Why You Need a Year-End Press Release—Now

Whatever your business is, it’s time to start working on a year-end press release to be distributed in mid- to late December.

Think you don’t have anything to say? Think again.

Newspapers, radio and television stations, and bloggers are all doing stories on the economy in late December and early January. Experts with views on national and global outlooks are plentiful. Experts on the economy in your community or your industry tend to be few and far between. They aren’t listed in the telephone directory – or almost any other directory – either, making it hard for reporters to identify them.

You are, however, an expert on how your business is doing. Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking about possible press releases:

• · Do you sell office supplies? How has the past year year been, and what are you expecting for next year? You have valid personal observations on what you are seeing in your business.
• · Do you repair appliances or cars or just about anything else? Are more people keeping their older appliances longer? Or are more people likely to buy a new appliance rather than make major repairs?
• · Are you a medical professional? Are your patients having to make larger out-of-pocket payments as their employers cut back on health insurance? Are you seeing more patients who no longer have group policies? How is this impacting you – and them?
• · What products and services to you offer? Which ones are showing sales increases and why?

In other words, if you are in business and you have customers, you are doing something of interest to the community. It’s a good time to share your story.

Pro Bono Public Relations for Nonprofits: 7 Questions Agencies Ask (Part 2)

These are some of the questions a public relations agency will consider in accepting a pro bono client. Other questions were in last week’s blog.

5. Do the nonprofit respect my skills? For example, if I tell them that I need specific information for a press release or to pitch a story, will they believe me? Placing stories is not a matter of calling up a reporter and saying, “I have a good story; come on over tomorrow at 3.” A reporter or editor needs facts. No PR firm wants to issue press releases that don’t meet professional standards, even for a very deserving charity. Questions from people trying to understand the process and suggestions are always welcome. But when a nonprofit seeks my help and then declines to follow my advice, it’s time for a change. A city council member I know said it best: “There are all sorts of people who want my advice for free. Why should I keep meeting with people who never take it?”

6. Does the nonprofit have a staff member or volunteer who will coordinate requests for services and approvals and mediate between different opinions on what the press release should say and what press releases are needed? This is a necessity to keep costs under control (for paying clients, too).

7. Are the nonprofit’s board members and major donors likely to refer paying clients to me? If they develop a larger budget, are they going to start paying me or will they give the account to the vice president’s brother, who was too busy to do it pro bono? The first question should never be the main criteria, but referrals of paying clients definitely help cement a relationship. And my firm and many of my colleagues can tell stories of times that we’ve been competent enough to do the work when a nonprofit that needed free help, but not competent enough once they developed a budget.

You may be surprised that I have not focused on whether the agency supports the cause. That’s a given, but I’ve rarely met a charity I didn’t like. The more important question usually becomes where donated time can do the most good, and the working relationship is often the biggest factor in determining that.

Finally, the question is whether the agency can afford the time. Almost all public relations agencies, including mine, believe in donating some professional help. But there is a cost. We all know that if we go overboard on pro bono work, we’re likely to end up with an unsuccessful business and the ability to help no one. So please remember that if you ask for help, you are almost always asking for a four- or five-figure donation – and treat the prospective donor accordingly.

Pro Bono Public Relations for Nonprofits: 7 Questions Agencies Ask

What are your guidelines for pro bono public relations work?

It’s a thoughtful question. I’ve had too many nonprofits over the years ask me to “do something” so they get news coverage, even though it’s not clear what they are doing that would merit news coverage and how it would help them if they were to get it. “We do good and we need money” is not a compelling message. Is there any charity that doesn’t?

Having said that, here are some questions that I and most other agencies will ask, plus a few stories of the proverbial nonprofit clients from hell.

1. Is the nonprofit respectful of professionals’ time? That includes planning meetings in advance, showing up on time for meetings, running them efficiently and asking for help with sufficient advance notice that no one has to stay up until 1 a.m. to meet deadlines.

2. Are the goals clear? Is there a consensus on the board on the goals? The answer is no, there isn’t much a PR firm can do. A PR firm can, however, help define goals.

3. Are other people willing to do some of the factual research? Specifically, if a nonprofit asks me to write a press release about an event, I expect them to be able to provide such information as the time, date, cost, location (including the street address) and biographical information on any speakers or entertainers. “They’re famous; everybody knows who Mr. Entertainer is and where the ABC restaurant is located” doesn’t work. Most professionals are not keen on volunteering time to look up addresses and basic biographical information.

4. Can the nonprofit be trusted to provide accurate information? This is closely related to No. 3, and you would think this would go without saying. But it doesn’t. My “no-good-deed-goes-unpunished” issues with nonprofits over the years have included one that gave me the wrong street address for an event (the reporter who couldn’t find it was understandably irate), and one that told me the mayor was going to speak. Turns out the mayor had never confirmed it. I ended up having to interrupt a vacation and pay my staff to work extra hours to clean up that mess.

I’ll post three more key questions next week.

What questions about PR should a city official ask?

Let me focus on media relations, since that is what I know best. Despite the rise of the Internet, blogs, Twitter, etc., the majority of people still get their news about local government from the mass media.

A city official needs to keep in mind that writing news stories about government is not easy. It’s even more important for officials in smaller communities. Most reporters get their start in small towns, which means that they are less experienced than the ones on national newspapers. (As an aside, there was a columnist in USA Today yesterday who offered advice on how to get coverage in a local newspaper. I’d hesitate to recommend his advice to any business in the Wood River Valley.)

But back to the question. Think about how much you knew about government finance when you graduated from college. Then think about sitting through a city budget hearing and trying to unravel the complexities of general tax revenues, general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, tax increment financing for redevelopment districts, etc., etc. Picture yourself sitting through a three-hour meeting on these subjects, and then having an hour to write a comprehensible story.

So if you want accurate media coverage on a complex topic, take the time to write a background press release and give it to reporters, preferably in advance. If you have time to give reporters a briefing before the meeting, that’s even better. You obviously don’t know what will happen at the meeting, but you can be sure that the reporters at least understand the discussion.

This is good advice for private citizens making presentations to public agencies as well. If you have a press release summarizing your statements and can meet with the appropriate reporters in advance, you’re much more likely to get accurate coverage.