend taking a step away from the draft and coming back to it in a different mindset to make sure you love everything you included. This will be your presentation to journalists and editors who in-turn, could introduce you to the world. You obviously want to put your best foot forward. As for programs to create a media kit, if you're well-versed in Photoshop or LightRoom, feel free to use those or similar design program. If I just spoke Greek to you, Google Presentation or PowerPoint will work just fine. Pick a complimentary theme to your brand design and keep the lines aesthetically pleasing. It's better to have a longer media kit than one that looks like a page from "I Spy". 

Once you have a media kit, reach out to journalists you've worked with in the past, know in your network or have connected with on twitter. Check in to see how they're doing and send along your new media kit to show them you're ready for lights, camera, action! 

It may be surprising to hear from a professional publicist who companies hire to execute and maintain campaigns that garner media attention that earning media coverage is actually very easy for entrepreneurs and startups even without a PR agency or freelance publicist. News publications get their classification because they cover what is new, exciting. The very existence of a successful startup that hasn't been featured before is newsworthy. Like the journalists who covered Apple or Microsoft in the 80s and 90s, editors and writers want to feature the latest solutions, technology or products on the market. 

Earning one article about your company great, but I like to think of aiming for only a single article as playing checkers. Media relations plays Chess. Rather than focusing on placing one story about your company, prioritize creating a relationship with a journalist. The resulting coverage from a single relationship can be meaningful profiles, company announcements and thought leadership in industry-turning trend stories. Journalists often refer back to their own network for sources of insight or quotes in an article. 

If you don't have any journalists in your network who covers your industry, don't worry! When I was growing up, I was given lectures by my parents, girl scout leaders, teachers, and even a priest who told us not to make friends on the internet. Now, I've made initial acquaintances with most of my colleagues and friends through online sources. Social media is your best friend for meeting new journalists and editors who could cover your company or expertise without a publicist. Almost all journalists have public social media handles for their writing, often aimed at keeping in touch with sources. Some journalists will immediately reach out if your social media bio raises their interest. Linking your companies handles, website and relevant awards always helps.

When you're reading an article about your industry or related to your expertise, especially if you think "Wow, I should've been in this article," find the journalist on social media. Most journalists have their social media profiles linked to their author page when you click on their byline in the article. Make it a practice to follow journalists whenever you read an article related to your industry. Journalists regularly make calls for commentary on stories they're working on. Even if they're not following you, they are often looking at their DMs and replies for new sources. This is a great way to start a long-lasting relationship. 

Social media makes it easy to stay in touch with journalists and editors you've connected with. Unlike emails where you have to go out of your way to contact them and then wait for a response, with social media, their updates wind up on your feed. A quick like, comment or reply is an easy way to easily maintain a relationship. Once you've been doing this for a while, it gets easier to get a follow back. When editors and journalists see that other mutual connections following you, they assume you're an industry source and will immediately follow you back. Always send a quick introduction if they follow you back. You can send an intro without a followback, but they may not see it as their DMs are much like their email inboxes: full of cold outreach. 

Like building any relationship, media relations takes time. It's unreasonable to think that following one editor on social media will lead to a report's-worth of press coverage. Take fifteen minutes today to find and follow ten key editors in your industry. Editors will often tweet out stories and tag the writers who wrote the story. Follow anyone relevant these new connections tweet about. Make it a point every quarter to follow ten to fifteen new media connections. Over time, you'll go from not knowing anyone who could cover your company, to having a soft or even a close relationship with a number of leading journalists who want to feature your brand. 

After you've been covered in a published story, prioritize keeping in touch with a journalist; writers often tap their past interviewees first for new stories. Let these connections know about any launches you have coming up in advance in case they want to break the news or cover the launch. Bonus points if you meet up with your journalist connections for drinks or lunch a few months before the announcement; they will appreciate the special attention to the relationship. While social media is a great way to keep up with a journalists' achievements, those who will want to know about your company's news, won't like finding out with everyone else on social media. Make a point to tell them in advance; embargo if needed. 

