The fallacy of “working hard versus working smart”

The fallacy in the subject line isn’t the distinction between working hard and working smart.

It’s the word “versus.” To be successful in PR, you gotta do both. Some examples:

Earned media

Are you subscribed to On Background? If you pitch media, this counts as working smart. I got a paid subscription last year and can't believe how much intel they squeeze into every edition. Tanya and Emilie regularly pitch top-tier journalists, and they share media moves and insights they pick up from their work. It's all highly actionable, relevant stuff. Their curation of key journalist job changes is worth the subscription alone, IMO.

Yes, you could spend hours tracking those journalists yourself. But you’re better off letting Tanya and Emilie handle it, freeing you up for the hard work only you can do: crafting 1:1 email pitches and following up diplomatically and persistently.

Thought leadership

Last week I was talking with a PR pro who shares your dream of building a bank of experts within her organization who will jump at the chance to co-create blog posts, videos and podcasts. Her biggest challenge? Getting busy experts to respond to emails, let alone create content.

The “work smart” approach means ditching the chase and creating a honeypot that draws them in. You put together a lunch or dinner meeting with the title, “[Organization]’s Most-Cited Thought Leaders Share Tips and Best Practices.” Work hard to do whatever it takes to secure commitments from two experts everyone else looks up to. Use their names for social proof, and RSVPs will flow in. Cap the gathering at 10-12 people. The exclusive feel will make the experts excited to attend, instead of obligated.

Once they commit, ask them individually to arrive an hour early or stay after to brainstorm a blog post, shoot a video or record a podcast with your teammates. If all goes well, you’ll lock in two quarters of content in one day.

It’s not “lazy,” it’s smart

Last week four inches (12 cm) of heavy, wet snow buried my driveway. My neighbors were furiously shoveling theirs as night fell. But I checked my weather app and saw, unusually, the overnight low was going to be 35 degrees F (2 C). So I ate dinner, watched Eva Longoria’s Searching for Mexico with my wife and went to bed.

By lunchtime the next day, my driveway was as clear as my neighbors’.

May you have the same satisfaction in your PR work as I did at that moment ;).