Op-ed consulting might look like PR. It’s not.
I’ve been speaking to a lot of potential clients as I build up my business. One of the most common things I hear when talking to a prospect is, “So, it’s like PR, right?”
It’s not—but I can understand why many people think it is. Nearly all companies that move beyond a foundational stage either hire a public relations firm or employ communications staff in-house. Since my work involves developing and writing articles that will be published in the media, it’s natural to assume I’m fulfilling a PR function.
That doesn’t bother me. But it is important for me to make clear the distinctions between PR and op-ed consulting.
They’re not just semantic. Understanding what separates these two fields is crucial to determining which service an organization or individual needs at a given point in time.
Scope of work
I’ve identified three primary differences between thought leadership consulting and PR. First is the scope of the work. PR and communications professionals perform a variety of functions, from drafting press releases and securing media coverage to developing an overall strategy for how the public and target audiences perceive the client. They are usually a soup-to-nuts service, and many offer to help clients with thought leadership content such as op-eds and newsletters. (More on this below.)
On the other hand, I’m only focused on one thing: helping the client develop original, thought-provoking ideas for the media. I pick my clients’ brains as much as I need to in order to better understand their strengths, interests and knowledge areas. And I do the background legwork to ensure that their insights are aligned with what editors are looking for. My engagements are more partnerships than services, because I spend so much time getting to know the people I work with.
How we help
The second main difference is in the primary value we provide. For PR, the strength of their service lies primarily in the strength of their relationships with media professionals. Firms leverage those relationships to assist clients in getting interviewed for articles or news programs or placing contributed content like op-eds. Because these relationships are so important for their clients, firms spend ample time developing and cultivating them by meeting with editors and reporters at various media outlets.
On the other hand, I help clients best by being their editor before the editor. What do I mean by that? In order to get placed in a publication, it’s extremely helpful to think like the editors of that publication think. The greatest asset I can provide is tapping into my background in journalism and playing the part of the editor my client will need to impress. I help clients make sure their ideas break through the media noise and have an actual chance of being published.
Of course, some PR professionals are former journalists, and can play that role when working with clients. And I also have strong relationships with media editors. But there is still a notable distinction in the focus of our offerings.
Who we work for
Finally, I differ from communications firms in terms of who we serve. For PR, their goal in working with a client is to give them what they want. If a client asks for op-ed placement in the Wall Street Journal, many firms will commit to trying without questioning whether that aspiration is realistic. The firm then does whatever it can to make the client’s desire a reality.
On its face, this business model makes sense and tracks with that of most other businesses. But there are downsides. First of all, it prevents the client from knowing the truth, which is that their home-cooked ideas are not always good or relevant enough to land them in their target media outlet. Second, clients often later on feel burned by PR firms they work with, because they feel they were overpromised results that were never delivered.
So, then, who does an op-ed consultant serve? First and foremost, I serve media readers. That may sound a bit strange, because readers don’t pay me. But I know if I’m not serving readers, I’m not serving editors, and if I’m not serving editors, I’m not serving my clients. Media publications are inundated with op-ed submissions; if your pitch doesn’t stand out, you’re not getting published.
I keep my focus on the end users. In doing so, I end up helping my clients more than I would if I were only thinking about what they want.
I’m not hating on PR
I want to be clear about something: The point of this article is not to bash PR. There are some good PR agencies out there. I collaborate with them at times and appreciate their work.
That said, when I was at Fortune I was struck by how many agencies did a poor job of representing their clients. From sending their pitch to the wrong person, to not knowing the basics of writing a pitch email to an editor, to trying to guilt-trip me for not running a submission—I sometimes couldn’t believe these people were employed to do public relations work.
As I grasped the depth of this problem, I started to think about how it could be done better. This was the germ that eventually grew into Opinioned.
Businesses and organizations that want to be regarded as thought leaders deserve a real partner, not a yes-person. Because I approach my work as a journalist, I’m fully honest with my clients. This helps them produce the best op-eds possible.