Name:

1. What are your main daily duties?
To deliver quality content with a focus on exceptional locally owned businesses.

2. What kinds of stories are you looking for?
Hyper local events, locally owned businesses with an inspired living slant for example stories related to dining, shopping, art, culture, yoga, healthy living, music, pets, kids, holidays, seasonal, destinations. Please visit our Categories page for more detail.

3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch?
Email us at submissions@locallily.com. To ensure we only include the most interesting, independent local businesses, we visit each one to experience it for ourselves. We’d love to add your submission to our list and will notify you if it is featured.

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals?
We typically write about brick and mortar businesses that are not part of a larger franchise and that are local and independently owned.

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch you’ve ever received?
Nothing immediately comes to mind.

Name: Christine K. Bailey
Title: Freelance Writer
Outlet: I’m a freelance writer for print and online publications such as Meetings Arizona, Arizona Bride, PHOENIX Magazine, The Arizona Republic and South Mountain District News, as well as a regular contributor to SheKnows.com. The 2nd edition of my book – Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona & Central Arizona, A Great Destination was recently released by Country Man Press, a division of W.W. Norton & Company. I am also the author of various iPhone travel apps, including Sedona’s Scenic Red Rocks and the narrative author of upcoming book Phoenix, Arizona: A Photographic Portrait with photographs by Paul Scharff.
Email: christine@christinekbailey.com
Website: christinekbailey.com

1. What are your main daily duties?
I am continually revising both the Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona & Central Arizona, A Great Destination guidebook and my iPhone apps. I have a new one due out soon called, Dining Arizona, and I will be writing about must-try restaurants in Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale. In addition, I’m regularly pitching story ideas featuring the little known gems that local residents would recommend to their own family and friends. I also blog, yelp, tweet and write articles about all the amazing things to do and see here, so I am continuously looking for ideas that will help me share all the exciting and adventurous outdoor activities, events, hotels, restaurants etc. that make Arizona and the Valley so special.

2. What kinds of stories are you looking for?
I am always looking for Valley PR professionals to ‘pitch me’ on what’s happening at their clients’ hotels, restaurants and unique Arizona events for inclusion in upcoming editions and articles. Specifically, I am looking for unique travel, entertainment, and adventure story angles on the Valley and Arizona. I love living in the Valley, and I am passionate about food, fun, and family friendly places and activities and I like to feature local businesses.

3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch?
Email me at: christine@christinekbailey.com

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals?
The earlier the better! I’m often getting pitches one or two weeks before an event, it’s barely enough time to research and get it into a blog, let alone pitch the idea for an online or print publication. Typically, magazines are looking for 6-9 months of lead time. It’s really important for me to know what’s happening that far out instead of what’s happening this week or what has already happened.
Shoot me an email introduction! I’m always open to new ideas, so let me know what’s happening in your part of the Valley or state.

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch you’ve ever received?
I can’t think of any in particular, but I have had a couple of pitches for events a few days before they took place. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything with them.

Do you have days when you just feel like you are spinning your wheels on pitches, never getting calls or replies back? It can be a very frustrating aspect of our jobs. Especially as you work on your reports for clients and can only document “VM/email sent. No reply.”

Even though a pitch has been carefully crafted and customized to a reporter’s beat, the sound of silence can be deafening. Are they interested? Not interested? Waiting on a higher-up’s approval? On vacation? A reply of any kind…even a “not interested” is better than no reply at all. Of course, we know the media can’t respond to every email they get, but it sure would be nice, huh?

A former reporter who is now in PR actually “pitched” me this idea for a blog post. She said in her email “I always returned emails unless the pitch was insanely off topic. Even a simple “not interested” email reply is better than nothing!”

There are times when I’ve pestered just enough that I finally get a response. Sometimes the response is favorable and they tell me they’ve been busy or appreciate the nudging because they do want to do something, but other times I’ve gotten a curt “no thanks.” Of course then I wish I could just get a few moments of time to see if there was another angle we could try or find out just why they don’t want to do it. Believe me, I can relate as a blogger. Sometimes I will get a pitch for the blog and I want to do it, but I am reading from my Blackberry or in the middle of something else and I forget about it. If its local, I try to always respond in some way, even if I am not interested. Lots of times, I just ask that the person remind me about this in a few days if I don’t get it up.

