FabJob Guide to Become a Public Relations Consultant Relations_Sample_Guide.pdf · 2020-05-28 ·...

FabJob Guide to Become a Public Relations Consultant

Copyright © 2015 FabJob Inc. • www.fabjob.com • 1

Get paid to work in PR!

Lynne Blissand Tag Goulet

FabJob Guide to

Become a Public Relations

Consultant

Visit www.FabJob.com

http://www.fabjob.com


Copyright © FabJob Inc. • www.fabjob.com • 2

ContentsHow to Use This Guide .........................................................................3

About the Authors ..................................................................................9

1. Introduction to Public Relations ......................................................11

1.1 What Is Public Relations? ............................................................12

1.2 HowPublicRelationsDiffersfrom

Advertising or Marketing............................................................14

1.3 BenefitsofaPublicRelationsCareer .........................................16

1.4 Inside This Guide .........................................................................19

2. What a Public Relations Consultant Does .....................................21

2.1 Public Relations Roles ..................................................................22

2.2 Creating a Public Relations Plan ...............................................27

2.3 Media Relations ............................................................................34

2.3.1 Media Lists ..........................................................................35

2.3.2 Writing a News Release .....................................................41

2.3.3 News Release Distribution ................................................52

2.3.4 Pitching ................................................................................57

2.3.5 Media Leads ........................................................................61

2.3.6 Developing a Media Kit .....................................................63

2.3.7 NewsConferences ..............................................................67

2.3.8 Media Events .......................................................................70

2.4 WritingforPublication ................................................................81

2.4.1 WritingforYourClient ......................................................81

2.4.2 Articles and Columns ........................................................82

2.5 Working with Websites ................................................................89

2.5.1 What to Include on the Website ........................................90

2.5.2 Designing the Website .......................................................93

2.5.3 GettingOnline .....................................................................94




2.5.4 Promoting the Site ..............................................................95

2.5.5 EmailNewsletters ...............................................................97

2.6 Social Media .................................................................................99

2.6.1 Case Study: A Social Media Success Story ......................99

2.6.2 Case Study: A Social Media Disaster .............................100

2.6.3 OverviewofPopularSocialMedia ................................101

2.6.4 Social Media Tips ..............................................................106

2.6.5 Blogs ...................................................................................109

2.7 OtherOnlineResources .............................................................112

2.8 Crisis Communication ..............................................................114

3. Developing Your Skills ....................................................................119

3.1 Writing Skills ...............................................................................121

3.2 OtherKnowledgeandSkills .....................................................126

3.2.1 Computer Skills ................................................................126

3.2.2 Foreign Languages ...........................................................127

3.2.3 Presentation Skills ............................................................128

3.3 PersonalAttributes ....................................................................128

3.4 Education .....................................................................................130

3.4.1 GettingaTraditionalCollegeDegree ............................130

3.4.2 OtherAlternatives ............................................................133

4. GettingHired .....................................................................................136

4.1 Gaining Marketable Experience ...............................................138

4.1.1 Experience While in School .............................................138

4.1.2 Internships .........................................................................139

4.1.3 Volunteering ......................................................................141

4.1.4 OtherWaystoGetExperienceand

GetYourFootintheDoor ................................................142

4.2 TypesofEmployers ....................................................................143




4.2.1 Corporate and High Tech ................................................145

4.2.2 Non-Profit ..........................................................................146

4.2.3 Government .......................................................................147

4.2.4 Education ...........................................................................148

4.2.5 Public Relations Agencies ...............................................148

4.2.6 What’s Next? .....................................................................152

4.2.7 Market Trends ...................................................................152

4.3 YourMaterials .............................................................................153

4.3.1 YourResume .....................................................................153

