A Publicist is responsible for managing their clients’ image. They often navigate the fast-paced world of media relations, create and distribute press releases, and organize promotional events to capture public interest.
Publicists must build strong relationships with journalists and influencers to ensure they can effectively promote their clients. We spoke with nine publicists to shed light on the skills and qualities they use the most in their careers.
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Start Day With News and Creativity
The one thing that is the same every day is how I start my day. Every morning, I read several newspapers—I’m always looking for headlines and news pegs where our clients can provide expert commentary. If there are any fitting headlines, I will pitch our clients right away to appropriate news outlets.
An important skill for a publicist to have is creativity. Everyone talks about how publicists need relationships. While this may help, in my experience, creativity is a much more important skill to have when building out new ideas and pitching angles for clients.
Ronica Cleary, Founder & CEO, Publicist, Cleary Strategies
Curate Online Presence and Manage Image
Much of my work in publicity is in the digital realm. I spend a lot of time curating the online presence of my clients. Before I pitch their work to journalists, entertainment executives, and other stakeholders, including talent reps, I make sure their digital footprint showcases them in the best light. For example, I may update their Wikipedia, IMDb, and search engine knowledge panels (e.g., Google Knowledge Panels).
Hence, some of what I do entails reputation and image management. This work precedes the active pursuit of press on behalf of media subject experts and personalities. For new clients, I spend a lot of time researching their brands and broadcast and media CVs to better understand what sets them apart in a competitive news and entertainment media marketplace.
Dr. Jordan Schaul, Publicist, Schaul PR Group
Monitor Trends and Prepare Client Quotes
My typical day starts with reviewing the day’s headlines and seeing what’s trending on social media. I’m always on the lookout for an opportunity to jump into a rising conversation with a quote from one of my clients. Depending on what I find, I may spend another couple of hours researching contacts or pitches and considering what to send out or schedule in the afternoon. Of course, I can be derailed at any moment by a call or email from an interested writer.
Jeremy Ross, Publicist and Speaking Coach, Prestige Publicity & Marketing LLC
No Typical Days; Embrace Versatility and Relevance
It might be a cliché, but there are no typical days in publicity! My mornings tend to involve a mix of scanning the news and sharing relevant stories with clients, getting out those time-sensitive pitches, and planning for the day’s meetings.
In terms of skills and qualities I use the most, the elements that come to mind straight away are a strong interest and a helicopter-level understanding of the stories I am working on. That may be trite, but without these, I won’t be able to have detailed conversations with journalists who are interested in the yarns I am putting out into the world.
I read somewhere a while ago that a journalism degree—which I proudly possess—is the new arts degree, as it gives students not only transferable communication skills but also the cross-disciplinary capabilities I rely on in my work. With a client stable that includes, but is definitely not limited to, disability support, agtech, and personal finance, I need to be able to find linkages between what is happening in my clients’ worlds and what is happening in the world of the media.
Cameron Magusic, Publicist, Pure Public Relations
Stay Informed and Channel Your Passions
As a travel PR professional (and a very passionate explorer), working is a new adventure every day, and we can never predict what’s next. Sure, there will be pitching, emails, and reports to handle daily, but the magic of this career lies in embarking on an endless journey every day. Specializing in experiential travel, my workday can involve deep research into cultural traditions, planning trips for journalists, exploring all possibilities to craft a perfect itinerary, or learning about the Medici and their impact on Italy.
Truly, it can be anything, and you’ll never know what to expect! We also evaluate and send our clients numerous press opportunities daily while keeping ourselves updated on properties and destinations. Keeping up with the news, industry trends, and what travelers seek is crucial because human experiences change all the time, and to properly pitch and adapt for our clients, we need to stay informed.
The amazing part of this job is using your personal experiences to describe places, experiences, and desires to your audience. Sometimes, if I’m writing a pitch about how being near water can impact your hotel experience, I’ll bring my computer close to a river, feel the environment, write it down, and relate this experience to the angle I initially wanted to focus on.
Often, after living and reflecting on it, I’ll take the pitch in a completely different direction. Another important quality is strong expression skills and an extensive vocabulary to describe more with less—journalists appreciate brevity! Creativity is a must; pitching is an art that goes beyond the media agenda, a boilerplate, and a Dropbox link. We’re describing experiences, adventures, feelings, and landscapes, and being able to connect and translate them uniquely is vital.
