How to Heal

When researching Heal Magazine, a magazine for cancer survivors, I thought about what topics I would want to be informed about if I were a cancer survivor. Given that I am a young adult at the age of 21, I would most likely find myself in the minority of the population of cancer survivors age-wise. Many of the online sites meant to inform and support, and promote survivorship have pictures of middle-aged men and women and talk about topics that might interest an older generation. Not only would I want to be informed, but maybe even talking to other people my age would be an effective way for me to become involved with my survivorship.

While researching the net on cancer survivorship programs, I did seem to find two websites that were youth-based. I found www.stepsforliving.org and www.realtimecancer.org. Both of these are appealing to a younger generation, one that might not have very many immediate friends of their age who they can relate to. I would suggest to Heal Magazine to possibly put these websites as sidebars, and to definitely create their blog to be user-friendly for all ages.


Also, I suggest that Heal Magazine put a sidebar on their blog regarding survivor programs to become involved with. When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a friend whose mother had been in remission from breast cancer for 8 years. During Thanksgiving, she felt ill again and found out her cancer was back full force. She passed away before New Year’s. She hadn’t seen a doctor in 8 years. Many cancer survivors are afraid to go to doctors once they reach remission because of the emotional and physical pain they go through with the disease and the treatments. However, I think that regularly being able to talk to a doctor and feeling comfortable visiting a doctor is an essential part of staying in remission. Programs to help to promote survivor clinics would be amazing to see on the blog. Two examples are: http://www.danafarber.org/pat/surviving/default.html, and http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/lacc/.

Third, since celebrities are so over-exposed these days, gaining celebrity support for the blog would be a good idea as well. For example, Lance Armstrong is a testicular cancer survivor. He writes in his own blog regularly through his “Live Strong” website at http://www.livestrong.org/site/c.jvKZLbMRIsG/b.594849/k.CC7C/Home.htm. Also, at http://www.thecancerblog.com/2006/06/19/sheryl-crow-talks-about-how-cancer-changed-her/, Sheryl Crow talks about how breast cancer has changed her life forever through the American Cancer Society. Because celebrities are looked up to for their talents and they are widely known, involving celebrity cancer survivors would be vary appealing to a large audience.

Since there are cancer survivors of all ages, it’s important for Heal Magazine to be conscious to all ages when creating the blog. Also, the blog should be inspirational. I am not a cancer survivor, but I do think that inspiration is always wonderful for anyone to endure.

Tips for Gaining Media Attention

Gaining media attention requires one to have a good relationship with journalists, reporters, and others who decide what goes in ink, and what doesn’t. Here are some tips on how to attract the media, no matter what your status is in the PR industry:

1) Build online support for you client. It’s fast, easy, and free to build online support for your client. Blog, e-mail, or create a website. Getting a name out there in the internet may get your client further than expected. Because our society is becoming more and more dependent on the Internet as a resource, people who would be interested in your client have a good chance of finding them online if they are there.
http://onpointadvocacy.com/cap-online_recruitment.aspx

2) Meet the Press. Purposely meeting with the press is one of the best ways a PR Professional can spend their free time. Is there a certain coffee shop? Restaurant? Bar? Where your media hangs out? Get to know your target journalists and you will get published.

3) Find your journalistic audience. When finding a journalist who you want to write about your client or cause, find out who generally writes about it. For example, if I was spear-heading a campaign on saving the rainforest, I would want to look for a journalist who is an advocate for environmental issues. Therefore, a journalist will be more interested in writing my article.

4) Send out a Press Advisory. Press Advisories state the basic information (who, what, where, when, and why) of an upcoming event. They are quick and easy to send to journalists, so you can send a lot of them, and may catch the attention of a reporter interested in the event. Here’s an example: http://www.lifesmarts.org/pressroom/sampleadvisory.htm

5) Join a Press Club. Joining a press club can be especially helpful if you’re new to the PR business. There are chapters all over the U.S., so it doesn’t matter what city you are in. This is a good way to network with other PR professionals, and as well as meet new media partners. Think of this is a support system of people who are very educated on PR. The real question is: Why not join? Here are some of the press clubs here in Dallas:
http://www.pressclubdallas.com/
http://www.prsa.org
http://dfwcommunicators.com/content/view/21/55/
http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/01/23/social-media-club-dallas-launches/

6) Know the News. Knowledge is THE MOST IMPORTANT tool a PR professional can have. Being in the know has never been as important as it is today. It’s fast and easy to know what’s going on in the world today because of the rapid speed of modern-day technology. Always knowing what’s going on is every PR professional’s job. Hook up to news sites whenever you can. Grab a newspaper in the mornings. Be in the know while you go.
http://badpitch.blogspot.com/2007/01/are-you-media-source-or-media-pest.html

7) Write a Press Release. Press releases are the most common way to gain media attention. Journalists are very familiar with getting stories from this PR tactic. Make the document professional, informative, and accessible. Here’s a site to help you write a press release: http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/prguide.html

8) Offer a News Exclusive. Newspapers like to be the only source that prints information. If you offer a newspaper an exclusive opportunity if they write about you, they could be more inclined to write about your piece.

9) Be Photogenic. Send photos to a journalist. If the story is photo-worthy, and you have good photographic coverage of an event you want to be in the news, by all means, send them! Photos are very appealing in any print media medium. So, if you have the extra prop for getting your story in the news, use it!

10) Network, Network, Network. You can never know too many people in media land. Constantly ask to be introduced to new people. You never know who you will meet and when. Meeting new people is how you get your name circulation. If you are well known, your work will be too.

Blogs and PR Today

As technology advances in our society, so does the Public Relations world. This industry has gone from paper to computer just in the last few years. In order to be PR savvy, it’s very important to know what’s going on in the web world. Blogging has many advantages for the PR industry, such as networking abilities, tracking trends, faster client feedback, personalization of a company, and creating more trust within the industry.

A large number of journalists and news editors have now become regular bloggers, as surfing press releases online is a much faster for finding interesting story ideas. Blogs also provide a more honest and efficient way for companies to communicate with their clients. Public Relations companies have often been said to put a “spin” on information about a company or a product. However, blogs provide honest, open conversation with the world, which puts more trust and credibility into Public Relations professionals. This could help to benefit Public Relations as an industry.

Blogs also give face to a business. They are a more personal and distinctive way to communicate to clients or potential clients about a company. In this sense, blogging has brought a human interaction element to the internet.

Because a huge part of the Public Relations industry is staying up to date on news, blogging has become the dream for any PR professional. It provides a quick, honest, efficient way to get informed, as well as benefits the company and its clients. Creating and reading blogs is perfect for any public relations attempt.