I have a few questions regarding public relations.
My father is starting a new company and has asked me to build a small PR campaign before the launch of his product on the market. I have worked with outside PR firms in the past so I do have a slight understanding of the process but the legwork was mostly done on their end. Therefore there are large holes in my knowledge of the profession and I would like to tap the knowledge of the sitepoint community in order to do a better job on this project.
To put you in context he is launching an Iphone app with an accessory that goes with the app. I do not want to break the rules about advertising here so I won’t give to more information about the product itself. He is about 3-6 months away to ship the first units and make the software available. The company will have a very web centric strategy and want to promote both the products and the website.
Here are some of my questions at this stage:
How much time before the product is available should the story be pitched to the magazines? 3 months - 6 months before market launch?
What media is the most appropriate to send them the information? Email, print or both?
Do you guys have any tips on how to make press releases more appealing to editors?
Should we deal with bloggers and web magazine as with print publications?
Look forward what you guys have to say. I’m sure I’ll pick up a few interesting ideas here.
Much of product marketing depends on the product, or at least the category but there are some general ideas to start with.
Depends on the product. It’s hard to get coverage far in advance but you can build hype and start getting contacts interested. If there’s events with the right media attend, find out the writers/ editors, get them to know you and seed them early.
The method is less important than building a relationship (although these days people want everything electronically). Simply sending out blasts isn’t going to get you nearly as far as getting the right press to listen and build the hype.
Besides big names they like? Good content. What are you solving. What’s new. How does this change the world or the market in a way people care about. Good application photos if it’s a physical product. You want to present a story that they can make something out of.
Of course. Everyone is digital, some are print too. They all matter.
Remember, the media responds best to things that are interesting so be interesting before you make calls and they’ll want to talk to you rather than want to ignore you.