PRSA New Professionals

Five Tips to Start Pitching Holiday Gift Guides Now

Lauren Gray Leave a comment

1)   SIMPLE SUBJECT: The first challenge when sending any pitch is to get the editor to open your email! Simple and upfront subject lines are most effective when pitching holiday season gift guides.

Example: “Patterned stationary under $20 for gift guide consideration”

Holiday Gift Guide Photo

2)   KEEP IT EVEN SHORTER: We all know the rules of keeping product pitches short, clear and concise. For holiday gift guides, the pitch can be even shorter than traditional pitches. Let your contact know what the product is, why it is a great gift idea, give them pricing info and a link to the website or specific page for easy viewing.

3)   KNOW THE RULES: It is important to know the criteria for being considered in the gift guides you are pitching. Most importantly, be sure that your product falls within the price range of the gifts being featured in the guide.

4)   TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Though you’ll want to pitch gift guides of national magazines and outlets throughout the summer, your work is not done. You will want to pitch regional magazines and large online publications in September. In October through mid-November, you’ll be pitching the online versions of those national magazines!

5)   EXPAND YOUR REACH: If your product does not make it into holiday gift guides of the winter season, get an early start on pitching annual gift guides for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

 

Bio PhotoMagan Felitto is a public relations professional, working in the New York office of Jack Morton Worldwide.She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s, Advertising & Marketing Communications program in Summer 2013 with four years of experience as Vice President of Chapter Development of her former PRSSA chapter and a plethora of internships. She is a proud member of PRSA, PRSA-New York, and PRSA New Professionals Section. Ms. Felitto can be reached at MaganFelitto@gmail.com

Career Transitions Twitter Chat Highlights: Preparing for a Full-Time PR Career

Lauren Gray Leave a comment

We’d like to thank everyone who participated in the Transition Month #NPPRSA Twitter chat as we discussed ways new grads can plan and prepare for a full-time career in public relations.

May Twitter Chat Highlights PR Career

Specifically, we’d like to thank PRSA and Joe Cohen, APR. Joe is Chair of PRSA & senior vice president at MWW, a leading global independent public relations firm.

Join us again on June 5 for our next #NPPRSA chat and stay up-to-date with PRSA New Professionals on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

Review highlights of the chat below.

How can you enhance your current role by building upon previous experiences? What are ways PRSA can serve you as a new professional? 

Learn more about PRSA and the PRSA New Pros Section at www.newpros.prsa.org. PRSSA members can receive free PRSA New Pros Section membership with promo code AM14 when you join PRSA as an associate member.

Lauren Rosenbaum soversity prsa new pros prssa

 

Lauren Rosenbaum is the PRSA New Professionals Social Media Co-Chair and Co-Founder of Soversity, a public relations and digital marketing company. You can connect with her on Google+, LinkedIn or Twitter.

PRSA New Pros Teleseminar on May 22 on Integrated Marketing

Lauren Gray Leave a comment

From Whiteboard to Customer: A Journey Through Integrated Marketing

Thursday, May 22, 12-1 p.m. EDT

Lately, the conversation seems to be predominately held around real time marketing. It’s time to change the conversation and get into logistics. Megan Severs, Associate Vice President at Fahlgren Mortine will host our second PRSA New Professionals Section Brown Bag Discussion of the year on the hidden topic of integrated marketing. Megan hopes to address the following points in her teleseminar:

  • The importance of integrated marketing and what it means to consumers
  • The anatomy of an integrated team – who comes to the table, and the blurring of the traditional PR roles
  • The important role of research to guide an integrated strategy
  • Step by Step Case Study: McDonald’s Nocturnivore

Register today for the May 22nd teleseminar!

Transitions Month Twitter Chat May 15

Lauren Gray Leave a comment
This month, we’re celebrating Transitions Month as we will mainly focus on the important transition from PRSSA to PRSA.  We will also be discussing professional transitions too.

May Twitter Chat Square - PR CareerOne event is our Twitter Chat on May 15 at 9 p.m. EST with @PRSA and special guest Joe Cohen, the PRSA National Chair.  During the chat, we will be asking questions that address several facets of the transition process including tips for starting your first full-time job, ways to continue learning & evolving your skills/knowledge and questions around PRSA.

#NPPRSA Chat Topic: 
Preparing for a Full-Time PR Career


Flourishing Your Local New Pros Chapter

Jess Noonan Leave a comment

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Being responsible for building your local New Pros committee or Chapter is not an easy task. In addition to your job responsibilities and launching your career in the PR world, you’ve intentionally chosen to pile more on to your plate. The good news is that you’re not the only one solely accountable for your group’s success – well, you shouldn’t be, anyways. Most likely you have a team of like-minded individuals working towards a shared goal of flourishing your New Pros chapter. And if you find yourself as the lone leader, then … recruit, recruit, recruit!

Here are some lessons learned from PRSA Charlotte New Professionals and a few ideas on how to flourish your New Pros Chapter:

Get on the same page

How are you going to connect with fellow New Pros if you don’t know their interests? At the end of each year, implement a survey that will help you plan and organize for the upcoming year. Ask questions about what topics and programming interests them, what expectations they have of the group and what changes they want to see to help everyone get on the same page.

Schedule mind-blowing programming

ENOUGH with the socials! We all miss college, but the days of hosting all your events at a bar are over. Somewhere along the way, our group found ourselves socializing more than learning. It’s great to host a networking social every now and then, but don’t be afraid to get a little crazy with your programming.  You’ll find success in diversifying your events and mixing in educational programs that are targeted to your group’s needs. If you have dedicated members, they’ll want to learn and grow just as much as they want to network. If you haven’t tried this approach, give it a shot.

Encourage attendance at PRSA programs

It can be terrifying for a new member, especially those fresh out of college, to attend programs and events hosted by their local PRSA chapter. Yes, those highly experienced, well known, senior PR pros are intimidating to all of us who aspire to be just like them one day. But, those are the individuals you should want to be affiliated with. Encourage members to attend Chapter events and work the room. Network with everyone and make sure they know that the New Pros are worth watching. Plus, you can get ideas and speakers for your next group event.

These are some of the ways we have connected with our new pros in Charlotte. What programs have you found to be successful?

Jessica_Ernstberger_HeadshotJessica  Ernstberger currently works as an administrative coordinator for Carolina Public Relations, a Chernoff Newman company, where she aids senior level practitioners for each active client.  She serves on the PRSA Charlotte New Professional’s board, she’s on the communications committee for the chapter and served on the communications team for the 2014 Southeast District Conference in April.