4.3.2 PreparingaPortfolio ........................................................155

4.4 Job Hunting .................................................................................157

4.4.1 Advertised Positions ........................................................158

4.4.2 Unadvertised Positions ....................................................159

4.4.3 InformationalorResearchInterviews ...........................161

4.5 The Interview ..............................................................................162

4.5.1 What Employers Are Looking For .................................162

4.5.2 How to Make a Good First Impression .........................163

4.5.3 Interview Questions .........................................................165

4.6 Unconventional Ways to Break In ............................................168

5. Freelancing/Starting Your Own Public Relations Agency .......170

5.1 IsSelf-EmploymentforYou? ....................................................170

5.1.1 QuestionstoAskYourself ...............................................171

5.1.2 ResourcestoGetYouStarted ..........................................173

5.2 Make Plans ..................................................................................174

5.2.1 Write a Business Plan .......................................................175

5.2.2 Create a Marketing Plan ..................................................178

5.2.3 Develop an Action Plan ...................................................182

5.3 SettingUpYourOffice ...............................................................184




5.3.1 Equipment .........................................................................184

5.3.2 OtherStartupItems ..........................................................189

5.4 FinancialMatters ........................................................................192

5.4.1 BeingCarefulwithYourMoney .....................................192

5.4.2 SettingYourRates .............................................................194

5.4.3 ContractsandLettersofAgreement .............................197

5.4.4 GettingPaid .......................................................................200

5.4.5 IncreasingYourIncome ...................................................202

6. Finding Clients ..................................................................................203

6.1 TypesofClients...........................................................................203

6.2 MarketingYourServices ...........................................................206

6.2.1 YourWarmMarket ...........................................................206

6.2.2 Cold Calling.......................................................................208

6.2.3 Networking .......................................................................215

6.2.4 PromotingYourself ..........................................................218

6.3 Working With New Clients .......................................................224

6.3.1 Responding to Inquiries ..................................................224

6.3.2 First Meeting with a New Client ....................................225

6.3.3 Preparing Proposals ........................................................228

6.3.4 Serving Clients ..................................................................232

6.4 Hiring Help .................................................................................232

6.4.1 Working with Subcontractors and Vendors .................232

6.4.2 Hiring Help .......................................................................233

6.4.3 DifferencesBetweenEmployeesandContractors .......233

6.4.4 Minimizing Risk ...............................................................235

6.5 Telecommuting ...........................................................................236




7. Being Successful ................................................................................238

7.1 TheFutureoftheIndustry ........................................................238

7.2 How to Keep Up with Industry Changes ...............................239

8. Resources .............................................................................................240

8.1 ProfessionalAssociations ..........................................................240

8.1.1 PublicRelationsSocietyofAmerica ..............................241

8.1.2 InternationalAssociationof

Business Communicators (IABC) ...................................242

8.1.3 Canadian Public Relations Society .................................243

8.1.4 IAPOInternationalAssociationof .................................244

ProfessionalPublicRelationsConsultants ...................244

8.1.5 LeagueofAmericanCommunicationsProfessionals....245

8.1.6 CouncilofPublicRelationsFirms ..................................245

8.1.7 Women in Communications ...........................................246

8.1.8 OtherGroups ....................................................................247 8.2Books ..........................................................................................251

8.3MagazinesandOtherPublications ..........................................252

About the Authors

Lynne Bliss,MA,hasmanyyearsofexperienceinpublicrelationsandmarketingforavarietyofindustries,corporations,andnon-profitor-ganizations including the Alzheimer’s Association, Jaycees and Parents Without Partners.

For the past several years, she has worked as a writer and editor in vari-ouscapacitiesincludingcontracteditorforUnitedMedianewspapersyndicate.SheeditedarticlesforSalon.com,Slate.comand6-8regularcolumnistscoveringfood,health,andlifestyleissues.Additionalon-lineexperienceincludeswritingforPoliceOne.comonlinenewsletter,andanonlineversionofLawEnforceentTechnologymagazine.Mostrecently,sheworkedasareporterforherlocalweeklynewspaper.ShealsowritesforFalconlady.com,ablogthatkeepslocalarearesidentsupto date on news and events.

Forfiveyears,sheownedBlissCommunicationswhichprovidedpub-lic relations and marketing services to small business and book authors.




