How to Create a Kickass PR Mailer / November 18, 2019 by Guest User

The “tl;dr” of a media mailer is essentially that it’s a creative way to pitch to the media that deviates from the run-of-the-mill email. However, even though mailers can’t be deleted with the click of a button, they may still get lost in the shuffle. There are ways to make mailers as effective as possible without overspending or overworking.

1. Plan every piece ahead of time. Especially if your mailer serves as a timely pitch, make sure you have all the nitty, gritty components laid out before you start packing. If your layout will otherwise look dull, consider adding some small items to fill the white space. If there’s going to be anything fragile or loose in the mailer, get some crinkle paper to reduce movement and noise.

2. Take account of the weight of your mailer. Are you sending a bottle or two of alcohol? Opt for a sturdy box in lieu of a flimsy gift bag. The worst way to receive a mailer is with a shattered bottle of liquor flooding the packaging.

3. Make your items exciting. Is a holiday coming up? Think about “Top Ten Useful Stocking Stuffers” or “White Elephant Gifts That You Can Bring to the Office”.

4. Consider making yourself the messenger. You might worry about the postal service messing up your perfectly crafted box or delivering to the wrong person. See the process through from A to Z and ensure the pitch is sent as smoothly as an email.

5. Make the mailer picture perfect. Opening a box to a jumbled mess versus an aesthetically pleasing display tells a lot about the sender. Take the extra time to preserve the look of your packaging to make the important stuff stand out.

6. Follow up! Don’t send your mailer into the abyss without looking back. Ask the recipient what they thought of their mailer and give them a nudge to turn your creation into a story.

Don’t believe us? Check out the below article to see how we did with our Holiday Mailer this year or Chaddsford Winery.

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Can’t We All Just Get Along? Better Understanding the Journo/PR Exec Bitchfest / September 2, 2015 by Morgan Obidowski

From accusations of smug journalists, to the assertion both parties should meet in the middle, to the ever popular bad pitch round up, the hack vs. flack argument while not new, is currently hot. Yes, there is no shortage of less than stellar PR professionals who need to embrace a better understanding of the English language. To counter that thought, for every crappy spinster there’s a vast supply of equally lazy writers who don’t fact check or do their job well. The unfortunate or fortunate (dependent on the spin) reality is PR people need journalists and journalists need PR people. Imagine a world without communicative, resourceful middle persons who respect a deadline to arrange quotes, calls and interviews with a much needed CEO or source.

Believe it or not, there’s a lot of consideration, and respect of journalists in most PR firms and vice versa. Bit of obvious intel: things fall apart in execution, not giving enough guidance to junior staff or when people with no training or basic talent, write stuff. Note to press: it’s a tricky skill to learn – how to sincerely approach press with a valid idea, yet not waste time with the added pressure of pleasing a supervisor who in turn wants to please a client who or may not be fully versed in the nuance of the end result.

On the other hand, there are writers who under perform, rest on laurels and are responsible for a multitude of sins: laziness, sloppy writing, idea stealing from ‘those people’ outwardly lambasted and loathed on social media outlets. Those with inside knowledge can see when large stories with seemingly endless sources, which on the surface look fair and impartial, are handled through a single call to a PR firm.

Bottom line: younger PR peeps need to be more considerate, do their research and slow down to write correct, cohesive sentences. Seasoned PR peeps need to stop and teach the youngins how to do it better, faster and strategically and not just throw them into the deep end and hope for the best. Writers need to understand the value of good PR and not color us all with the same sweeping brush stroke.

One final end note: one never knows who will end where or who will need whom in the battle of co-existence, so be considerate, kind and well, less bitchy.