reporter Archives | G2 Communications Inc.-Medical Practice Marketing

Apr 25 2016

“My favorite stories are about people, not things”: Q&A With Leslie Mladinich

Leslie Mladinich followed her passion into journalism and built an impressive career across Bay Area newspapers and magazines, from her first assignments at The Montclarion and the Oakland Tribune, to her days covering transportation at the Tri-Valley Herald. In her first job as a journalism undergrad Leslie got embroiled in the Oakland School District’s controversial resolution recognizing Ebonics.

So why did she choose to pivot her career from journalism to marketing? Mladinich is now using her storytelling skills at Rodrigue Molyneaux Estate Winery and Vineyard, as head of marketing. I asked Leslie to discuss the decline of newspapers, the future of journalism, and how to make your pitch about people, not tech.

How do you see changes in journalism over the last 10 years?

On the one hand, it’s great because journalists, publications, and people’s voices are more accessible. On the other hand, long form writing is no longer in demand. The ability to have longevity with one audience for one publication–to build trust with readers and sources–has diminished.

With electronic media, people graze and scan. They may only read the first paragraph before they shut their laptop. As a result, real writing and news gathering skills are less of a priority, and blogs and memoir style pieces have been elevated.

The decline of long-form writing and newspapers has pushed journalists out, and they’ve turned to corporate communications and marketing. Anyone’s voice can be out there now, but news that makes a difference in people’s lives is declining.

What should PR pros keep in mind when pitching reporters?

All my favorite stories are about people, not things. I’m interested in how any story, event, or phenomena changes and challenges people. If a company is trying to tell its story, I want to know about the people involved.

You don’t have to focus only on the consumer. Who are the people who make your product, and why do they make it? What challenges have they faced? If it’s tangible and evokes the senses, it makes good copy.

What do you look for in a good source?

A good source kept me in the loop and wanted to have a partnership with me. They understood my job and what it takes to make readers read the whole piece.

During my stint as a biotech reporter at the East Bay Business Times, I would get press releases stating that a company had gotten funding for a new medical device. But I wanted to talk to the scientists, not the CEO. And scientists who came up with great metaphors would get quoted because they helped me convey the concept behind the device or drug.

It goes back to why I chose journalism: because I love learning about people’s passions and putting it into writing. For a day or a couple of hours you’re in someone’s profession, problem, or passion, and you get to learn about a subject you might not get to otherwise.

Check out our ebook. We interviewed 10 journalists who advise PR professionals on how to build lasting relationships where both parties benefit. Visit www.g2comm.com.

Mar 22 2016

Surviving the Transition: Q&A with Lisa Wrenn, Bay Area News Group Executive Features Editor

The Bay Area News Group (BANG) is a model of digital transformation, whether it’s expanding digital advertising, producing videos, or building responsive mobile sites. And the group’s consolidation of several Bay Area daily papers over the years is a direct response to declining revenues now that the Internet has changed the business model. At the same time BANG is trying to meet readers’ demands for more focused regional news. As Lisa explains, “Our challenge now is how to cover our large circulation area most effectively with our limited resources.”

I sat down with Lisa to learn how the transition from print to digital has affected her role as editor and the nature of local news today.

How has your role as an editor changed in the last 10 years?

My role as a manager is more important than ever. I’m managing change, and I’m required to do more things with fewer people. I have to identify people’s strengths and weaknesses, and fine tune the job to get their best work. My biggest challenge may be keeping up morale for people who haven’t had a raise in years!

Personally, my strongest skill set was working with writers on long narrative stories, but today we’re writing shorter and faster. I miss the luxury of working one-on-one with a writer to make a story even stronger. Still, we care a lot about integrity, so we work hard to get it right and get it first.

How has the transition from paper to digital affected the stories you publish?

The biggest difference is that now we have to drive traffic to our sites, and that drives how we make news decisions. What we think readers should know and what will drive traffic are sometimes in conflict. We like to take on big local issues, and we have a reporter who covers city hall, but even with local news we often are looking for a headline that is search engine friendly.

“Eat, Drink, Play” is one section that happily came about because we had to do something differently. We decided to make our former Food and Travel sections more Northern-California-specific to make it more valuable to regional readership. In print, our Thursday Eye for Mercury News readers and the Entertainment section, and TO Weekend sections also are somewhat zoned and we focus on local arts. At the same time, if people want to Google a pop star we want the search to lead to us, so I have to be on top of pop culture news too.

What is the best way for PR pros to work with BANG reporters?

Take time to get to know what we’re looking for and who to reach out to. I get pitches all the time from people who don’t even know where our paper is located! It’s okay to say, “I’m not sure if you’re the right person” and send me a pitch as long you’re aiming in the right direction. I get tons of business pitches, and if one is good I will forward it to the right reporter or editor.

