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This year, I read three books on different themes in PR and took notes on some of the key takeaways. Enjoy these selections with a nice glass of wine (or tea) for some light weekend reading, if you’re so inclined.
This is How You Pitch: How to Kick A** in Your First Years of PR
By: Ed Zitron
Overview: I read this book in two nights of skimming and highlighting while watching TV. Maybe multitasking is frowned upon, but I think it makes for a good PR pro…and so does Zitron. He goes over all the ways to make your media pitch worth an editor/reporter/producer’s time and he does it in a humorous way, highlighting some of his mishaps and experiences. The book is exactly what it sounds like – a step-by-step guide to pitching, but it is also great for setting expectations for your first years in PR.
Who should read: Any interns or assistant account executives not afraid of a few curse words and satire who want to impress their supervisors with some ~sweet~ pitching ideas.
Takeaways:
- No matter what industry your client is in, you need to keep on top of all the news that’s relevant to them. If you have 5 clients in 5 different industries – get ready for A LOT of reading if you want to be at the top of your PR game.
- Most of the companies you work for early in your career won’t have a distinct or fully developed brand, they just want some quick media hits to help grow their business. That doesn’t mean you can’t pitch your client ideas to kick-start a branding campaign. You’re not only pitching your client to media, your pitching yourself and your work to the client.
- A big win for a client doesn’t have to mean top-tier placements in all the most widely read newspapers and magazines. If you have a client that would benefit more from a trade media placement, you have to guide them in that direction. It’s easy to get excited about a big New York Times hit, but that may not further the client’s business goals.
- Manage client expectations and always over-perform.
Lean In
By: Sheryl Sandberg
Overview: Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, chronicles the personal struggles and challenges she’s had to overcome due to gender bias in the workplace and in life. She uses anecdotes from her life, her friends, family and colleagues, showing that it happens everywhere, whether your eyes are open to it or not. She also layouts out a few research studies that back up her experiences that show it’s not just women making up these claims – they are real and they affect women even if they don’t realize it.
Who should read: Everyone, this book was an eye-opener.
Takeaways:
- More than anything, this book helped me realize that some of the ways I act and approach things have to do with biases we all face in and out of the workplace. One of the things that stood out to me was that women feel qualified for a job if they meet 100 percent of the requirements, whereas men feel qualified and confident when they meet only 60 percent of the requirements. I think this shows just how deeply rooted this issue is. While we may not even realize it, subconsciously, the way women are treated in the office affects the way we act and the confidence we have to do our jobs. Caveat: I love my PadillaCRT family and DO NOT feel any sort of gender bias here.
- Be more confident in everything work-related. If you know what you’re talking about, you have to go out on a limb just a little bit more than a man might to get your point across.
- Don’t be afraid to speak up – your voice is just as important as everyone else’s when it comes to the workplace and in everyday life.
For Immediate Release
By: Ronn Torossian
Overview: CEO of 5W PR in NYC delves into his strategies and key learnings over his years in the “cut-throat” world of PR. While it is an interesting read and only published back in 2011, it feels a little dated, though the overall key takeaways still hold strong. He talks a lot about 5W PR’s clients and the campaigns they’ve created for them, but through those anecdotes, you’ll get a few meaningful PR tips.
Who should read: It’s a good, quick read for those who need to clear their head a little and see the big picture.
Takeaways:
- While many companies think of PR as a “luxury” when they have money to burn, it really is a cost-effective and efficient way to produce meaningful communication results.
- You need to change as your clients grow and change. If you’re doing a good job with PR, your clients WILL grow and you need to stay on top of it, always looking for the next opportunity.
- If you handle a crisis intelligently and honestly, you can lessen – not erase – the damage. This is something you’ll need to communicate to your client before working on a crisis.
- He refers to the digital age as a “24/7 rolling press conference,” so you always need to be “on” and ready to communicate at a moment’s notice.
- Your target demographic may change – this doesn’t mean you have done a bad job, it means you’re reaching new people and your campaign may need to adjust.
Have you read any good PR books lately? Please let me know in the comments below!