Patricia R. Olsen is a veteran reporter with hundreds of articles and columns in The New York Times, On Wall Street, Family Business, and more. I recently spoke to Olsen and gathered her insights and opinions on working with PR professionals.  She told me how to pitch journalists a home-run story, and how to avoid getting benched. Here are her top three tips for PR success:

1. Be Professional

Olsen likes to work with PR people who are experienced and aware of journalists’ own needs and constraints. Understand the ins and outs of a reporter’s job, and craft a pitch that makes her day easier.  But don’t try and do Olsen’s job for her. When asked about PR pet peeves, she said it irks her when she receives “an entire, unsolicited column.” You can make suggestions, but Olsen does need to write the column herself.

The first step is to send a well-written query that’s been read and approved by someone other than yourself. Olsen can tell when a pitch hasn’t been thoughtfully edited. “I get queries with opinions that are much too detailed and promotional,” says Olsen, “Or they emphasize the wrong points; or the pitch doesn’t grab me.” Well-written means brief. A five-paragraph query is taxing to read.

To demonstrate professionalism beyond the first pitch, limit your follow-up emails, send prompt replies, and avoid a pushy tone. Olsen says checking in every month won’t speed the publishing process along, but it will annoy time-pressured journalists. “I can’t tell them when I will be writing a column about their company CEO,” she explains, “I’m at the mercy of the editor’s time.”

2. Know the Angle

Olsen contributes to a New York Times Q&A column called Vocations that debuted in October 2013 to replace her Preoccupations and The Boss columns (Olsen’s final Boss column ran October 13). It’s about a person’s job. She receives many pitches that miss the mark, from PR pros who don’t grasp what’s a good fit. For example, a lawyer-turned-fitness trainer is not good, she says. “Many people change careers and become [fitness] trainers, so this is too common, and the person has to have a compelling story. The best way to see what might be a good fit is to study the column.”

3. Bring a Savvy Source

A press release is useless to Olsen. To tell a print-worthy story, she needs an interview subject. Not surprisingly, her ideal source is transparent, upfront about a company’s questionable past, and able to share valuable stories and insights. If your source is only interested in promotion and the company line, your story will never make it to the editor.

The best sources “can provide a lot of detailed stories and anecdotes to make a point,” says Olsen. She listens for “sound bites,” “good philosophical statements,” and “lessons learned.” And she can’t run the same story that’s already been published across ten other blogs and magazines.

Think Like a Journalist

No matter how brilliant your press release, journalists are ultimately the ones spreading your company’s story. Toss them thoughtful, targeted queries and pitches, along with excellent sources… and realize there are no guarantees for coverage.

Photo: http://www.patolsen.com/bio.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitch Smarter: Build Valuable Relationships With Editors

In my last post, I gave you the top gripes of health IT magazine editors.  Of course they also offered tips for winning them over.  After all, when you pitch well it makes their lives easier.  If you deliver the content they want, they will reach your audience with content that will benefit readers.  Done right, it’s a win win relationship.

Here are the top tips for PR success from four high-profile health IT magazine editors:

1. Be Extremely Relevant

John Lynn, top blogger on all things EMR & HIPAA, says first, be interesting. “I appreciate PR people who make my job easier…  If your email is compelling up front I’ll dig in more.  Make it easy to understand the message.  Tell me what you are really offering up front.  How does your company fit into what you just talked about?”

The most successful pitches “are on target with our coverage areas and audience,” says Gary Baldwin, editor or Health Data Management. Get to know the subjects he covers regularly, then “offer suggestions on how [your] clients can offer different takes on these topics.”  This may be obvious to the average PR pro but often ignored because of pressure from the client to get the marketing message through editorial.  Baldwin says a pitch that is both relevant to his readership and already in line with the magazine’s voice gets his attention.

Baldwin appreciates a prompt response and quality sources from PR people.  “They source leads for me.  They promptly give me the names of hospitals and medical groups doing x, y, z, the name of the source … say an administrator from a medical group, and their email…  They don’t put the product front and center.”

2. Give Detailed, Concrete Examples

Mark Hagland of Healthcare Informatics looks for pitches that demonstrate quality improvements in healthcare, and are backed by solid data. These pitches already contain the building blocks of a compelling story for his audience of physicians and healthcare administrators.  Hagland says, “When I get a pitch that is a precise, detailed case study that is very relevant for what our audience wants, I love it.”

Don’t despair if you don’t have a vendor story just like the example above. Aim to demonstrate how the company’s product is pioneering or making improvements in its field.  Lynn calls this part of the PR “marketing burden.” Some companies aren’t very cutting edge, but it’s up to the PR pro to “dig in and find the jewels.”

