Haystack PR Collective

28/09/2026

AI makes it incredibly easy to create an event flyer or promotional graphic. But before you hit “post,” there’s another question worth asking: Can everyone actually use it?

AI-generated flyers can unintentionally create barriers for people with disabilities and special needs.

Here are five things to watch for:

• Important event information may be embedded only in the image, making it difficult or impossible for some screen readers to access.

• Decorative fonts, tiny lettering, and low-contrast colors may look nice but can be difficult for many people to read.

• Busy designs with lots of colors, graphics and competing information can be overwhelming for people with sensory, cognitive or visual-processing needs.

• AI doesn’t automatically know whether your design follows accessibility best practices.

• Accessibility details themselves are often forgotten — things like accessible parking and entrances, interpretation, sensory accommodations or a contact person for accommodation requests.

AI can be a useful communications tool, but creating something quickly isn't the same as communicating effectively.

Before publishing any flyer - AI-generated or not - take another look through the eyes of the people you're trying to reach.

Good communication should include as many people as possible.

27/09/2026

A bucket-list media placement became reality today.

A Haystack PR client was featured on CBS Sunday Morning — one of the most respected and recognizable storytelling programs in the country.

For me, this one is especially meaningful. I’ve watched CBS Sunday Morning for decades, first with my grandparents and parents and now with my own family. Long before Haystack PR existed, getting a client onto this program was one of those career goals I hoped I might someday accomplish.

Today, that goal was made a success.

Earned media is about much more than sending a press release or firing off a pitch. The right national story comes from finding the angle, understanding what a journalist or producer needs, building relationships, preparing the client, and doing the work behind the scenes to help a story come together.

And sometimes, after all of that work, you get to turn on the television and watch a career dream happen.

This is one I’ll remember for a very long time.

Watch the CBS Sunday Morning story here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukZkL7fvD5Q

Today the public's appetite for true crime – from TV shows and podc...

09/09/2026

Public relations in 2026 is basically Oregon Trail with Wi-Fi. 😂

You probably won’t die of dysentery. But you *might* die of:

☠️ Explaining earned media. Again.
☠️ Scope creep.
☠️ A crisis that started in the comments section.
☠️ Explaining the difference between PR and marketing.
☠️ Pitching a story that has no actual story.

Funny? Yes. Also painfully accurate.

Because good PR is a lot more than sending out a press release and hoping for coverage. It’s knowing what journalists will actually care about. It’s finding the real story inside your business. It’s understanding when something is a PR issue, a marketing issue, or both. It’s managing your reputation before a small problem becomes a big one. And sometimes it’s telling you, “This isn’t a story yet,” then helping you turn it into one.

That’s where Haystack PR Collective comes in.

We help businesses find the story, shape the message, and get in front of the right audiences — without loading the wagon with bad pitches and hoping for the best.

Welcome to **The Publicist Trail.**

Need help navigating yours? Let’s talk.

01/09/2026

⚙️🪠 What if the next expert quoted in a national publication was YOU? 🔨🪚

Journalists are constantly looking for contractors, HVAC pros, electricians, plumbers, remodelers, landscapers, and other tradespeople to weigh in on the topics they know best.

You already have the expertise!

Haystack PR Collective helps get that expertise in front of the journalists looking for it, and national media credibility can make an impact locally, too.

When a potential customer is comparing you with the competition, “As Seen In” or “Featured In” can give them another reason to trust your business.

For Q4, Haystack is opening a limited number of spots specifically for businesses in the trades.

Could your expertise be newsworthy?
👉 Find out.
https://forms.gle/F1MyKsxjPvpd2uXS6

30/08/2026

Just wrapped up the first full year with a client in the tourism and entertainment space, and I’ve been deep in the data, pulling together their year-end PR report.

Even I had to look at some of these numbers twice!

Compared with the client’s pre-Haystack baseline:
📍2,148% more interviews
📍3,900%+ more documented earned media coverage
📍2,600% more individual media outlets covering the client
📍725% more Tier 1 earned media placements
📍115+ media outlets hosted for firsthand experiences

But the part I’m most proud of isn’t really the percentages. It’s what created them.

