The New Year is an ideal time for nonprofits and businesses to reflect on their past public relations efforts and set the foundation for a successful year ahead. A well-thought-out PR plan in the new year can help you connect with your audience, grow your brand and achieve measurable goals. Here are 5 tips for PR planning for the upcoming year.

New Year Evaluation

Before planning your next PR strategy, assess past efforts.

• Which campaigns were the most successful: Analyze the metrics such as engagement rates, media coverage and audience reach to understand what contributed to their success. Were there specific tactics, platforms, or timing that played a crucial role?
• What messages did your audience find most impactful: Investigate feedback, responses and sentiment analysis from your audience. Identify themes or messaging styles that connect well. Then explore how you can build on these elements in your future communications.

Identify PR Target Audiences

Understanding your target audience and their interests is crucial for New Year PR plan success.

• Media Outlets and Journalists: Engaging with the press can amplify your message and increase visibility in the new year. Build connections with journalists and understand the types of stories they cover. This will help you communicate your objectives effectively and garner much-needed media attention. 
• Community Partners: These are organizations that contribute their time and resources to your cause. Recognize their commitment and the specific ways they wish to engage. You will foster a sense of community and encourage deeper involvement.

Concise PR Messaging

Your messaging should be clear and convey a compelling narrative that aligns seamlessly with your mission and values in the new year.

• Emphasize the impact of your work: Clearly articulate the positive changes your organization creates in the community, showcasing specific outcomes and success stories that demonstrate your effectiveness. 
• Inspirational action: Motivate your audience to take meaningful steps, whether it’s donating, engaging with your organization, participating in fundraising events or sharing your message through media channels. Create a sense of urgency and importance that encourages them to get involved. 

New Year PR Content Calendar

Consistency is vital in public relations, and an organized content calendar for the new year can serve as your guiding tool.

• Press release dates: Mark your calendar with key dates for releasing press statements about major announcements, such as product launches, partnerships, or significant milestones. This ensures that you capitalize on timely news cycles.
• Media outreach deadlines: Set clear deadlines for contacting journalists and media outlets. This includes pitches and follow-up plans, ensuring that your team can collaborate effectively and securely establish valuable media connections.

PR Media Metrics

Finally, taking time in the new year for monitoring your progress using robust analytics tools is essential for evaluating the effectiveness and success of your public relations strategies.

Track of media coverage and impressions. Keep a close eye on the extent and frequency of your media coverage, as well as the total impressions generated. This will help you gauge how widely your message is being disseminated and your brand’s reach across various publications.

During the summertime months, everything tends to slow down, creating a more relaxed atmosphere in both our personal lives and the business world. For businesses, major announcements and initiatives are often introduced at a slower pace, as both target audiences and journalists are likely to be on vacation.

Is summer a time to reduce media outreach? The answer is a firm no! While others head to the beach, summertime is the ideal opportunity to capitalize on less crowded reporter inboxes.

Plan for Fall and Winter in the Summertime

Although fall and winter may seem distant, long lead publications are already preparing their end-of-year stories. Since these publications typically have a lead time of 3 to 6 months, summer is the perfect opportunity to pitch your ideas. Many of them provide editorial calendars in their media kits, which can help you align your pitches with their planned content.

As fall approaches, reporters often experience an increased workload. Many short-lead reporters take advantage of the slower summer months to prepare important stories. In the summer, reporters have more time to review pitches. publications such as daily newspapers, broadcast outlets, and online platforms may not be actively seeking pitches, providing you with an opportunity to distinguish yourself.

 Establish Summertime Connections That Will Last All Year

If your organization is having a slow summer, use this chance to strengthen connections with reporters. Summertime is a great time to research key journalists and understand their beats by reviewing their article portfolios.

Engage with them on social media by sharing relevant links, joining their conversations, and offering your unique insights. By establishing your thought leadership, you can become one of their preferred experts for future stories.

Augment Your Online Presence

Take advantage of the summertime months to enhance your online presence. Focus on building relationships with reporters and directing them to your website or other content channels where they can discover your unique voice and expertise.

Regularly update your content with fresh additions, such as blog posts and vlogs, while staying active on social media. Although summer may seem slow, it is an excellent time to strengthen media relationships and tailor your content to align with reporters’ interests.

As trends change, public relations materials and PR plans from specific periods in a company’s history can become outdated and irrelevant in today’s fast-paced environment. Spring is an ideal time to update older PR materials, including media lists, press release templates, etc.

