Posts tagged ‘Pitching’
Todd’s Media Relations Do’s and Don’ts – Part Three
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As Part Two of this series noted, building a targeted media list is arguably the most important step in launching a media relations campaign. That said, it’s great pitching that gets you over the finish line. The pitch can mean the difference between a quick success – and a happy client – or a week of frustrating outreach with little to show for your time and effort. Below are a few tried and true tips for reaching out to reporters.
Step Three: Pitching
- Write nuanced pitches based on the research you’ve conducted, and reference reporters’ recent stories. Writing a good pitch can be time consuming, but it makes all the difference.
- Know when to call vs. email. Generally a phone call works best, but if you’ve worked with a reporter before and know he doesn’t have time for a call, send an email instead.
- Be respectful of deadlines. If you know reporters are likely on deadline on a Friday afternoon, call on Monday instead. Always ask if they have time to speak before you launch into your pitch.
- Never spam reporters or BCC multiple reporters on the same email. Reporters recognize spam when they see it. As noted in #1, pitches should be customized to individual reporters based on their work.
- Do not pitch multiple reporters at the same outlet at the same time! If several reporters at an outlet are appropriate for a pitch, rank them in order of importance based on their articles; if the first reporter declines, move to the next person on the list.
- Keep meticulous notes on the reporters you speak with. As you study reporters, it’s important to track their work and their beats from quarter-to-quarter. This is crucial to maintaining relationships with reporters, particularly as the media landscape changes.
If you take the time to craft pitches tailored to individual reporters, it will be remembered. Even if a reporter isn’t interested, often he or she will at least respond. Either way, you’ve started building a relationship; although you never want to rely solely on reporter relationships, chances are when you put the time in to appeal directly to the reporter, he or she will remember and respond to your call or email the next time you reach out.
Todd’s Media Relations Do’s and Don’ts – Part Two
In Part One of this series, we shared some tips on how to lay a good framework for a campaign. The second and most important step is building a great media list. Armed with a good list and in-depth knowledge of the reporters, you can contact journalists who are most likely to be interested in the story and discuss the details that will be most attractive to him/her. This step will differentiate you from all the other publicists pitching the reporters, and will lead to much greater success.
Step Two: Building the List
- Don’t use reporter-targeting databases to build media lists! Many of today’s PR pros use these tools irresponsibly. While these databases are helpful for obtaining contact information, they are not effective in identifying reporters for media lists.
- Branch out. Google, Lexus, Factiva, Amazon, news aggregation sites and blogs are useful places to find publications or articles you might have missed or can only access through a subscription. This is the stage to get creative.
- Analyze your target publications; start reading articles and noting reporters who have written relevant stories. Never include an editor who doesn’t contribute articles.
- Don’t rely on relationships with reporters. Having a relationship with a journalist may get him to answer your call or read your email, but if the pitch has nothing to do with his beat, you’re wasting your time – and potentially damaging your relationship.
- Remember that reporters change beats. Never pull stories from a daily or weekly publication if they’re older than three months, or stories older than six months from a monthly publication. The one exception to this rule is when you can follow the evolution of a reporter’s interest over time; you can note this sustained interest in your pitch, which shows the reporter that you have studied his work and know what he’s interested in.
- Study the reporters you plan to pitch. If you study the reporters and their work, you can craft customized, targeted pitches. Make sure you understand their perspectives on the topic; you don’t want to pitch an investigative reporter!
Remember it’s okay to only pitch a handful of reporters – it’s better to pitch 10 targeted reporters than spam 100 irrelevant reporters.
Up next, how to pitch like a pro.
Todd’s Media Relations Do’s and Don’ts – A Three Part Series
You may have read reporters lamenting about PR “hacks” pitching aimlessly and spamming them with news that has nothing to do with their beat. Some reporters have even publicly “blackballed” publicists after being fed up with one too many irrelevant pitches.
When I first started Ricochet, I made it my mission to change the mediocre media relations practices that had become standard in so many agencies. Many publicists approach media relations by churning out lists of hundreds of reporters (many irrelevant) and basically throwing news to the wall in the hopes it’ll stick. I wanted to provide clients with a new approach – using some simple tactics to deliver smart media campaigns that get results.
While the media landscape is continuing to evolve, some best practices hold true. Here I’ll share the secrets behind our media relations success.
Step One: Getting Started
- Become very familiar with the client and the topic being pitched. If you’re unfamiliar with the nuances of the company, your research will be less effective. This may seem obvious, but 20 minutes spent reviewing your client’s materials again could yield additional nuggets you can use in crafting a story angle – which may lead you to target publications or reporters you didn’t previously think of. Clients love this kind of creativity!
- Develop a good understanding of the initiative or product you’re pitching. Sometimes a company will want to target a specific kind of media or restrict its coverage to certain topics, so it’s crucial to know the project as
completely as possible. This will also help you answer reporters’ questions and represent your client intelligently. - Research how other companies in the industry have handled similar projects or narratives. Is your client really the first one to launch this initiative or product? Have other companies been successful with a particular strategy? The more you know about the industry and your client’s competitors, the better your recommendations will be.
Up next, how to build a killer media list.
- Todd Aydelotte, Founder & President
