Two months ago, my career did a 180-degree turn.

I left my job as a business reporter and joined a PR firm. While I was excited by the opportunity of digging into a new profession and all the challenges that come with it, I dreaded the inevitable jabs about going to the other side of the broadsheet.

Before I started, I had a feeling that one of the toughest parts of my job transition would be pitching my former friends and colleagues. I was right. Initially, pitching reporters has been a bit surreal. Suddenly, my new reality is that rather than screening dozens of pitches a day for the occasional newsworthy gem, I’m on the other side, trying to catch the attention of reporters, hoping that they’ll bite on one of my ideas.

I know all too well that the odds are stacked against PR people getting through to reporters. Most reporters these days have zero down time because they’re often covering multiple beats in newsrooms that have grown extremely lean, after a tough recession and dwindling ad dollars. It’s a given that even if you’re pitching an online-only publication, those reporters are juggling constant deadlines, all the while trying to fit in networking, gathering string for the next big story and potentially shooting video for their articles. And then, of course, there’s social media. Promoting content on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn etc. is mandatory at all publications in 2013.

As I’ve worked on my first handful of pitches, I’ve tried to think like a reporter, and remember which pitches I read and considered. As a reporter, first and foremost, I always considered pitches from PR professionals who I knew. That’s not to say that I didn’t read the others, but I read more carefully the ones from people I trusted. So, while my reporting life is still fresh in my mind, I’ve listed a few pitch pitfalls to avoid.

1. The Mistaken Identity Pitch: Last year, I received a pitch that ranks as one of the worst of all time. I can’t remember the subject of the story because the first line of the pitch was so hilariously wrong. The PR person congratulated me on the birth of my first child. I don’t have children, and everyone in the newsroom had a huge laugh over this one. It’s hard to take the pitch – or the person – seriously after that. Clearly, knowing who you’re pitching and getting familiar with their work is fundamental for media pitching.

2. The Fake Exclusive: As a reporter, I was never a fan of getting pitched “exclusive” news that clearly no one else wanted to cover, let alone get an exclusive for it. Reporters, of all people, know what a scoop is, so tricking them is not a good strategy.

3. The Stalker: Clearly, no matter how desperate a PR person is to get the attention of a reporter, there are some basic guidelines to follow, so that said reporter doesn’t decide you’re completely unhinged. Following a reporter on Twitter is smart. Emailing a reporter at 3 a.m. to tell them you’re on vacation, but you had a dream about them, is not OK and will not impress the reporter. Yes, this happened to me (twice). I still spoke to the woman after that, but it never pays to make a reporter think that you’re a bit wacky.

4. Off Target: One of the most aggravating types of pitch emails I received were the off-topic ones, which either were from the wrong part of the country (my last publication had a Boston focus) or were for the wrong coverage area. I got dozens of badly targeted pitches every day. That type of mistake is so easily avoided by researching a reporter’s work and coverage beat.

Friends, former colleagues, and new reporter contacts, just know that you will never receive pitches like these from me.

At the White House correspondents’ dinner, President Obama said, “I remember when BuzzFeed was just something I did in college after 2 a.m.”

Indeed, while the website founded by MIT grad and Huffington Post co-founder Jonah Peretti is 7-years old, until recent months, BuzzFeed might have been something only college students were reading at 2 a.m., searching for LOL cats and photo bombs that they could share on Facebook.

But all that is changing and it feels as if suddenly, BuzzFeed has all the media buzz.

Here’s why:

