What is one tip for getting on a PR list for brands looking to promote products?
To help you get on a PR list for brands looking to promote their products, we asked marketing experts and business owners this question for their best strategies. From being proactive to discussing ROI metrics, there are several tips that may help you land yourself on a PR list and receive products from brands.
Here are nine strategies for getting on a PR list:
- Be Proactive
- Practice Common Professional Courtesies
- Develop Relationships With Key Media Members
- Respond to Appropriate Queries
- Send a Sample
- Show Your Company is Progressive
- Cross-Promote the Brand
- Improve Your Photography Skills
- Discuss ROI Metrics
Be Proactive
Most marketers who are looking to get the word out would be thrilled to have someone raise their hand and offer coverage proactively. If there are brands you’re interested in working with, it should be easy to use LinkedIn to identify the product marketers and communications people who manage PR outreach. Send them a quick note saying that you’d love to be added to their distro list. And if you’ve covered them in the past, include a clip so they can see how valuable your work can be for their company. If you strike out there, try DMing the brand’s social media accounts — the people who run them probably sit next to the targets you’re trying to reach.
Elliott Brown, OnPay Online Payroll
Practice Common Professional Courtesies
Although it seems like common sense, being courteous, honest, and responsive, is not as common as you may think, and one of the best ways to get on and stay on a PR list is practicing these principles. The influencer world often carries the reputation of being unreliable and even irresponsible; failing to practice basic professional courtesies like communication and adhering to schedules can put many on the banned section of a list provider.Therefore, once you establish contact with a brand, email them to follow up on conversations, thank them for sending products, inform them of when you will post a review, and maintain strict schedules that they can count on. In addition, keep your reviews respectful but always honest, as over the top reviews, or ones that are humiliatingly critical, can end a relationship quickly. By practicing these simple common sense principles, you will not only better your chances of getting on a PR list, but remaining on it.
Yuvi Alpert, Noémie
Develop Relationships With Key Media Members
There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but an excellent place to start is by developing relationships with key media members and then pitching them your product in a way that is relevant to their audience. It’s also essential to ensure that your product is high quality and that you have a good story to tell. Journalists are always looking for new and exciting stories, so make sure you can articulate what makes your product unique and why people should care about it. Finally, be patient and keep at it – like most things in life, getting on a PR list takes time and effort.
Natalia Brzezinska, PhotoAiD
Respond to Appropriate Queries
Respond to queries that relate to your product and industry. Make sure you include a high-quality photo, brand background, and product information. Get them excited about your product because it is a good fit for an article or blog. Make their job easier by advocating for your product effectively.
Ann McFerran, Glamnetic
Send a Sample
Send a sample product! There is nothing like holding the real product in your hand and getting to try it yourself. If you believe in your product, this shows confidence and a PR professional wants to be able to give a first-hand experience of your product before promoting it.
Sumeer Kaur, Lashkaraa
Show Your Company is Progressive
Talk about your sustainability efforts. Sending samples is usually inevitable, but brands may promote your product with real enthusiasm if you’re actively trying to make the world a better place. Having products that are sustainable, environmentally-friendly, forward-thinking and progressive are more likely to land your product at the top of a brand’s PR list with extra text included. More often are consumers basing their purchasing decisions around doing good in the world, even on their own, individual level.
Bradley Hall, Sonu Sleep
Cross-Promote the Brand
Any PR brand loves getting exposure and appreciation. Promoting the brand’s product on not just one platform but multiple higher your probability of getting noticed by a brand. You can cross-promote yourself on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or any other platforms by creating unique content and tagging the brand. It helps a brand in making up their mind of working with you since you’re giving them more exposure. Also, it helps you get noticed faster by a brand.
Meera Watts, Siddhi Yoga International Pte. Ltd.
Improve Your Photography Skills
One tip would be to improve your photography skills. Brands care about visuals, and in the online world, visuals are a key method of communication. So make sure that your products are well exposed and delivered. It will significantly boost your chances of landing a PR list. You can learn the skill yourself, or hire a professional photographer, but the photos of your products must be with a certain level of quality so you can show your target audience that your brand offers high-quality products.
Marco Genaro Palma, PRLab
Discuss ROI Metrics
If you have a substantial following and have actively collaborated with other brands in the past, always discuss the return of investment (ROI) in your pitches. You need to make yourself stand out and show how the collaboration will benefit the brand. Providing metrics and visible evidence of your previous success will make your pitch far more appealing to the brand rep. Give them a full report on the metrics from your previous collaborations. In your ROI metrics, include how many likes/comments you got on promo posts in the past. Inform the brand rep of how your former collaborative partner profited from your post with increased follower counts and product sales. If you have access to site traffic, include this data as well.
Bryan Philips, In Motion Marketing
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