“How much do you charge to write an article and publish it in the newspapers?” A prospective Client asked me. “Well, to write the article it is just Rs. 15,000/= but to get it published, no charge” I responded. When he showed surprise I went on to explain that Newspapers would publish an article that is interesting and has value to the reader. Paying under the table to get an article published is, in fact, an insult to my strategic writing skills.
Your customer does not wake up in the morning dying to know what new thing you have done on the day before. In fact, you may not be anywhere in his or her radar. They flip through the pages of a newspaper or magazine to figure out the news or browse the web to see what is new. So tell me, who would get goosebumps to hear that your company has got an award? or get excited to hear that you have opened a new store in town, apart from you? How would that change your customer’s life?
The simple fact of the matter is that people will read your article if it is interesting and full of information. If the article is interesting the Editor of the Magazine or Newspaper would thank me and publish the article. So why should I charge you for publishing the article?
So this PR business is all about relating stories that help to either establish or strengthen relationships with your target publics.
If you have a story to tell that is similar to a “Starwars” Saga or a “James Bond” movie, people would read to find out how your product or service could solve a problem.
Or if your story is somewhat like “Watership Down” or “Pilgrim’s Progress”, Readers would want to know how your company could achieve their goals.
If you allow me to write your PR articles sounding like “Wizard of Oz”, or “Gulliver’s Travels” I could make the audience feel that using your product or service would change their lifestyle.
Well, I could give your story another different spin. How about making it sound like Bidget Jones Diary? Then I am sure the article I write would project your product as having the ability to overcome a definite common problem that consumers face today.
If you want to make it really personal, I could make your PR article sound like Hamlet or West Side Story… making them feel that their personal shortcomings could be overcome by using your product or service.
If you want to talk about what new dimension or better lifestyle your product or service could create for the User, I could write a Snow White type story for you. Or if you wish to make the reader feel “Hey this product will make me richer” I could give your PR story a Cinderella spin to it.
At the end of the day, your PR story must create value for the reader. It is only then that an Editor of the print medium would consider publishing it.
So let me write a story that your audience would read. It will cost you Rs. 15,000/= … to get it published, no extra charge.