Missed our February Top Tier Talk? Here's the Recording!

We talked PR/writer scams, pitching "I tried it" stories, group vs. solo visit press trips, how to make expert sources stand out and more!

Hi all.

Thanks to those who attended yesterday’s Top Tier Talk and asked such great questions. We covered a lot.

Here’s a quick preview of all the great topics we dove into:

• What holidays writers are working on stories for now

• How important is the newness of a product when considering it for holiday gift guide piece? What if it’s a product that’s been around for a while? How do you make it appealing?

• PR/writer scams to watch out for

• How to pitch for topics like International Women's Day, Women's History Month or Female Founders Day?

• Creative ways you have (or you've seen brands) leveraged earned media

• How to pitch parenting experts

• The best way to approach pitching first-person I tried this style stories

• The best ways today to propose connecting with media at relevant trade shows

• The most important factors to include when pitching unique expert quotes from a medical professional client

• How to pitch a vodka brand that is not a household name

• The best way to introduce new clients in this crazy world

• The effectiveness of media alerts about events for use in their roundups? Mostly for local media about things like Easter brunch or Valentine's dinner etc.

• What is most important when looking for an expert source to provide comment for a piece

• Standout examples of a brand going through a rebrand that a PR Pro has shared with us

• When saying a food product is healthy, what is the best way to support that?

• AI’s impact on journalism/PR

• How to pitch a prospective trend piece about reading

• What gift guides should product brands be preparing for right now?

• Are journalists open to deskside pitching anymore?

• Group press trips vs. individual visits

• Can you email a writer directly if you are replying to a HARO/Qwoted query?

Below, you’ll find the link to watch yesterday’s
Top Tier Talk.

As a reminder: We’re doing these chats monthly and they are offered to all paid members — it’s a great way to connect with us and hear from other publicists who are facing the same obstacles you are! Let’s all troubleshoot together!

As a Substack subscriber, you’ll have access to:

• Our weekly newsletters

• Our extensive archive of paid posts

• Attend/participate in our monthly Zoom Top Tier Talks

• Discounts on all our most popular group workshops

Also here are some Substacks recommended in today’s session to check out if you haven’t yet:

Top Tier's Top Tips to Kick Off 2024: Start the New Year Strong with These 17 PR Best Practices

We Receive Pitches Every Day that Say "X product/topic is trending." But Is it REALLY?

State of the Media Industry: An Update on Editorial Layoffs + Whether ChatGPT is to Blame

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.