The Lost Art of Conversation

A lot of PR agencies sell themselves on their proactivity, editor contacts and the fact that they do not just simply undertake the ‘blanket’ issue of press releases. But as times goes on, my own dealings with journalists – mainly trade press editors and freelance writers – are forcing me to question how many agencies are actually true to their word - says Luke Bull, PR Account Director.

When I first started in PR 15 years ago, we didn’t have e-mail. The only way to contact an editor was to write them a letter (a bit formal, even then, if you just wanted a chat about the magazine and what they were seeking for a particular feature) or pick up the phone.

And so I did pick up the phone, and it actually started to work. Because I could communicate to editors – far more effectively – why my client was the best person to speak to on a particular issue and why they should take a day out of their hard-pressed schedules to come and visit my client and see for themselves how wonderful they were.

A visit invariably results in a major feature article written by the journalist (no work for me, and a delighted client), a major feature article that I have to write (a bit more work for me, but then I came into PR because I like writing and the result’s the same as far as the client is concerned) and usually the prospect of more opportunities down the line. One meeting I arranged earlier this year resulted in requests for four separate feature articles from a busy editor who wasn’t allowed freelance support but still had a sizeable publication to fill each month. Need I say more?

Put simply, one face-to-face meeting with a journalist does more than a thousand e-mails ever could. And if you throw in lunch, you’ve made a friend for life.

Of course, if I’m dealing with several clients with an interest in that publication, they get the benefit too. Because from what many journalists tell me, I’m among a minority of PR people who make the effort to speak to them direct rather than just stuffing their inbox with stories which might or might not be relevant. Amazing, really, given that we’re supposed to be professional communicators.

The results

Nowadays, the phone rarely leaves my ear. I spend up to a day a week on the phone to journalists trying to drum up opportunities, and it’s without doubt the most effective time I spend. They don’t all come off, but I’ve still never been tempted to hide behind e-mail just because one editor tells me that a particular feature isn’t covering an issue my client can comment on. Ultimately, it’s a selling job, and if one editor isn’t interested in something then it’s just a case of moving on to the next one who might be.

Even now I pick up the phone to journalists who I met perhaps once more than a decade ago and they still remember me – usually for the right reasons. And as a result they are far more receptive to whatever it is I’m trying to get them to buy into this time.

But I question how many of them would do so if I’d never taken the time to call them or meet them in the first place.