1. Propelled by high-profile news events such as the Newtown shooting and Boston Marathon bombings, the site seemed to intuit exactly what readers wanted during and after the crisis and its content was even more viral than usual. In January, the site had about 30 million unique visitors. In April, that number had spiked to 65 million uniques. The New York Times’ website has nearly 29 million monthly uniques.
2. BuzzFeed has made big-name hires from well-respected news outlets. Last year, they hired former Politico Editor Ben Smith, which resulted in noteworthy presidential campaign scoops. More recently, they wooed Lisa Tozzi from the New York Times to be its news director.
3. It is launching a business channel, adding the topic to its roster of existing news tabs (politics, tech, sports, ideas and longform). BuzzFeed tapped Peter Lauria from Reuters to run the business channel, and he is building out the empire with hires, including Sapna Maheshwari, who left Bloomberg to cover the retail industry; the Financial Times Group’s Mariah Summers, who will be covering Wall Street; and the Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Lynley, who will cover the tech industry. Lauria, who had previously worked at the New York Post, is expected to bring his tabloid training to the table. “Everything you see on the BuzzFeed vertical, we want it to be exclusive or funny,” Lauria told the Wall Street Journal.
4. BuzzFeed just launched a “Community”section where you can—be  careful, now—post links and other content, with readers being able to vote up or down or label that content with buttons such as “WTF” or “Fail.” Keep in mind, the site has four rules for how to create viral content, which is the only kind it cares about: 1. Have a heart (think Newtown). 2. Capture the moment. They did this like no other with the Boston Marathon bombings. 3. Cute animals rock. 4. Nostalgia sells. Who doesn’t love vintage photos?
5. Beyond those new offerings, BuzzFeed just launched a U.K. version. There, you can read 43 Things British People Know to Be Real. And it is building up an L.A.-based staff (overall, the site has more than 200 employees, about 120 of whom are writing and editing).
6. Venture capitalists have invested $46 million in BuzzFeed, and not, as New York Magazine put it, because they adore kittens. To be sure, traditional news outlets do not have this kind of money coming to them
7. The site is getting more aggressive with its “native advertising” business model. Instead of banner ads, BuzzFeed works with companies such as GE or Pillsbury to create content ideal for sharing, including “10 Things You Never Knew You Could Do With a Crescent Roll.” This is similar to what The Atlantic has done with its sponsored content program. But everything that appears on BuzzFeed has a distinct flavor, and BuzzFeed is launching a training program for agencies (that spend more than $100,000) to school them in the art of creating the right kind of content for the site.

It’s not often that you see competing PR agencies come together in the same room, but now is the time…and there has never been a better reason.

On May 29, InkHouse will co-host a fundraiser event for the One Fund Boston at the Back Bay Social Club. You are all invited! Nineteen agencies from the area are joining forces to host the event – each pledging $750-$1,000. Cost of admission is just $20 – with 100 percent of the proceeds to the One Fund, so purchase your tickets before they sell out: www.eventbrite.com/event/6513749801#

Boston is our home. And we can’t think of a more important cause than supporting the victims of the Marathon bombing. Please join us to show your support – and to have a fun night out with a room full of people who will probably be the most talkative and lively group you could ask for. No pitches, no long speeches, just a good reason to rally and show support for our hometown. And we promise, it will be fun!!!

We’ve been adding new clients, and to keep up, we’ve been searching for Purple Squirrels.

We’re growing quickly and to do that, we’ve had to pivot just as quickly to adjust to new technologies and the fast-moving media landscape. This isn’t easy, and it requires employees who are not just like us. We look for good writers, big thinkers and hard workers who know the difference between hard work and good work. We rely on their new ideas and new perspectives.

We’re so excited about the new group of people joining InkHouse – they bring a unique mix of backgrounds, talents and personalities, and we have no doubt that they will make a positive and lasting mark on our growing agency. We welcome:

• Eleanor Crow who brings a bi-coastal perspective to tech PR. She spent 11 years in San Francisco and five in Boston. We love that she digs in early and fast. It’s been a month and it already feels like she’s always been here forever. And she’s also an amusing travel blogger and aspiring photographer.
• Jackie D’Andrea whose tireless ability to keep up with two-year-old twins is matched only by her tireless work ethic. The parents here at InkHouse are a little jealous of her seemingly endless good spirits.
• Lee Glandorf who comes to us from the stealthy and buzz-worthy Hopper, where she worked on content strategy. She also brings some fantastic fashion PR experience from the venerable fashion houses of Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana. Oh, and she was also a NCAA Division 1 Second Varsity 8+ Champion in rowing while she was at Yale.
• Alison Morra who brings a wealth of experience in the world of crisis PR, corporate communications, events and real estate. Her reputation for organization, steadiness and getting any job done precedes her.
• Lisa van der Pool who joins us after a 15-year career as a journalist most recently at the Boston Business Journal, covering everything from advertising, to startups, to law firms and more. Beyond her impressive resume, she is just a lovely human being.
• Rachael Tucker previously provided internal public relations for the Military Health System, the central resource for service members, their families and community. A Massachusetts native and Georgetown graduate, Rachael is happy she’s back in her home state – and we are too.
• Danielle Laurion was a social media strategist for an online media and marketing firm. She has a way of wading through the social chaos and organizing it into something that is not only manageable, but compelling, that even the Type As here admire. Her smile is contagious and we love seeing her here every day.
• Alex Ingram comes to us from the Scott Brown campaign where he spent many sleepless nights and tireless days coordinating campaign venues and volunteers, wooing the press, and fueling the social conversation about the senate race in Massachusetts. It was hard work. We admire his drive and his ability to rally. To boot, he can already explain SDN or software defined networking in plain language.
• Zoë Nageotte who prior to joining InkHouse, divided her time between interning for the marketing team at Boston Magazine and the sponsorship department at America’s Test Kitchen. Zoë’s grace, intuition and can-do spirit have already made her integral to her teams here. Now we’re just hoping for some secret recipes on the side!

