A huge PR Secret - from an editor's perspective

Lisa Baker, Editor, Employer News

As an Editor/Publisher who receives over 500 emails every day, I'm often asked what gets my attention - so is there some magic formula to doing that?

Most of the 500 find their way to the trash folder, so it's a fair question - and many of them are excellent, well written articles.

There are a few things that help to get my attention, such as: 

  • knowing and trusting the PR who sent the piece in,

  • strong brand authority,

  • being personally addressed in the email.

However, even if it's a completely cold pitch, I will give most submissions a cursory glance - so what's the biggest reason for 490 emails hitting my trash every day?

The biggest reason for rejecting a news or thought leadership story is one simple thing - the company submitting the story were focusing on what THEIR COMPANY wanted to say rather than what MY AUDIENCE would be interested in reading. 

In the case of Employer News, that audience is HR - and here's what I've learned about my audience:

  • HR are consummate professionals who take what they do very seriously

  • HR don't find endless technical data interesting - they want to know what affects them and their people

  • HR are interested in being educated, supported or informed.

Many of the pitches I get focus heavily on their product, going into great detail about features, benefits and so on, but the audience will have closed the window and moved on at paragraph one. As an Editor, I do the same.

No matter how great you think your product is, editorial is very different to sales. News and industry publications exist purely to keep our readers entertained - and as Editors, we cannot afford to forget that. 

If I could share one single secret to getting editorial coverage, it would be write with your audience in mind. 

It's not about you. 

Keep your HR audience at the forefront of everything you write, and you'll generate attention for all the right reasons. 

I attended a marketing event a few years ago - the speaker said best marketing practice could be summed up in three golden rules. These could be equally applied to PR:

  • Which target audience are you trying to reach?

  • What message do you need to convey?

  • What is the best way to get their attention?

PR should be about building trust and reputation, not sales. Build trust and the long-term sales will take care of themselves.

Whatever you write, look to inform, educate, support on HR issues that are relevant to your brand. 

Some PRs get this right, every time. In a sea of 500 emails, whether fair or not, I read their emails first - for one good reason. My audience will enjoy reading their stories.

To learn more #PRSecrets, follow the PR in HR blog here: https://www.prinhr.co.uk/news-and-views

Kay Phelps