Category: How To’s

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How To Get The Right One To Notice You

Keep your subject line short and sweet to catch and keep any reporter’s interest

Photo from Pixabay

By: Sydney Oliva

Pitches can be a tricky thing to tackle. It can cloud the brain to try and figure out the right words to capture someone’s attention, but don’t overthink it. The key to success is simple: keep it short and sweet. Reporters are constantly bombarded with emails. If the subject line happens to catch their attention, the last thing they want to do is read a pitch that’s too wordy. You want to make them want more. Keep your pitch a few sentences long. Give them enough to be interested, then they’ll come to you looking for more. Here’s how to write and attention grabbing pitch.

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How to Prepare a Strong Phone Pitch

working essentials laid out on table

Photo by Pexels.com

By: Valeria Sanchez

You may feel intimidated when you pitch to a journalist for the first time. We tend to think of the worst possible outcomes like, what if they don’t like my pitch? or what if they think I’m unprepared? Everyone feels nervous doing something for the first time. Last month I got the opportunity to pitch one of my client’s programs to several news stations in California. I wouldn’t say it was fantastic. I was nervous and I got sent to voicemail plenty of times. After some trial and error, here is what I learned about crafting a successful phone pitch.  

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Dressing for the Job

businesspeople working together

Photo by Pixabay.com

By: Itzel Cruz

Business attire or business casual can be such broad terms that they can be difficult to pinpoint. It’s not a full tailored suit but you can’t show up in jeans and a shirt either. Many students have never had a job at this point in their life that required this type of dress. Many are not financially equipped to go out and buy an all new work wardrobe, but it does not have to be expensive nor a daunting experience. A few solid pieces can go a long way. 

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6 Ways to Conquer a Creative Block

illustration representing creative block in an individual

By: Lauren Meichtry

Coming up with new ideas can be harder than it looks! As an artist and graphic designer I understand how real the struggle can be. But you don’t have to be an artist to be affected by creative block. Idea generation has become a necessity for staying relevant in careers including public relations. To get back on track, use these six helpful tips for the days when you sit in front of a blank sheet of paper or an empty screen: 

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How to Incorporate Your Personal Style Into Your Office’s Business Professional Dress Code

Photo by David Iskander on Unsplash, A woman holding a handbag and book

Photo by David Iskander on Unsplash

By: Yaritza Ayon

Offices more often than not require their employees to dress business professional when they’re working. Here’s some ways to be creative and stylish with your professional wardrobe. It’s good to express ourselves through our clothing even when there’s restrictions, it shows one’s creativity and personality.

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How To Get The Best From Your Designer

Kimberly Volkov works on the the computer.

By: Kimberly Volkov

Have you ever struggled with talking to a designer or had trouble with them understanding your vision? This blog is intended to help clients understand and provide what is needed for designers. There is a need for clear communication, understanding and information about the project before starting any design. This will help any client or designer before any project.

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How to Land a Job Without Actually Applying

A still life of a coffee cup, a paper and pen.

By: Marisa Bearden

When students think about how they’re going to get their first job after college, the first step is usually to fill out the application. What if that’s where we’re going wrong?

In my search for my own job, I have been offered an internship at a public relations agency and a public relations specialist role at a large telecommunications company. I didn’t apply for either of the positions I was offered. Here’s what I did that could potentially help you land a job after college.

Be my guest. During college, you get to meet so many people. From professors, other students and school staff. One group of people we forget to reach out to is guest speakers. These are people who want to share their experiences with students and be a resource in the future. Connecting with guest speakers after their presentation is a great way to expand your network and potentially get an “in” at their company.

Send it! That PR practitioner your connected with on LinkedIn or that alum that gave you their email is waiting for you to reach out. All it takes to have someone at a company to vouch for you is starting a conversation with them. You can’t wait for people to reach out to you, you have to be willing to ask for what will advance your career. Send an email or message simply asking to set up a phone call.

