The two emerging media-relations skills every PR pro needs

Just calling up a reporter won’t work anymore. You need to adopt these approaches. And don’t worry, we’ll explain how with tons of tips.

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You want more publicity, don’t you?

Whether it’s for yourself, your organization, or the clients you represent, more publicity is a good thing. For many PR professionals, it’s what attracted us to media relations in the first place. It was pure magic the first time I read an article in print that was the result of a story I pitched.

The landscape has changed since that pitch. In 2013, there are two media relations tactics that will prove most effective for you: inbound and real-time media relations.

Smile and dial is dead

Let’s agree that the smile and dial approach doesn’t work anymore. In the example I shared, I used the smile and dial approach to land that first placement. Back then, if you called enough reporters, you would eventually find a few of them willing to listen to your pitch—and perhaps one or two that would write a story.

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