10 Ways to Become a Writer's Go-To Source
Want to become that publicist who writers want to work with again and again? Here's how!
Happy Thursday, Top Tier community!
Our MOST POPULAR group workshop in 2023 was our Pitch Perfecting workshop … and we’re bringing it back this month! We’ve updated our presentation to add even more goodies (including a ton more examples of pitch subject lines we love!), so this is truly our most comprehensive workshop yet.
Here’s just one testimonial from the many we received after our last session:
“Jill and Nicole: I have been getting a TON of press due to your help! I've used your advice to court a national reporter and got a national story from it! I've used your ideas to respond to a tweet from the Washington Post and that story is running soon. I've received a ton of local Press too! I'm in love with your pitching help. Your coaching is truly life-changing. I really appreciate the extra time to help me refine my pitch; it really made a difference, and gave me the confidence I needed. I can't thank you enough.” — Sally Simon, Gr8 Ideas PR
We hope to see you there … sign-ups are open, just click the button below for details!
Don’t Miss Our Upcoming Top Tier Talk: March 14th
This will be an open forum where you can ask anything. We can discuss pitching, the outlets we contribute to, seasonal gift guides, sources/experts, best practices, writer pet peeves, interviews, products, deadlines, affiliate programs and more!
All we request is that you RSVP and include at least one question in the Google doc linked below, so that we can ensure we can prepare and use our time most efficiently!
As a reminder, our Top Tier Talks are an extra perk for paid subscribers … once you upgrade your subscription, you’ll also have access to ALL of our monthly Talks and paid content moving forward (and you’ll have access to the archives, and there’s a ton of topics we’ve done deep dives on), plus discounts on our group workshops.
Recording Available: Become a Journalist's BFF Workshop (All Our Best Tricks and Tips!)
Did you miss our Become a Journalist's BFF: Networking and Relationship Management" workshop last month?
We went through our entire 50-minute presentation on best practices when it comes to meeting new journalists, networking with journalists, and becoming a writer’s go-to source.
Then we had a robust Q&A and discussion that was SO GOOD that we ended up going way past the initial hour.
It’s not too late to get caught up!
Haven’t Taken a 1:1 Session with Jill & Nicole Yet? What Are You Waiting For?
Here’s a reminder of the sessions we offer, both to agencies and solo/freelance publicists:
All Your Questions Answered Session
Have a bunch of questions you’ve been dying to ask two top-tier journalists? Here’s your chance to learn about what goes on behind the scenes. Book a panel with us and prepare your list. You’ll walk away with all of your questions answered, plus we’ll sprinkle in our best practices throughout the session to help give you (and your clients!) an edge in this highly competitive media landscape.
Pitch Perfecting Strategy Session
Ready to take your pitches to the next level? Or are you wondering why certain pitches aren’t getting much response? Learn how to take your emails from, “Here’s a client I represent,” to “Here’s a story idea you can’t possibly turn down.” Between the two of us, we receive thousands of pitches per week, so we have many tips — and examples — of what works and what doesn’t. From coming up with the perfect email subject line to improve your open rates to sealing the deal with your closing remarks, your word choices matter throughout the entire pitch. We’ll help you perfect them … and we’ll workshop some of your actual pitches too!
Become a Journalist’s BFF: Networking and Relationship Management Session
Some publicists seem to have a transactional “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am” approach to their work, but highly successful publicists know that building long-term relationships with journalists is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Learn how to meet new journalists, and discover best practices for staying in touch, following up, and creating meaningful relationships. You’ll also discover how to become a writer’s go-to source, how to stand out when answering a writer’s call for sources (whether that’s on HARO, a FB group, Twitter, or Substack), how to avoid common writer pet peeves and more.
Press Package 101 Session
Looking to mail out samples of your clients’ products in hopes of landing coverage? Great, but there’s a list of things you should know before dropping them off at the post office — things like planning, packaging, and communications will make all the difference in your ROI. We’ll help you make your packages more enticing, while actually saving your clients money in the process. And we’ll discuss how to target the right audiences, how to handle post-delivery follow-ups, and more.
Press Trips Invites and Itineraries Session
The two most important aspects of pulling off a successful press trip are nailing your invites and itineraries. First, we’ll dive into journalist targeting and invitation etiquette do’s and don’ts. Then, you’ll learn how to build a press trip itinerary that will actually land you coverage. We’ll focus on striking the perfect blend between offering media the chance to experience a destination, while zeroing in on quality and unique experiences that can lead to coverage — and help you find that elusive balance between keeping writers entertained vs. not overbooking them.
Hosting the Perfect Virtual and/or In-Person Media Event Session
Events are efficient ways to connect with a lot of media in one setting. During these sessions, you’ll learn the ins and outs of how to create a media event that journalists will A) Want to attend B) Will stay engaged at C) Will work into coverage. We’ll teach you how to target the ideal attendees who are there for article ideas and not just the free swag. We’ll talk venues, guest lists, and what to say in your presentation, plus how to coach your clients to interact with media at events in the most beneficial way.
Your Custom Session
The above options are just a sample of topics, based on questions we get asked about most frequently. But if you have something you’d love to discuss that you don’t see on the list, we’re happy to create a custom session around it. Let’s dive deeper!
Interested in hearing more? Email us at info@toptierconsulting.NET.
This weeks’s topic: Becoming a Writer’s Go-To Source
One of the most asked questions in our Top Tier Talks is: What makes a writer want to work with a publicist again and again?
We love this question, because writers ALSO want to build those long-term relationships. Writers LOVE having publicists they can count on! It makes our jobs easier … so trust us, we all have the same goal as you!
Some publicists inadvertently do things that turn a writer off from working with them, while others just seem to excel in this department. We have been asked this a lot in recent weeks, which inspired us to do a deep dive into this topic for this week’s newsletter. So here are our top 10 tips for what the publicists writers work with over and over again have in common:
1. The interactions are positive
Thankfully 99% of the publicists we interact with as writers are friendly, professional and understanding — but there is definitely that 1% that take a different approach.
Writers have had publicists try to argue with them and challenge their decisions when they tell them that a source isn’t right for the article they’re working on. Writers have to choose sources that will make their editors happy and when they say someone isn’t a fit, the decision was made with what’s best for the article/reader in mind.
Sometimes a writer will put a link to a source’s website into a story but their editors will remove it. An editor may change the title of an article after it goes live. An editor may even completely cut a source out from the story. At the end of the day, we realize those things are incredibly frustrating, but much of this is out of a writer’s control. Please don’t send your wrath (or your client’s wrath) a writer’s way.
And if there is a typo or something missing in a source’s title, please send a polite email to a writer and ask them to change it. All writers have had their fair share of angry emails in situations like these. Trust us, going back to our editors to tell them we need them to make a correction in an article is stressful. Having a publicist be mean about it makes that so much worse. And sometimes it wasn’t even a writer’s fault … an editor may have changed something that was correct when they submitted it.
Polite, professional, positive … this is what leaves a lasting impression with writers.
Shoot, there’s a paywall and NINE MORE TIPS beyond it! Not a paying member? Here’s what you’re missing out on:
Full access to our weekly newsletters
Access to our extensive archive of paid posts on every PR topic under the sun
The ability to attend/participate in our monthly Zoom Top Tier Talks
Discounts on all our most popular group workshops (like our upcoming Pitch Perfecting Workshop)
*Note: Our consulting sessions, workshops, Zooms and Substack newsletters are strictly educational. Signing up for anything has no bearing on landing coverage in any of our outlets. Our role is to fine-tune your approach and tactics so that you can apply these learnings when pitching other journalists.