Each week throughout 2020, our RoxStars have delivered insider tips to help PRs navigate their way through pitching, images, gifting and relationship building in the time of Covid. Here we round up the best tips of the year, with links to the full columns, in case you missed them. Roxhill will have more from our four RoxStars, and many more of the UK’s top journalists, in 2021.
‘Pithiness is a winner whatever the medium, while condensing your pitch to elevator-ride length will help you improve it or recognise the need for a rethink.’
"Elevator pitches" Richard Mellor (23 November)
‘Be it from PRs or freelancers, the bulk of pitches received by travel editors are vaguely for “a feature” or “a round-up”. Pitches which target a particular, regular slot truly stand out.’
"Targeting regular sections" Richard Mellor (9 November)
Some newspapers use their feature pages for hard-hitting stories; on The Times we tend not to. As ever, the rule is to read the paper or magazine you are pitching to so you get a feel for the kind of stories they are interested in.’
"Not me, guv" Tony Turnbull (27 October)
‘I can’t emphasise enough how “last minute” so much of the work we do on newspapers is, so if you and your clients are top of our minds when we don’t have the time for much research, beautiful things can happen.’
"Outside chance" Tony Turnbull (3 November)
‘If an idea/product/treatment/spa speaks to our own needs and interests, we are 100 times more likely to pick up on it. So pitch your client or service to a relevant hack: anti ageing to a twenty something is less likely to result in a bite than if you are speaking to a forty something who is feeling bad about their crows feet.’
"The power of 'you'" Rosie Green (13 May)
‘If you have a product/event that is happening, like right now, I like it to be short, sharp, precise and crucially correct on the facts – I have to trust you.’
"That’s the way it is" Rosie Green (11 November)
‘Generalised call-outs asking me to “announce things online” are sloppy and pointless. They’re a total waste of time and a client’s fee. You know this and I know you know this. Just make sure everyone else in your company does too.”
"How not to do it..." Kate Finnigan (23 July)
‘Dropbox or Google image folders are better than WeTransfer or attached images. They’re better than WeTransfer because the latter involves a link, a download, a zip file… and, though it takes ten seconds, all that feels way too time-consuming. As for attached images, they often extend off-screen or aren’t hi-res, and also just feel a bit… amateur? Harsh. But true. So, yeah. Use Dropbox, or something else where I can see your images super-quickly.’
"Round-up your chances" Richard Mellor (3 March)
‘The driver here was images, plain and simple. An ad dropped out and we had a couple of hours to put the page together. I had no shortage of interesting hamper suggestions, but too few of them were accompanied by decent photography. I know it’s difficult for smaller brands, but it’s really important they do the best job they can, especially when presenting their products for such a visual slot as Christmas gift pages.’
"Happy hampers" Tony Turnbull (24 November)
‘While it’s great to have all suggestions on a PDF, it’s actually quite difficult to see products clearly in this format. Far better to have some nice embedded images and then a link to cut-outs, which is the only kind of image that I’ll be looking for. Lifestyle shots for gift guides are useless.’
"The holy grail gift guide" Kate Finnigan (1 October)
‘Digestible facts make all the difference. They render pitches easier to deliver, and they make round-up entries easier to write: when I receive ten Cornwall suggestions and can’t separate them out, such a fun detail wins the day as the entry is easiest to write. In journalistic terms, I have a ‘way in’.’
"What’s your USP?" Richard Mellor (29 June)
‘With Mother’s Day releases, I have to weigh up a good story versus the reality of reader’s needs and budgets. The truth is it’s good journalism to hunt out the bargains, the insider places that no-one knows about, the products that are under the radar or under a tenner. The expert therapist/masseur that really can reset your body/your mind.’
"Mother’s Day madness" Rosie Green (26 February)
‘It’s good to find things to communicate about as a way of keeping the channel of communication open and to plant your client’s name in a journalist’s mind. You don’t have to believe National Toastie Day is a real thing and I don’t need to pretend to believe it’s a real thing. It’s just a bit of harmless fun.’
"No shame in faking it" Tony Turnbull (13 October)
‘As a PR, you shouldn’t be shy of checking in occasionally with relevant journalists. You don’t always have to be telling us about some new client or new product (although obviously we want to hear about those). Sometimes it’s good just to be reminded that you are still at the same agency and still looking after the same clients.’
"No news is good news" Tony Turnbull (6 October)
‘There’s certainly a skill to cold-email approaches, and it’s an easy formula to execute. Obviously, specifying the correct newspaper helps, and getting the journalist’s name right. Make a subtle nod to the prep you’ve done before getting in touch – acknowledge you’ve seen my piece, and briefly tell me if you have relevant clients that I’ve unwittingly overlooked. Then you could attach or paste a client list – but far better is to include 3-5 news stories or an angle specifically for me.’
"Hello stranger" Richard Mellor (17 August)
‘Professionalism is good right? We all strive to be punctual, polite, thorough, reliable – all those things our mothers taught us to be. Most of the time we try and keep our private challenges separate from our professional dealings. But sometimes we need to get human, because the truth is, your personal life does impact on your work life and vice versa.’
"We’re only human after all" Rosie Green (28 October)
‘Twice in recent times, I’ve had to ask to be put in touch with an agency’s former client. In both cases, it was protracted and difficult. The trick in these situations is to ask succinctly if there’s any room for your current clients and otherwise just to help me. That leads to a scenario in which I am more likely to come to you and use your clients in future.’
"Former clients" Richard Mellor (3 August)
What helps: keeping the packaging on brand: an exquisite perfume swaddled bubble wrap and scotch tape instantly devalues it. Having eco awareness: an enormous box for a tiny product feels wasteful. Making it easy to open: sometimes it’s so challenging to get into a parcel I give up. Avoiding glitter: nothing fun about tiny silver sprinkles all over your rug. Including information with the product: helps to have it to hand (stockist, price, it’s USP) in case you want to feature it there and then.’
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