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My first month at JBH has taught me valuable lessons in outreach, research among so much more.
With a background in influencer marketing and content creation at a large brand, my first month at JBH working on a range of digital PR campaigns has been a great transition into SEO, journalists and outreach.
Here are the 7 things I’ve learnt taking the leap into Digital PR:
1. Journalists
They can sometimes be difficult to suss out, but value and nurture your contacts!
The way I see it, any reply is a good reply. Whether that reply contains constructive or just a polite ‘no thank you’, it’s all valuable. Learning and predicting which journalists will be open to media releases, research and new content is key, which definitely saves time for future campaign outreach.
2. Ideation
Inspiration can strike at ANY TIME!
I find myself coming up with the best ideas after a campaign is finished! The key is to keep every idea in your notes tab for a rainy day. You never know when “Celebs that remind you of furniture” will come in handy (probably never).
3. Research is key
A good foundation of research into clients, articles, or websites you want to get your campaigns to is so important.
Knowing your audience can be make-or-break for campaigns and having solid research helps with that. It’s great to have something to refer back to when you have had to go back to the drawing board with an article. Research is also important for outreach, don’t offend journalists/clients with your lack of knowledge on their company or website.
4. Keeping up to date
Not everyone will like what you’re sending them (and that’s OK!)
You can’t be constantly worrying about someone taking a dislike to your campaign, but you also need to be educated on current issues and discussions in the news and social media. Make sure you are arriving to the party on time rather than late or early.
5. Outreach
Personalise, change, alter, make it original, and speak to your audience, rather than generalise.
Ensure the person you are talking to knows that you actually care about their feedback. Starting every email with the same line is dangerous, especially when you are going out to multiple journalists with a range of angles, headlines, and hooks.
Looking for more information about digital PR? We’ve got a guide for that, here!
6. Tools
Tools such as Mozbar, Ahrefs, and Roxhill can help you squeeze even more out of your campaigns.
Prospecting is so much easier when you have these in your toolkit. I found the Content Explorer function within Ahrefs especially useful, helping me to explore content related to campaign keywords. Perfect for link prospecting and a lifesaver if you feel as though you have exhausted all of your target sites (believe me, you haven’t even scratched the surface).
7. The snack drawer is both your best friend and your enemy
Getting through a full day of outreach with extra motivation is possible when your snack drawer is full and you have cups of tea on tap. But, you can’t blame outreach when you get your sugar crash.
Fancy working in Digital PR?
Does digital PR sound right up your street? Check out the digital PR careers section on our website to see what digital PR opportunities we have available!