1. Introduction to Public RelationsAsapublicrelationsconsultantyouwillhaveanexcitingjobinforming,influencing,andpersuadingpeopletotakeaction.Inthisfast-pacedjob, you will use your creativity and communication skills to come upwithsolutions.Youremployerorclientwillgiveyouachallengesuch as:

• Wehaveaneventcomingup.Howcanwegetpeopletoattend?

• How can we get people to buy our new product?

• How can we persuade more people to donate money to ourcharity?

• How can we make our new movie a blockbuster hit?

• Howcanweconvincepeopletovoteforourcandidate?

• We have an emergency situation. How can we quickly communi-cate what people should do?

• How can we get people to invest in our company?

• How do we improve our industry’s public image?

• How can we get our book onto the bestseller list?




• Howcanweincreaseawarenessofanimportantissue?

Ifyouareupforchallengeslikethese,thenpublicrelationsmaybeyourdream career. It’s no wonder Public Relations Specialist was ranked #1 by U.S Newsintheirlistof“BestCreativeJobs”.

1.1 What Is Public Relations?At the most basic level, public relations (PR) simply means managing relationswithone’spublic(s).A“public”isanygroupofpeoplewhoareimportanttothewell-beingofaperson,group,orbusiness.Forexample, a company’s publics might include customers, employees, investors,andlocalcommunities.Anon-profitorganization’spublicsmight include members, donors, volunteers, and society at large.

Youwillfindthatalotofdefinitionsfor“publicrelations”includewordssuchas:influence,persuade,relationships,andmutualunder-standing.Somedefinitionsarewordy,cumbersome,anddownrightscaryforsomeonenewtothecareer.

Don’t let those intimidate you into thinking that PR is some magical, mysticalprocessknownonlytoafewprivilegedsouls.Alotofitactu-allyinvolvesplain,oldcommonsense.EffectivePRsimplymeansthatanorganizationsuccessfullyusedcommunicationmethodstoachievea goal or goals.

Oneofthereasonsthiscareerfieldissointerestingisthatitincludes anumberofactivitiesandrolesundertheumbrellaterm“PublicRela-tions.”Therearesomanysub-categoriesthatit’seasyforaPRprofes-sionaltospecialize.Afewofthemare:

• Publicity(gettingaclientnoticedthroughmediasuchastelevi-sion, magazines, radio, newspapers, and the Internet)

• Promotion(attractingattendeestoaneventorinfluencingbuyingdecisions)

• Advertising(development,placement,andtimingofpaidadver-tisements and commercials)

• Lobbying(influencinglegislation)




• Development(fund-raisingfornon-profitsandcivicorganiza-tions)

• Mediarelations(formingworkingrelationshipswiththemediatoaccomplish publicity goals)

• Onlinepublicrelations(developingandcarryingoutstrategiesforpublicrelationsontheInternet)

• Strategicplanning(developingaplanofactiontoaccomplishapre-determined goal, objective, or outcome)

• Internalpublicrelations(communicatingwithsegmentsoftheorganizationitself,i.e.employees,volunteers,stockholders,etc.)

• Crisis communications (managing communications during a cri-siswithaffectedpublicsandthemedia)

Withintheroleslistedabove,aPRprofessionalmaybeaskedtodoanycombinationofthefollowing:

• Writing/editing

• Research,whichincludesmonitoringpublicactions/attitudesandresultsofPRactivities,andwhatthecompetitionisdoing

• Special events, such as open houses, hospitality suites, tradeshows

• Publicspeakingtoincludespeeches,presentationsbeforegroups,or managing speakers’ bureaus

• Productionofcommunicationmaterialssuchasbrochures,videosand websites

• Developing online communities, blogging, and using social me-dia and social networking sites including FaceBook, LinkedIn,Twitter,andYouTube

• Counseling clients on the best communication approach to reachtheir goals

• Trainingexecutivesinmakingpresentationsorappearingbeforeanewsconference




Inaddition,ifyouhaveyourownagency,youwillberequiredtoperformallthemanagementfunctionsassociatedwithasuccessful businessoperationsuchasbudgeting,finance,personnel,planning,andself-promotion.MoreinformationaboutPRrolesisgiveninchap-ter2ofthisguide.

