Things have been so busy here at Ethical PR Towers lately that the blogging has taken a bit of a back seat, but thanks to an insomniacal nature I’ve managed to carve out a bit of time on an early, sunny Sunday morning to get back into action! And what a hectic time it’s been as well … despite having a lengthy corporate career in PR in the past, I have recently been finding out that going it alone is proving the most intensive learning experience of my entire life! I’m discovering new skills, tricks, talents and ways of doing things that would have taken me an age, if not at all, stuck at a desk in someone else’s office all those years ago.
One of the things I’ve been doing lately is being my own PR runner… despite being “the boss” of my own business, being a loner means I have to do it all from making the tea, opening the post and of course writing and distributing press releases, right up to making quite difficult management decisions that often involve money and have serious implications for the direction of the business.
In addition, I’m also landed with the usually thankless task of PR runner, which is basically where the most junior member of the team has to lug a box of samples and press releases round the relevant press contacts. The job involves blisters, aching arms, long waits in shiny receptions, plenty of rebuffs and an encyclopaedic road knowledge of London most cabbies would be proud of!
To be honest, I actually enjoy “doing the running”, especially as it involves for me a much needed day away from slogging bloodshot-eyed at the computer, and the chance to combine a bit of product distribution with client meetings in lovely places far removed from my cluttered home-based desk. I never used to have the time for PR running but it really is a key part of the package for product based clients – it’s not enough to just bang out an email press release and hope the responses come flooding back; posting samples is better but if I had a pound for every time one goes “missing” en route I’d be living on a yacht by now –no, the real answer is to get the product into the hands of the journalist you want to write about it – along with a quick verbal summary of its key selling factors of course and a printed (on recycled paper, please!) press pack.
All this is useless though unless you carve some time out for following this up with a call or email for some feedback – writers are usually such busy people and inundated with PR’s flinging products at them that it really is usually a case of out of sight out of mind… and on that note I’ll just pop my trainers on because I’m actually going out for a proper run now as it’s such a gorgeous morning!
