Publicist Reveals Shocking Bad Behavior From Clients and How to Form a Relationship That Works Could your tone with a publicist be hurting your PR outreach? Here's what publicists won't tell you the next time you treat them as a paid minion.
By Mark Macias Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Your publicist and PR team can be your best or worst advocate. Much of your success depends on how you manage the relationship with them.
Believe it or not, publicists are people too and they actually feel and act on those emotions. If they feel indebted to you, or believe you're trying to help them succeed, the best publicists will move mountains for you. And if they feel you are secretly sabotaging their work or not supporting them, who knows what they might say when you're not around.
I've worked with a nonprofit organization for the last 5 years. When the CMO first approached me in 2016 and told me her budget was $600/month, I knew this wouldn't be a profitable media campaign. It takes time to find the right journalists, pitch them and coordinate interviews. Even more costly, I have to develop a strategic editorial campaign that leads to coverage.
But I accepted this PR work because I liked the CMO. I believed she was a kind person with good intentions, and I wanted to help her cause. I'm glad I did because over the years, this nonprofit grew into a national organization with a larger, more market reflective budget.
You Don't Own a Publicist's Life Outside of Work
It's easy to believe when we pay for a service, we own the experience. And that is partially true with PR. If you're paying for a media campaign, you should be able to call the lead strategist and discuss progress or media updates.
But at the same time, it's important to be conscious and respectful of the publicist's time. This is especially crucial if the publicist is working around a smaller budget. Do you really need to make that call at 11pm or on a Sunday evening?
I like to schedule calls, so my mindset is focused on the client and I can take detailed notes. When it's appropriate, I bring someone from my team to listen in so our action is more streamlined. You can't do this with random, unannounced calls.
Unless it's a crisis, respect the publicist's time outside of business hours. This is important to remember during Covid when it feels like we are all working longer hours. Publicists will work harder for you if you give them time to recharge with family.
Bring Empathy to the PR Relationship
I sadly lost my father to COVID in July 2020. I didn't tell my clients because I didn't want to burden them with my loss.
At the time of my father's passing, I had a relatively new tech client from the UK. Throughout the month, I got nasty Whatsapp messages from the CEO and aggressive questions that were completely unprofessional and unmerited. My PR agency placed several stories in July with PC Mag, CNET and ZDNet, yet the CEO was demeaning to me at a time when I was most vulnerable.
At the end of the month, I resigned from this PR campaign, and walked away from their money. No publicist deserves abusive language or adversarial tones, especially while they're mourning the loss of a father.
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The point here: bring empathy to every relationship with a publicist. You don't know what they may be going through, or the personal stress they may have at home. If you bring EQ to the relationship, they will work harder for you.
Small Acts of Kindness Move Mountains
My wife and I gave birth to our first child during the pandemic and I shared all of our milestones with my clients leading up to our son's birth.
Imagine the surprise when my digital health client sent us gifts for our son to our home. I don't remember giving the VP our home address, yet we received several gifts over different days. I will always remember the kindness he gave my family at a monumental time.
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I'm not suggesting you go out and buy presents for your publicist or send them birthday gifts. Instead, just listen to what is valuable and important to them. If there is a small act of kindness you can share that shows them you were listening, they will be the biggest advocate and ambassador for your product.
And isn't that what you're paying the publicist for? And should this PR relationship grow into a friendship, you will have a PR advocate for life even when the money stops rolling in.
