Making sense of media: what to use and when
April 12, 2013 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
Reprinted with kind permission of Cision UK. Find the original feature on the Cision UK blog.
Shall we publish it? Post it? Print it? Tweet it? Or Pin it? Does it require links, likes, retweets, or +1s? Gordon Kelly reveals the technologies that PRs should know how to use and, more importantly, when it’s best to use them.
The boundaries are blurring. Never before have journalists, PRs and consumers had so many ways to publish, consume and promote news. If you meet someone who tells you they have mastered them all, the polite term is ‘they need better PR’. Quite simply the machinations are bewildering and ever more complex strategies are inspiring indecision as much as, well… inspiration. That said there are general rules and, for the most part, they are simple, logical and far too often forgotten:
It needs publishing
Your news is actual news. PRs know how to categorise this far better than they’re given credit. Poor pitches are predominantly caused by losing a battle with the client, which journalists interpret as stupid PRs – so don’t lose!
The print verses digital debate rages on and while digital’s ability to show up in search engines means a longer tail, print retains (however falsely) greater gravitas. Print needs exclusives and NDAs to stay in touch, so make sure you provide them. Digital is about speed, so releases that say what isn’t available (price, release date, etc) as well as what is, saves journalists time spent on needless follow-ups. When successfully published feel free to link, tweet and post about this as much as you like, you’ve earned it.
It needs sharing
>Publishing comes via the filter of a journalist or title, but when your news is unlikely to catch their eye the key is going direct. Facebook pages build consumer loyalty, especially when enticed with competitions and prizes, but beware: journalists largely hate being contacted while they’re organising their holiday snaps.
Twitter is the place big companies do tech support and smaller ones reach out looking for contextually relevant user tweets, but announcements are a flash in the pan unless you pull off the holy grail of getting your topic trending. Still, journalists are happy to be contacted using Twitter and it gives an invaluable gift – this is what this journalist is thinking and needing now.
Pinterest and Instagram work best for announcements with a visual flair and Foursquare when there is something to visit – tie in prizes and something (anything) free to get the public flocking.
It needs sponsoring
Let’s face it, some things simply aren’t going anywhere unless you pay for it. Google ads, occasional sponsored Facebook posts (don’t do too many unless you want consumers to leave you in droves) and contextual advertising (sales teams still pressure editorial to review products from major buyers) all have their time and place.
In these economically stretched times advertorials also don’t carry the stigma they once did, especially if they are informative, educational and stay away from the biggest faux pas: self promotion. Competitions with titles are warmly appreciated as well, again don’t push for editorial flattery and don’t do it unless you can offer good prizes to get the attention of the title and its readers – offering too little is an insult.
It needs intelligence
Variety is the spice of life and it is also the spice in successful promotion. Relentless press releases, social media blitzes and uninspiring giveaways deliver only diminishing returns. Categorisation and contextualisation must be the first stage of analysis for every client proclamation and request. Set off on the wrong path and it is typically too difficult or too expensive to correct. Lest we forget the problem with the Information Age is too much information and, in a time when news aggregation king the RSS reader is considered too much of a time suck, getting the message and medium right first time has never been more important.
For the discerning PR a planet of always-connected consumers and journalists is the richest of bounties, but faced with endless choice the attention spans of both have never been shorter.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
The Food Source: Great Tech-spectations
March 27, 2013 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
For freelance writers and journalists flexibility is crucial to earning regular and varied work. One of the most interesting copywriting projects I’ve had as a direct result of this was this report looking into the affect of technological innovation on the restaurant industry.
The grab of the report is below and when clicked it will enlarge. The original article can be found here and I urge you to check out The Food Source which is a super site and opened with the publication of this article just a few weeks ago.
As with my feature writing, editorials and reviews, parties interesting in hiring me for copy writing should contact me via any of the methods listed on my Contact page. You may also wish to view my LinkedIn profile which features numerous recommendations and skill endorsements.
Click Enlarge
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
TomTom 2012 B2B Brochures
December 17, 2012 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
As in 2011 TomTom has allowed me to publish and promote my professional copyrighting. Typically this work is not published due to non-disclosure agreements.
The brief this year was to update all 11 of the company’s existing 2011 brochures with new product information, adjust the tone to be more direct and authoritative and modernise the layouts putting a greater emphasis on white space. Further customisation was also required for each industry sector and, given the complexity of the products and services at hand, it was crucial to make them concise and digestible. All targets were achieved in a maximum of 3 drafts per brochure and signed off 5 days ahead of schedule.
Below are links to download the brochures in PDF format and beneath them is a sample image in jpg format of ‘Maps & Enhanced Content’ – TomTom’s main B2B brochure which will enlarge when clicked. As with my feature writing, editorials and reviews, interested parties should contact me via any of the methods listed on my Contact page. You may also wish to view my LinkedIn profile which has extensive written recommendations and skill endorsements.
- Financial Services
- Geo-marketing
- Givernment & Public Sector
- Insurance
- Internet
- Maps and Enhanced Content
- Portable & Wireless
- Real Time & Historical Traffic
- Retail
- Transportation & Logistics
- Utilities & Telecommunication
Click to enlarge
[The Guardian] My Big Break in Journalism
April 12, 2012 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
A rare deviation. This article is not written by me, rather I am a part of it giving career advice to aspiring journalists for an article in the Guardian.
