CNN producer’s dream publicist

One of the other presenters at a PR training conference I spoke at a couple weeks ago was Marie Malzberg, Senior Editorial Producer at CNN.

She said, “I do count on the great publicists in my life.”

Whenever you hear an influencer say something like that, you have the chance to open a rarely available window and get an insight for some REAL PR training.

I asked her to close her eyes and picture one of those great publicists. She played along. Then I asked, “What does she do to earn that status in your life, Marie?”

She watches, Marie responded. And then she elaborated on how helpful the anonymous Great Publicist is in suggesting subjects to discuss on CNN and guests who can discuss them. All because of those simple first two words of her response: she watches.

It will never stop being astounding to you how simply you can differentiate yourself from the hordes of PR people competing for journalists’ precious attention. If you merely consistently consume the content your target influencers produce, you will naturally stand out from the crowd. So much so that the first thing that impresses a top tier influencer is that someone consistently watches her show!

Yes, you can probably guess that an outlet listed in your database as a “tech” web site covers smartphone apps.

But too often, PR pros will do something like offer a bylined article to an outlet that doesn’t accept contributed content. Or send the bylined article to the wrong editor. Yes, it’s not just the topic that matters – it’s also the format.

A high-profile blogger once complained to me that almost every pitch he gets ends with an offer to make the CEO available for an interview. “Michael,” he huffed. “I have 1,846 posts on my site. Not a single one of them includes a quote from another person.”

This type of fluid working knowledge preserves your status as the EXPERT in this process. Clients and bosses aren’t close to the ever-changing news cycle, but you are. So YOU get to educate them as to what’s feasible and what’s the best path to get there.

Don’t have this knowledge yet? You have two options:

A. Consume the media you want to pitch and start contacting the influencers yourself. This appears time-intensive on its face, and it DOES require an investment of effort, but there are ways to expedite and optimize it.

B. Buy the knowledge of someone who already has it – engage a freelancer or PR agency on the basis of their current media contacts.

Option B is a fine way to get results right now, if that’s what’s paramount for you. I coach a lot of agency reps and solo pros who are really good at what they do.

Choosing Option A is personally initiated PR training you can control. You'll create long-term assets that will boost your career and allow you to create the life you want outside of work. That’s what we’re about in the Smart PR Inner Circle.