Sometimes a letter to the editor accomplishes next to nothing. But a well-written, respectful letter can be a powerful tool when it points out serious misperceptions, or just
provides solid information you know the pub's readers will want to hear.
When Lori Mitchell Barnett, an Oceanside, Calif.-based PR practitioner, signed on a nationally renowned Pilates instructor in San Diego, she faced a classic media relations
challenge: unrealistic expectations. Some clients want the cover of TIME. Exercise guru Julian Littleford wanted San Diego Magazine. He had been featured in the pub before, but
saw it as his best outlet for coverage. Littleford had considered purchasing an ad, but a full page ad runs $7,000. Barnett lured him with a fee lower than the cost of an ad and a
promise that she would get him coverage in several outlets. The caveat: She warned him that since San Diego Magazine had covered him before, she might not be able to score a piece
in that outlet.
Barnett began actively pitching her new client and carefully following San Diego Magazine for potential opportunities. She got one when the magazine came out with its Editor's
Choice awards - and featured another Pilates trainer as its "best trainer" in the San Diego area.
Barnett immediately penned a letter to the editor discussing her client. It was respectful of the editors' selection, but pointed out a variety of facts that made it clear
Littleford was not to be overlooked: He serves as athletic trainer for the Cirque du Soleil circus troupe when they come to San Diego, he trains athletes and celebrities, and
local physicians regularly refer their patients to Littleford for pain management. He has been an instructor for 25 years and studied under masters who were trained by Joseph
Pilates. Plus, he was a founding member of the well-known Physical Mind Institute in New York.
Barnett hoped the letter would at least prompt some renewed interest in her client. In August, however, San Diego Magazine printed her entire letter verbatim. Notes Barnett: "I
had a happy client with a lot more said about him than a full page ad would ever have accomplished." ([email protected])