My tips for those considering a career in PR are to choose a field you’re passionate about so it won’t feel like work. Be aware that the results of your work aren’t certain; many variables impact a PR campaign’s results, so managing expectations for your clients and yourself from day one is important. It’s a slow process involving relationship development and a lot of luck, so be patient, persistent, and trust the process.
Anna Nastrini, Publicist, Imagine PR
Find Your Niche and Hone Your Pitch
I usually get up around 7 or 8 and go for a walk to clear my head. Then, grab a cup of tea and get to work. I touch base with clients once per week, and that’s when we go over the state of things and any future strategy ideas and get approvals on anything we need for the week ahead. I take calls from 10 am – 1 or 2 pm as those are my best brain hours.
The actual work can be anything from emailing and pitching reporters to writing articles to writing and designing social media posts, and pretty much anything in between. I love that I get to use all of the areas of my brain; both analytical and creative.
Definitely communication skills. Pitching reporters, especially cold, needs a really good story, and you need to be able to get that across in two sentences, otherwise the pitch is dead. I make a point to email reporters like an actual person, (I.e. hey, nice to meet you, I’m working on this story with x person, let me know what you think) and if I need them to read anything, I’ll link it out and keep the email really short and sweet. Ultra crafted or AI generated emails just get deleted these days, so I stay away from that at all costs.
I also use organization skills; keeping track of multiple clients who are all on different pages with different topics and different business needs can be a big job. I have a director who helps me and my co-founder (and husband) who handles a lot of the creative work so I can focus on liaising and strategy.
Explore different industries and focuses. I honed my love for media and public relations by trying all aspects of marketing and seeing what resonated. Love social media? Focus there. I learned that my sweet spot is B2B, so I stay away from e-commerce or even working as a publicist for celebrities. Not everything has to be your jam, so explore and see what works for you.
The second is that experience is more important than education. Try and get your foot in the door getting some experience under your belt, and build off of that experience. Last, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. We all make them, it’s how you handle them that’s important. Own up and handle the situation with grace. Mistakes can be fixed, the way you move forward is what will last.
Blair Huddy, Founder and CEO, Hudson Davis Communications
Curiosity and the Art of Conversation
I work fully remote as a part of a small but growing team of PR pros. Day-to-day for me involves a lot of screen time; I ghost-write thought leadership pieces, I design overall creative strategies around different verticals of earned media, I create media lists, I design interview prep materials, I coordinate said interviews, I find the journalists to fit the story, I draft pitches, and the list goes on.
It makes for a busy day, but it made my whole world so much bigger to be seeing the news from a different perspective. My current clients are lifestyle, gadget, and AI-focused which gives my day a good amount of variety.
For me, it’s 90% about researching. They pay us to be the experts, so I do my best to emanate one. I’m not sure if you’ve seen Avenger’s Endgame, but it’s sort of like when Ant-Man asks Captain America and Black Widow if either has studied ‘quantum mechanics’ and Natasha answers, ‘Only to make conversation’. In PR, you always need to be able to make conversation.
What’s more, you need to generate conversations with genuine interest. People, particularly people inundated with pitches regularly, can absolutely identify false enthusiasm or charm. I am a curious person by nature, so I find myself able to approach new clients with open-minded interest which – I’ve found – leads to more creative strategies and solutions to land placements.
To any aspiring PR professionals, I would highly recommend keeping your nose in the news and a finger on the pulse. Learning how to frame a story that will land top placements comes from exposure and recognizing the pattern of the thread in the headlines.
Julianne Goldfinger, Public Relations Account Executive, SlicedBrand
A Jack of All Trades
As a corporate communications and marketing professional, my job is to make my agency and the people who run it “famous.” While I do work with our agency clients on occasion, my “clients” are more often than not my c-suite executives.
A typical day might consist of crafting press releases and pitching stories for coverage, briefing c-suite execs and conducting media training prior to interviews, and securing speaking opportunities. My team also oversees awards and assists with internal communications as well as our participation in industry events.
