Making more of PR

Every professional works hard to get coverage in the media. And it can be a great platform for showing your expertise to your expertise to potential new clients as well as reaffirming your credentials with your existing clients.

But how can you be sure that those clients have seen your commentary or analysis or thought capital? Most of them, like us, are very busy individuals who would like to be able to spend time reading the business or professional media from cover-to-cover, but for whom time is just too tight. And so just hoping that they've seen your article is not doing enough to capitalise on the investment you made to get it placed.

So here's an idea.

As part of your ongoing business development programme why not make a copy of the article and send it to your target or existing clients?

Firstly, make sure you have permission from the journal. Most editors are more than happy to send you nicely presented, hard copies of the article that you can send to the client with the request that you attribute where it was published. A perfectly reasonable quid pro quo.

Otherwise, if the publication can be found on the web, then email your client a link to it. BUT do make sure that when they try to read it that they don't have to pay to read it!

And if your PR has been covered in multiple journals, make sure that you use the one that is most appropriate to your client. For example, if your article has been covered in the Banker and the Grocer, think about sending the Grocer's version to your client at Waitrose.

And, as long as the information is relevant, a short "wrote this and thought you might be interested" accompanying letter might be all the introduction you need to get back in touch with that (potential) client.

the Heresiarch
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