Writers and PR reps aren’t always the best of friends. But they’re both better when they work as allies. I know this because I’ve not only worked as a freelance writer most of my adult life, but because I also come from a PR background and ran a consultancy of my own for several years (and still do PR consulting for some of my freelance writing clients).
Writer-PR rep relationships can be contentious at times. Journalists and bloggers often ignore requests they get from PR pros. PR reps don’t always deliver on promises (or they do, but too late for a writer’s deadline).
I was asked to contribute to Muck Rack to talk about the pet peeves each group have about working with the other. So I did one better. I brought in 8 pros — 4 on each side of the aisle — to share their gripes.
Read the original post: PR Pros vs Journalists: Pet Peeve Showdown
Here’s the thing though. PR-writer relationships aren’t all bad.
I’d go so far as to say most are quite pleasant, and most are beneficial.
Journalists get access to interview sources through PR reps. Bloggers get event and product access for reporting and reviews.
PR pros get to know the writers covering their (or their clients’) industries, which makes it easier to get their pitches and news in front of best people when trying to secure coverage.
It’s a mutually beneficial relationship when handled correctly.
So I went back to Muck Rack with a follow-up post.
I brought back most of the original pros from the first post, with one change. This time I talked to PR pros Jeremy Pepper, Ike Piggot, Helen Reynolds, and Jason Falls. And I talked to journalists and bloggers Philippa Willitts, Sharon Hurley Hall, Lori Widmer, and Paula Hendrickson.
My guests weighed in again on PR rep-writer relationships — this time sharing positive experiences with the other side and thoughts on what brings both groups together in stronger professional relationships.
You can get a taste for what each of them had to say in the graphic below. Or go read the post for the full story.
This post was originally published on March 23, 2017 at All Freelance Writing. It has since been updated for Freelance Writing Pros readers.
