PR Pros: Tommy Morgan of Avalara On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro
A journalistic mindset — I’ve always been interested in media and journalism. One of my favorite shows growing up was the TODAY Show, so you could say I’ve had it bad for a long time. Still, to be successful in PR, you must have an interest in media. The best PR pros stay on top of the headlines in their industries and have an affinity for shaping the stories that turn into those headlines. The work of a PR pro never really stops. If you’re like me, you’re always thinking of the next angle even when you’re reading, watching, or listening to the news outside of work.
Have you seen the show Flack? Ever think of pursuing a real-life career in PR? What does it take to succeed in PR? What are the different forms of Public Relations? Do you have to have a college degree in PR? How can you create a highly lucrative career in PR? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” we are talking to successful publicists and Public Relations pros, who can share stories and insights from their experiences.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Tommy Morgan.
Tommy Morgan is senior manager of public relations at Avalara, a leading provider of tax compliance automation software for businesses of all sizes. In this role, he oversees Avalara corporate public relations strategy and execution, as well as campaigns across industry-specific verticals. Prior to Avalara, Tommy was a public relations account manager for Sage Communications where he managed public relations programs for a range of companies and organizations, including Amazon Web Services, Cloudera, Lookout, and more.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Absolutely. My dream when I was a kid was to be a meteorologist, specifically the next Jim Cantore and work for The Weather Channel. However, when I took my first physics course in college, I knew that my dream probably wasn’t going to pan out. I then shifted my sights toward my other dream career — journalism. I enrolled in journalism classes at Radford University’s School of Communication and during my sophomore year I had to take an elective class, which just happened to be PR 101. I realized over the course of that semester that I was much better suited for PR and would still have the opportunity to work closely with media — something I didn’t want to give up if I walked away from a career in journalism.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
This story happened earlier in my career, but it one that I carry with me every day. I once had a client that was launching a new institute that was backed by many major companies. They wanted to make a big splash at the launch of the organization, and I was tasked with handling media relations. After weeks of message crafting, media list building, and pitching, I secured numerous placements in national media, including a broadcast interview on a major evening news program. Following that interview, the client’s website crashed because they experienced so much traffic from people seeing the segment. While having a website crash is never a good thing, it was a huge validator in the power PR can have for an organization. Since then, my goal has been to crash another website with a stellar media placement.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My first thought is, “What mistakes didn’t I make when I first started in PR?” Still, there is one mistake that stands out to this day and continues to make me laugh.
I was taught early on to do my research and be very tailored when pitching media. When I was an account coordinator at Sage Communications, most of my day-to-day role was focused on building media lists and pitching. One day, I was pitching a small media list of local journalists across the state of Virginia. Everything was laid out perfectly — I knew the unique angle for each journalist and had the perfect pitch crafted. However, I got ahead of myself and rushed through pitching, so I didn’t realize that I had my tailored pitches lined up with the wrong email addresses. I got several responses highlighting my flub, most of which were light-hearted and understanding. Needless to say, I always double check who I’m sending an email to multiple times before hitting send!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I’m working on a ton of interesting projects for Avalara, including major PR campaigns, product launches, and other media-related activities. However, I think the most exciting project I’m working on right now is the content and editorial pieces for our annual event Avalara CRUSH Global. I think it’s exciting because it’s a little different from the usual day-to-day PR activities, but I get to use the knowledge and insights I have from my role to help shape keynotes and sessions that will resonate with attendees.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Motivation — I always tell those around me that in PR, you are responsible for creating results. If you’re not pitching, writing, or thinking of the next angle, then you’re likely not driving much coverage or value for your company. To be successful in PR, you must be self-motivated and have that burning desire to constantly outpace yourself. It’s easy to let motivation slip into the trap of comparison with others, so I caution others to keep their motives in check for the sake of their own sanity.
- Perseverance — Having motivation is foundational to success, but how you act during challenging times can truly make all the difference. Perseverance is critical for PR pros who want to move up in their career and do so quickly. Whether it’s cracking the code on a tough media placement or defining a strategy that no one seems to agree on, hardworking PR people are often the ones delivering the best results.
- Positivity — Above all else, I’ve found that having a positive attitude has made all the difference in my career. It may sound cliché, but I believe there is real merit in getting knocked down seven times and standing back up eight. Having a negative mindset, especially during tough times, only makes it harder for you to do your job. Sometimes the biggest challenge you must overcome is the mental roadblock you’ve created yourself.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. For the benefit of our readers, can you help articulate what the different forms of PR are?
I think this is an important question. At its core, PR is all about earned media coverage — this is day-one PR fundamentals. However, the role PR plays within an organization is much more than earned media. Just some of the hats that PR wear include content developers, brand managers, script writers, and more.
I like to think of PR as air cover for the rest of the marketing engine. Because PR pros are constantly looking at the trends and issues impacting industries and dominating news cycles, we can provide a unique perspective on messaging that gets at the heart of what people care about (or should care about). For example, if you’re trying to sell technology to small businesses, you should be providing easy-to-digest content for that audience to help guide them through the awareness stage.