Before embarking on your social media relations journey, make sure you remember your etiquette 101. As stated above, journalists inboxes and DMs are often full of cold pitches. Avoid pitching them in their DMs. Start with an introduction to yourself, and an offer to support them on related articles. Ask them how they would like to receive company announcements or pitches from you. Respect their boundaries and if they don't respond, don't get disheartened. If you followed ten other people like I told you above, someone else will respond. In my experience, non-response is often due to missing the message or being too busy to respond, and they will usually respond well to a follow up at a later date.  

It's easy to get attention around the initial launch and big announcements from an exciting startup. Day-to-day however, entrepreneurs typically don't have the time to constantly come up with new angles for the many journalists and editors who could cover your brand. Maintaining consistent media coverage can be a full time job. Once you've seen a slowdown of initial media coverage is a great time to speak with a publicist. Your brand will still be fresh enough in recent coverage and a publicist can come up with unique campaigns and angles to revive interest in your company, even without a launch. 

If you’re a business owner, you should absolutely be reading as often as your rest-work schedule allows. You don’t always have to read what I would call “business books”, but you should always have one of these in your rotation. With all the books I’ve read so far, I find myself thinking differently, often more competitively, than folks with similar professional backgrounds or education to myself.
 
Make sure to check out Part 1 here! 
 
These are five books I highly recommend business owners reading: 

By Melissa A Vitale
 
Have you ever had an interview with a journalist, either written like via email or verbal, over the phone or in-person, but when the piece was published, your quotes and insight were excluded? Welcome to media. This is something that happens more often that any publicists like. It’s one of the tradeoffs we face because we’re relying on relationships, not advertising dollars for feature coverage.
 
Providing commentary or quotes is often “in consideration,” meaning it has the potential to be excluded based on the direction of a story. Often times, commentary is excluded from publication for reasons even the most seasoned publicists cannot control.
 
These reasons may include but are not limited to:

• The outlet a specific requirement of sources (ie: a credential or identity)
• The other sources of the article provided commentary that took the article in a different direction
• In cutting down word count, the editor removed that specific quote to save space
• A similar quote was given by another source
• A specific reason like the article or only wanting to include one company per industry

 
However, there are times when answers or commentary is excluded because it simply isn’t relevant to the conversation.
 
Because mainstream outlets won’t cover sex-positive or legal cannabis stories regularly, for Vice-category brands, making the most of every media opportunity is paramount. If your quote was excluded from a cannabis article on Allure, another opportunity may not come around for 6+ months. If you continue to give commentary that isn’t relevant, the opportunities may stop all together.
 
By keeping a couple things in mind while crafting your quotes, you can reduce the number of times your commentary gets cut from stories you have the opportunity to speak to.
 
Answer the question in your answer
At any given moment, journalists are often working on multiple stories with three-to-four sources per story. If on a time crunch, journalists don’t have time to fill out a quote. Journalists need to quote complete thoughts, so when you don’t repeat the answer in your question, you’re only giving them half a quote.
 
For instance, the answer to “Why do people enjoy cannabis consumption during intimate play?” should be start with “People enjoy cannabis consumption during intimate play because….”.
 
By saving the journalist time filling out a complete thought, you avoid your answers being cut because of a time crunch.
 
Short & Sweet
Journalists can source 2-5 sources per article. I know one journalists who will source up to 20 sources per article. This is how journalists provide complete and unbiased reporting as is their job. But for this reason, it makes concise answers all the more important when responding to a media opportunity. If a journalist gets 8 sources commenting on a topic but only needs a 15 word quote, he’s going to avoid the big paragraphs.
 
Diversify your answers
Unless you’re speaking as an expert in a niche area, answers to questions usually don’t need to be more than three sentences. Try to dedicate only one sentence to a thought. Keep your thoughts unique. Journalists are often puzzle-piecing commentary from a variety of sources. Having unique points betters your chances that your insight is complimentary to the other quotes provided.
 
