Publicists Can Broaden Your Writing Range

2010 just might be remembered by me as the Year of the Publicist.

No, I’m not a publicist. But, I have connected with quite a few people who are over the course of the past few months–professionals who are eager to tap my network of blogs to help promote their clients and/or products. That’s good, because it helps me get my work done.

My main area of writing expertise is in the automotive industry, but I also cover campus and consumer-related topics on various websites and blogs. Any assistance I can get along the way is certainly welcome.

Publicist Defined

So, what exactly is a publicist? I’ll use Merriam-Webster’s second definition of that term to explain: “… one that publicizes; specifically : press agent.”

Publicists can work in any industry. Their job is support one or more clients by getting the news out through various media events, press kits or directly by contacting people who might be interested in that news. Granted, their reason for doing what they do is centered on helping a client, but those who are experts at their craft know that the recipient plays a critical role in disseminating information.

Publicist Assistance

What can a publicist do for you? Many things including the following:

Share breaking news about a company, person or product. This is helpful for me because in order for me to be relevant I need news that is timely. Announcing the release of a new product after the fact doesn’t help my cause. I must maintain an edge in my reporting, something a good publicist can help me accomplish.

Connect you with the source. You can write about someone, but the best thing is to connect with your source directly. A publicist can arrange an interview for you, perhaps much faster than you can pull off on your own. Let the publicist provide an important edge in reporting or story development.

Think outside of the box. The best publicist is the one who goes beyond your needs, perhaps adding a tidbit of information or suggesting an angle for you to pursue as you develop your story. That’s important because you can’t know everything going into an interview. A publicist should be in the loop and willing to help you develop a winning story.

Publicist Problems

Of course, there are some downsides in working with a publicist including:

Publicists get paid for spreading the news. If you pick up a story suggested by a publicist, then they get paid for what you wrote.  That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can mean you’ll be sent lots of irrelevant information.  Too much unrelated data means you’ll have to shift through some nonsense.

You’re not always treated as an individual. I’m amazed that some publicists contact me without making an attempt to get to know me.  I can’t tell you how many times I get queries addressed generally such as “Dear Journalist” or in some other generalized manner. Why bother? I almost always ignore that information.

The gatekeeper who doesn’t lift the gate. I understand that publicists need to protect their clients, but making it difficult to make contact with an important player doesn’t do anyone any good.  Geoff Williams, writing for Writer’s Digest said that sometimes “…publicists forget that they’re not the story.” Yes, sometimes you have to go over a publicist’s head in order to craft your story.

Negative News

Don’t expect a publicist to share negative news about their client. They are in the business to share information that is positive. Off the record, you may get some feedback they wouldn’t say officially, but be tactful by not attributing that information to the publicist.

Build relationships with publicists, not walls.

You Want To Pull In Readers? Tell A Story.

Copywriters know that one of the most important ways to attract people to an article is to write a jam up headline. Admittedly, I’m not the best at doing this as I believe others are gifted with a flair for the dramatic and thus it seems to come easy for them. Then again if you work at it, your headline can pull people in and once you have their attention your opening paragraph will either hook or chase away your readers.

What Lillie Had To Say

What is one of the best ways to capture readers? That's easy -- share with them an interesting personal story.

Last week, I visited Lillie Ammann’s blog and was treated to a delightful article that was far different from what I had expected to find. I’ve “known” Lillie for several years now, an accomplished writer and editor from Texas who is an encourager as well as a very good Christian witness. Lillie truly cares about her readers, acknowledging everyone who stops over by responding to their comments on an individual basis and posting a monthly wrap up where she thanks each commentator by name.

Lillie, who often shares instructive advice including how to sell a book, methods on how to improve your writing, or ways to accomplish a goal, recently decided to share with her readers a personal story about how she began to work with plants (greenery). I’m not going to spoil her write up – you can find it here – but I will tell you that I learned more about Lillie through that one story than I had in all of her previous accounts combined.

What was the difference this time? Lillie wrote a personal narrative.

Readers seem to like it when you write a narrative which is a fancy word for telling a story. It must be my Irish background that has me enjoying story-telling because when it comes to spinning a yarn, the Irish seem particularly good at it. In fact I know that they are – my Irish American father would often share an account from many years earlier and my mother would point out his embellishments! Still, his stories were always interesting, lively and certainly captivating!

Headlines And Opening Paragraphs

After coming up with a good headline, you’ll need to create a powerful opening paragraph that gets the attention of your reader. There is nothing worse than finding that the story fails to appeal in the very first paragraph – you have just one shot to get it right or otherwise risk losing your readers.

How you tell your story is up to you, but you have to give people reason to keep reading. Your story should build as it goes along with each point connecting until you reach the end. Some writers describe this process as setting the stage where you begin to build tension (anticipation) as you move forward.

Taking A Look Ahead

I must tell you that when I read a short story – especially if it is a good one — I will sometimes stop what I’m doing to take a peak at the ending. Not so much to spoil a good narrative, but in order to gauge how the writer plans on getting me through the various steps until the story’s conclusion. I’ll go back and finish reading the story just the way that it was meant to be read, but I’m a student of good writing and love how an accomplished writer weaves his or her tapestry to produce their masterpiece.

Of course, if your story has some sort of sales component to it, then ending with a call to action is important. In any case, you want your readers to absorb what you’ve written, taking in the story as a whole while enjoying the finer points which is exactly what Lillie managed to execute with her green thumb narrative.

Photo Credit: Horton Group