This is the Transcript of the #WeddingMarket Chat on May 18th with Sasha Vasilyuk from I DO PR. The answers were made on Twitter so responses will appear different.

Sasha Vasilyuk is the founder of I DO PR, a boutique public relations agency that helps wedding, travel and lifestyle brands successfully work with the media. She has consulted for HoneyBook, Weddington Way, AllSeated, Best Buy, Virginia Tourism Authority and many others. Sasha just launched a series of DIY Media Outreach tools for wedding professionals who want to build buzz in the media.

Sasha has been an entrepreneur all her life. At 16, she founded the first national magazine for Russian-American youth. At 24, she cofounded the first coworking space in San Francisco and worked with international media to popularize the coworking concept throughout the world. At 28, she started I DO PR and spent the first year running it while traveling alone around the world.

Sasha is also an award-winning journalist. She has a Masters in Journalism from NYU and has written for USA Today, LA Times, Huffington Post, Newsweek, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. She is currently working on a romantic travel memoir.

Q1: How did you get involved with the wedding industry?

Answer
Sasha Vasilyuk I was a journalist, then did marketing and PR for a startup, then started my own wedding PR agency @idoweddingpr.

Q2: What the heck is PR anyway?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : PR is the method by which a brand convinces the media to feature a positive story about them.

Q3: What is the difference between PR vs Journalism vs Advertising?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk: When you go to a PR agency like Shakespeare Communications, it’s important that you understand that PR is not advertising because brands don’t pay the media to feature them and PR is not journalism because you don’t dictate what is being written about you.

Q4: What can publicity do for a wedding business?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Publicity can widen your brand’s reach, improve reputation, help with sales, position you as expert, and help raise money. In one line, it can help ambitious business to grow further. Additionally, taking help of PR agencies (Flourish PR agency being one of them) could help entrepreneurs to promote their business and increase their impact in the market place.

Q5: Why it’s important to set goals before pitching?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Don’t get publicity for publicity’s sake. Be strategic with PR to align your efforts to your marketing goals.

Q6: There are lots of blogs/mags. How to know who to pitch?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Pitch your business to blogs/mags that reach your target audience.

Q7: How do you know what types of content each media wants?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Before pitching, study what blogs/mags feature: real weddings, interviews, guest posts, product roundups…

Q8: How do you prepare for the pitch?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk: Gather your assets before pitching: story ideas, expert tips and strong images.

Q9: How do you research journalists?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Study journalist’s recent stories to see if they’re the best person to pitch your business.

I interview top journalists on our blog at www.idopr.com so event profs can get to know them better.

Q10: How do you determine the right time to contact media?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Pitch journalists ahead of time. Print mag needs 6 months, blog up to 2 months, newspapers and TV news 1-3 weeks.

Q11: What are the important email rules that wedding pros need to follow when pitching?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Make subject line sound like a story, keep it short, friendly and not salesy.

Q12: What are some of the pitching do’s?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk: When pitching journalists, do offer story ideas, add helpful links & contact info, respond promptly, follow up.

Q13: What are some of the pitching don’ts?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk: When pitching journalists, don’t use attachments, don’t be demanding, and don’t call them.

Q14: How do you leverage press hits?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Got press hit? Put it on social, add to homepage and press page, blog, email signature, portfolio and office wall.
Q15: What would you like everyone to take away from this #WeddingMarket Chat?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Press features are a hugely powerful testimonial for your business. Be creative

check out our interviews with top editors and wedding pro’s on our blog http://bit.ly/1oidanZ .

#WeddingMarket Audience Questions

@FlowerDesigner is it still important to send press releases?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Press releases should only be used for really major announcements.

@Beyond_I_Do A man from NYTimes wrote an article featuring me (see my profile). But is that journalism or PR?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : It’s PR if you pitched him. Otherwise, that was luck.

@FrillsBridal Why do u think it’s important for businesses to hire a PR service, as opposed to trying to as as their own rep?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : PR rep has media connections, but you can def do some PR yourself! See PR Tools on our site.

@LaughStaff is there an effective way to create authenticity and trust in the subject line?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : “Pitch” or “Story idea” plus mentioning the publication name works well.

@Beyond_I_Do It seems most wedding mags overlook ministers/rabbis all together. How to fix this?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Ministers are local and don’t have images that press wants, but pitching marriage advice can still land u press.

@SoThisIsLov What are the most important questions to ask when hiring a PR rep?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Ask to see the press hits they’ve gotten for other clients similar to your biz. That will show you if they’re any good.

@DreamyWeddingSK How do you go about or what steps are needed to obatin “good publicity” or the right type of publicity?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Determine your target audience, then pitch good story ideas to matching publications.

@VanessaLeBeau2 What can help a biz make a smart decision on whether to hire their own PR person or contract out for it?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Most small to medium biz can get away with a contractor/PR firm who has strong connections.

@Beauweddingapp How do you see social media fitting into #weddingpr?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Social media is another form of PR: a post can be easier to ask for than an entire article. Businesses should also use social media to leverage press hits they get. However, keep in mind that you may come across negative reviews and comments on social media which an online reputation company like Reputation Defender can help you with.

@FrillsBridal How can you tell if a PR opportunity may not actually be beneficial for you?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Say no to paid editorial, bloggers who want nonreturnable samples or when your shipping cost exceeds PR benefit.

@FlowerDesigner How do you decide if or agency has contacts in better areas of the country east vs west?

Answer

Sasha Vasilyuk : Most major media are in NYC. If you want local media in specific area, find an agency located there.