PRontheGO: 8 Books About Public Relations You Should Read
We asked leading PR and media experts to recommend Books About Public Relations You Should Read. The experts explain what startups & creative founders can learn from the author and publication to improve their PR skills. Here we go:
1) How to Win Friends & Influence People
?How to Win Friends & Influence People: Dale Carnegie is a classic which will teach you a lot of things about public relations. Written in 1936 by Dale Carnegie, this book sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and it?s a masterpiece in the science of human interactions. This book emphasizes that you should genuinely be interested in people and that you should listen to them intently. It gives you tips including always remember the name of the person you?re talking to because this is music to their ears. Lastly, it teaches you to always put yourself in the other person?s shoes so that you can feel and see things from their perspective.?
? Recommendation by Norhanie Pangulima, Content Marketing Executive at Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick
?Not a PR book per se, but I always recommend for people in PR to read Dale Carnegie?s ?How to Win Friends and Influence People.?
Sometimes I think people forget the ?relations? part of the publicist and journalist relationship and that journalists are people too and not just a means to an end (aka a client placement).
I subconsciously still remember Carnegie?s advice when pitching a journalist or interacting with them on social media or in-person (and even in my non-work life):
Become genuinely interested in other people
Remember that a person?s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language
Talk in terms of the other person?s interest
Try honestly to see things from the other person?s point of view?
? Recommendation by Christina Valle, PR Director at Wave Collective
2) Trust me, I?m Lying
?A great online PR and marketing strategy book is ?Trust Me, I?m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator? by Ryan Holiday. Holiday includes incredible stories of his own experiences with creative viral, online marketing strategies and PR campaigns, and gives readers a blueprint how they can achieve similar results. It?s a great blend of case studies and real life examples combined with practical how to advice and a must read for any business person or marketer looking to filter your brand?s image online or explode your online growth.?
? Recommendation by Stacy Caprio, Founder of Her.CEO
?Trust Me, I?m Lying is a great read for PR folks, regardless of the stage of their career, but it?s invaluable to startups. Throughout the book, Ryan Holiday tells his story of manipulating the media to get his story told. The book is not only informative, but it?s funny as well making it an easy read. Perhaps the most valuable lesson we can take from the book is the concept of trickle up media. I think far too often, especially when we?re first starting out and trying to prove ourselves, we put too much emphasis on landing the big story. We want the Forbes or ESPNs to tell our story, but the smaller media can be just as important in today?s media landscape. People are reading blogs and message boards more frequently than they are their city?s daily paper. Trickle Up Media is the idea that more and more often, the major outlets are getting story ideas from blogs or event Tweets. Long story short, don?t overlook the small, yet powerful, media outlets because they can lead you straight to your dream placement with one of the majors.?
? Recommendation by Paige Berger, Public Relations Strategist at BAERING
3) The Strategic Storyteller
?The Strategic Storyteller by Alexander Jutkowitz is a comprehensive, practical guide to transformative storytelling and is an actionable guide for how today?s communicators should approach developing a narrative. Sooner or later all of us will be asked to tell stories in the course of our professional lives. We will be asked to make a case for ourselves, our work, our companies, and our future. The Strategic Storyteller tells you how. ?
? Recommendation by Steve Hirsch, Director, Account Strategy at SJR in NYC
4) The PR Masterclass
?Check out ?The PR Masterclass? by Alex Singleton, a journalist and PR consultant. This is the clearest and easiest to digest book I?ve ever read on PR with some fantastic examples and insights. Highly recommended.?
? Recommendation by Katie Holmes, Lead Editor at OutwitTrade
5) The New Rules of Marketing and PR
?Being a marketing practitioner, I have come to know that public relations and marketing are two concepts that I believe cannot be fully separated. This was proved when I stumbled upon this book ? The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly by David Meerman Scott.
This book is a guide, complete with action plans that take you through the step-by-step process of using the world wide web to your advantage in order to cultivate relationships with the public and ultimately generate leads.?
? Recommendation by Samantha Moss, Editor & Content Ambassador at Romantific
?The New Rules of Marketing and PR? by David Meerman Scott ? In this digital age, every company should have PR plans that incorporates digital strategies. However, many professionals may not know where to start or think it will be costly. If you?re looking to rebrand, start or increase your business, this book is your guide. David teaches readers how to develop digital PR and marketing plans, the latest social trends, how to amplify your message over all the noise online, and more.?
? Recommendation by Tommia Hayes, Communications and Digital Marketing Professional at Community Health Charities
6) Ogilvy an Advertising
?Ogilvy on Advertising was published in 1963. There are so many principles that carry over to the current era of marketing and public relations.
You?ll learn core foundational beliefs that helped Ogilvy grow his marketing and PR firm that can be carried over to tactics and execution today. Below are some of my favorite quotes that still hold true for our PR and digital agency:
?If it doesn?t sell, it isn?t creative.?
?Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.?
?The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.?
? Recommendation by Jason Parks, President at The Media Captain
7) The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations
?My recommendation, and something I give to my employees is The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations, by Larry Tye. It?s not so much a how-to book, but an enjoyable history of the profession. Following Bernays? life and campaigns, the reader gains appreciation for how PR can affect people?s behaviors. Why do we eat bacon at breakfast? How did Ivory Soap become a runaway best seller? Granted, some of his achievements in a more nave time might seem dubious to us now (bacon, women smoking), but the narrative here will make any PR pro recognize that no matter how many decades or how many changes in the media landscape there are, the basic tenets of good PR don?t change.?
? Recommendation by Julie D. Taylor, Principal at Taylor & Company
8) Building a Storybrand
?Hands down the book that changed the game for me was Donald Miller?s ?Building a Storybrand.? It?s full of inspiring stories that make for an easy read, and best of all his strategies actually work. I can tell you when I started applying his strategies to my own business, I saw engagement and conversions increase. It really is a must for anyone looking to improve their PR skills and attract more paying clients and opportunities.?
? Recommendation by Angela Mastrogiacomo, Founder/CEO at Muddy Paw PR
?I?d highly recommend ?Building a Story Brand? by Donald Miller. While I?ve been in the industry for over a decade, I still found Donald?s strategy of putting your customers and their needs and making them the ?superhero? of your story to be fascinating and helpful for our clients and the work we do for them. I?d recommend purchasing a physical copy, as he includes various worksheets and practical exercises to get the creative juices flowing and actually walk you through how you can create your brand?s story (or your client?s brand story).. If you do purchase through Audible or another listening app, he also offers these exercises on his website.?
? Recommendation by Jenny Gustafson, Founder & Leading Mind at Like Minds Communications
Thank you!
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