Focus on these four key areas to prepare the PR strategy for summer.

Happiness is an Updated Media List to Maximize New PR Plans

The media landscape constantly evolves, leading to a regular turnover of editors moving between different publications and those leaving the industry altogether. Given this dynamic environment, keeping media lists with the most relevant and active writers is essential.

This is the perfect opportunity for some spring cleaning! Take the time to research and remove any contacts from lists that result in email errors.

Let the Sunshine in by Deleting Old Press Releases

Spring cleaning is essential for managing old, unfinalized files, particularly the multiple versions of press releases. Now is the perfect time to delete the non-final versions and create space for new files. This process also helps you organize and declutter folders. No one wants to sift through a chaotic mess when searching for a specific release.

Dust off Pitch Strategies for Shiny New PR Plans

Another way to capitalize on this PR Plans cleaning season is by reassessing pitches. Take the time to review what has been effective, identify emerging trends, and evaluate which messages have resonated with the media and which have not. This is an ideal opportunity to adjust and refine any messaging or angles you have found outdated or ineffective in capturing attention.

Revitalize PR Plans This Spring

After reviewing pitches, use that insight to refresh public relations strategies by developing a 6 to 12-month PR plans focused on trade and consumer media. Now is the perfect time to evaluate and improve plans and campaigns for the rest of the year. This evaluation is especially crucial for upcoming product launches or news developments.

Spring is the season of growth and renewal — a perfect time to take a fresh look at your marketing strategy and the channel mix you’re using. Just like you’d diversify a garden to ensure a healthy harvest, your marketing strategy needs a mix of channels to thrive. If you’re pouring all your time, budget, or energy into one platform or tactic, you might be missing out on bigger opportunities — and leaving yourself vulnerable.

Channel diversification matters. So learn how to spot overdependence on one channel and what you can do to grow a more balanced, resilient marketing mix.

The Risks of a One-Channel Strategy

Putting all your golden marketing eggs in one basket can feel safe — especially when that channel is performing well. But algorithms change, audience behaviors shift, and platforms rise and fall. If your business relies heavily on a single social media platform, email list, or ad network, you’re one update away from a major disruption.

Common signs of over-reliance:

• Most of your website traffic or new business leads come from one source
• Your engagement drops significantly if one channel underperforms
• You haven’t experimented with new platforms or tactics in over 6 months

The Benefits of Channel Diversification

1. Reach new audiences: Different platforms attract different demographics. Expanding your reach across channels means reaching more potential customers.

2. Mitigate risk: If one channel takes a hit — due to algorithm changes, ad costs, or even a platform outage — you’ve got others to lean on.

3. Learn what works best: Diversification allows for better testing and experimentation. You might discover that your audience responds better to email storytelling than paid search, or that blog posts drive more qualified leads than Instagram.

4. Strengthen your brand: A presence across multiple touchpoints increases brand recognition and builds trust. It adds depth to your brand’s personality. Your brand becomes more than just “that company on LinkedIn.”

Alternative Channels to Consider

• Email Marketing: Email marketing is still one of the most effective and underutilized channels for direct communication.
• Podcast Interviews, Sponsorships or Advertising: Reach niche B2B or B2C audiences where they spend uninterrupted time.
• SMS/Text Campaigns: SMS marketing is quick, direct, and surprisingly effective when used with consent, consistency and care.
• Community Platforms: Slack groups, Discord, or industry-specific forums where conversations already happen about your industry, product, or brand.
• Content Syndication: Republish or distribute your best blog content to new audiences through third-party sites.
• Offline Tactics: Direct mail, branded events, or pop-up experiences still create memorable brand impressions.
• Media Relations: Establishing your brand as a voice of authority in industry newspapers and magazines with a solid media pitch

How to Start Diversifying

1. Audit your current mix: Where is your traffic and engagement actually coming from? What channels are underperforming or neglected?
2. Choose one new channel to explore: You don’t need to launch everywhere all at once. Pick a channel that aligns with your audience and test it intentionally.
3. Repurpose smartly: You don’t need to create new content for every channel. Repurpose blog posts into videos, webinar snippets into social posts, or long-form reports into email series.
4. Measure, refine, repeat: Set clear KPIs for each new channel and compare results. Continue to refine your mix as you gain new insights.

Make Your Brand Channel Resilient

The more varied and strategic your marketing approach, the more resilient your brand becomes. So this spring, take a cue from the season: plant new seeds, test new soil, and watch your marketing bloom in unexpected places. Just remember: marketing, like gardening, rewards those who think ahead and stay adaptable.

