I spent Saturday afternoon delivering the how to do a press release section of Joanne Mallon’s Attracting Publicity workshop. It was interesting to see how many people easily grasped the mechanics of putting a press release together, but yet still harboured anxieties about actually getting on the telephone and talking to journalists. To be honest, even the most experienced of PRs feel trepidation every time they pick up the phone to speak to a journalist, but there are ways you can minimise the stress and maximise your results.

The Do Your Own PR Top Ten Tips for Calling Journalists

1. Recognise that if you want to get publicity you will need to do this. You can’t yearn after a higher media profile for your business without to some extent making friends with the media. So, take a deep breath and get on with it.

2. Prepare yourself; Make sure that you know your subject inside out, especially if it’s at all technical. What are the latest concepts and buzz-words? Who are the current celebrities or big names of your industry?

3. Find the right time. Fitting your calling in half an hour before you leave for a client meeting is not going to put you in the right frame of mood.

4. Start small. Tackle the local press first, or even the editor of a website. Build up both your confidence and experience.

5. Listen to how they sound. Are they busy? Do they sound stressed? Were you unfortunate enough to call them during press day (or a Test Match)? Take your cue from then and if you feel that you aren’t getting their full attention, do offer to call back at a better time.

6. Listen to what they say. Don’t just read from a pre-prepared spiel without taking into consideration what they are saying. Don’t presume you known what they are going to say.

7. Never leave messages asking them to call back. Not with the receptionist; not with a colleague and certainly not on voicemail. They hardly ever call back and you’ll earn yourself the reputation of a stalker.

8. If you have follow up actions to undertake – a fax or photographs to send for instance – then do it immediately, while it’s fresh in both your minds. And always make sure you do it yourself rather than hand it over to another member of staff. The journalist has just spoken to you, and to hand them over to someone else is just confusing.

9. Make notes on your call. When you should call back? Is that person approachable or just so harassed you should only call them when you know you’ve got something strong enough to interest them?

10. Yes, some journalists will be short with you, just as some will be incredibly interested and supportive. Don’t take it personally – whether they’re lovely or just too run off their feet to bother with all the conversational niceties it’s the story that matters, not you. Just take it as it comes and cultivate some detachment. Keep the overall picture in mind.

If you’d like to feel a lot more confident calling journalists then check out our Cold Calling Crash Course. It’s a 5 day ecourse that’s also suitable for cold calling prospective clients. You’ll be taken through tried and tested methods that PR’s use to help them build up relationships with the press, plus get a practice telephone session with me at the end of the ecourse – and I promise that I’m lovely and encouraging with lots of constructive help and ideas. Do take a look at:

http://www.doyourownpr.com/products/the_cold_calling_crash_course.asp