1.2 HowPublicRelationsDiffersfromAdvertising or Marketing

Thereisafinelinebetweenpublicrelations,advertising,andmarket-ing. The line is blurry because all three appear to be selling something and all three overlap in some ways. The goal is the same — all are designedtoinfluencetheperceptions,actions,and/orbehaviorsofagroupofpeople.

There’safamoussaying,attributedtoReader’s Digest, that illustrates thesedifferences.

“If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign that says, ‘Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday,’ that’s Advertising.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him into town, that’s Promotion.

If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flowerbed, that’s Publicity.

If you can get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s Public Relations.

And if you planned the elephant’s walk, that’s Marketing.”

Eachusesadifferenttacticforachievingapre-determinedgoal.

Advertisingiseasilyidentifiable.Paidadvertisementssuchassigns,billboards,flyers,newspaperads,ortelevisioncommercialspromot-ing a product or service or announcing an event (e.g. the sign on the elephant)areintendedtobeseenbyalargenumberofpeople.




Promotionisanythingusedtoinfluencebuyingdecisionsandincreasesalesofaproductorservice(inthisexample,buyingticketstothecir-cus).

Marketinginvolvescomingupwithstrategiestoinfluencecustomerstobuy.MarketingwouldhavebeenusedinthiscaseifthecircusMarket-ingDirectorarrangedfortheelephanttowalkthroughtownandtheflowerbedinordertoincreaseticketsales.Asyoucanseefromthisexample,advertisingandpromotionoftenplayastrongroleinsupportofmarketing.

Whilemarketingfocusesoncommunicatingwithcustomersandpoten-tial customers, public relationsfocusesonbuildingrelationshipswithallthepublicsofanorganization.Someofthesepublicswillbecustomers.Whenapublicrelationsprogrammakespeoplefeelgoodaboutdoingbusinesswithacompany,peoplearemorelikelytobeinfluencedbythe company’s marketing program.

However, public relations consultants are concerned even with publics thatarenotcustomers.Forexample,whilethemayorhimselfmaynotbeinterestedinattendingthecircus,hisinvolvementcanhelpattractmorepeopletoattend.Asapublicrelationsconsultant,youmightcon-vince the mayor to go along with your plans because he wants to make moretaxrevenuebyattractingattendeestothecircusorbecausehewantstoappeartobea“goodsport”forthenextelection.

Oneareaofpublicrelationsispublicity,whichmeanshavinginforma-tionappearasanewsitemorfeaturestoryinthemedia(television,radio, newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.). In this case, you could get publicityforthecircusbyinvitingthemediatoreportontheelephantwalkingthroughthemayor’sflowerbed.Wheninformationappearsasnews, it is perceived as more credible than a paid advertisement. In this case, the circus would gain more publicity.

There’salsothepossibilityfornegativepublicity,forexampleifanimalrights activists protest the circus. In that case, a public relations consul-tant might be hired to help with crisis communications.

Themosteffectiveformofsellingtakesadvantageofpublicrelationsas well as marketing and advertising. For example, a magazine that wants to build its readership may advertise on TV and radio, while its




marketing department analyzes reader buying habits, and the editor uses public relations by making speeches to community groups.

1.3 BenefitsofaPublicRelationsCareer

A Growing Industry

Asacareerfield,PRisrelativelynew,havingemergedasaprofessioninthe20thcentury.Inthe21stcentury,theprofessionhasgrownandevolvedinresponsetounprecedentedcompetitionforthepublic’sat-tention.

Toillustratewiththecommunicationsmediumoftelevision,inthemid-20th century there were only three U.S. television networks and evenfewerinothercountries.Nowtherearehundredsoftelevisionstationscompetingforviewers,alongwithmillionsofvideosonlineatYouTube.AsofMarch,2014YouTubereported100hoursofvideouploaded to their site every minute, with more than a million creators fromover30countriesaroundtheworldintheYouTubePartnerPro-gram.

