The Digital PR Newsletter #55

Make or Break: The 2 Dials Behind PR Success

Hello, it's been a while (keen readers of this newsletter will noticed I missed last month's edition, but I'm back baby!)

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Whenever I’m asked to help with a PR campaign, I usually find myself doing just one thing, turning two dials.

These dials are the backbone of almost every successful campaign I’ve worked on. If a story gets coverage, it’s because these two elements have been turned up to the max.

Take the viral dating billboard that landed me on the front page of the BBC, not once, but twice in just a few weeks (sorry to bring this up again).

Or the Christmas tree shortage warning that had me talking about it live on Sky News.

Of course, results like that aren’t typical. But even the more modest wins came from the same process, turning the dials as far as they’d go. And sometimes, that’s the difference between landing coverage and getting none at all.

Today I’ll share with you what these two dials are, and how I helped someone completely new to PR land 100+ pieces of coverage just by tuning them in the right way.

The two dials are, emotion and timeliness.

Stories work when they make people feel something. People feel emotion when they relate to something, when it resonates with them, when they’re passionate about it, or when they care deeply about it.

Stories also work when their timing aligns perfectly with the current news cycle.

Timeliness has become even more important in recent years, as journalists are more stretched than ever. When they receive a pitch, their first question is often, 'Why now?'

Your pitch needs to answer that. It creates urgency and pushes your story closer to the top of the pile.

So basically, it’s emotion + timeliness that tends to make a story work.

In the Digital PR Club community, one member came up with an idea for a story for their property related business.

The idea wasn’t bad, Saddat had picked a timely topic, binmen in Birmingham were on strike, which could mean more rats. He had some tips to share on how to deal with them. But it needed some work.

First we needed to make it emotional.

My suggestion was to include how much a rat infestation could devalue your property by, and to put that figure in the subject line.

This made the story more emotional because it instantly taps into fear and financial loss, two things people care deeply about. It’s not just about rats, it’s about what they could cost you.

Next, we needed to make it timely, and clearly explain why it mattered right now. You can see my suggestion below.

Saddat took the feedback on board, sent out the story, and landed over 100 placements, including two in the Express, alongside a wave of regional syndications. A great result. Well done, Saddat!

It’s a simple concept, but one that’s often overlooked. In the rush to get press releases out (which I totally understand), it’s easy to skip this step. But it’s something I always try to spend a little extra time on.

I’ve helped clients land coverage for campaigns that previously failed, just by making these small adjustments. Without them, all the effort spent on the idea, the press release, and the outreach would’ve gone to waste.

It’s really a case of asking yourself:

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How can I make this more emotional?

Why does this matter right now?

If you can answer both, clearly, confidently, and in your pitch, you’ll give your story the best possible shot at being picked up.

So next time a story isn’t landing, try turning the dials.

It really can be the difference between landing coverage and getting none at all.

And if you want help doing that, or you just want feedback on your ideas, subject lines, or press releases, that’s exactly what we do inside Digital PR Club.

You’ll get access to weekly feedback calls, masterclasses, and a private community who are all working through the same challenges as you.
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If that sounds helpful, come join us.
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👉 digitalprclub.com​

That's all for this time, thanks for reading! For all previous newsletters, see below.

— Mark

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