Before you schedule publicity events, look at the calendar, and check out what’s going to be going on in the world.  If it’s an entertainment event, think of what might be competing for the media attention.  When is the Oscars, the Grammys or the Sundance Film Festival?  If it’s national press attention you’re looking to garner - make sure it’s not the date of the election primary, or the anniversary of a major event.  Sometimes we can’t help when major breaking news distracts the media, but being aware of scheduled events can help you avoid a conflict.

While the importance of relationships with media should not be diminished, many not involved in the world of publicity seem to put too much emphasis on publicists’ relationships with the media.  A good publicist, is a good publicist, even without the contacts, while no relationship can salvage a bad pitch.  If something isn’t newsworthy, it is likely that even if the journalists is one of your best friends, you can’t get them to run it.  So, with a solid pitch and the correct contact, you should be able to succeed, no matter if you have worked with a journalist in the past.

Let publicity be a guide for all areas of your life.  All publicists have likely encountered a pitch that just is not being well received by the press.  The longer I work as a publicist, the more selective I have become in signing clients - I learned early on that it does no good - to me or the client - to take money in exchange for little or no results.  But, every now and again, we take a client, believing that their story is one that people will be interested in - but not everyone (press included) agrees.  All I can say in this circumstance is - don’t get discouraged - and keep trying - hard work does pay off in the end.

For those of you who have been in the PR business for a while, it’s easy to fall back on what we learned in PR 101.  10 years, ago, getting the cover story in a national daily newspaper or magazine (NY Times, Newsweek, etc.) was the “holy grail.”  Don’t get me wrong, these are great hits, but consumers today are increasingly getting their news over the internet.  Yahoo, AOL, My Space and You Tube have replaced traditional sources as the place where people get their news.  So, stay on top of the newest technologies and sources of news, and your clients will reap the rewards.