Good afternoon —
I interact with dozens of PR people a week. I often get asked — sometimes privately when a company is looking to make a change, and sometimes on industry panels or podcasts — what makes a PR agency a good partner to a news organization like HousingWire? Clients want to get in front of media, so people want to know what separates the good from the truly terrible.
Glad you asked.
First, the best PR companies and people understand the industry at a deep level. They know who the players are and they understand what's important to not only their clients but the audience we serve. That means they can truly fulfill the relations part of PR, connecting us with industry leaders and others in ways that benefit us both.
That last point is crucial. Every journalist I know gets a mountain of email every day, just like you do. A pitch — for us to cover a product launch, interview an exec, be on a podcast, whatever — should quickly get to the point and make it easy for every party involved to interact. So, emails that ask to get on a call to discuss a vague topic are not likely to be answered. Would you answer a similar pitch for your business?
In contrast, the relationships some PR people have built with me and my team will have me opening their email as soon as I see it. It's because they have proved to be honest brokers of their client relationships and they deliver the thing we need above everything else: compelling content.
Our job every day is to provide news nowhere else, to deliver the information and insight you can't get from other places. That's a hard job and when a PR person makes that easier, it's a win-win. Case in point: recently a PR head noticed we were doing something new, realized how several of their clients would fit this new initiative, teed up relevant content from them, and reached out with a plan to fill a need I hadn't even identified yet. It was beautiful.
I realize PR folks have it hard. They don't always have the freedom to do the things they know would make a difference. Their clients may disregard their very sound advice. Sometimes they have endured death by a thousand cuts from a client committee before they even get to propose something to us. But the really good ones are creative and resourceful, and it shows.
There is a whole lot more to talk about when it comes to PR and the larger issues around creating content. That's why we're going to discuss it at our Engage Marketing event on May 7. If you're a mortgage marketer, you don't want to miss this session, which will wrap a day of incredible speakers and topics.
The event is free for HW+ members, and if you're a mortgage marketer, you should definitely be signed up for that already. How else will you read the latest scoop on your company, or their biggest rivals? We've made it easy to sign up here.
Until Monday —
Sarah Wheeler
HousingWire Editor in Chief
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