I recently caught up with Jennifer Nycz-Conner, a features reporter for the Washington Business Journal here in DC. She shared with me her pitching preferences and for the Business Journal; and what makes her love or hate a publicist.  The Washington Business Journal is owned by the American City Business Journals, which also owns 41 other papers. If you’re in business or representing someone who is, you’ll want to take note of these pitching preferences.

Name: Jennifer Nycz-Conner
News Org: Washington Business Journal
Beat: I cover our Business Smarts section, which is a feature section on how to better manage your career and business. I also put together our Back Page, which is our people/events page (yes, I am the post-college version of Party Pix). I also write for our Web site and our Focus sections.

Mopwater: What kind of stories/people/companies are you most interested in covering, and in what context? JNC: I love entrepreneurial stories – the kinds that examine what people are pursuing, what they’re passionate about, and how they’re making it happen. I also love how-to stories – the kinds of things where a reader finishes the article with tips they’re inspired to move on right away.

Mopwater: What’s your idea of a great pitch?
JNC:Short e-mail pitching a company, why it’s interesting, and why our readers would care. No release – just simple facts, why it’s interesting, and not looking for anything more than to share information.

Mopwater: What’s the worst pitch you’ve gotten recently and why? JNC: Looooong releases. Oh, no, worse – I received an e-mail pitching a story on cosmetic surgery procedures. In New York. Not about business. Not local.  Please, please, please read our paper before pitching us. If I have any strong pieces of advice, that’s one of the best I have. Continue Reading

Many Type-A personality types find their way into entrepreneurship, lured by the idea of being the boss. And given the detail-oriented and creative nature of the public relations profession, PR entrepreneurs find themselves at the mercy of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, our Type-A /take charge/make it happen personalities allow us to get tons done.  But our somewhat control-freakish entrepreneurial tendencies also hinder us: we often keep our projects on a short leash.

But keeping projects close doesn’t serve us in the long run because we end up spending loads of time on mundane tasks that we can’t bill for.

Lately I’ve been pondering the subject of growth, and what’s needed to make growth a reality for a service-based entrepreneur.  For many public relations and marketing pros, and now social media specialists, not only are we charged with managing client projects from start to finish, but we’re also responsible for handling the day to day operations of running a business.  We’re the mailroom, accounting department and janitor. We are the community relations person and publicist for our  practice, and it falls on our shoulders to get the word out about the business. Continue Reading

These days, everyone is trying to get more for less. And when you’re a public relations practitioner, that especially includes your clients.  We’re in a recession, so smart business owners are out to get more than their money’s worth. Clients want to see the impact of each dollar spent.

But what can you do to add value to an existing public relations contract without investing too many precious hours that you don’t plan to bill? Here are a few ways to easily add components to your contract and enhance the public relations work you’re already doing. Tip: Assign these tasks to a PR intern who is eager to learn.

Set Up a Facebook Fan Page

The new Facebook Fan Pages are much better than the old Facebook groups because they allow you create a profile for a business much like you would create a profile for yourself.  Fan pages allow businesses to list standard business info like hours of operation, web address and phone numbers, as well as update the status bar to answer the “What are you doing?” question much like you would do on Twitter.  I like the fan page because it allows business to combine the lightweight functionality of Twitter with a photo gallery, video, and more. The client can update their fan page to quickly reflect changes in hours, menu, prices, sales, promotions, etc. The client can also upload photos to show potential customers the interior of the establishment, etc.

Offer to Set Up a Blog 

I happen to love setting up blogs for clients because I’m a writer and content is my middle name.  If you’re a writer, researcher, or creative type (which you are if you’re in PR) suggest helping your client set up a blog focusing on their industry. But be sure to make the blog industry and solutions-focused, not company service-specific. Readers don’t want to feel like they’re getting sold; they want to feel like you’re helping them solve a problem.

