Mistake #1: Send interview request responses with very little notice. Part of my job entails working with publicists in order to set up interviews with their clients. We either communicate via email or on the phone in an attempt to schedule a time that works for both parties. On one occasion I had been in contact with a publicist and was waiting to hear when her client would be available. On a Monday at 5:30 at night she sent me an email that said her client would be able to speak with me in the afternoon of the next day. This forced me to scramble so that I would be prepared enough to conduct the interview the following day. The only reason why I didn’t cancel the interview altogether was because this was a client I had been trying to interview for some time. Nonetheless, the experience painted a very negative picture of the publicist and the level of commitment she gives her job.
Mistake # 2: Don’t provide any information. When I write an article I often must find experts in the field whom I can quote on the topic. After sending emails to a plethora of public relations professionals, telling them exactly what it is I am looking for, I often receive many responses detailing how the public relations professionals’ clients can help me. I have also, however, received emails with brief responses such as “I’d like to help. Tell me more.” I had already provided the pertinent information, though, and because I’m on deadline, I don’t have time to write a lengthy response further detailing my needs. And so, if I receive an annoyingly brief email such as that, I immediately delete it.
Mistake # 3: Forget to tell the journalist that there’s an interview. Worse than giving the journalist very little notice about an upcoming interview is not giving the journalist any confirmation that the interview is happening at all. In one instance, I was in contact with a publicist who was working to set up an interview with one of his clients. After giving him dates and times that would work for me, I never heard from him again. Then, one morning when I went into work, there was a voicemail from the client. He was calling to confirm the interview for that morning. In addition to the fact that I had to reschedule the interview, it showed me that the publicist had very little respect for my time.
Mistake #4: Fail to send materials on time. In my line of work I often request background information on the client, photos, or press releases about the client’s book or products. On various occasions I have received books and interview question suggestions nearly a week and a half after the interview was completed. I have also been forced to run articles with no pictures of the client, and have conducted interviews in which the majority of time was wasted trying to obtain information that would have been readily available had I received a biography.
Mistake # 5: Fall off the face of the earth. After your client is interviewed, make sure that you’re still available and willing to communicate with a journalist. In the past I have had public relations professionals who have completed every task well up until the interview was completed. After that point however, they never responded again. Not even after I let them know that the article had run. I don’t need a long thank you note or a phone call, but simply letting me know that you received the email, or that you can in fact provide that additional information, is all that I ask. I have also had publicists respond to an email asking for an interview request and then never respond again, even after I have sent multiple emails.
Many of the mistakes that these public relations professionals made dealt directly with time. In the fast paced world of journalism, everything is deadline-driven. Often, we don’t have time to waste. Forcing any journalist to take on additional tasks that aren’t our responsibility will only make us make a mental note about how we should never work with you again.
Remember, I’m not a lazy person, and neither are any of the thousands of journalists like me. We just don’t like to be responsible for ensuring that not only our job tasks, but those of a publicist as well, are completed.
One final note to all of those public relations professionals out there who are great at their jobs: my colleagues and I thank you.
