3 Tips for PR Success

No matter what level you’re at in your career, it’s never too soon to start thinking about how to gain more attention for your talents.  

This is why, right now…I want to encourage you to spend some time really thinking about where you’re at and where you want to be. Figure out your goals and then start to create a game plan for achieving them. 

Seriously, you all work so hard at booking jobs and creating your own projects, that it pains me to see when you overlook opportunities to share your successes with the world. I most of the time…it’s simply because you don’t know where to start when it comes to adding PR to your career strategy.

So, I want to set you up for a buzz building win with:

 

3 Tips for PR Success

 

1. Define Your PR Goals

 

One of the first questions I ask a client is: what is your PR goal? Many of you then share with me that you want to get more bookings, better auditions, new Reps, funding for your film, or some other career ambition. And, while these are terrific career goals…they do not answer my question.

What I’m interested in learning is if you’ve actually thought about what your goal is for PR? Unfortunately, the answer I usually get is: I don’t know. And, that’s what I want to change.

I think it’s very important for you to put some energy into determining exactly what you want to gain by incorporating some PR into your career this year. 

For example:

– Do you want to land an article in EW.com?
– Are you looking to get your project into the industry Trades?
– How about a Q&A interview in your hometown paper?
– Would you like to get a critic to review for your latest short film?
– Is there a particular podcast that you want to be a guest on?

These are just some of the examples of what you might be interested in achieving. And, the more specific you get about what you want…the easier it will be to create a game plan to help take you there.

 

2. Get Your PR Tools In Order

 

Do yourself a favor…and get your promotional tools in tip-top shape. I’m talking about your personal website, biography, social media accounts, photos, video clips…and anything else that might help you promote your work.

Not only are these tools great for helping you land more opportunities…but they can play a key role in helping you secure some publicity. How? Well, most Reporters like to do their homework. So, whether they’re still considering your story idea or prepping to write an article about you…they usually want more information. They like to watch clips of your previous work, read about your background and simply put a face to the name that’s just come across their desk.

Most Reporters have tight deadlines, so the longer you make them wait to receive the information…the greater chance they’ll have to move onto another story. Do yourself a favor and get everything ready to be shared at a moment’s notice.

And, I can’t stress enough…keep everything current! It’s always disappointing to go to someone’s website and notice that it hasn’t been updated for over a year. One idea to help keep it feeling fresh is to add a “news” section to the homepage and post something new a couple times a month. Or, if that’s not working for you…then try embedding your Twitter or other social feed on a section of your homepage. This is an easy trick to make it feel current…as long as you’re continuing to post socially.

 

3. Understand How The Press Works

 

How can you expect to gain attention from the press if you don’t understand how it works? Of course, there are too many outlets to know all the in’s and out’s of each one…so pick 5-10 outlets and start researching those by reading them on a regular basis.

First, pay attention to the type of news they cover – entertainment, breaking news, industry business, indie films, general news or more. This is important in helping you understand exactly which outlets will have interest in you and your work at the various stages in your career. For instance, Variety is more attracted to stories that share details about the business side of show business, like casting announcements, funding, deals, etc. Whereas, FilmAndTVNow.com wants to details about films and TV shows currently streaming; and IndieWire is looking for unique stories about independent filmmakers and their projects.

Also, keep track of the Reporters whose stories you like to read. The more you appreciate what they do…the better informed you’ll be at how to approach them with your story idea. Recognizing how and when your idea might fit what a specific Reporter writes about will go a long way to landing coverage. And, before reaching out to a Reporter, always ask yourself: why will their audience/readers be interested in my story? Your answer could become the basis of your story idea pitch.

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Overall, I want to encourage you to take time to determine exactly how you can incorporate PR into your career. The industry is full of incredibly talents individuals, so it’s more important than ever that you start building your buzz right now.

THANKS!