Lessons learned in absence

I know. You don't have to say it. I've been gone much too long. However, my absence has been due to a flurry of activity which has taught me some very important lessons.

From unrelentingly contacting the media, to trying to get a website off the ground, I feel like I've been taking a crash course in PR. So, here are my revelations, in no special order:

• Pitch it anyway. To you, a person immersed in a project, an angle may seem boring. I recently had a story like this. A client was doing tons of new and exciting things, plus some necessary actions to help their customers. I was so busy pitching the flashy stories that I kept breezing over the one with resonance. Eventually, kicking and screaming, I slipped the "dull" story in with my onslaught of glitz. The reporter jumped on it. I was shocked, but I shouldn't have been. While glitz is fun, reporters want stories that truly impact the community. The reporter actually make the story very interesting, which just goes to show, you should pitch it anyway. 
• Keep it short and sweet. I always write way to much. So when releases go out, I struggle to  keep it to one page. However, the more I write and pitch, the more I see the shorter releases get the most attention. A work of warning: It's not just about length. Your writing should be concise and vivid. I learned that the hard way.
• Consider the obvious. It may seem like the biggest "duh" of all time, but too often we as PR professionals forget what the media need. If you want TV to cover your story, make sure you have visuals. If you want a front page feature in the paper, make sure you can coordinate photos and lengthy interviews. Sometimes forgetting the most simple things can break the deal.
• Journalists are people, not machines. Perhaps this is another "duh" statement, but I think it's important to reiterate. When a journalist picks up a story, that doesn't mean it will be done exactly how you or your client wants. If this happens, there's no point in stressing about it. When journalists take on a story, it's theirs. The most important thing is that you got your client publicity.

I hope to not stay away from the bloggesphere this long again; but if I do, I hope it's because I'm busy learning great lessons that I will  use throughout my career.