Wolf Craft - How I share files with editors.

Using two examples from real businesses, this month’s edition covers what to send an editor in your pitch and the ever elusive ROI of PR.  

Q: When sending pitches to editors, do you recommend including a press pack with a certain number of images?

A: We recommend embedding *some* images that are low in file size so the emails load easily. We also create digital press kits that live in a dropbox or Google drive folder and include everything there. This means we can easily link to a folder of images, for example, in an email to an editor. And we NEVER send editors attachments or zip files (and neither should you)!

We don't always send everything all at once, but we'll have it there for them.  Sometimes we'll just link the images or other times to an info sheet.

It’s important to have all this stuff set up ahead of time so it's ready to go. That's what helps us get our clients press placements faster *and* it makes us some of the most reliable PR folks out there. Once we’ve established that we can help an editor with good info quickly, they are more likely to work with us again and again.

Useful tools to help you get started

Watch 3 businesses get their sites ready for editors & customers

Understand the ins and outs of PR vs Advertising

Use Affiliate Links to Get More Press (our newest training, only $37)

Q: If we spend the time and money to set up affiliate links and pitch press, will we see a return on investment?

A: There is no clear cut way to measure this. So much depends on an incredible number of variables that fall into two buckets:

1- did you leverage your press well?

2- are your systems optimized

1- Let's say there are two very similar brands who get two very similar pieces of press. Brand A says thank you for the press and soldiers on. Brand B highlights the press in their stories, they include the coverage in their newsletter several times, they update their website with the clipping or the media logo, and even update the home page to reflect the featured product so it's easy to find. They use the press placement for paid ads on instagram and facebook. Who is going to do better?

2- Let's say a piece of press drives a meaningful amount of traffic to your website, but your check out page is confusing, or you sell out and don't have a system to capture emails, or you don’t have a email welcome sequence, or your abandoned cart reminder isn't well written, or... There are so many things that get in the way of making a sale that have nothing to do with press. Press is an element, not *the* element. When you get all that new traffic, want to make sure your content actually converts??? You can get our critical feedback, complete with examples specifically for your brand.

Circling back to product placement PR specifically—affiliate links are a non-negotiable to get digital press. If your goal is to get press for your for products, and you're making a time investment to pitch round ups, gift guides, and any digital press opportunities, you need affiliate links. It's just how the media runs today. That may change in the future, but for now, it's 100% necessary, a non-negotiable. FWIW, many of my clients have made millions of dollars based on our digital features (with aff links!).

All in all, media features can certainly lead to sales. But that is a VERY narrow way to measure success. Check out all the things PR can do for your business.