Having started my career in journalism, I can relate to how painful it can feel for a reporter to deal with PR people. They can be overly demanding, pitch things that they know nothing about, and on top of that, pitch topics to reporters that are completely NOT relevant to the reporter’s beat – all major no-no’s in the PR industry.

However, there’s something more to working with the media than just doing your basic PR job right. As the landscape has shifted a bit, and we start to deal with entities outside traditional media (such as bloggers and influential customers) it is even MORE important to step it up in the niceness factor with these guys. Not only are you talking to a reporter who could end up writing a story about your company, you also could potentially be talking to the actual end-user who will ultimately buy your product – and well, that’s the bottom line to success.

We’ve all heard these tips before, but I think it is a good reminder to keep these things in mind as you work with reporters, influencers, bloggers, analysts, customers, etc. – these days, it could be anyone!!

• TIP #1: Take 5-10 minutes to read a few posts on their blog. What is their blog about? Duh! Where are they from? I was reading up on a BPM blogger the other day and realized that they went to UT (go Horns!!) and ended up striking up a conversation with him that way. Trust me, they have lives outside of what they write about….if you can touch upon those interests, they will be more likely to respond to you later.
• TIP #2: Skip the mass emails. When you send them an email, make it personal and focused. Did you change XXX to their actual name?? Sounds stupid, but you would be surprised how often reporters get emails with “Hello, XXX” instead of their name or even relevant info.
• TIP #3: Don’t just tell them they should be interested in your product; tell them WHY your product is a good fit for their blog.
• TIP $4: Don’t stalk them. If they are interested in your story, they will say so. Do you like getting sales calls to your cell phone on a consistent basis? Probably not. Send them an email; follow up with a phone call. And remember, it is totally valid to ask them why they’re not interested (if they say they’re not interested), or find out what might have piqued their interest more. It shows that you care about what they do by finding out what they like and what they’re working on.
• TIP #5: Don’t try to influence their story!!! At least in a blatant sense. Your opinion is best kept to yourself. You think your product is great because you get paid to think that. Let the blogger express their own opinions and views about it. They will trust you more in the long run.

Remember bloggers and reporters are creative, opinionated, and intelligent people – just like you! They appreciate being treated like normal human beings, not just the other end of a business transaction.