It’s been a busy early 2013 at InkHouse. Last week, InkHouse was named a Pacesetter by the Boston Business Journal for the third year in a row, coming in as the 18^th fastest growing private company in Massachusetts. More importantly, we were thrilled to see Boston Police Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald offer the opening remarks, which were concluded by a long and heartfelt standing ovation. We’re also proud that we were among the 500 audience members who helped raise more than $76,000 for One Fund Boston that morning. Thanks to the Boston Business Journal for making it possible!

Our growth continues with a strong roster of new clients that are poised to place big stamps on their industries. We are thrilled to welcome new clients:

• Autotask, the all-in-one Web-based software that helps VARs, MSPs and IT service providers sell, implement, deliver and bill their services. They were recently named a Network Group award finalist.
• Avid, which played an important role in nearly every Oscar nominee and winner this year. They are the ones behind the audio and video technology. In fact, the company has earned two Oscar® statuettes, a Grammy®, and 14 Emmys® itself.
• Hailo, which is making it easy to get a cab by something they call “e-hailing” – just click the Hailo app and a cab comes to you! Stay inside where it’s warm and skip the cab lines.
• iProspect, a strategic digital marketing partner to the world’s most innovative brands. Last year it was honored as the “Best Agency for Performance Marketing” at the 2012 iMedia Agency Awards, and we can see why. We just love their creativity and their willingness to try new approaches. And the press does too!
• The New England Venture Capital Association, which is working to tell the great story about technology innovation that sprouts and grows here in New England. The NEVY Awards party is on Wednesday this week at the Sinclair in Cambridge. Who doesn’t like a good combination of top VCs, smart entrepreneurs and non-stop cocktails?
• Localytics, the mobile app analytics company that a TechCrunch reporter raved about at a recent media roundtable I attended.
• Nexage, the hot mobile ad exchange in the Innovation District in Boston. We heart their cool office space. And we’re thrilled to bring on board another ad tech client doing some very cool things in mobile.
• Sociomantic, which gives advertisers a real-time and personalized system that delivers increased and transparent performance. This NYC-based company is taking the e-commerce world by storm, showing incredible growth and we couldn’t be more excited to work with them.
• Swirl, a very cool in-store mobile marketing platform provider. Our wallets are a bit emptier since we discovered this addictive app that alerts you to personalized exclusive offers and helps you find your favorite stores nearby.

In the horrifying moments after the Boston Marathon bombings, after ensuring that everyone we knew was safe, we told all clients who might have scheduled tweets to shut them off. Some of them already had and some were shocked that it took almost 20 minutes to finally stop the process.

Thankfully, having a business Twitter blackout has become standard procedure during any crisis because a brand’s social chatter – even if it’s not self-promotional – seems wrong when people are trawling for vital information about breaking news. Going silent is the digital equivalent of giving a fire truck the necessary 500-foot perimeter to do its job. Get out of the way of the #disaster hashtag.

But once those tweets are down, condolences are expressed, then what? Companies grapple with this question every time there is a major news event. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy Beth did a blog post about how PR professionals should act. The headline there: keep it classy – and never capitalize on the tragedy. Still, that seems to be a hard thing for some to do and there are always examples that surface when the recipient of an unfortunate pitch publicly shames the sender. Like this one.

