Ask us anything PR!

Have a question about how to plan a PR campaign? Want to know how to best approach the media? Have a story about your business but not sure what media outlet you should pitch it to? Email us with your question - we reply to all emails, and will post our responses to common questions on this page so that fellow small business owners may benefit.

Email: question@mybusinesspr.com.au

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Submitted May 23, 2007 by Sophie (NSW)
I am just putting together a 12 month media plan.  My question is whether the media prefer to receive media releases in fax or email format?

Most media outlets these days prefer to receive information via email – and all of the major publications and TV/radio stations will have personal email addresses for each journalist – so you can target specific contacts. There would be very few that still operate on fax only (and most of these would be country area community newspapers). If we’re ever in doubt (ie. If it’s a rural publication or a small media outlet that only seems to have one general email address), we will usually fax it through as well, attentioning it to the particular person we want to receive the info. Whenever you can target a specific journalist (who you know the information is relevant to) it is much better.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Submitted March 15, 2007 by K.Buttler (VIC)
I have a story idea I want to send to Cleo magazine about Christmas shopping. How far in advance should I send it through to them? Also, I've looked on their website and they only have a webform to contact them. Who do I send it to and how do I get their email address?

Cleo is a monthly magazine, so it's usually best to send it at least 2-3 months in advance. The issue will come out in December, so you'd want to contact them in September or early October. Buy a few copies of Cleo and decide where in the magazine you think your story would best be placed - it should say who the editor of that section is. Ring the main phone number and ask for this person's email address. It's better to send the information directly to that journalist, rather than to a general email address where it may get lost in the crowd.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Submitted February 02, 2007 by M.Sutherland (NSW)
How should I plan out a PR strategy? I have no idea where to start.

It’s best to plan in six month blocks and choose one story idea to focus on each month (any more and you will struggle to maintain PR focus while also running your own business!).

Look at the next 6 months:
- What events are coming up in your business?
- What issues are hot in your industry?
- What holidays and events are happening that you could tie a story in with?
- What planned feature topics are coming up in publications?
- What story ideas do you have that you feel comfortable about pursing now? Do you have the information available to back it up?

Although other opportunities may arise (eg. an opportunity to comment on an unexpected event in the industry) it’s best to plan as though they will not happen and adjust your plan when they do.

Take a few quiet hours (or hold a mini workshop in your business) and sketch out how the next six months of PR work will look. What story ideas do you have, and what type of publications from your contact list will you target each story to? Do you need to expand your contact list for a particular story idea?