I want to know…How many times do you call or email to follow up on a story idea? When do you consider the pitch dead? How do you deal with clients who were hoping on a specific media outlet to do a story and you can’t even get a call back?

Name:

1. What are your main daily duties? For The Food Lover’s Guide to Phoenix & Scottsdale, I will be writing about must-try restaurants in Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale for visitors. The guide will feature the best local restaurants, farmer’s markets, festivals and events, and local specialties.

2. What kinds of stories are you looking for? For The Food Lover’s Guide, I am looking for information on new restaurants opening in the Valley as well as information on news items from established/existing places. Anything fun and interesting in the dining world that is unique to our area. Similarly, I am always looking for unique travel story angles on the Valley and Arizona to pitch to Sunset and other outlets. I am a sucker for food, farms, and mom-and-pop stuff, but cover general travel stories, too.
3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch? For the guidebook, I am using kkthewriter@gmail.com to collect all of that information, in hopes of keeping my personal inbox as clean as possible. (I am a little OCD, I’ll admit it!) For all other pitches, I use kkovacevic24@gmail.com but I really appreciate when PR folks don’t bombard me with irrelevant e-mail blasts. I don’t mind receiving press releases on your great new local restaurant, but I don’t cover jewelry craftmaking (for example), so I only get irritated when I see stuff like that in my personal inbox.   (Disclaimer: None of AZ’s super smart PR people have ever done that – it’s always from an outside market!)

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals? Certainly nothing that you guys don’t already know, but I will say this: it is funny to have been on both sides of the spectrum. When I was a PR person, I would sometimes (gasp!) get irritated by last-minute requests from journalists and think to myself, “OK, you’ve probably been sitting on this story for weeks and are only now contacting me last-minute.” But, now that I am a writer full-time, I see that it’s not true! So many times a great opportunity will come along with a frightening deadline – for me, and for the PR people that help me – and I can’t help but take it. But then I just beg and plead, and you all make my life much easier! Similarly, I am now dealing with the karma of years of sending irrelevant information to journalists because I may have been too rushed to really do my homework. Which leads me to your last question…

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch you’ve ever received? I have literally been invited to the same bead-making workshop in Santa Monica 7 times.

This can be a challenge.

When I produced, a lot of the facts and information were already gathered or condensed for me by a wire service, online outlet, an assignment editor, a reporter, or (sigh) a public relations professional. 200-500 emails a day of previously conducted research were at my disposal.

I was constantly reading as fast as I could, searching like a scavenger for meat. Copy, paste, re-write, repeat. This is the well-oiled system that most line producers become accustomed to in order to get things done at lighting speed.

So, I guess it’s a little different in PR. You’re not really digging for meat, but searching for anything that even resembles meat in a vast, dry desert. Your client’s story is never complete. Sometimes it’s a slow, drawn out process that involves a lot of research and unfortunately can never be accomplished in a day.

I constantly find myself asking, “Can you send over a one-sheet on that?” Ha! The answer is almost always no. Unlike getting to know a subject or story, now I’m getting to know an entire culture and inner-workings of a company. This long-lead learning curve is something I’m not used to.

After a few months in the game I’ve realized that the more time I spend getting to know my client, the easier it is to come up with pitches on my own. That way I don’t have to ask them, “What’s new and interesting over there lately?” Seems like a no-brainer to get to know your clients, but it isn’t always easy if you can’t relate to the service they provide.

Awhile back Charlotte Shaff blogged about this topic and found a really great way to put it. She quoted My Sisters Closet who said, “Clients should inform you about their business – but you should know their industry.”

Charlotte went on to say, “Its also their job when hiring a PR pro to help with the stories and promotable aspects I may not know about.  It can be hard to do though. When you work in your job every day, many things don’t seem that interesting or new or exciting because they are old hat. But to the outsider, they may be a PR gold mine.”

