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Tag Archives: Pitch
Are you creating the PERFECT PITCH?
When pitching the media, it can seem like a difficult to know and understand what they want and if they believe your pitch is newsworthy for their audience. The media could be a television producer, magazine editor, blogger, newspaper editor, reporter or journalist. They are the “gatekeepers” to your public. You must ensure that you establish credibility and connections to build media relationships. In today’s social media driven world, more and more of these “gatekeepers” get flooded with pitches everyday, so establishing a relationship and connection with them can definitely get your pitch some attention. Outside of the “must haves,” such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and providing contact information, here are some key elements to include to “create the perfect pitch!”
1. WHY ARE YOU PITCHING TO ME?
The first words the media will see is your subject line. Make it catchy to grab their attention and arouse their curiosity. Find an interesting angle and do not mention the company name, yet. Most times, you will be pitching a new client so they will not having any connection or knowledge to your client anyway. Tell why their audience would be interested in your product or service. Communicate your passion about the product or service. In the first paragraph, get to the point and pitch your product or service. You will lose the reader if you do not put the main reason of why you are pitching to them in the beginning of your letter. Make the first sentence an extension of the subject line. Also, do not make your pitch seem as though you are sending to a distribution list – they will automatically hit the DELETE button!
2. THE FIVE W’s
As you learned in grade school, the 5 W’s (Who, What, When, Where, and Why) are important in letting a journalist receive the full picture of your pitch. These are the basic elements of journalism and should not be taken for granted in a pitch.
3. SHORT AND SNAPPY
The media gets bombarded with pitches and they still have to make time for their other journalistic duties. So, as you can see, reading a long pitch will more than likely get ignored and/or deleted. Like pitching in person, keep your pitch to no longer than three (3) minutes. The same with email, keep it equally short with the most relevant information a journalist needs to show interest in your pitch.
4. CALL TO ACTION
Be clear and to the point of what you are asking of the journalist. After explaining your client’s product, service or situation, ask a question or set a clear action step. If you want a journalist to consider reviewing your client’s product, offer a sample. A pitch letter is designed to create a dialogue with one journalist. Don’t sell your product, sell your story.
What are some other elements that have proven successful to you or you like to see in a pitch letter? Share your thoughts!
Pitching Do’s and Don’ts Every PR Pro Should Follow
Media relations is a lot like dating.
During the early stages of a romance, too much contact simmers the sizzle.
In media relations, why would you reach out to someone, then slam him with a pitch? That isn’t reaching out at all. It comes off as unnatural, insensitive and forced. When you think about it, cold pitches are basically one-night stands.
I chatted with a few food and beverage pals who were more than happy to set the record straight. Their key takeaways about pitching were:
1. Don’t ever call—ever.
2. Don’t “pitch” per se. Just include useful information and tips without a gimmicky story idea. Exclusives have a much better response rate than spam. It’s important to be respectful, resourceful and genuine.
Here is a collection of tips from writers Lauren Bloomberg, Angel Antin and Amy Cao; and editorsJenny Miller (Grub Street/New York Magazine,) Maggie Hoffman (Serious Eats), Andrea Bartz (Whole Living), and Jacqueline Wasilczyk (Zagat.com).
Media Relations Do’s
1. Do understand the types of stories media outlets look for, and what an editor’s needs are. You will immediately lose the writer’s trust if you don’t tailor your pitch.
2. Do send products, if the publication doesn’t have a policy against accepting gifts. Staff will happily bust open those samples and, if they really like them, the product will score a placement.
3. Do meet up with media. I spoke to an editor once who told me he never responded to pitches, unless he knew the PR person.
I prefer to take an organic approach and attend as many industry events as possible. Make sure you’re networking, not working. I’ve heard of PR folks who got blacklisted from gatherings because they were always “on.” Remember, you need to prove you are a resource to journalists. This is earned, not granted.
4. Do offer exclusives that reflect the publication’s need.
5. Do email instead of call. There is never a good time to listen to a pitch over the phone. But, feel free to call a publication’s main number to find out who your best contact might be.
6. Do keep emails brief. Writers love it when you mention how you came across their article, whether through a friend or via Twitter. Demonstrate you’re genuinely interested and share at least one authentic reason for working together. It will go a long way.
7. Do go through connections if you have them. You will get a better response rate.
8. Do include the date on every document you create. Nothing is more frustrating than reading about the rollout of a new product, only to find out it happened eight months ago.
