Carlton Baxter paid a visit to The Fearey Group Thursday to talk about upcoming changes to the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) and to identify new ways that our company could partner with his organization. The Business Journal Network, on the advice of branding guru Mario Garcia, is working on a plan to unite the network and take full advantage of the largest body of journalists ‘on the ground’ in the U.S. Former PSBJ editor Emory Thomas, who was promoted to lead the network, is leading the charge. Soon, readers will see new logos and a unified approach to content. Stay tuned.
Outside the branding changes, here a few lessons learned for PR pros:
- Pitches sent on Thursday or Friday will receive much more attention because of the PSBJ’s editorial and production schedule.
- Each journalist at the PSBJ has unique preferences for email and phone pitches. It’s beneficial to know these preferences. The story load for these journalists is about four to five articles a day so communicating using their preferences is important. Valerie Bauman likes e-mail, FYI.
- A majority of business journal subscribers make over $1 million a year; most are small business owners. When presenting editorial content to the PSBJ, put on a “business lens” — in other words, consider what business readers can learn from your submission.
Baxter also clued us in to a few little known opportunities. The Business Pulse section includes a ‘question of the week’ that outlines a thought leadership trend or popular story in the news. The journal puts out a morning, afternoon and technology-focused e-newsletter each day. The PSBJ mobile app is gaining popular and a follow –up tablet app is in the making and due out soon.
It was great insight from an insider and a compelling tease to the upcoming changes to the Puget Sound Business Journal and all business journals (40+) nationwide.