Take your ego out of it
Like many things in PR, providing commentary for a story is more about helping a journalist out than it is centering your product. If your entire quote is all about your brand but the story is on a trend in the industry, your quote is not going to be relevant. Journalists often want to promote the brands that help them out and will include a description of your company and usually a link in your title. It’s far better to leave your ego out of your quote and provide non-branded expertise. Sure, you won’t get quoted talking about how wonderful your brand is, but you will establish yourself as a vital industry source, which can often carry more weight than a favorable mention.
 
Have a title (and website) ready
Once have an opportunity to contribute to a story, have a title ready for them that you send over with your responses. Your title should be the name you want known with your brand, your pronouns, a link to your website and a brief description of what your brand is. I also include a link to a drive with brand images in the title. This way, everything the journalist needs to drive traffic back to you is already given with your quotes. If you don't have a website yet, you're going to want one once you start getting press mentions. Site editors are less-likely to link to social media handles because it's so easy to change the name - which results in a dead link for them. Even if it's just a landing page with links to your social media accounts, it will help streamline all your traffic from press mentions. 

Return answers BEFORE the deadline 
Most times, journalists are sourcing from multiple experts. They're also working on other deadlines. If three of four experts have returned commentary for one piece, a writer may start their draft without waiting for the last source to return insight. Get your quotes in well before their deadline to make sure your insight is considered!  
 
This list is not definitive and due to the nature of organic media coverage, there is never a guarantee your quotes won’t get cut (unless the story is about you)
 
If you’re still confused on how to form a great quote that doesn’t get cut, you can always read trend stories by your favorite industry reporters to familiarize yourself with the style of quotes editors and writers look for.

​As I mentioned in my last post, public relations became even more valuable in 2020 as the effects of the pandemic strip advertising budgets with subscriber-rates already dwindling. For any brand launching products in this coming year, hoping to win awards, or just looking to see a return on their investment, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with affiliate marketing,
 
Once a buzzword for the silicon valley bros building marketing funnels for life coaches, affiliate marketing is now one of the hottest areas of media.
 
You see, media outlets have been thrust a quadruple edge sword this year: advertisers fearing mass layoffs are pulling their ad spend. With economic peril falling on most, subscribership has exponentially deceased compared to declines of previous years. Layoffs are hitting media hard, and the opportunity for evergreen product mentions are occasional at best. Plus, media outlets who have transitioned to hosting events to supplement decreasing subscription revenue.
 
In 2020, outlets like the New York Post, who previously never wrote product roundups, now have commerce teams dedicated to product-centric stories. Things like “Best body oils for summer,” “How to spice up your date night from home,” or “the bougiest bongs you didn’t know existed” are all topics that commerce editors and writers are working on.
 
When you see the word “Commerce” in an editor or journalist’s title, there’s about a 99% chance we’re talking about affiliate marketing.
 
Consumers want premium, expert-backed stories but don’t want to pay for it. Journalists and editors need to be paid. Advertisers are willing to pay. But, oh, wait, those same consumers who don’t want to pay for their content, well they don’t want to see advertisements on every page. Media outlets have had to get smart over the years: first we had native advertisement like banner ads; next we say the rise of the advertorial – or an advertisement that is meant to look like an editorial story. These have to be clearly marked that they are advertisements for consumer transparency.
 
Now, especially in 2020, we’re seeing the rise of affiliate marketing. Don’t let this post fool you. I may encourage my clients and those seeking PR to sign up with affiliate networks, but that doesn’t mean I think they’re particularly good. I’m sure at some point the FTC is going to get involved with affiliate marketing because oh my gosh, it is murky. It is dirty. I cannot in my conscious create a post about affiliate marketing without going over the hazards of this area of marketing. 
 