Now that I’ve had a few months in the game I think I’ve boiled it down to five steps:

• Research your client’s industry
• Follow your client on their social media pages daily
• Visit your client’s business (or use their product) as often as possible
• Speak to other inside sources who aren’t your usual point of contact
• Think of everything as if you were flipping through the channels on TV or pages in a newspaper

I recently made a career change from broadcast news. I had gone in straight out of college, eventually working as a producer at two different stations here in the Valley.  I am one of many who decided it was not necessarily right for me (right now) and thought, ‘Hey, PR will be an easy transition!’ (Note the use of the not-so-appropriate word, easy.)

So, I was wrong. The two professions are not as seamless as I had originally thought. My plan (if you will have me), is to share these differences and similarities here on Valley PR Blog.

One thing I can say (although it’s not as much as you may think) is that my experience as a producer has definitely helped me know what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to pitching.  I know that the old-fashioned phone call is NOT dead, I know that your subject line can make or break your pitch (sadly), and I know that in some ways the PR profession is, well, changing.  Reporters, editors, and producers are finding ways to cut out the middle man, and so are clients. But if I’ve learned anything so far, it’s that not everyone can do this job, it’s absolutely necessary, and that in a weird way- marketing professionals are running this show!

Just last week, someone told me how interesting it is that we “see the world from an entirely different view” whenever we change jobs.  Seems like a no-brainer, but if you think about it- it couldn’t be more dead on.

Stay tuned!

(Len will tell you I’m cheesy. To that I say, “Don’t underestimate the importance of the cheese.”)

The interactive panel will feature members of the KFYI, KTAR, NPR and Arizona NewsRadio Networks to talk about the changing landscape of radio and ways PR practitioners can be a resource on current topics/trends. Of course, we’ll delve into how they are making themselves relevant in the social media space too!

As always, there will be panel discussion, best practices and tip-sharing followed by plenty of time for questions as well as breakfast and the chance to network with your fellow practitioners throughout the morning.

PANELISTS:
* Jim Cross, reporter, KTAR News
* John Gilliland, reporter/anchor, Arizona NewsRadio Networks
* Melody Birkett, News Director, KFYI
* Kelly Madison, morning producer, KJZZ

WHEN: Thursday, February 17, 2011
7:30 – 9 a.m. Breakfast and Panel Discussion
WHERE: Arizona Biltmore, Aztec room (inside main entrance), 2400 E. Missouri Avenue, Phoenix
PARKING: Valet parking is free. Tip at your discretion.
COST: $15 for members who register by February 14 or $20 for members at the door; $20 for non-members who register by February 14 or $25 for non-members at the door
REGISTER: Click here to register!

Name: Geri Koeppel
Title: Freelance writer
Outlet: Phoenix Magazine, The Arizona Republic
Phone: 480-897-0033 home office & 480-298-0958 mobile
Email

1. What are your main daily duties?

Writing food and drink articles and small business profiles.

2. What kinds of stories are you looking for?

My two ever-present needs are suggestions for my Back of the House and Drink This columns in the back of Phoenix Magazine. If you’re not familiar with the format, please look them up (they’re often online at http://www.phoenixmag.com).

Back of the House is a profile/Q&A with a chef, restaurant owner, F&B director or other behind-the-scenes personnel. I prefer to highlight local, independent restaurants, and I like to spotlight as many women and minorities as possible. I stay away from the “big name” chefs who are always getting coverage, and as a general rule, I don’t profile anyone whose restaurant has been reviewed recently. I like to find people with interesting lives and stories and people who can be candid and quirky in the Q&A. “Canned” answers prompted by PR directors are the death of this column; it’s a boring read.

One of my main struggles with this column is to find people who have a long-standing relationship with the restaurant where they work. Many chefs move around frequently, so I hesitate to use them if they’re likely to move on to another opportunity in the near future (especially as our deadlines are about two months in advance).

Drink This! is a cocktail recipe with a bit of fun chatter. It’s a full-page photo of the drink (taken by one of the magazine’s excellent photographers) and the name, address, phone and web site for the venue. One challenge with this is finding seasonal, innovative drinks, and I’m always out of season due to the deadlines. Right now, I’m hunting for spring and summer sippers; by May or June, I’ll be seeking autumn specialties. I realize that restaurant owners, managers and bartenders don’t usually think this far in advance because they’re busy with the day-to-day, but if they can, it’s an easy way to get fantastic full-page publicity.