Sometimes, these flubs are the result of naiveté. But they are still a no-no.

Why is this so hard? When a business or person is trying to decide whether an approach is right, here are some questions to ask:

1. Might someone find this action disrespectful? Scrolling through my twitter feed during Obama’s interfaith service in Boston, I was taken aback seeing people tweeting in church – even if the event was covered live on TV – because it felt as disrespectful as chewing gum or wearing shorts in a cathedral. Also, I wouldn’t want to be sitting next to that person tweeting either. Save it for later and be 100 present during such an important occasion. The question could be applied to ANY tweet, from any venue during a sensitive timeframe. In fact, it’s good to ask that question before you tweet anything, anytime.
2. Is this dangerous? That might seem like a ridiculous question – what business would tweet dangerous information? But there is a great deal of handwringing going on about people tweeting law enforcement chatter and police scanners. While it’s gripping to listen to, and the hacker group Anonymous posted the link online to make first responder radios open-source as the hunt unfolded for the Boston Marathon bombings, authorities pleaded with the Twitterverse to stop. Clearly, businesses shouldn’t be tweeting – or retweeting anything of the kind.
3. Is this political? Most companies are sensible enough to stay away from politics in general, but any public figure – that includes @realDonaldTrump and Arkansas Rep. Nate Bell @NateBell4AR – should withhold tweeting inappropriate things during a serious crisis. Bell experienced the wrath with a deluge of calls, tweets and emails. Donald continued being Donald.

4. Will this look like it came from a business or from a human? Whatever you say or do through social channels during or after a tragedy, know that customers are highly sensitive to companies jumping on a bandwagon. If you have something heartfelt to say, say it! But if it feels shallow or forced, be prepared to be called out for it. Two examples of this: Epicurious tweeting about cranberry scones in honor of Boston (see above). It seemed so out of touch and striving to be relevant that journalists actually made the tweet a story.  And then they had to apologize (see below).

Another example: Vineyard Vines using its trademark whale (in all its pink and smiling glory) for a piece of post-Marathon social content.

But the backlash was swift on the brand’s Facebook page and also drew a quick apology.

The Vineyard Vines attempt failed because it didn’t see relevant enough. Of course, the Boston Red Sox’s B Strong logo worked because the “B” that is the Red Sox brand is already baked into the local culture.

Meanwhile, this one Facebook image, from Rue La La, seemed more genuine; the tone was right.

 5. Is this helpful for the general public or self-promotional? In a time of crisis, many businesses feel irrelevant. And often they are. Organize internally to raise money for a related charity, or use your strengths for doing good.  It’s fine to use social media to rally people to such causes or to spread the word for others, but choose your words carefully. And ask yourself honestly the question from #4.

As I listen to the reports of the injured and lost today, my heart breaks all over again with each painful detail. And today, I came in to an InkHouse team that was sad, but strong. Seeing the sorrow on their faces has been hard, but being in their company has been a comfort and a privilege on this hard day.

What I will remember about this bombing is how Boston has come together. It has taken my breath away. From tweets throughout the night offering housing to anyone who needed it, to all of our beautiful clients who emailed us to make sure we were all okay.

Of Boston, Joe Keohane wrote in this exquisite Esquire piece, “Boston Bombing: Toward the Good”:

“Yes, it can be a markedly unfriendly town—I’m not the first to point out that Marathon Monday is the happiest day of the year in what can be an otherwise fractious and standoffish burgh—but anyone who has a deeper understanding of the place knows that while Boston is hard to crack, once you’re in, you’re in. The people are ferociously loyal and have inexhaustible reserves of heart. All of which we saw yesterday, as marathon attendees raced into danger to help the fallen.”

Fortunate that we all evaded potential harm, I am left with the wonderful reminder that often terrible hatred can breed unparalleled kindness and support. We are grateful for all that we have today at InkHouse and are so proud to be part of this amazing city.

Today at InkHouse, we paused for a lunch together…because we are lucky that we can. (Thank you to Tina Cassidy for suggesting this closing.)

It’s not enough to simply push your news out. Don’t get me wrong, that part is critical, and requires a tremendous amount of hard work and smart messaging. As the nature of the news media changes though, it’s becoming increasingly important to pull audiences in by making news findable.