Email is still the best way to go, and a follow-up phone call doesn’t hurt. I get hundreds of emails a day so I have to triage, but I will listen to a thoughtful call and reply. And another tip: Include a color photo with an event pitch. In Features, at least, we are very art driven and if we get a good image that gives us more options we’ll use it in a best bet capacity.

Photo: Column sig photo for Lisa Wrenn, Executive Features Editor in the Mercury News photo studio in San Jose on Tuesday, Jan.5, 2016. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

Jan 20 2016

The Phone is Dead. Oh Wait… I Feel a Pulse!

The common refrain from PR professionals when pitching stories is that reporters just don’t answer their phones anymore. If only I could talk to them… I bet I could sell my story idea.

But their phone message always says the same thing… The best way to reach me is through email. So then we spend hours honing our pitches and crafting irresistible subject lines that make the grade. But for the most part nothing happens. In fact, we’re so used to being ignored even a little crumb from the reporter like a “not interested” is cause for celebration.

Emails vaporize, we’re left out of the media echo chamber. So we try a virtual handshake greeting on Twitter, hoping they reply or RT our tweet.

But there’s a 1-2 punch that could bring surprising results if done with efficiency, honesty and humility.

Say hello to the voicemail-email duo. Next time you email your pitch to a reporter, try placing a call immediately afterwards and let that person know you sent it. State the idea for the story you’re proposing, the time stamp, the subject line and your phone number. Oh, and boil your voicemail down to 30 seconds. You may even want to write a script so you don’t fumble in the rush to meet the 30-second time frame.

You’d be surprised at how often your email gets read and a response shows up in your inbox, oftentimes within minutes of leaving your message.

There are no guarantees you’ll get a message back every time but it’s worth the experiment.

And stand behind your story proposal; that you’re not doing it for the boss or a client. You authentically believe your story carries an important message for readers. You stand behind your conviction that your story idea has teeth.

At WriteCulture I teach PR agency account teams to pitch stories to the media which covers the 1-2 punch.

Next up: what if the reporter answers your call? What should you do?

Apr 22 2013

The New Call to Action: How to Generate More than Good Press

In a press release, the call to action is a sentence that spells out exactly what you want readers to do. Traditionally this has been directed at journalists. It’s the contact information we tag on the end to say, “Please call for more information, esteemed press contact!”

Newsflash: The press release isn’t just for journalists anymore. It’s for bloggers, industry professionals, customers, prospects, investors—anyone with an Internet connection. Now that the press release has arrived in the 21^st century, it’s time for PR pros to learn some new tricks. And where better to learn than the fast growing, forward thinking world of digital marketing!

Optimize Your Press Release with Targeted Calls to Action

Lately one area of digital marketing has received more buzz—and bigger budgets—than any other: Conversion Optimization. Conversion Optimization (CO) refers to the methods and strategies marketers use to convert their visitors into paying customers, content subscribers, members, or loyal web app users. Though the field is only about a decade old–invented by e-merchants and Internet advertisers–CO has some important lessons for the age-old press release.

The biggest lesson? Tailor your press release to multiple audiences at once with targeted calls to action that address the social media maven, B2B contact, curious layperson, and journalist. Conversion Optimization is about personalization, personalization, personalization. That means targeting content to individuals with a one-size-does-not-fit-all approach.

How to Spur Readers to Action in More Ways than One

More often than not, you are releasing your company announcement online, through a newswire service, and preserving it on your press page indefinitely. The goal is to make it work for you again and again, not just sit there collecting digital dust. By embedding a powerful call to action or three, you can motivate readers to dig deeper into your website, sign up for a mailing list, or buy your product.

When the content on your site solves a visitor’s unique problem, your brand instantly earns trust, loyalty, and hopefully a sale. PR pros know this as audience segmentation. We all have the same goal in mind: divide your market into distinct groups, and then target them with messages—or pitches—that speak to their needs. Here are some examples:

The Consumer

“Learn more.”
“Participate in our survey.”
“Sign up for our newsletter and receive regular tips and insights.”
“See what others have to say about our product.”

The B2B Sales Contact

“Click here to download a full report.”

“View a case study.”
“View a video demo of our product.”
“Tell us what you think.”

The Blogger

“Try our product and share your thoughts.”

“Sign up for a complimentary consultation.”
“Follow us on Twitter.”
“See our blog for more information.”

Whatever you do, be sure to provide a live link to your website, and an email address, telephone number, Twitter handle, Facebook page—everything you’ve got. The easier it is for potential customers to reach you, the more likely they are to convert.

A final word of warning: Don’t be salesy. Conversion Optimization pros know that is sure-fire way to turn prospects into suspects. A powerful call to action will typically prompt your reader to seek out more information or give you their contact information. It’s not a direct sale, but it’s the first step.