How to Write a Media Pitch Journalists and Editors Will Love
What if your media pitches always stood out from the pack? What if the editor’s eyes perked up every time they saw an email from you? You can bet this would improve your chances of getting coverage.
In this post, we’ll go over a few things you can do with your media pitches to make journalists and editors love them.
What journalists want in a story pitch
How to Be Newsworthy
Our biggest challenge in PR is getting our stories published in the news. But to get in the news, we must first be “newsworthy.”
Unless your business is related to politics or celebrities, chances are you need to work at being newsworthy. Don’t despair, even the most mundane of businesses can be compelling enough to land the news.
What does it mean to be newsworthy anyway?
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How to Do PR — Visually
Now that PR is increasingly becoming “social,” it’s more important than ever to deliver your PR message with the help of images.
Visuals play an essential role in PR storytelling. They can bring your product or brand to life in a way that words, even when crafted by the most talented writer, can never accomplish.
Visuals are immediately comprehensible. You can impart a message with an image much faster than with words.
Images can also transcend language. Think of how the image of a mother cradling her baby evokes similar feelings in different cultures.
With social media as one of your PR tools, it has also become much easier to create, use, and distribute images.
Consider the following visual tools in your PR work:
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Blogging: More than just what you had for lunch
Marketing yourself or your organization online can be tricky. There are so many technologies, tools and platforms available, and so many different people with often times contradictory advice on which areas to focus on and what strategies and tactics you should apply. However, through all this noise, one of the most time-tested and dependable strategies for bringing in more traffic and leads to your website is this: blog regularly.
Some business leaders might balk at such a seemingly mundane idea. After all, didn’t blogs start out as places for moody teenagers to write about their newest crush or favorite band, à la LiveJournal circa 2003? Indeed they did, but much like Twitter, blogs have grown beyond their initial hobbyist beginnings to become a serious marketing tool. Let’s look at their application specifically when it comes to search engine optimization and attracting online traffic.
Why does blogging work?
Now, technically speaking, a blog is nothing more than a series of web pages arranged in a chronological order. Each blog post has its own unique URL or web page address. Internet search engines like Google and Bing spend their days crawling the Internet and indexing all the URLs that they can find. Therefore, each URL on your website is a chance to be indexed by the search engines and to be found by people searching online. So, say one company has a website with about 10 pages: Our Services, About Us, and so on and so on. Their competitor also has a website with about 10 regular website pages as well, but they also have a blog that they update bi-weekly. Since each blog post is technically its own web page with its own unique URL, after one year the second company actually has 114 indexable pages on their website. That means the first company only has 10 chances to be ranked and found on internet searches, but the second company has 114 chances to be found – over 10 times more than the first company!
So where’s the proof?
A great example of the power of blogging comes from my friend Ken Schroeppel, an urban planner in Denver. Ken runs a blog on Denver urban land planning and urban construction projects called Denver Infill. He started it a few years ago as a personal hobby and began posting on it regularly. What he originally thought would be just a fun personal project, however, suddenly exploded into the Denver public scene — his blog now gets 30,000 visitors per month. His blog has won him several awards such as the Downtown Denver Partnership award, the Denver Mayor’s Design award, and two Westword Best of Denver awards. Because of his blog, he is also quoted in the Denver Post and other media outlets. He says strangers will even stop him on the street and say “Hey, you’re the Denver Infill guy, right?” What a great example of the power of blogging.
However, your blog will only be a success if you’re intentional about your subject matter. If you want to be found by people searching for Denver urban land planning, like my friend Ken, then write about Denver urban land planning. If you want to be found by people searching for Denver marketing, then write about Denver marketing. Don’t get on your professional website and write about what you had for lunch (nobody cares), and don’t get on and complain and moan about your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend (like the teenage Livejournal crowd).
Here’s what you do:
- Write out a list of topics that are related to your organization’s products or services, or your professional goals.
- Then sit down, open up your calendar, and plan out a schedule for regularly writing about these topics. Share your perspective on the latest developments in your industry, write answers to some of your customers’ frequently asked questions, and offer tips, advice and resources for people who are interested in the subject matter that you specialize in. Plan on publishing at least once a week.
- Set aside a specific time each week to write your scheduled blog article — say, Wednesday at 9 AM, and hold to that schedule.
This will take some discipline, but then again, what in life doesn’t? Stick with it long enough, and you’re going to start seeing some great results.
Chris Strom runs a Denver marketing company, helping companies who are struggling to build their business online. He regularly writes about web technologies, inbound marketing and other topics on his company blog.
10 Ways to Leverage a Company Win
I talked previously about the different ways you can repurpose your media coverage, but what about your company “wins”? Think about the last time something great happened to your company – like signing a big client. How did you leverage this win to boost your PR efforts? If all you did was write a press release and pitch it to the media, then you’re not taking full advantage of the different ways this one win can be used over and over again in your PR and marketing.
For example, let’s say Apple has just contracted you to provide them with a service for one month. There are ten ways you can leverage this win to get more publicity over time: Read more
The 7 G’s That Maximize Your Presence At Live Events
In the two and a half years since I’ve been active on social networks, I’ve met a ton of really interesting and influential people. I love online networking and it works really well for me as an entrepreneur running a virtual business.
However, I’ve been attending more live events and conferences recently and networking in person because I really love meeting new people.
Even if you’re not the host, a speaker or an exhibitor at the event, here are simple ways you can have fun, make an impact and maximize your presence -– and therefore the business opportunities coming your way.
How to Work with Your PR Partner
Last week, I wrote a post about choosing a PR partner, whether an individual consultant or a full-service PR agency. Today, I’d like to talk about how to make the most of working with the PR partner you’ve chosen.
Working with a PR partner can be an essential step in the growth of a business. A good PR consultant or agency will help you refine your core messages and make sure they reach your target markets. The best part is, you’ll accomplish all this without doing all the nitty-gritty work yourself. You can focus on growing your business instead.
However, your results will depend on how much you put into the relationship with your PR partner. