Now that PR's dark secret is out in the open, it is going to be very interesting to see how a lot of PR agencies survive over the next few years as more and more clients want editorial results. Back to Basics Not everyone is prepared to go back to basics. Oh sure, a lot of agencies will continue to prosper by being marketing partners with their clients, but the majority of us will have to rely on the academics of PR to make a good living. We are going to have to show our clients at the end of each month exactly what we did for them to earn our retainers. It takes a certain kind of personality to get on the telephone, make cold calls and handle the rejection.
Many people compare it to sales because that's exactly what it is, selling.
It's a difficult process, even for the most seasoned experts. A PR pitch person has to love the end reward of producing a major story for his or her client to go through the steps of finding that certain editor or TV producer who will accept the suggested editorial. The good news is that there are steps we can take to better our chances in securing editorial hits as we go back to basics. A lot of PR agencies know the drill already but few are willing to follow the discipline. For some reason, I never minded pitching the press.