9. Do let a writer know if you pitched her editor. If your pitch catches the writer’s attention and she turns it in to her editor-who heard about it from you two weeks ago and told you no-then you just turned a potential contact into a seriously unhappy camper.
10. Do consider the types of sources the outlet requires. Never assume a news outlet accepts PR pros as spokespeople.
11. Do understand a journalist’s obsession with accurate reporting, especially in the wine world. Angel Antin elaborated further on this:
“Misspellings of crème brûlée keep me awake at night. I write a great deal about the wine industry, and thus have to deal with all those pesky accents on imported wines. I’m indebted to a PR pro who conveys a wine’s correct spelling (with accents), vintage and suggested retail price to me faster than I can spell Gewürztraminer. And I can spell it really, really fast.”
Media Relations Don’ts
1. Don’t make the pitch too specific.
2. Don’t send images unless the reporter asks for them.
3. Don’t send packages without checking first. Addresses change, and so do editorial calendars.
4. Don’t contact media via Twitter. It makes the message receiver feel like he’s being attacked from all sides. Follow-up emails, however, are encouraged. They show you are persistent and that the reporter is not the recipient of a mass email. Do, however, use Twitter as a relationship-building tool.
5. Don’t include large attachments, period. Top-tier media receive 500 emails per day, most of which are pitches.
6. Don’t suggest a quick meeting before you give information. Most journalists are too busy and prefer all the information up front.
7. Don’t be afraid to email the reporter to ask a quick question such as, “What types of stories do you look for?”
8. Don’t pitch made-up holidays like “hamburger week.” The reporter will forward your press release to colleagues, and they will mock you.
9. Don’t target the same person more than three times. If he doesn’t respond, he’s probably not interested. When you don’t hear back, it’s time to move on.
10. Don’t show up at the writer’s house with a pitch. True story.
If you adhere to these tips, you will be a champion.
Source – Cassandra Bianco, Ragan
How to Make Your PR Pitch Stand Out in Crowded Inboxes
Journalists receive hundreds of emails every day from public relations professionals. A lot of them may end up in the trash or get ignored, but many of them really, truly are used for stories. If that sounds surprising, you might be one of the PR professionals who is having trouble getting journalists to consider your pitches.
Just like a resume needs to stand out to a recruiter (especially in this economy), a pitch or press release needs to stand out to a journalist. But how can you do that? Let’s review some of the ways we’ve successfully gotten the attention of journalists over the years despite their jam-packed email inboxes.
Craft an Enticing Subject Line
The rules of email marketing apply to PR, too. The first thing journalists will see when they receive an email is the subject, and it may be the deciding factor in whether or not your pitch is opened, let alone read. You can use the subject line to offer the journalist something of value, ask them a question, or make a joke. But you’ve got to give them something more than “Company X Announcement.”
Include Visual Content in the Body
People love visual content, but it’s often ignored in press releases in lieu of the usual press release format. Be different, and include a video or picture that adds value to your pitch. Just make sure these add-ons don’t clog up their inbox, take too long to load, or render poorly on mobile devices.
Use Lists
A journalist should be able to scan through your pitch and quickly pick out the important information. Don’t be afraid to use bullet points and numbered lists. Reading through full sentences takes too much of a journalist’s time, and it is much easier for them to simply read through short phrases that explain the same thing in much fewer words.
Articulate Why the Pitch Matters
Tell journalists why your content is important. What makes it content that they simply cannot pass up? Is it a product launch? A strategic partnership? What about those things is going to rock their readers’ world? Make sure to visually highlight the “so what” of your announcement — whether by bolding, enlarging the text, or italicizing it — so the importance of the pitch is clear, concise, and obvious.
Show Knowledge of the Journalist and Publication
Blindly pitching a journalist without performing any background research is a bad move. Researching what they have written about in the past, who they have interviewed, and what types of articles they write about. It will help you personalize your pitch and grab the attention of a journalist who is constantly inundated with generic, often irrelevant pitches. This also helps you build a relationship that will make it easier for you to get your stories published in the future.
Keep it Short
Never send a long email with giant, text-dense paragraphs to a journalist as your pitch. It is acceptable to attach press releases with more details than your pitch for the journalist to read over, but a pitch will be ignored if, at first glance, it just looked like a brain dump. And remember, formatting is your best friend when trying to make text-heavy sections of your email more palatable for the reader.
Get Rid of Fluff
Journalists don’t have time for fluff. Flowery language is not helpful and should be saved for the story after it is written. Your pitch should get right to the point and provide only the absolutely necessary information.
Source – Rachel Spring, Hubspot Blog
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