Ask HN: Which books/blogs on PR would you recommend?
1 comments
Eons ago i was listening to a Jason Calacanis podcast and he gave an amazing insight: You should always do your own PR. At first I thought this was unfair as Jason is a genius at self promotion which is a gift few geeks have, but then he spelled out his technique which I actually wrote down:
1. Make friends in the press BEFORE you pitch
2. Is your story better than anything on techmeme?
3. ...then look for writers in your space
4. Leave a smart comment on a story (i.e. linkbait)
5. Do a blog to linkbait (take your comment and blow it up to a post) this is because journalists obsess over the comments
6. ...do the same with twitter
7. Learn from cluetrain manefesto, it's about a conversation
8. Journalists hate PR people
9. Obsess about your market, know EVERYTHING about your space with anything less is more (don't do a long press release), use a casual tone and just write 5 words (i.e. a ping mail)
1. Make friends in the press BEFORE you pitch
2. Is your story better than anything on techmeme?
3. ...then look for writers in your space
4. Leave a smart comment on a story (i.e. linkbait)
5. Do a blog to linkbait (take your comment and blow it up to a post) this is because journalists obsess over the comments
6. ...do the same with twitter
7. Learn from cluetrain manefesto, it's about a conversation
8. Journalists hate PR people
9. Obsess about your market, know EVERYTHING about your space with anything less is more (don't do a long press release), use a casual tone and just write 5 words (i.e. a ping mail)
thanks a lot, very insightful. Had actually never heard about Jason Calacanis. Will check out his podcast and his blog, looks quite interesting :-) !
Would you remember any other blog/book/recommendation you read at the time ... ?
Would you remember any other blog/book/recommendation you read at the time ... ?
Here are my quick thoughts:
- Do a search on each big blog for "why I hate PR people" and learn from those mistakes (there is an infamous one on TechCrunch from Arrington)
- If you want to learn the basics just get a book like "PR for Dummies" to learn the 101
- In my own experience with PR you need to care about results: If that's the case unless you are willing to invest the time and have the skills there is actual value to hiring a PR pro. If you look at Apple back in the day Regis McKenna really helped to put them on the map (http://www.regis.com). When you hire a good PR person what they bring to the table is a good rolodex, not the ability to pump out press releases and the like. The rolodex and the doors that open are what you're paying for IMHO.
- Do a search on each big blog for "why I hate PR people" and learn from those mistakes (there is an infamous one on TechCrunch from Arrington)
- If you want to learn the basics just get a book like "PR for Dummies" to learn the 101
- In my own experience with PR you need to care about results: If that's the case unless you are willing to invest the time and have the skills there is actual value to hiring a PR pro. If you look at Apple back in the day Regis McKenna really helped to put them on the map (http://www.regis.com). When you hire a good PR person what they bring to the table is a good rolodex, not the ability to pump out press releases and the like. The rolodex and the doors that open are what you're paying for IMHO.
great advise! Thanks a lot!
Thanks a lot in advance for your help!