Three factors are driving this trend toward pull:

1. The first source is often the cited source. With rare exception (particularly in technology media), gone are the days when reporters spend days and weeks finding sources and information for their stories. Reporters and bloggers are often under the gun to publish 10 stories a day. Accordingly, the time spent sourcing material for those stories has shrunk. It’s more like minutes, maybe hours on a good day. You need to be there first and often.
2. Non-reporters are writing a ton of media content and they don’t often make or take phone calls. The predominance of non-reporters – company executives, industry pundits, authors, you name it – is also changing the way in which information is propagated. While traditional PR tactics can work with these types of writers, they’re not traditional reporters who are entertaining pitches. They are fitting in writing in their spare time and conduct the bulk of their research by clicking.
3. Browsing news has evolved into searching for specific topics. The Pew State of the News Media report just a few weeks ago revealed changing consumer habits around news consumption (read my post to learn more about the findings). Almost three quarters of U.S. adults get most of their news from friends and family. After they hear about it from someone they know, they actively search for more information on those stories. If you’re under 30, one quarter of your peers find news primarily through social media.

The key takeaway is that in addition to the hustle of pushing out information to the news media, and making it relevant to breaking news stories, you must make sure that your content gets indexed by the search engines. This is not the same thing as search engine optimization (SEO) for your Web site.

You need to optimize press releases for reporters’ search queries. This means that you need to be smart (and sometimes prescient) about the relevant news cycles and trends. For example, last September, we worked with Vibes (a mobile marketing technology company) on a report targeted at retailers regarding how consumers use their mobile phones while shopping. It revealed some important findings about a hot topic called showrooming – when someone shops in a store, but buys a product online for less money.

A traditional press release headline might have been something such as, “Vibes Reveals Mobile Shopping Trends in Mobile Consumer Report.” Instead, we wrote, “Act Now: “Showrooming” Can Be Good For Business, New Research From Vibes Reveals.” Showrooming was an important issue for retailers and we wanted to ensure that Vibes would be included in the upcoming holiday shopping stories in the business media. First, we contacted every reporter who covered retail and marketing technology in September, and we got some fantastic coverage in the early fall. Our press release headline paid off though, as we also saw in-bound inquiries simply because reporters (and prospective clients of Vibes) found the press release by searching on the term “showrooming.”

Bear in mind that it will be tough to get to the top of Google searches if you are trying to own a popular word, for example, “cloud computing.” When you’re optimizing press releases for future search queries, targeted is better than general. The placement of the key words also matters. Make sure they appear in the first 250 words of the release, and comprise no more than two to eight percent of your copy. Your best keyword should appear in the headline, first and last paragraph. Headlines should not be in all caps since some search engines overlook those. Then make sure you include the right hashtags when you tweet those same headlines! For more on Twitter, hashtags and headlines, read Sarah Skerik’s post for PR Newswire, “Headline Hashtags & Other Tweetable Press Release Tips.”

I’ve been working in PR for over two decades and, even to this day, nothing makes me happier than when I land a great piece of media coverage for a client. To me, this joyful moment happens when three elements come together in unison: a great pitch, a solid relationship with a reporter, and the right timing.

Once upon a time, great media relationships were built over lunches, press conferences, phone calls and in-person media tours. But times have changed and so has PR. Today, while phone calls still matter a great deal, in-person meetings are rare. The good news is that we now have Twitter and it’s a huge and, I think, untapped, asset for building relationships with reporters.

There are, in my opinion, four major ways PR professionals should be taking advantage of Twitter to help create media coverage opportunities:

1. Reporters are people too. They hang out on Twitter, tweeting about sports, music, where they are heading for the weekend, their kids/cats/neighbors/in-laws, movies and so on. So converse with them, just like you would anyone else on Twitter. All work and no play is dull. So get in there with some chitchat about common interests, opinions, the weather, the Red Sox, whatever. Have a dialog. Relate to each other. Make a connection. Be funny, engaging, useful and authentic, but not overly sycophantic.

2. Understand how your target reporters are using Twitter. For example, USA Today’s Jon Swartz (@jswartz) told me: “I use Twitter as a tip sheet/news wire service, and as a way to find sources I haven’t met.”

