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What's in store for this edition:
Journalists love them.
So Exclusive
You may have heard the term “exclusives” as it relates to media outreach. They are a tool used to get a reporters attention, but if used the wrong way they can leave a bad impression and result in no coverage.
Journalists like exclusives when they truly are. When they get to break a big story and report on it first, now that’s what they live for. But more often than not, they roll their eyes when they see “exclusive,” because it rarely is a true exclusive.
What exclusives are
When you give one journalist or outlet sole access to your news, interview, data or unique angle before offering it to anyone else, for a set period.
You agree you will not share the same story with anyone else until after the set window of time.
The outlet you have made the “exclusive” arrangement with gets to “break” the story. This usually means there is more time and more coverage given to the story.
What exclusives are not
Emailing one reporter in the morning offering an exclusive then sending a press release out in the afternoon.
Offering an “exclusive” to multiple people at the same time.
A better fit for minor updates or insignificant news. They should offer real value to the reporter and their audience.
💫 Pro Tip: Only pitch if it truly is an exclusive. No soft pitching other outlets for “just in case.” That’s like a guy having a back-up girlfriend “just in case” the current one doesn’t work out. You’ll damage your reputation really fast.
When to use exclusives
When you have big news like a product launch, funding, an acquisition, noteworthy new data, or a strong human story.
If you’re intentionally building a long-term relationship with a journalist or outlet you can offer an exclusive.
If there is an outlet that is ideal for your audience, you can offer an exclusive.
🚨 Know This: Just because you offer an exclusive doesn’t mean the story will be picked up. You can lose time and momentum if you offer exclusive to an outlet and they pass.
💫 Pro Tip: You can use language like “offering this to you first” instead of using the overused term “exclusive.”
Should a small business use exclusives?
Usually not.
Think about your goals? Is it for broad reach and backlinks? If so, then you want wide pitching. So offer the story to all, at the same time. More often than not, while it may be big news for our small business, it’s not really big news to anyone else, so it isn’t worthy of “exclusive.”
That being said, if you have a strong story that fits a specific outlet perfectly then use it!
⚠️ Caution: If your news is time-sensitive and affects public safety or essential services (for example: emergencies, recalls, outages, or health alerts) don’t offer an exclusive. Use a press releases and direct outreach and your own media channels to reach as many people as fast as possible.
“People with good intentions make promises. But people with good character keep them.”
✍️ Key PR Takeaways:
Use exclusives sparingly. Is this news really worthy of offering an “exclusive”?
Put a lot of thought into what outlet you choose to offer an exclusive to.
Consider using the term “to you first” with a respond-by-date.
Never ever ever, and I mean NEVER offer the same “exclusive” to multiple reporters at the same time!
Term to Learn
Break A Story - If a newspaper, reporter, etc. breaks a story, they make it known to the public first.
FAQ
Q: What’s the difference between and exclusive and an embargo?
A: Embargo means many outlets can have the same story, but all agree to publish at a set time. An exclusive means one outlet gets the story first for a set period. Others can get the story after.
Learn from others.
0% Cool : 100% Cringe
Ring Camera CEO Uses Someone’s Personal Tragedy to Promote Product
Ring Camera CEO said if their product had been used by the victim, then the crime would have been already solved.
True or not, it’s a tacky, insensitive claim to make.
Perhaps journalists reached out to the brand involved in the case, Nest, and they declined giving a statement, so the reporters thought “lets see what a competitor has to say.” Or more likely, Ring was doing reactive PR (aka Newsjacking) and reached out with story idea to Fortune magazine. Either way, I wish the communications team would have advised a neutral statement like “We hope this crime can be solved soon,” or better yet, decided it’s probably best not to make any statements on this tragedy.
✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Sometimes the best action is no action at all. Exploiting a felony crime as a PR tactic is never a good idea.
Useful PR Resources.
🧰 TOOLKIT
The Comms Stack Communications AI Prompt Playbook (I promise you –you need it)
A free Communications Prompt Playbook — 600+ prompts across 13 disciplines, built specifically for how communicators work.
This FREE, very detailed AI Prompt Playbook was written for Communicators using AI. Using AI can be a great way to get unstuck, or just help you get started.
A prompt that caught my eye is under Media Relations “Translate our business strategy into 5 press-friendly story angles reporters would actually care about.” (Everyone should use this!)
I would also add “I don’t like sycophancy” so that way it doesn’t tell you only what you want to hear.
“Treat outputs as drafts, not deliverables. AI can get you to a strong first draft or surface angles you hadn't considered — but review everything with your own expertise, organizational context, and editorial judgment before anything goes out.”
Thanks to my friend Dan with The Comms Stack who made this incredible tool! Give him a follow if you aren’t already, and download this it – it’s great!
Attention Seeker(s) of the Week 🐈🦆
A yet to be named female Muscovy duck has taken a liking to Luna the Ragdoll cat. Every morning she comes and pecks at the sliding glass door to alert Luna she has arrived. They then stare at each other until the attention seeking, or should I say food seeking duck gets what she wants, Luna to come outside, and her bird food.
If you know what I should be feeding the duck instead, please let me know. Also if you have a name suggestion let me know. The girl duck sometimes comes with her boyfriend duck, so I’ll take couple names too!
It’s starting to warm up here in Florida, it feels like we went from winter straight to summer.
Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.
Your fellow Seeker,
Keren
🕶️
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