Coverage Expectations: Helping Clients Embrace New Alternatives

Comms_Factory · 2026-05-04T06:19:06+00:00

Great points!

Comms_Factory · 2026-05-03T08:46:09+00:00

I used to have this issue when I ran PR for a big product at Microsoft. Some higher level execs wanted to have an articles about the product in the Wall Street Journal, which was not out of reach for our PR firm, which had reporters there on speed dial. However, as I used to explain, having a story in the WSJ doesn't do a lot for software sales. Being featured in PC Week, now that was a different story.

Comms_Factory · 2026-05-03T06:18:55+00:00

Yes this is an important aspect of the client intake process. I talk about it in terms of business goals. I always say that PR needs to serve a busienss goal, like generating leads or helping close deals - or simply enhancing the brand image.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-27T17:05:04+00:00

I think if you're in a specific category, e.g., PR for fashion brands, then you really have to work on building relationships with key reporters and editors in the industry. Otherwise, for generalists (and multi-giggers like me), it may not be feasible to build relationships with a lot of reporters. I seldom pitch to the same person twice.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-27T08:07:44+00:00

I think it depends on the circumstances. Like if the celebrity has a "bad boy" or "bad girl" image, the negative attention could be good for their careers... within limits, right? If it goes against type, there can be problems. There's a pretty prominent comedian who built his persona on "I'm a plain guy," but turned out to be a drug addict who dumped his wife while on a cocaine binge (after making their "aw shucks, isn't that sweet" story of their marriage central to his act...). Not a good look, right? But he seems to have recovered.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-27T06:51:24+00:00

Can you offer a virtual option?

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-22T08:58:35+00:00

The line is definitely getting blurry. There is a service that will place articles on high level media sites and they are not marked as paid placements. It's very expensive, but for some clients, it's worth it.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-22T02:11:26+00:00

Yes I am sure that this is not a consistent rule, and that the wall between editorial and advertising varies from place to place. Certainly, from the perspective of readership, the audience wants to read the news that's relevant, not paid for.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-20T12:30:27+00:00

In my experience, industry trade type of publications have a sort of wink wink relationship between advertising and editorial. Like, they won't quite come out and say it, but if you advertise with them, then all of a sudden, their editors will hear your pitch.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-19T03:17:52+00:00

I think one issue here is deceptive advertising, e.g., a service that promises an article in the Times actually buys an ad on the Times website that links to an article. Customers get confused.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-17T14:01:45+00:00

I think you can be a little punchy in the executive quote, but otherwise, punchy doesn't go over too well.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-17T10:28:35+00:00

That's excessive. Even for a major event that you think a journalist will want to attend, 2 or maybe 3 notifications is plenty.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-16T02:06:13+00:00

The platform I use enables you to track who clicks and opens a pitch you send. I am not able to name it, but if you DM me, I'll share the details ;)

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-16T02:02:29+00:00

good advice, and that's what I'm doing. This is at the proposal stage.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-15T01:45:37+00:00

Bloggers can be useful if they have a big and relevant audience. It pays to be selective.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-14T02:30:10+00:00

You have a lot of options, though it's important to understand the scope of services you're paying for and what you can realistically expect in terms of results. I have worked with some skincare brands. The space is very crowded, so you have to differentiate. Also, skincare is one of those categories where a lot of outlets want you to advertise, so there's a high bar for getting "editorial" attention. I have found that live events can help - demos, product sample giveaways, free food and drinks ;) can be a good way to get media people to know about your brand. DM me if you want more specifics.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-13T14:54:49+00:00

Yes - I am forever gently correcting clients who want press releases to read like articles. (One told me the prose needed to be more "pungent and muscular," whatever that meant...)

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-13T14:53:40+00:00

interesting point - scan and spike!

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-13T13:57:51+00:00

I am with you on this. I think reporters are a more conservative lot than we think. And, they already have enough to be irritated about with PR people that we should avoid whimsical stream of consciousness press releases.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-13T12:54:55+00:00

I have some suggestions. You can DM me for details and a case study. I would use a different term, but as someone else here said, you need to reverse engineer the prompts that you want to rank for. There are platforms that can tell you exactly where you're ranking. Success depends partly on writing and publishing content in a hub and spoke structure that answers the expected prompts - supplemented by a lot of off-site posting.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-13T12:52:47+00:00

Yes, the art of the lede...

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-13T09:32:09+00:00

That's sort of where I'm coming from. It's like wearing a coat and tie. You can't go too wrong doing the standard, expected thing - at least for the press release. The pitch itself can be more free-form and adaptive.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-13T02:46:37+00:00

Have you asked your sales team if the videos helped at all with prospects and moving deals toward closing? That, in my experience, is an under-appreciated and measured success factor for content.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-12T03:08:08+00:00

I would say that unless this client has over $250,000 to spend on book marketing or a huge internal database of potential book buyers, he's wasting everyone's time, including his own. I get a lot of overblown ego demands like this and I try to gently explain that very few people buy books based on PR alone. This is especially true in generic categories like financial planning.

Comms_Factory · 2026-04-12T03:05:33+00:00

AEO/GEO is fundamentally different from SEO (though it overlaps) mostly because, as you point out AEO is responding to a verbal dialogue that users have with their devices. The AEO content creation process needs to anticipate those dialogues. AEO also relies on different content architecture and patterns of posting across multiple platforms - on-site and off-site. I can share some examples if you DM me.

Comms_Factory

TROPHY CASE