Have you tried a new channel recently that surprised you with results? We’d love to hear about it on The Porch!

Crafting an effective media pitch is both an art and a science. Whether you’re a seasoned PR professional or just starting to build media relationships, your pitch can be the difference between securing valuable coverage or getting lost in the shuffle of a journalist’s inbox. Below, we break down the essential steps for writing a media pitch that captures attention and gets results.

Step 1: Verify the Newsworthiness and Accuracy of the Media Pitch

Before you even begin writing, take a step back and ask yourself: Why is this news important right now? Media professionals receive hundreds of pitches daily, and the ones they choose to cover must be timely, relevant, and impactful.

• Make it newsworthy: Review current trends and hot topics in the news cycle. Your pitch should connect to something relevant—whether it’s an emerging trend, industry shift, or a human-interest angle.
• Back it up with facts: Every claim you make in your pitch should be verifiable. Always attribute statistics, quotes, or data to credible sources. This not only builds trust but also saves the journalist time fact-checking.

Step 2: Write a Concise and Compelling Subject Line for Your Pitch

Think of your subject line as the headline of a news article. It needs to grab attention immediately or risk being ignored.

• Be brief: Keep it under 60 characters to avoid being cut off, especially on mobile devices. Journalists scan their inboxes quickly, so clarity is key.
• Avoid jargon: Use simple, clear language that anyone can understand, even if the topic is technical.
• Highlight news value: What’s in it for the journalist and their audience? Make that clear upfront.

Example:
“New Study Reveals 60% of Consumers Prefer Eco-Friendly Packaging”

Step 3: Capture the Journalist’s Interest in the First Line

Once your subject line convinces them to open the email, the first line of your pitch needs to keep their attention.

• Get to the point: You only have about 9 seconds on average before the reader moves on. Hook them with a compelling statement or question that piques their curiosity.
• Preview the story: Offer a quick snapshot of why this media pitch is relevant and why it matters to their audience.

Example:
“Imagine reducing your company’s carbon footprint by 50% — without increasing costs. Our new report shows how businesses are doing just that.”

Step 4: Identify and Target the Right Media Contacts

Even the best pitch will fall flat if it lands in the wrong inbox. Targeting is crucial.

• Do your homework: Build a media list of journalists, bloggers, podcast hosts, and influencers who cover your industry or niche. Look for people who have previously written about topics similar to your pitch.
• Personalize your outreach: Address the journalist by name and reference their recent work when appropriate. A tailored media pitch shows respect for their time and increases your chances of a response.
• Avoid general email addresses: Sending pitches to info@ or editor@ email addresses is rarely effective. Find the specific contact who covers your subject area.

Final Thoughts on Crafting a Winning Media Pitch

Writing an effective media pitch requires a blend of strategy, empathy, and precision. By ensuring your story is newsworthy, crafting a sharp subject line, engaging your reader right away, and sending it to the right person, you set the stage for successful media coverage.

Remember: Journalists are looking for stories that will engage their audiences. The more value and relevance you offer them, the more likely they are to say “yes.”

Summertime is replete with outdoor events and reporters are covering stories in person. The summer can also be a slow time for businesses. Plus, organizations also may be in a planning period in the summertime before events intensify during the autumn/winter months.

So How Can You Make the Best Use of This Summertime Season?

This can be an optimal time to strategize pitches and story angles for the upcoming fall and holiday season. If your clients have Fall/Winter events or announcements, media pitching should start now to ensure long lead story inclusions. Here is a selection of ideas for summertime pitches that will position your clients’ events for success in autumn/winter:

• Share the event’s history and purpose.
• Include testimonials or previous pieces to illustrate the event’s community impact.
• Submit B-Roll from past events to educate the media on attendance levels and a visual of community involvement.
• Invite reporters to attend the event for on-site coverage opportunities.
• Offer exclusive interviews with speakers and notable attendees.

Other Summertime Media Opportunities

If you do not have any specific media planning to do for the fall, use the summertime to dig into what is currently trendingin the newsto promote your client’s brand. This can be done by pitching your client as an expert source to speak on a topic and be quoted in a story after news breaks. Or you can focus on your client’s brand ethics, products, or backstory and how it aligns with what is happening in the news cycle.

When pitching the media in summertime, it is also a great practice to limit email subject lines between one and five words. Further, limit the media pitch to 50–79 words. Overall, the entire body of your pitch should not exceed 149 words. Applying these best practices on your PR pitches will help you and your clients grow your media opportunities this summer!

