Tag Archives: Chicago PR tips

`While You’re Up’ PR Like Ice Cream Clean-Up: Keep Carving it Up

Like old times: my dad carves up a half gallon of ice cream. What do empty ice cream bowls and public relations have in common? In my experience, anyway, both revolve around what you might call a “While You’re Up” philosophy. First, a bit of family history will help set the scene. A fond, enduring […]

E-Mail Just One Part of Engaging the Media

Relying on e-mail alone to communicate news releases to the media is Public Relations Malpractice. Pick up the darn phone and make a phone call, among other things, and you’ll separate yourself very rapidly from the PR pack. Sending e-mail is among the easiest acts anyone can perform. So is deleting that very same e-mail. […]

News Releases Are Not the Spot to Stroke Ego

A microblog today, echoing what I shared via the Inside Edge PR fan page and via the Inside Edge Twitter account: The purpose of a news release is NOT to stroke the client’s ego; among other things, it’s to gain placement in the media, which helps the client attain goals. All the better to let […]

PR Alert: Time to Start Thinking about July?

Last week, with A Winning PR Recipe: Timely Stories, I touched on the importance of being timely with story ideas to the media. And usually, all you need are a few weeks’ advance notice to ensure the currency and relevance of a story pitch. But you also have to keep your eye on longer lead […]

Blog, Schmog: Why You Absolutely, Positively Don’t Have to Blog

You hear “blog,” and think, “Blah!” As in, “Yuck!” No, make that “Blah-blah-blah!” As in, “A royal waste of my time—as a reader, and certainly as a writer.” OK, I hear you. And it’s true—you don’t have to write a blog. Isn’t it so 2007, anyway? Of course, if you are looking to grow with […]

PR As Hoops: Following Your Own Shot

Playing basketball over the years, I’ve been pretty adept at offensive rebounding, even if I was no Dennis Rodman (pictured). Often, it’s because I’ve known better than anyone else on the court exactly how that shot I just took was going to careen wildly off the rim. I try to adopt the same mindset in […]

Obama’s FOIA Move Holds Key PR Lesson

Though he may well have been driven by even loftier motives, shortly after taking office two weeks ago, President Barack Obama made a decision that, from a public-relations standpoint, was most astute. To read my piece, “Obama’s FOIA Move Holds Key PR Lesson: Open the Front Door,” check out the essay at BulldogReporter.com.

Doors Open, Narrow On Healthcare PR

Healthcare is integral to our lives, and over the past few years it’s developed into a significant portion of Inside Edge PR business, with more than a dozen health-and-wellness clients in my A to Z experience. This afternoon, I had the intriguing, immaculately timed experience of fielding a call from one healthcare provider (who had […]

Keeping Your PR Eye On The Calendar

Of all the similarities between being a journalist and being a publicist, one of the most prominent ones is the need to keep your eye on the calendar. Mine says that today is Jan. 16th, which means, among other things, that it’s well past time to start thinking about Valentine’s Day-related story ideas, whether you […]