Professors that profess. We often forget that our professors had jobs and careers before coming to teach at your university. This means that they have a lot of connections with professionals in your field. Build a relationship with your professors early on, and they’ll want to tell all their connections about you by the time it’s graduation.

Rely on resilience. Finding a job after college can be difficult. It looks different for everyone, which means that you have to be resilient in finding what works best for you! Don’t give up or settle on a job that isn’t right for you.

During your time in college and when you’re fast-approaching graduation, take a look at these tips to see how they can work for you.

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5 Ways to Improve Your Interviews

5 Ways to Improve Your Interviews

Noah Enns

Being able to interview someone is a vital skill to have in the world of public relations. There are ways to improve your interviewing skills to get the answers and quotes you need to make a good story.

The first thing that I like to do when I am interviewing someone is to be friendly. The best interviews feel like a conversation between two lifelong friends. If you can establish a friendly vibe, the person you are interviewing will feel more comfortable and willing to give more engaging answers.

Be prepared. Come into your interviews with your questions thought out beforehand. It is important to do your homework on the person you are interviewing so you don’t waste their time because you aren’t prepared.

Always record your interview when you can. Say something along the lines of,  “Do you mind if I record our conversation so I can quote you accurately?”. This will establish to the person you are interviewing that you know what you’re doing and that you take pride in being accurate. Recording your interview ensures you capture that great quote needed in your story and serves as proof for what someone said exactly.

Make the person you are interviewing feel like the expert. If you aren’t sure of what they do or say, stop them and ask if they could explain what something means. This will give them a sense of power or confidence that what they know is of great importance. It’s okay not to know everything and you should be willing to learn new things in each interview.

Be on the lookout for other stories in your interview. The person you interview might reveal something that could be used in a different story. The more you can take from an interview, the better. All of the information you gather from interviews are important, especially when content is low. You will have information for stories already on-hand instead of having to go out and look for the story.

These tips will help you in the PR world. Interviewing people is a standard tool to have and the better you are at them, the better your stories will be.  

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How “The Orville” Twitter account understands its fans

How “The Orville” Twitter account understands its fans

By: Martin Chang

One show I’ve become a big fan of is “The Orville.” It is Seth Macfarlane’s loving tribute to the Sci-fi that he loves. The show captures through it’s storytelling and visual details the magic of the genre.

“The Orville” is set 400 years in the future.   It follows the adventure of the Orville, which travels space in the name of discover. It has a staff of hundreds but it focuses on the adventures of the main crew. They have roles familiar to Sci-fi fans. These characters have titles, such as captain,  science officer and engineering.

Other than the story and getting the look right, the real strength of the show are the characters in the main crew and others.  They are sometimes funny with Macfarlane’s knack for comedy. But these characters also have the drama gravitas needed when they are facing situations where entire races face annihilation.  So, as a fan, I enjoy how these Twitter posts remind me and show off the personalities of the members of the crew.

The show recently featured a dramatic two episode story, so this post shows off the reasoning and understanding of the argument style that Cmr. Kelly Grayson, the woman in blue, and Dr. Claire Finn,  the woman in green, have when dealing with other species of beings, in this clip a race of unfeeling robots called the Kaylon.

The more fun, light hearted side of the show is also showed on Twitter. This post show off the sassy attitude of the security officer Lt. Talla Keyali.

A character whose named is Dann is a character occasionally used for comedic relief.  His charming awkwardness gives me some good laughs.

This is a great use of a social media channel.  It reminds fans of what they enjoy about the show.  Social media is used while people are doing other things such as between classes.  These posts have provided me with a quick break. It is fun for me to remember what I like about the Orville.  It’s nice to have a quick visit with the characters I enjoy.

These posts are not hard to make. They are just video clips and GIFs from the show.  So the enjoyment I get out of these posts show how little a public relations team has to do to make a difference to someone.  

Of course,  being such a big fan, the communication is easy to get across and be appreciated.  Most PR communication is more challenging. So I think my experience is best to try and duplicate when you know you are talking to someone who already likes the product emotionally in the same way I already have a positive  feeling towards “The Orville.”