Another reporter at a major tech blog says: “We are always following along on Twitter to keep track of what people are talking about, the latest news and trending hashtags. I follow a lot of reporters and major sites on Twitter, so I visit websites directly a lot less now and just get redirected to them when I click on the links. This saves a lot of time and I’m much more up to date with the news. Reporters also follow other beat reporters in areas we write about and other people in the industry. It’s also very valuable to connect with PR people and companies too — sometimes you get in touch with people much faster or instead of going through a main PR email, you can reach the person you want directly. The same goes for sources.”

3. Be generous with the Twitter love. Tweet out a reporter’s latest story being sure to @ mention his or her name. Retweet their articles, adding your perspective. Favorite their latest piece. Everyone loves to be recognized and, by doing so, you can improve your chances of breaking through the “white noise” of other people’s pitches.

4. Timing is everything. Think of Twitter as your very own personal investigator. Use it to find out whether a reporter is attending a major press conference or covering some breaking news, precisely when you have an expert on hand with a comment. Or maybe the reporter you were planning on hitting up with your big pitch is actually on vacation; if he or she is tweeting about/from the beach, you can find that out too and divert to another target.

It’s no coincidence that many of my best media relationships are with reporters with whom I have a Twitter “friendship.” In fact, when faced with a barrage of faceless pitches, odds are that the reporter with whom you just tweeted back and forth about Mad Men, snowpocalypse or their kid’s latest tantrum, is more likely to respond to yours.

So do yourself a favor and tweet with a reporter today.

Has InkHouse succeeded because we’re lucky or because we’re smart and we work hard? According to Facebook COO and Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg, while men tend to take credit for a company’s success, women often ascribe success to “luck, help from others, and working hard.”

Sandberg has started a national discussion that has gone from the Silicon Valley, to Oprah, to The Daily Show and last Friday, to Boston at a breakfast hosted by the New England Venture Capital Association at the Harvard Club (if you missed it, you can watch the livestream video).

One of Sandberg’s tenets is the importance of fostering confidence in women. This week, Andrew Ross Sorkin interviewed Irene Dorner, president and CEO of HSBC USA in The New York Times. She said the problem of the glass ceiling is matched by the “sticky floor” (women who don’t proactively seek higher-level positions).

How can we build this confidence? Sandberg reminded us that we should feel free to make our own rules, since the old ones aren’t working that well. Women need to mentor other women. It’s an easy slide into the “I did it the hard way and so should you” mentality, which discourages  young women who need mentors more than critics. Don’t be a queen bee (a woman who achieved success in male-dominated environments and tends to oppose the rise of other women). Sandberg said, “A great boss gives credit to everyone else when things are going well and when they are not, says how can I fix it?”

Following are a few of my favorite pieces of advice for women from this broader discussion:

• Balance. Sandberg said, “Families with more balance are happier.” Anyone who’s interviewed at InkHouse has heard us talk about the importance of balance – it is a foundational element of our culture. You have to show up for work and your personal life with equal passion if you want to be good at either one. Of course, balance is not something that is attainable every single day or week. A culture that strives toward balance is also one that fosters teamwork and wards off resentment when deadlines bring late nights.
• Process is not progress. Irene Dorner said, “Women do funny things. They do things like work very hard and expect to be noticed for it — and they’re not, because it doesn’t work like that.” Knowing the difference between hard work and smart work is elemental to success. At InkHouse, our clients don’t give us credit for working hard. We get credit for getting great results. It’s up to us to shine a light on those great results. No one is going to do it for us.
• Done is better than perfect. In InkHouse words, you need to know when good enough is good enough.
• Sit at the table. Not in the back of the room or at the side of the table. When preparing for important meetings, we tell employees that you only get one chance to make a first impression. Walk into the room, look the person in the eye, shake his or her hand confidently, and behave as though you belong at that table.

Sandberg’s Lean In foundation is doing amazing things to support women and to move this from discussion to action. Last year I was thrilled to see Liza Mundy’s piece in Time Magazine about the progress women have made. Nearly four in 10 working wives out-earn their husbands (up 50 percent from 20 years ago). More needs to be done, and as with all change, it starts with small steps. Sandberg suggested that each person begin by simply inviting a woman to the table, today.

A big thank you to C.A. Webb at the NEVCA for organizing this amazing event. She leans in to every single thing she does, and this event would not have been possible without her grace and energy.