I believe that PR is a company’s most powerful tool when it comes to establishing credibility and transforming their brand into one that is respected and admired within their industry.
Where should a young person considering a career in PR start their education? Should they get a degree in communications? A degree in journalism? Can you explain what you mean?
Even though it wasn’t a terribly long time ago for me, there are some things I wish I could go back and do over when it comes to my education. I think it’s important for anyone considering a career in PR to take communication classes. At the end of the day, PR pros are professional communicators, so learning the ins-and-outs of communication strategy is foundational for success. Aside from taking PR-focused courses, I would recommend that people take several journalism courses so that you have an appreciation for those you’re pitching and can take on a journalistic mindset. If I could go back in time, I would enroll in many more journalism courses than I did!
You are known as a master networker. Can you share some tips on great networking?
I find networking to be fun and fascinating. I have two tips when it comes to networking successfully:
- Let people talk about themselves and actually listen. We’re human beings, which means we love to talk about ourselves — I think it’s part of our DNA. When it comes to networking, being genuinely invested in learning about the experiences of others helps create a deeper relationship with them. Doing this not only creates goodwill with others, but it also helps you better understand them and how you can be an asset in their lives.
- Be a person. It sounds silly, but I think often we lose a lot of who we are as people when we’re in a professional setting. While there are clear behavioral boundaries you must be mindful of in a professional setting, I’ve found that connecting with people on a personal level can be a useful networking tool. If you share things about yourself that have been formative in who you are as a professional, you never know what you might have in common with someone. That personal connection can seal the deal of a long-lasting, fruitful professional connection.
Lead generation is one of the most important aspects of any business. Can you share some of the strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?
The best leads are ones that are educated and informed on the issues at-hand, your products, and how your company can help them. PR is essential in bringing awareness and education to the market so that as people enter the marketing funnel, they have the knowledge necessary to make decisions (and ultimately choose your solution).
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Organizational skills — I alluded to this earlier when I said that PR pros have to be constantly working if they want to continue delivering media coverage and value to the business. To do this effectively in the ever-changing, fast-paced world of PR, you must be organized. I’m very much a type A personality and a “three” on the enneagram (my fellow achievers can empathize), so organization is sort of second nature. I like to think of organization holistically — across work and personal life. I work in an organized space and try to keep every aspect of my working world in order, like filing emails and creating easy-to-navigate folders for documents. The basic practices create a foundation for organization across my day-to-day work from editorial calendars to media lists.
- Adaptable writing skills — Remember in high school or college when your peers would pull out all the tricks to maximize their word counts without saying much of anything? Giving as much detail as possible was important for research papers, but not for most of what we do in PR. Everything that happens in PR hinges on the written word, so it’s important that PR pros are constantly honing their writing skills and focusing on communicating messages in the most concise, clear way possible. I included “adaptable” in this point because it’s important to note that your writing style will have to adapt based on the audience you’re talking to, channel you’re using, or other factors. In PR, the learning never really ends when it comes to writing.
- Storytelling skills — I’m a big fan of HGTV, so I want to use a home building metaphor here. Think of writing skills as the critical pieces of building a house — the foundation, framing, roofing, etc. These pieces are required to build a house, but it’s the things that you do on top (or underneath) these pieces that make a house a home. That’s what storytelling is in PR. You can be the greatest writer, but if you can’t turn words into a compelling narrative, you’re as useful as a home with no kitchen. Taking the story that you want to tell and blending it with the narratives media want will help you create the stories that grab media attention and garner quality coverage.
- A journalistic mindset — I’ve always been interested in media and journalism. One of my favorite shows growing up was the TODAY Show, so you could say I’ve had it bad for a long time. Still, to be successful in PR, you must have an interest in media. The best PR pros stay on top of the headlines in their industries and have an affinity for shaping the stories that turn into those headlines. The work of a PR pro never really stops. If you’re like me, you’re always thinking of the next angle even when you’re reading, watching, or listening to the news outside of work.
- A flexible mentality and positive attitude — I mentioned this earlier, but felt it was important to wrap up my thoughts with it because it’s so important. There’s a reason PR is consistently listed at the top of ‘most stressful professions’ lists. We often face tight deadlines, manage crisis situations, and are tasked with maintaining brand reputation (among other things) — all of which aren’t easy. That’s why being flexible and having a positive attitude are so important. The more you can roll with the punches and focus on what’s going right, the less time is taken away from achieving results. There’s true power in positive thinking and it’s positive PR pros that go on to be the leaders that define the profession for years to come.
Because of the role you play, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would want to inspire a movement that increases the amount of empathy we have for one another. Throughout the pandemic, our CEO has shared the sentiment that we’re all in the same storm, but not in the same boats. I find this visual to be compelling and extremely accurate. You truly never know what someone is going through or dealing with daily, so mastering empathy and extending grace in personal and professional interactions should be top priority for everyone. Starting this type of movement — even on a small scale — could quickly and easily spread. Imagine a world where we give each other grace and appreciate our humanness above all else. That’s a world I want to live in.
This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.
PR Pros: Tommy Morgan of Avalara On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.