My Big Break in Journalism: Writers Reveal their Routes into the Media
What does it take to get a journalism career started? A handful of high profile reporters tell Jack Oughton how they got their foot in the door, and offer advice for budding journalists
- Jack Oughton (find him on Twitter)
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 11 April 2012 10.43 BST
Keen to find out what the journalists and writers that I look up to did to get to where they are today, I devised a mini career questionnaire and sent a few tweets and emails to get some answers. I asked: what’s the one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring journalists? What was the most important thing you did for your career? And, what is good journalism to you? Here are some highlights from what they had to say.
[Cut to my section. I don't have rights to republish in its entirety.]
Gordon Kelly is a writer and journalist specialising in technology, music and film. He works freelance as a features writer for TrustedReviews, the BBC and Wired, produces internal magazines for a number of major companies and teaches courses in media relations
“Remember the 5 Ws [who, what, where, when, why]. It is basic, but how you order information is fundamental to better writing. If I’m allowed a second: don’t be afraid to say you don’t understand. Journalists spend their time talking to specialists. Better to ask a question at the time than feel foolish in print later on.
At my first job my editor made me write nothing but NIBs (news in brief) for the first week. NIBs could be no shorter than 23 words and no longer than 27 words. The lesson was crucial: quickly identify what is and isn’t important and work out what is the heart of the story. Now being able to see the hook of a story, feature or editorial is arguably my biggest strength. To this day if I’m struggling with something I try to summarise it in 23 to 27 words.
[Good journalism is] stories that engage. Different industries and different titles will have a huge influence on what and how you can write, but from these boundaries I think it is important to convey to the reader: ‘this is why you should care’. From cats stuck in trees to front page news, if you don’t care about what you write, why should anyone else?”
Read the entire article here with further advice from the likes of Guardian Technology Editor Charles Arthur, renowned freelance journalist Elizabeth Pears, BGR executive editor Zach Epstein, Tom Warren - Senior News Editor at The Verge and founder of WinRumors, Guardian Money editor Hilary Osborne and Dan Raywood, online news editor for SC Magazine.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
The Scotsman: Myths & Miracles of Social Media
April 3, 2012 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
In the run up to Digital Scotland last month I produced two features for The Scotsman newspaper: ‘Myths and Miracles of Social Media’ and a ‘Smart Devices: Roundup’.
Many thanks to all the contributors involved in this.
- Chris Owen, senior account director at Octopus Communications
- Allan Barr, head of digital & social media at PR agency The Big Partnership
- Dan Monsieurle, co-founder of justFDI, creator’s of ThinkWall.com
- Ben Mathews, founding director at Bright One
- Stephen Pritchard, business journalist, broadcaster and producer
- Chris Lee, MD, Planet Content
Please find an image of the articles from the newspaper below and a PDF can be downloaded here. Questions, comments and further professional enquiries welcome.
Click to Enlarge
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
SanDisk Channel Flash Magazines
August 12, 2011 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
Following TomTom’s kind decision to allow me to reveal my copywriting for the company, SanDisk has proved that – much like buses – good things come in pairs. I regularly produce copy for the company’s Channel Flash industry magazine and occasionally write all editorial content. Find a sample below (click to enlarge) and downloadable features from the links below.
As always, if you are interesting in hiring me to produce copy for you click this link to my Contact page.
TomTom 2011 B2B Brochures
August 12, 2011 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
As a freelance writer and journalist I do not often promote my copywriting skills due to non disclosure agreements. Kindly breaking this cycle is TomTom. I produce a great deal of the company’s b2b marketing material, from which you will see a sample brochure below (click to enlarge). Downloadable PDF links are posted here for additional samples.
- Maps & Enhanced Content Brochure
- Mini Brochure: Business Intelligence
- Mini Brochure: Public Sector
- Mini Brochure: Fleet Logistics
- Mini Brochure: Insurance
If you are interesting in hiring me to produce copy for you click this link to my Contact page.
Pitching to Journalists
March 29, 2010 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
I should have posted this a lot earlier: an interview I conducted with RunMarketing in November last year.
Contacting journalists can be a daunting prospect if you’re new to approaching the media. However, building up strong relationships with the media is critical to overall marketing success and is a must for any business. To help understand how small businesses and start-ups can best approach the media, RunMarketing spoke to freelance journalist and blogger Gordon Kelly.
Click to listen to this episode (right click and save to download)
For more on writing press releases and pitching to media, visit RunMarketing’s Resources page.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.
PRWeek Video Podcast: the relationship between PRs & Journalists
January 21, 2010 by Gordon
Filed under Copywriting & Media Training
What makes for a good relationship between PRs and journalists? I sit on the PRWeek sofa with Paul Borge, head of digital at Consolidated PR, to discuss this. Comments welcome.
Copyright for all reviews, editorials and features on this site belong to their respective publishers. All samples published on this website are via prior agreement with those publishers and serve to act as a portfolio and centralised location for all my work. Contact me at gordon@gordonkelly.com should you wish to commission me or supply review samples, press releases or arrange meetings.