It’s that time of year again — spring PR pitching season. Take advantage of all that spring has to offer to make your story pitching more relevant.

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

This beautiful quote can be applied to PR professionals: we know instinctively that story ideas must reflect the changing season. By embracing the themes of renewal, growth, and vitality inherent in the spring season, PR professionals can tailor their pitches to capture the attention of their target audience.

PR Pitching to Get Ahead This Spring

Your client’s content can be a garden of beautiful variety, when you plant it correctly. Here are five tips to put a spring in your PR pitching step!

• Spring into action by capitalizing on the warmer weather. For instance, if you have a restaurant client, pitch seasonal dishes for a cooking segment that incorporates bright colors that reflect the awakening landscapes, flush with new blooms.
• Cultivate a springtime campaign with the vigor of a horticulturist. Dig into prevailing trends that happen during warmer months. Stories ideas can surround Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, Mother’s Day, Graduation, Father’s Day, First Day of Summer, July 4. Create content based on what each month is known for.
• The colors of the season are filled with diverse botanical wonders. Use nature’s prism to reflect diversity in your PR strategy. Implementing different types of content and sharing it on your client’s social media channels will help your client grow an assorted oasis of relevant information.
• Embrace the sense of renewal in storytelling to evoke the spirit of spring. Editors and producers frequently choose story ideas that evoke a feeling of newness. Showcase your clients’ environmental consciousness by highlighting what eco-friendly practices they are doing during the warmer months. Pitch stories on green initiatives, energy-efficient strategies, or sustainable product launches that align with the values of environmentally conscious consumers.
• Put your experts on camera! Have retail clients talk about what is new for the spring and summer months. Pitch lifestyle specialists for a segment on easy ways to refresh interior and exterior living spaces. Present fitness professionals to demonstrate outdoor exercises that the whole family can enjoy.

In Spring, The Art of PR Story Pitching Steps Up

These tips serve as invaluable guidelines to craft compelling narratives that resonate with journalists and editors alike. Remembering the importance of personalization, timeliness, and succinctness ensures that pitches stand out amidst the flurry of media inquiries. Furthermore, fostering authentic relationships with media contacts and staying attuned to their preferences and interests can pave the way for fruitful collaborations. As the season unfolds, approach PR story pitching with creativity, strategic thinking, and a dash of seasonal flair, driving impactful storytelling that leaves a lasting impression.

How can you start pitching like a PR Pro in 2024? As we begin the year anew, producers, editors, and reporters are pursuing stories that will empower audiences to stick to their resolutions surrounding health and fitness, business growth, financial success, parenting, and many other areas.

PR Pro Tips for Pitching a Story Idea Using the New Year’s Resolution Angle

In a New Year pitch, skip the mundane details. Use succinct adjectives that will create an immediate visual in a producer’s mind’s eye. As a PR Pro, help the producer see their audience responding to the content. Highlight convincing before-and-after visuals — especially if your client is in fitness, weight loss, or beauty product spaces. Then have your client provide detailed tips and ideas that will motivate people to accomplish their New Year goals using their products/services.

As a PR Pro, position your client as an expert in their business or service and have them disseminate advice for easily accomplished New Year goals. This is highly effective with clients who offer information for the following:

• Fitness
• Weight loss
• Organization
• Travel
• Financial advice
• Nutrition/healthy eating

As people retain and implement your client’s advice, pitch an on-going monthly segment to have your client check in with audiences to offer encouragement on how to sustain New Year habits/goals throughout the year.

Keep Your Pitch Simple and Succinct

A pitch should begin with a bold statement that’s impossible to ignore. So ask a question, share a personal story, or throw in an unbelievable statistic to get their attention. Then after the attention-grabbing start, follow it up with a quick explanation. Follow PR best practices for success. After all, producers and editors are eager and willing to book a guest who engages an audience with valuable information that will help them achieve their New Year goals.

Why Staying on Top of Public Relations Trends is Valuable

Public relations professionals play an integral role in a client’s online reputation. Part of a PR professional’s job is to stay atop the latest public relations industry trends. Trends can play an important role in managing a client’s account.

What was important to consumers in the past might look different today. PR is all about cultivating an image in the minds of consumers. So certain tactics and strategies may resonate with an audience at any given time.