Your client may want to build out a blog section as a part of their custom site. If not, there are tons of free blog publishing platforms out there, so the investment will be nominal. My personal preference is WordPress, but there are a few other blog services that offer powerful publishing capabilities for little or no cost.

Setting up a blog can be time consuming though, because you want to get the colors, design, fonts, headings, and taglines just right. If you need some help on this, subcontract some of the content development  out to a professional writer.  Be sure to suggest topics for your client to blog about, or be prepared to provide the first few posts to get the ball rolling.

Set Up a YouTube Channel

Another easy, free way to get your client maximum exposure is a YouTube channel.  Take the blog beyond mere words by embedding video. Bonus: Once you upload your video on  YouTube, you can tag it with keywords to make it instantly searchable.  This, of course will aid in SEO-one of those ROI factors clients love. Videos are also a great way to incorporate “how to” messages, product demonstrations, on-site facility tours, employee interviews and more. There really is no limit to where you could go with video. And again, since YouTube is a free service, the investment is only your time.

What have you done to add value for your clients?

I had lunch with a PR colleague last week and we did what we PR folks always do: talked shop, dished about our clients and ultimately built each other up. I have these sort of sessions often with my brothers and sisters in the public relations and marketing world, but for independent practitioners especially, I find it’s almost a required activity.

While lunching with my colleague, she said the most insightful thing.  One of the reasons our professional lives are filled with so much anxiety, aside from the fact that our jobs are built on countless uncertainties–the impossible to guarantee media coverage, the unforseen bad weather on the day of an outdoor event–is because we’re always trying to silence that annoying little voice in the back of our heads that says we’re only as good as our last project.

You know the drill. You do a great event, then another and another. But inevitably, you’re working on a project that was the victim of the organization’s poor planning, unrealistic expectations, or both.  The budget runs short and time runs out. You have to jerry-rig your way through, and you do, but you’re left with that unsavory taste in your mouth because as a PR professional, you take the good with the bad. You take full responsibility for the slightest mishap; and you’re understandably unnerved when the small  details don’t quite come together.

But you are not your last project, or even your next. Your career will not be judged on a tiny mistake, nor will it ultimately be gauged by a singular success. And since the big picture is so hard to see from the eye of the storm, here are a few ways to calm your nerves and boost your confidence when you’re in the middle of a public relations or marketing maelstrom.

Review the Home Runs: Every now and then, it does the ego good to glance back over your portfolio and take a gander at those projects that exceeded you and the client’s expectations.  Own that success and give yourself a pat on the back. Continue Reading

Name: Spring Harris, 28

Current City: Los Angeles, CA

Looking For: PR Agency Work

Our Notes: We could go on all day. She takes initiative, and is not afraid of a challenge. She’s an engaging writer with a vibrant voice. Plus, she speaks and writes French! Que c’est beau!

On the Web: University Sponsored Site, Coming Soon

EduStats: University of Southern California
Candidate, M.A. Strategic Public Relations
Graduation Date: May 2010

Skills: Strategic Planning, Social Media, Crisis Communications, Media Relations, Writing, Editing, and  All Things French

Mopwater: What made you want to get into this industry?

SH: Honestly, I fell into this industry. I graduated in 2004 with a double major in International Relations and French and I planned to go to law school, but while writing my personal statement, I couldn’t think of a single reason why I wanted to go. Needless to say, it was time to rethink my plans! I decided to take some time away from finding a career and competed as a professional high jumper for about a year before I entered the workforce. My first jobs were less than appealing, but I realized that I enjoyed writing, and when I got the chance to work as a business development/marketing coordinator I jumped on it. To sharpen my skills, I took a few marketing and public relations courses at a local community college and immediately started applying the lessons to my job. However, in the PR course as a final project I designed a campaign for the LA Sparks to increase game attendance and I loved every second of creating it! I decided right then and there that I wanted a career in PR. I applied to USC Annenberg’s M.A. in Strategic Public Relations program and since August 2008, my life has been consumed by PR and I couldn’t be happier! Continue Reading