Writing and story-telling are of the utmost importance. They are the engine in the PR machine. Relationship building is also key – understanding how to communicate and connect with an array of personalities, and maintaining rapport over time.What tips do you have for those thinking of pursuing it as a career?
I always say that to be a corporate comms professional, you need to be a “jack of all trades.” Be continuously curious. Learn and build as many skills within the marketing ecosystem as you can: writing, storytelling, graphic design, event production, public speaking, social media, SEO… all of these things have a place in publicity.
And always take the time to network with people- you never know who you are going to meet and where someone will end up over the years. Reporters move around a lot and the industry is smaller than you think – so never burn a bridge and try to stay in touch with your peers as best you can over time.
Jess Santini, Vice President of Global Marketing, Assembly Global
PR Variety in Wellness Industry
In wellness PR, we work with clients in a slightly different capacity than politics, entertainment, and regular products. Depending on what stage the client’s marketing and PR is in is where we begin. Sometimes, we get clients launching wellness products or fitness apps that are start-ups; other times, we help well-established brands that are launching something new, or it’s a returning client that needs a refresh of media opportunities.
We take a client through various stages as we build their legacies. To maximize the value of our interactions, we start planning from day one of the campaign. It begins with a meticulously crafted PR plan, leaving no stone unturned. From there, we create a structured approach that helps us precisely navigate and plan our pitching journey.
A day in the life can range from going over any media’s interest, live media interviews, following up with pending coverage, following up with media to gauge interest in the client, any upcoming media coverage that the client needs to be aware of, updates to clients’ activities or calendars, and monitoring the current media trends.
Sometimes, the client doesn’t see all that goes into “the day in the life of a publicist” they only see the end result, the media hit. I always want clients and people who don’t know what we do to understand how much work goes into getting that feature story, bi-line, or expert quote.
When working on a specific project (book launch, PR event, etc.), communication with clients and beyond (vendors, publishers, etc.) is vital. Having all the details laid out and shared amongst all team members helps make more significant projects manageable with less confusion, leading to a more successful outcome. These details can include particular outreach lists (journalists, podcast hosts, celebrities, etc.), budget concerns, live product trials, etc.
Typically, publicists have multiple clients, so being able to switch gears at the drop of a hat to address different accounts quickly happens every day. Here at Dunn Pellier Media (DPM), our clients love that we are always ready to respond immediately and answer their questions and concerns. Our broad availability also comforts our clients by letting them know we can help them when needed.
If you seek a career as a publicist, I recommend picking a genre that suits you (for instance, we do health, wellness, and fitness) so that you can be passionate about the brands and people you represent. Next, make sure that you sharpen your writing skills (these skills can transfer to almost any profession), and be aware that pitching the media is an art form, so get yourself really good at coming up with short and sweet, good, vibrant, and fresh ideas!
Also, learn where AI can be useful and be your friend and where it is prohibited or frowned upon in different PR circumstances.
Start paying close attention to the media landscape, watching the news, and reading multiple news outlets online. Become familiar with writers, producers, and editors who cover the stories your clients would be covered in. Trends and breaking news stories are constantly changing. So, your approach and pitch angles must also be flexible. You should start making media friends; suggest Zoom’s to say hello and get to know the journalists.
Learn to live with some rejection and don’t take it personally. But if you get lots of rejection, you may need to re-examine your pitches. We constantly rework and tweak our pitches. You’ll learn to appreciate the big and small victories wherever possible. And remember to discuss the wins with the clients and consistently manage expectations.
Foster Local Connections Through Stories
When I attended college, I focused on writing and human sciences. Now, being the editor of a local lifestyle magazine, my degrees are certainly being put to good use, given that I have the opportunity to connect with people from all walks of life. Through journalism, I get to speak to individuals whom I might never have encountered otherwise, delve into their experiences on a personal level, and uncover the stories that have thus far gone untold.
To say sharing these stories with the community is fulfilling would be an understatement. There is no greater feeling than when someone sees their editorial for the first time in print and gets so excited to show it off to their loved ones.
For anyone hoping to similarly foster local connections in this way, whether through a magazine or another medium, I highly recommend three things: stay informed about what’s going on around you, stay adaptable when challenges inevitably arise, and stay curious about the “why” behind every story you tell.
Megan Marshall, Editor, Cedar Park City Lifestyle