According to the online media monitoring company Meltwater, the five top PR trends that should pilot brand strategy in 2023 are:

Data and Analytics:

In 2023, tracking the impact of a client’s public relations efforts will be key. PR teams need, at a minimum, basic KPIs like brand awareness and favorability, social media engagement, and quality web traffic. With today’s analytics and PR reporting technology, data will play an increasingly essential role in PR strategies. It is an important public relations trend to stay on top of during the year.

Diversity and Inclusion:

More companies are doubling down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and for good reason. When employees can show up in a workplace where they can be their true selves they are more engaged. Employees are productive, and satisfied in their jobs. It is more than a public relations trend. It’s a shift in the way business will be done. As more consumers and employees raise their expectations of brands to embrace DEI at work, PR teams can expect it to be a recurring theme in their PR campaigns.

Influencer Marketing:

In 2023, focus on maintaining good relationships with existing influencers and connecting with new influencers. To fully leverage influencer marketing, PR teams need a good understanding of the influencer’s audience, niche, and content. These aspects go several layers deep and are full of nuances that can vary from one influencer to the next.

Without learning about these nuances, a company could end up doing more harm than good to its online reputation. One way to avoid potentially damaging influencer experiences is to add dedicated influencer resources to a PR team.

Personalized PR Pitch:

Tailoring PR pitches to individual journalists or influencers helps create messages that speak directly to their interests. It steers away from one-size-fits-none pitches. Instead it presents an eye-catching idea that’s hard to miss, even in an unpredictable news cycle. This helps to create instant trust and credibility. When pitching new sources you deepen the trust with media outlets and professionals. Keep this public relations trend top-of-mind when you practice media relations this year.

Authenticity:

As more marketers and PR professionals are using technology to develop custom experiences, it’s essential to maintain the human element. This makes personalization authentic. Consumers have increased their expectations of the companies with whom they do business. They expect brands to be transparent about ethics and values. Go beyond “marketing speak.” Authenticity is the intersection of these things. It’s no longer enough to spew generic phrases like “We’re in this together,” but back up your statements with actions. The bottom line: people have had many months to re-evaluate what’s important to them. They’re more discerning over how they use their time, which brands they engage with, and how they’re spending money.

Utilizing Public Relations Trends Helps Build Brands

Paying attention to PR trends can assist brands know the who, how, and when in addressing challenges and opportunities. This helps companies recognize and then embrace PR opportunities.

The recent elections completely dominated the news. And will continue to do so in the days that follow. An unpredictable news cycle can occur at any time. This presents a challenge for businesses looking to align their PR in the news.

5 Tips to Draw Out Content in an Unpredictable News Cycle

Erratic news cycles negate the valuable time that is put forth to pitches. These cycles prevent your client’s story from gaining traction. Try one of these techniques for engaging with journalists to get the best results:

1. Flexibility

A client usually has a set date for an announcement or event. It’s absolutely necessary to pivot the strategy if a major news story breaks. If a date cannot be moved, then the plan has to rely on post coverage. Always make sure that ample photos and videos are banked and submitted once the heady headline of the unpredictable news cycle has ebbed.

2. Response

Response time is important! Become the person that a journalist can depend upon. When a news story breaks, reporters are on tight deadlines. Respond immediately to requests for images or quotes from a client that you represent. Always provide links to hi-res photos, a press release with a quote, a product or person overview and a company boiler plate.

3. Newsjacking

David Meerman Scott coined this term in his book, “Newsjacking.” According to Scott, Newsjacking is the process of adding your client’s thoughts and opinions into breaking news stories. Newsjacking is a piggyback onto trending news topics. Clients can still get noticed during unpredictable news cycles using this technique.

4. Evergreen

Evergreen content has virtually no expiration date. So ideally it will retain its value over the long-term — just like trees that never lose their leaves. In terms of value, this content never loses significance. It even continues to gain traction. With the right strategy, evergreen content will consistently generate interest over time. People will reference it for years to come, regardless of the news cycles.

5. Media Downtimes

Generally media downtimes take place during the holidays. During this period, journalists are more receptive to evergreen content, byline articles and feature stories. Incorporate this timeframe into your client’s editorial calendars. Pitch ready stories in mid-November to use at any during the holiday season. This strategy is effective for the obvious fact that the client is getting media coverage. The bonus is that it will run when most people have the time to watch or read the content.

Don’t Fret — This News Cycle Will End

Unpredictable news cycles do end. So in the meantime instead of panicking, try one of these techniques to keep your client’s brand top-of-mind. Preventative or proactive PR and media relations can be a very successful approach to use to keep your client from defaulting to reactive solutions.