The Downside of Affiliate Marketing
The reason consumers turn to media outlets in the first place for product recommendations is authority. If Wired.com, a famed technology outlet, recommends a pair of $60 headphones as the biggest value, that means something because most editors at Wired get gifted $300+ headphones. Same thing with Allure. If Allure recommends a lipstick, that recommendation carries more value and authority than a celebrity endorsement because these are people who review and write about lipstick for a living. Most places like The Strategist, Buzzfeed and Heavy, where affiliate marketing makes up most, if not all of their product features, will often times include a product without ever once trying it. Every outlet has commerce editors and every commerce editor has been guilty of including a product without trying it. However the authority is usually not diminished because these factors are not disclosed and any informational on affiliate marketing is written in some vague jargon at the start of the outlet.
 
I mean, this is why affiliate marketing has risen over the years. Now outlets don’t even designate who is affiliate market and who isn’t so they blend paid content in with evergreen content with few being the wiser.
 
When it comes to finding out what a magazine truly stands for, or how deep their morals go, look as far as their affiliate program (though, they try to make it as discreet as possible because outlets don’t want consumers to know just how broken this system is).
 
Need a concrete example? Just last month, one of my BIPOC educators was asked to provide her expertise to Shape Magazine for a story. In her commentary she recommended a product that she sold on her own store and included the link in the submitted copy. Shape’s editor removed my client’s link and linked back to a UK-based brand founded by two straight, white, male billionaires. Not even four months after Shape, along with every media outlet, pledged allegiance to anti-racism and dismantling systemic injustice, the editors of shape are back to using a Black woman’s work and words to promote a white founded company. But why? Why would a media outlet take a dump so hazardously on their own published ideals? Affiliate my dears. Affiliate marketing is king. Moral compass and efficacy be damned if a brand is offering 15%+ of sales to an outlet.
 
Though lets be clear, this is not a reflection of the editors or journalists who are often times just trying to survive and keep their job during the next wave of media layoffs. Affiliate departments are different than editorial and editorial just has to play that ball game.
 
The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing however can be super beneficial for a few reasons. Affiliate marketing is what has kept journalism alive the last year. While advertising is the backbone of media, no one likes to look at the backbone. Readers don’t come for the ads; they come for the writers and experts and editors and content. Those are funded by ad dollars. The biggest advertisers for media outlets – places like sporting events, travel services and chain restaurants, have had to pull their advertising budget this year, especially as many of them have endured significant layoffs this year (advertising in one publication can cost $200+K; that’s a lot of salaries and therefore makes for terrible optics). If outlets didn’t adapt with new income streams, more magazines would have folded this year.
 
For publicists, affiliate marketing can be love or hate. It’s awful to see an editor love a great and deserving brand but exclude them because they’re not willing to give up all their income to Amazon, ShareASale, or Skimlinks. However, affiliate linking can also be the gift that keeps giving. If you form a relationship with someone who is always sourcing affiliated products for stories, all you need is a great product that wins their favor. They’re going to include products they love because they have to include products daily. Affiliate is never make or break – if an editor loves a product they will find a way to include, regardless of the affiliate or not. But affiliates mean they can mention a product whenever its relevant not just when its pertinent.
 
This could be the difference between one mention and multiple mentions per month. Example: A beloved CBD & CBN capsule that isn’t included on an affiliate network will definitely get included in “Best CBD for Sleep” because it’s hyper relevant and consumers need to know about this product.  However if that product is also now on Skimlinks, it will be included in roundups of “Travel Essentials,” “Sleep essentials,” “Best things for a night time routine,” and “best CBD for wellness”. Many more doors open with affiliate marketing.
 
If you’re looking to explore affiliate marketing for your brand, I suggest starting with Skimlinks and work your way out. ShareASale and Skimlinks are the names I’ve heard the most from commerce departments. Well besides Amazon, but my vice clients are often limited here. If you have a custom affiliate link program – it may help with boutique outlets but your publicist probably won’t spend hours trying to set up affiliate networks. If you’re interested in PR for with affiliate marketing, and get on either a ShareASale or Skimlinks. Every one of my clients has seen the ROI on the monthly / annual fee. [Disclaimer: I wish I was paid by Skimlinks/ShareASale for this post]