I presented my workshop Interiors PR: Pitching to Bloggers and Magazines – April 25, 2013 at Workspace within the SFDC. Here is the introduction to the presentation.

The underlying premise for designers and architects is that traditional PR and getting exposure in national and regional magazines is undergoing a change like never before. We know the cost of delivering ink and paper into a reader’s hands will keep going up; but we may not see the loss of revenue a publisher will face from an “unconnected” reader flipping through the pages of a traditional magazine. Magazines will be forced toward the online realm to capture this revenue as readers engage a clickable and linkable publication. Pick up a recent House Beautiful to see this adaptation now.

We are also seeing the democratization of the publishing process where everyone can be his own publisher with websites, blogs and for that matter, his own online magazine or TV channel. This “shareable” content is opening up the publishing world, allowing each of us to collect readers, viewers, friends and followers. We can now act as our own editors and subscription departments. As a designer/principal that wants to stay competitive, these are two new jobs to add to our already full plate.

There is a change for consumers of media. No longer are a few publishers/broadcasters reaching a lot of consumers, yet additionally lots of publishers/broadcasters can easily reach lots of separate audiences. Adapting to this proliferation of media outlets is the key to understanding what could be called The New PR.

The title of the presentation is misleading because it is using the model of the old “Mad Man” days of PR and not the new direction of Creating Content and Inbound Marketing going forward. This article is insightful.

Yes, traditional magazines will still be published and yes, the submission process is discussed in the presentation. But the contextual changes underway are most important to grasp.

A PR plan is what you need, or at least a PR concept, to navigate how you and your firm are perceived. You will need to know who and what you want to be known for. You want to have a consistent voice and decorum. Steve Jobs is a clear example: every time we saw this billionaire he was standing in front of an adoring crowd with a black mock collar sweater and jeans. He spoke in plain and simple language and he was excited to share…

I suggest you have a business plan, a creative plan and an editorial plan. Most of us come to design for the need to be creative. We need to be viable and we need the patronage of our followers and clients.

In the past, design PR was simple: you worked for months or years to make something, you got it photographed and you sent it to magazines to get published. The “event cycle” was long and random. New PR for interior design and creatives is about being deliberate, frequent and creative so people will want what you are sharing.