3. Sources, Sources, Sources

Good sources typically mirror the readership of a publication. Ken Congdon, Editor in Chief at Healthcare Technology Online, says “my primary sources for all articles [are] technology decision makers and leaders of healthcare providers–the actual users of health IT products and services.”  His holy grail is “a leader at a healthcare provider ready and willing to talk to me candidly about their IT implementations, including the challenges and the benefits.”

Baldwin probably won’t reach out to software vendors, or anyone who merely wants to “sell and promote their products.” He does, however, appreciate speaking with independent analysts and consultants who can share valuable research.

4. Form a Relationship

Not a new concept for sure.  Baldwin says that most of the PR people he works with take the initiative to find out what he most needs. Here’s a hint: it’s not press releases.  His go-to PR contacts choose an item from his editorial calendar and offer sources. They take a “helpful approach; they’re not just looking for a free commercial.”

Lynn gives some candid advice for those seeking to build a relationship: “Tell me something you know about me, like ‘I know you love EMR so you’ll be interested in X company because….’” This kind of personalization grabs his attention and makes him much more likely to respond.

Lynn truly cares about creating deeper relationships within his industry. If you bump into him at a conference, or set up a meeting, don’t be afraid to “get into the details and debates.” As he puts it, “It’s one thing to meet, but it’s better [for me] to have story to write later.”

The Bottom Line: Be Valuable

Across the board, health IT editors interviewed appreciate honest, relational PR pros who thoroughly understand their work and goals. Do your job with an eye toward what makes their jobs easier: relevant content supported by compelling examples and sources. Pitch to the individual, provide what they need today, and you’ll double your chances of getting them to open your emails.

 

 

 

 

Avoid These PR Mistakes: Top Gripes of Health IT Magazine Editors

I recently interviewed several Health IT magazine editors on what they want PR people in the healthcare sector to know. I asked them to tell me the top three mistakes PR professionals make when contacting and pitching them. I’ve compiled the most common faux pas to help us all pitch smarter.

1. Learn About Our Publication.

No surprise there.  According to Gary Baldwin, Editorial Director of Health Data Management, too many PR people have “no understanding of our publication.” They haven’t taken the time to read the magazine, or browse the website. And it’s obvious because the PR pro doesn’t have a grasp of HDM’s specific editorial approach. They pitch a story that isn’t remotely related to healthcare or politics, let alone health IT.

Ken Congdon, Editor in Chief at Healthcare Technology Online, says. “Our audience is made up of IT decision makers…from healthcare providers,” says Congdon. So why is he receiving pitches for articles targeted to payers, medical device manufactures, and other companies that are “not the intended audience of the content [they] produce”?

2. Give Me a Story

Mark Hagland, Editor in Chief of Healthcare Informatics, often receives pitches that push a product or vendor, or announce a change in leadership.  New hires and product features aren’t newsworthy. What’s the significance? What value does your story hold for our readers?”

Congdon echoes Hagland, saying “A product announcement today should do more than just outline the features of the product. It should illustrate how healthcare providers [are] benefitting from the product.” And that means specific examples and testimonials from actual users.

John Lynn, an influential health blogger at EMR & HIPAA says he receives lengthy pitches “describing the market.”  “I already knows the market.” What he doesn’t know is what your company is really changing. “Tell me, why should I care?”  Your “story” needs to involve a noteworthy trend, or “a milestone number that shows…the company’s significance in the market.”

3. Think of Others

Hagland has had PR reps tell him they don’t have time to read or learn about his publication. One person in particular called promoting a medical device, but it didn’t connect to EMR in any way. This person wanted him to cover the company anyway.

Baldwin says he gets vendor surveys that were clearly manipulated to get the most favorable results for the company. Baldwin’s response is succinct: “I don’t buy your survey.”

Congdon offers some helpful advice: “Understand our audience and why it’s important to our readership.  Put value in the subject line and pitch. Not just, ‘ABC Company Announced XYZ’ or ‘Article Idea.’”  Ideally, this comes easily.  If you speak to why the product or company matters to its customeres, and why it will matter to readers, then Congdon is much more willing to follow up.

4. You Called Me

Lynn doesn’t mince words, saying “I hate when PR people call me. It’s my digital bias.” But it’s not just his bias.  Hagland says it’s already too much for him to slog through the sometimes 200 pitches emailed each day. There just isn’t time for the added labor of listening to voicemails and returning calls.

It’s the “sheer quantity of pitches that a lot of companies bombard us with,” says Baldwin. PR pros “will send a press release…then call and ask if we got it, then, if they don’t reach us, send it again, then call me again. That backfires every time.” He also gets straight to the point: “I don’t want phone calls. Just email me.”

So What’s the Right Way to Pitch?

Fortunately these health IT editors also told me the top three things they appreciate or find helpful when working with PR professionals. I will cover that in my next post, so your company can delight them with interesting, value-packed pitches that make it to print.