Public Relations Key Questions

Question One: Who are your audiences? Whom do you want to reach? List audiences:

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What do you know about each audience? What do you think are the best ways to reach each audience?

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Question Two: What is your message? Is it different for each audience?

Core message:

Specific audience focus for message:


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Question Three: What do you want each audience to do?

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Things to remember when communicating your message:
"What's in it for me?"
Why should the audience care about what you're trying to tell them? What do they get out of it?
Be specific.
Tell them what you want them to do subtly—not "give us your money," but "your contribution will help us do important work" or "your donation will make a difference" or "here's how you can help."
Tell them how to take the next step.
People decide what to read or watch or do in about a second; keep it simple with immediate impact.

To build awareness:
Figure out why some folks aren't interested and address those issues. Takes up too much time? They don't know anyone else involved? Ask around. Find out what the perceptions are and then address those in your promotion materials, newsletters, etc. Use concrete examples.

Tips to get news coverage
To develop positive working relationships with local editors and broadcasters:
1.    Find out who editors or assignments managers are for your local news organizations. Meet with them. Call him or her and ask for a brief face-to-face meeting. Introduce yourself and leave a brochure about your church or ministry, and also your business card.
2.    Know the deadline. Daily and weekly newspapers have deadlines. Most have a weekly section for religion news. When you deliver news stories or news tips, meet the deadlines.
3.    If you write news releases about upcoming events, get them to news organizations at least two weeks in advance of the date you want the story to be aired or published. Give editors flexibility by delivering your news early.
4.    Connect stories to seasons or significant events of the church year. Stories or event notices that relate to key celebrations such as Easter or Christmas are timely and will get noticed.
5.    Weekly newspapers especially appreciate good photos. When developing photos, make two copies; keep one and deliver the other to the paper with a caption.
6.    Emphasize the local. Religion editors and reporters say they want good stories and story leads about local events or people. They hear about national and regional stories routinely. They want to tell their readers about what's happening in town, and you can be very helpful.
7.    Be sure your stories answer these questions: WHO is involved, WHAT is the event or idea you want conveyed, WHERE is the story, HOW is the ministry being carried out, WHEN will the story occur or WHEN did it occur, and WHY is the story important.
8.    Be sure your story is in proper form. News releases and photo captions should always be typed, double-spaced. Include the name of someone who can provide additional information (and is willing to be quoted), a phone number and e-mail address. Be sure the congregation Web site address is included on every printed piece.
9.    Be patient. Not every idea you send to a reporter will be used. Other news may crowd out your story. Keep trying.
10.    Send your newsletter to religion editors and reporters. They may read these and pick up story ideas. However, you must continue to send news items separate from newsletters directly to editors and reporters. There are no guarantees that newsletters are read.
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Don't use jargon. Every institution has words such as "Eucharist," "sacraments," and "confessions" which may not be as clear to a reporter as they are to you. Use simpler, more common terms. The key is communicating what you mean to an audience that may include people who do not attend a church regularly.