What To Expect From A Good Music Publicist

A good publicist is always on the lookout for unusual media opportunities for her clients.

There comes a time in every band’s career when they should hire a music publicist. We all know that the main aim of every publicity campaign is to generate as much media coverage as possible. But what else should you expect from him or her? It’s not all about column inches, after all. Every good publicist should:

Help You Create A Strategy
A key part of every successful PR campaign is planning. Your publicist should always develop a PR plan that compliments your marketing efforts. This should cover the following areas:

• Objectives – What are your short, medium and long-term career goals? How can a PR strategy help create a foundation for achieving these goals?
• Timeline – This should outline the timeframe for each PR activity that contributes to the PR strategy.
• Target Media List – This should include all realistic media targets that are relevant to you. The number of targets will depend on your budget, time-frame and touring activities.
• “Perfect Pitch” – Your “perfect pitch” is a summary of your brand offering: who you are, what you sound like, and what your unique selling points are. Your publicist should help you define your perfect pitch and ensure that it is communicated consistently across all your marketing platforms.

Manage Your Expectations
A publicist should always advise you on what can be realistically achieved before you hire them. If you are an unknown artist expecting a review in Spin, your publicist should remind you that a grassroots media buzz usually needs to be built up before approaching national music publications. A publicists should be honest with you about what they can achieve within a certain time frame and budget, and what they feel is realistic for you at this point in your career. Honest feedback at every stage of the PR process is vital.

Work Creatively
All publicists should be willing to explore cross-promotional opportunities and unusual, newsworthy angles to increase your PR potential. Brainstorming sessions should be an integral part of any PR campaign, as media opportunities may be available for you outside of the traditional music world. A particular hobby or unique life story of yours may be of interest to a niche lifestyle publication or website, for example, or there may be a story in a charitable partnership or an innovative album release strategy.

Work With the Rest of Your Team
At the end of the day a successful publicity campaign is all about team work. You need to be able to communicate with your publicist on a regular basis, and feel that she is an integral part of your team. A successful campaign depends on a dynamic, creative and communicative team approach.

Overall, when you hire a publicist you should expect honesty, team work, creativity and strategic thinking as part of their service. And let’s not forget the importance of passion! A passionate publicist is the fuel that drives it all.