Things That Go Bump In The Night

October is the time when imaginations run wild about things going bump in the night. But, run of the mill ghosts and goblins don’t keep PR people awake at night. No, we’re kept awake but much more frightening things, like:

• Early morning wire announcements. These usually mean you’re checking the clock every 15 minutes because you’re worried that your alarm won’t wake you up in time to confirm your client’s international press release crossed the wire on time. Months of planning all come down to the press of a button, and we’re not going to rest easy until we see for ourselves everything was executed perfectly.
• Exclusive stories tied to client news. You likely fall asleep with fingers and toes crossed that tomorrow morning’s exclusive story goes live in time to coincide perfectly with a client’s major announcement, and that it touches on all the key points you so perfectly outlined for the reporter. Chances are you’re up early, too, hitting refresh on your browser until the story appears. The lost sleep is worth it when you see the great coverage positioning your client as the leader in their space.
• Deadlines. Ever lie awake wracking your brain trying to remember if you hit send on a byline that was due to an editor by end of day? You eventually get out of bed, power up the laptop and check your sent items to put your mind at rest. You don’t want your client to miss out on a great opportunity because an email was stuck in your outbox.
• Late night emails. It’s hard to resist the chirping of the phone that signifies you’ve got mail and the automatic instinct to hit reply no matter what time it is. Sometimes PR pros need to remember that a thoughtful email sent at 9 a.m. is more valuable to our clients than a quick response sent at 2 a.m.
• Technical translations. When you work with technology companies you walk the fine line between telling the story the client wants to tell (in their words) and telling the story the press wants to hear (in layman’s terms). Worrying that you struck the right balance for both parties can lead to some sleepless nights.

PR pros are always “on”, even when we’re in sleep mode. You never know when inspiration will strike. So, what keeps you up at night?