Ofcourseit’snotonlyvideocompetingforpublicattentiononline.By2000, Google had indexed more than one billion unique URLs. In 2008, Googlepassedanothermilestone.SoftwareengineersJesseAlpertandNissanHajajofGoogle’sWebSearchInfrastructureTeamreportedintheOfficialGoogleBlogonJuly25,2008:“wesawatrillionuniqueURLs,andthenumberofindividualwebpagesoutthereisgrowingbyseveralbillionpagesperday.”

Withbillionsofpagesofarticles,blogs,advertising,andotheronlinecontent,thepublicisrelyinglessonjournalistsforinformation.Mean-while, organizations are increasingly turning to public relations consul-tants to help them get their messages to the people they want to reach.

In their book, The Death and Life of American Journalism, authors Robert McChesneyandJohnNicholsreportedontheirstudyofemploymentdatawhichfoundpublicrelationsjobshaveincreasedasjournalismjobs have decreased. Whereas in 1980 there were about 25% more pub-lic relations workers than journalists (.45 public relations workers and .36 journalists per 100,000 population), by 2008 there were more than




three times as many public relations workers as journalists (.90 public relations workers and .25 journalists).

Now,accordingtotheU.S.BureauofLaborStatistics,“employmentofpublicrelationsspecialistsisprojectedtogrow12percentfrom2012to2022.”

Opportunity to Learn

As a public relations consultant you will have the opportunity to learnaboutalotofdifferentcompaniesandindustriesinthecourseofyour career.

Public relations traverses all industries. PR consultants are needed by alltypesandsizesofcorporationsinsuchdiverseindustriesasenter-tainment,fashion,financialservices,hightech,manufacturing,profes-sional sports, retail, and transportation. Public relations is also used by non-profitgroups,churches,universities,politics,healthcare,andevengovernment entities.

Partofthethrillinpublicrelationsisseeingthebehind-the-scenes activitiesandgettingthe“realstory.”Justpickupa“tell-all”bookwrittenbyaWhiteHousepresssecretarytofindoutwhatImean. Thebehind-the-scenesworldwillopenuptoyouasyoufindouthowdifferentcorporations,governmentagencies,institutions,andmediafunction.

Public relations is also a dynamic career. There are always new issues todealwithandnewplayersonthescene.Fifteenyearsagotherewasnosuchthingaspublicrelationsspecificallyforhightechindustries,and“crisiscommunication”meantsomeonecalledanambulance.Asapublicrelationsconsultant,youwillhaveafascinatingcareerthatal-lows you to continuously learn and grow.

Excitement and Challenge

Itwillbeyourjob,orthejoboftheteamyou’reworkingwith,tocomeupwithsolutionstoavarietyofpublicrelationsproblems.Forexam-ple,youmaywriteafeaturearticleforamagazinethatprovidesinfor-mation while it also subtly promotes a concept or business, or you may plananeventthatpromotesawarenessofanimportantissuewhile




raisingdonationsatthesametime.Youwillhavemanygoalsandwillberequiredtofindcreativewaystomeetthem.Ifyouenjoyachallenge,you will certainly enjoy working in public relations.

MakingaDifference

Theworkyoudocanmakeadifferenceinmanypeople’slives.Youcanhelpacompanyfindinvestorsandcustomers.Youcanmakepeopleawareofproductsthatmakelifeeasier,safer,ormoreenjoyable.Dur-ingatimeofcrisis,youcanhelppeoplegettheinformationtheyneed.

Theworkyoudocanalsoinfluencepublicopinion.Youcanhelppromotepoliticalorspiritualvalues,raisefundsforcharitableorga-nizations (such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, Al-zheimer’sAssociationMemoryWalks)andincreaseawarenessofissuessuch as domestic violence, the environment, and AIDS.

ThereisahugesenseofsatisfactioninplanningaPRcampaign,imple-menting that plan, and seeing the results.

