Garden industry insiders should never be at a loss for ideas.

People always seem to be starting new companies, creating new lawn and landscape products, and even producing different publications.

When these businesses start, they ultimately look to public relations professionals to help spread the world about their new brand.

A recent PR Daily article titled “8 questions startups should ask before hiring a PR firm” highlights what new companies should look for when hiring outside help to promote their product or image.

One key point the article doesn’t mention is that it works both ways.

Not only do startups have to carefully interview the companies they want to promote their brand, public relations firms also need to choose their clients wisely. Ultimately, a client list contributes to any PR firm’s overall image.

Continue reading to learn more about how your garden PR firm should pick clients. 

Knowing all you can about the journalists you are pitching is vital to your garden brand’s success.

It is also helpful when it comes to utilizing your time as efficiently as possible. 

Muck Rack surveyed their database of journalists to figure out what tactics are best to effectively communicate with them.

Responses from over 25,000 journalists are compiled below and detail exactly what they want to see from your garden brand, from what time to pitch to which social platforms they use most.  

“What’s trending now" has always been a hot news topic.

Now, however, news segments are getting trends directly from social media sites.

Even the Today Show and Good Morning America, the two biggest morning news shows, both feature special segments on what’s trending, frequently driven by social content.

As audiences show they're continually interested in trend stories, it’s time for your garden businesses to help get the word out, too.

Discover how your gardening business can use social media trends to craft timely pitches and branded content below.  

Hundreds of public relations pitch emails go unanswered every day, or even worse, unopened and deleted.  There’s no surefire way to get a response from a pitch, but there are ways to up your chances. 

Awful subject lines, bad introductions and simple misspellings or grammar mistakes are some of the reasons journalists delete emails without even reading them. Be mindful of those trigger points before you hit send on an email.

Below are 6 more tips and tricks to get your public relations pitch opened, and hopefully, answered!

Last week, Garden Media's Suzi McCoy hosted a Google+ Hangout to discuss how to connect, inspire and wow the media.

The G+ Hangount expanded on key aspects from Garden Media's media relations' e-Book, How to Win the Media's Heart.

Katie Ketelsen of Better Homes and Gardens.com, Michelle Slatalla of Gardenista, and David Ellis of American Gardener joined Suzi to dish on the best tricks and treats for getting your garden business in leading industry publications like these.

Below are the top tips for getting media placements by forming relations with key media influencers.

One of the most important tenets of media relations, and the one that gets talked about the least, are media tours.

20 years ago, media tours and press conferences were still hot stuff, but now, technology and video chats have made in-person media tours less popular.

But, when done right, media tours can wow the media, especially since they aren't as popular a tactic as they once were.

There's a media tour made for every budget, so no matter how much money you have to spend, you can still invest in a media tour this year.

Below are the different types of media tours that can work for your garden business.

Like a first impression, introducing your garden brand to the media is an opportunity you only get once.

And, as you may have guessed, your introduction can either define your brand or cause infamy.

In the gardening world, there's one surefire way to make a stellar impression with the media's key influencers.

With this one move, you'll be well on your way to having impeccable media relations.

Discover Garden Media's proven method for the best way to introduce your garden brand below.

Now that you have created your media list, it will serve as the foundation for all of your media relations. You're ready for the next step: connecting with the key media influencers.

Key influencers are the best place to begin making connections.

Why?

Because they're leaders in their industry. The topics that they write and talk about will soon be covered by media outlets across the country. Think of it like a ripple effect. If you can hook the big influencers, the rest of the media coverage will soon take off.

Below are tips on determining who exactly key media influencers are--and how to make them remember your garden brand!

Hot of the presses, Garden Media's October e-Book is here!

This month our GROW! e-Book of the month clubwill be talking media relations every Wednesday, right here on our blog. The blog posts complement the info in our Media Relations e-Book and break each aspect of media relations into bite-sized pieces!

But, first thing's first, be sure to download our e-Book, "How to Win the Media's Heart."

In it, you'll find all of Garden Media's secrets to making (and maintaining!) friendships with the media.

To start the conversation, below is Garden Media's guide to media relations--beginning with the basics, like what is media relations, and where do you start?