A year of finding stories beyond the obvious ones. Building relationships with journalists. Creating reasons for media to come experience the product themselves. Knowing when to jump on a cultural moment. Finding national angles inside local stories. Making experts available. Following up, and then following up again. And, importantly, not treating PR as something you turn on for two weeks when you have an announcement.

For tourism and entertainment brands especially, there are stories everywhere in the history, people, experiences, trends, anniversaries, travel, culture, seasonal hooks, consumer behavior, and sometimes things you’d never think were “news” until you look at them through a journalist’s eyes.

That’s the work. And after a year, this is what the work can compound into. Pretty proud to put the Haystack name on these numbers!

03/08/2026

What does AI say about your business?

Here's something I'd encourage every business owner to try. Open ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini and ask a question one of your customers might ask before deciding to work with you.

"Who's the best accountant near me?"
"Where should I stay in Okoboji?"
"Who builds custom homes around Ames?"
"Where can I find gluten-free cupcakes in Des Moines?"

Now ask yourself: Would you be happy if a potential customer received that answer? More importantly... Would they find your business?

Over the past several months, I've been researching and testing how AI platforms decide which businesses, organizations, and nonprofits to recommend.

Here's what I've learned: AI is already learning your reputation.
The question isn't whether it's learning about your business; it's whether it's learning the right things.

That's why I created the Haystack PR AI Visibility & Reputation Audit.

This isn't an SEO audit. It's a strategic communications review that shows you:
✔ Where your business appears in AI
✔ Where it doesn't
✔ Who's showing up instead of you
✔ The highest-priority opportunities to strengthen your AI visibility and reputation

Every audit includes a customized action plan and a 30-minute strategy session, so you'll leave with a clear understanding of where your business stands today and exactly what to do next.

To celebrate the launch of the PR AI Visibility & Reputation Audit, I'm offering a special introductory rate throughout August.

If you're curious about how AI is representing your business, or you simply want a head start while many organizations are still figuring this out, I'd love to help.

📩 Send me a message or email me at [email protected].

19/07/2026

Celebrating the start of a second year working with the Lizzie Borden House and their team. 🖤

We've got a lot in the pipeline: national media, on-site opportunities, and some partnership and brand outreach I can't wait to talk about. Stay tuned.

If you're a story-rich place looking for this kind of attention, my inbox is open.

17/07/2026

Today is World PR Day, and this year's theme - The Golden Age of Strategic PR - feels especially fitting.

I learned early on in my 30-year career in journalism and public relations that PR has never really been about press releases.

It's about understanding people.

It's knowing which story matters, why it matters, and who needs to hear it.

Today, that's more important than ever. We live in a world where audiences aren't just reading headlines, they're asking AI, searching for trusted voices, and deciding who deserves their attention in seconds. Strategy isn't optional anymore. It's the difference between being visible and being overlooked.

The organizations that will thrive aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They'll be the ones that communicate with clarity, authenticity, and purpose.

I'm grateful for every journalist who asks thoughtful questions, every client who trusts me with their story, and every communicator working behind the scenes to help organizations make a meaningful impact.

Here's to strategic communication that builds trust, preserves credibility, and creates conversations worth having.

Happy World PR Day.

12/06/2026

Featured in BuzzFeed:

The Sinister Speaker V2 made the list — part Bluetooth speaker, part spirit box built for an afternoon of music around the pool and an evening of ghost hunts. Great for road trips and spooky late night investigations.

Good company for a "Summerween" roundup.

12/06/2026

Thank you to the Fall River Reporter for featuring such an exciting historical find at the Lizzie Borden House!

During a more than two-year project to rebuild the home's 1892 fence, a contractor found a rusted iron rod beneath a concrete slab — now believed to be part of Andrew Borden's original gate. Buried for more than a century, it's on display inside the house today.

Grateful to see careful preservation work get careful reporting.
https://fallriverreporter.com/amid-lizzie-borden-house-restoration-projects-a-piece-of-andrew-bordens-original-gate-resurfaces/