Low Risk to Start Your Own Business

Youcanstartandoperateapublicrelationsconsultingbusinesfromhome,withoutabankloan.Infact,youprobablyalreadyownthepri-mary equipment needed such as a computer and phone. There can be somemarketingcostswhenstarting,butcostsareminimal,asword-of-mouthandnetworkingarepowerfulforcesinthisbusiness.

Youcanstartconsultingonapart-timebasis,whilekeepingaprimarysourceofincome.Atthesametimeyoucaneaseyourwayintothebusinessbygettingthewordoutthatyouareinterestedinconsultingwork.Thenasthedemandforyourservicesgrows,youcancommittoconsultingfulltime.

OtherBenefits

As a public relations consultant you will likely work with many inter-estingpeople–fromcorporateexecutivestojournalistsandmembersofthepublic.Afewpublicrelationspeopleworkcloselywithcelebri-ties to promote their careers or projects they have been involved with such as movies or books.




Theincomeforpublicrelationsprofessionalsisanotherbenefit.ThejobwebsiteSimplyHiredreportsthattheaveragesalaryforfreelancePR jobs is $59,000. According to The Official PR Salary and Bonus Report preparedforthePublicRelationsSocietyofAmerica,theaverage2014salariesforpublicrelationsprofessionalsemployedbyPRfirmsrangefrom$56,100upto$164,500(thelatterforexecutivevice-presidents)whiletheaverage2014salaryforcorporatecommunicationsprofes-sionals (which includes public relations) is $80,500.

Depending on the organization you work with, there may also be other jobperks,suchashealthbenefits,companycar,andtheopportunitytotravel.

Ifthesebenefitsappealtoyou,therestofthisguidewilltellyouhowyoucanbreakintothisfabjob.

1.4 Inside This GuideThisguideisdesignedtogiveyoutheinformationyouneedtogetstarted and succeed as a public relations consultant.

Chapter 2 (What a Public Relations Consultant Does) covers what you needtoknowtogetstartedinthefieldofpublicrelationsconsulting.Youwilllearnmoreaboutthecareeritself,startingwithdifferentrolesaPRconsultantmayhave.Youwillalsogetaquickeducationinmediarelationstechniques.Afterreadingthischapteryouwillknowhowtocreate a public relations plan, develop a media contact list, write a news release, and promote your clients online, among other public relatons skills.

Chapter 3 (Developing Your Skills) introduces you to the knowledge, skills,andpersonalattributesemployersandclientsarelookingforinapublic relations consultant, and it explains the many options you have tolearnmoreaboutthepublicrelationsfield.Italsocovershowyoucan immediately get marketable experience – through internships, vol-unteering, and other methods.

Onceyouhavepreparedyourselfforthiscareer,Chapter4(Getting Hired)willtellyouhowtogetapublicrelationsjob.Youwilldiscoveremployerswhohirepublicrelationspersonnel,howtofindoutabout




jobopenings,howtoprepareaneffectiveresumeandportfolio,andhowtomakeagreatimpressioninaninterview.Youwillevendiscoverhow to create a job.

Ifyouwantthefreedomofstartingyourownbusiness,youwillfindgood advice in Chapter 5 (Starting Your Own Public Relations Business). In this chapter you will discover how to create a business plan and set upanoffice.Asectionon“financialmatters”coverseverythingfromsettingyourratestogettingpaid.

Chapter 6 (Getting Clients)willgiveyoudetailedinformationaboutfindingclients,includingthedifferenttypesofclientsthathirepublicrelationsconsultants.Youwillalsolearnhowtopromoteyourselftoprospective clients including advice on preparing proposals.

The guide concludes with resources to help you succeed in your busi-ness,includingalistofprofessionalassociations.

Whenyou’refinishedwiththisguideyouwillknowwhatsteptotakenextandwheretogofromthere.Byapplyingwhatyoulearnhere,it’sjustamatteroftimebeforeyou’llbewhereyouwanttobe–inare-warding career as a business consultant.

You have reached the end of the free sample of the FabJob Guide to Become a Public Relations Consultant To order and download the complete guide go to https://fabjob.com/program/become-public-relations-consultant/.


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