My other issue with this column is to make sure the page has an individual look from month to month. In other words, nothing in a martini glass. I can find any number of cocktails in martini glasses on my own, thank you. I’m looking for cocktails with different presentations in a variety of glasses. And I want something interesting with fresh ingredients and tantalizing play of flavors; no cliches, please.

3. What’s the best way to approach you with a pitch?

E-mail me.

4. What recommendations do you have for PR professionals?

Get familiar with the media you’re pitching. Please don’t tell me you don’t have time to read. That’s part of the job if you want to be a good PR person.

5. What’s the strangest/weirdest pitch you’ve recieved…

I got approached about a year-and-a-half ago to write about Whipped Lightning, a flavored alcoholic whipped cream in a spray can to put on top of drinks. It actually sounded like a good idea for a minute, until I got a hold of samples and tried it. It was not good. I saw it for a while at a couple of local stores and think they convinced a few bars to use it, but I haven’t seen it since about the holidays last year.

• Is ‘leaky’ information just a reality that organizations need to get used to in a web 2.0 world they operate in?
• Do companies need to revisit their policies on information sharing, especially when it comes to email and back-channel conversation (Twitter, IM, text messaging) with, say vendors or affiliates?
• Being in PR, how would you have handled a situation where not-for-public chatter has gotten out?

Share your views here.

I am also working on an article for IABCs Communication World magazine, so pitch me, if you have a client or use a service that could throw some light on this issue, outside of the tired story angle we keep seeing, about Julian Assange.

As PR professionals, it is obviously our job to be aware of what our clients do. But rarely are we sitting in their offices or storefront every single day to see what is new. And while I’d like to be up on every industry trade magazine of my client’s, its just not possible. Keeping up with RSS Feeds of the topics and news going on in their world is at least one way I try to stay in the know. But you still don’t know everything. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I ask for info or help with an idea and I get a response a week later. Come on, I can’t work magic here…you are paying me to pitch you but when you don’t give me anything, I can’t put anything out there.

I’ve had a few PR friends ask me lately how I know about what my clients are doing. Sometimes its because I saw them talk about it on social media first…and I steal the info/link/idea and pass it on in a pitch too. That frustrates me though, because I want to be the first to know and share it. There are also the situations where the person you work with on the account may not be as creative or good at finding the PR nuggets. I’ve had times where I go into see the client, talk to someone else on staff about something random and get a fantastic people story or learn about a really fun thing they are doing that I had no clue on.

Some of my clients who have been with me for a long time know when they have a good story or idea and forward it on to me immediately. Others help me brainstorm daily by passing along articles they see and asking “Is this pitchable?” I love it. When I media train a client and their staff, I try to explain that I can only do what I can with what I have. Its also their job when hiring a PR pro to help with the stories and promotable aspects I may not know about.  It can be hard to do though. When you work in your job every day, many things don’t seem that interesting or new or exciting because they are old hat. But to the outsider, they may be a PR gold mine.

I asked if other PR pros thought it was important for clients to keep us upon what is going on Twitter yesterday and here is what a few had to say:

@JennHoffman: YES! My biggest prob w clients (besides $) is lack of communication about anything new, exciting or different. Am I psychic?

@Natali3vdB: Most definitely! Transparency is essential in all biz aspect. Heck, being open & honest makes the job of the PR folks easier

@HDFulton: Most def! How else are you supposed to provide clients the most relevant, beneficial insight? KEEP PR PEEPS IN THE LOOP!

@jennifertanabe: yes! any upcoming decisions, plans, & so forth. even the little things that may seem unimportant, could provide opportunity.

The folks at @MySistersCloset said “Clients should inform you about their business – but you should know their industry.” And I replied in agreement, but also said it was frustrating if they didn’t tell me what is going on with new items/services to which they replied “Yes, they should definitely let you know! That is exasperating.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts, success and horror stories of clients keeping you in the loop!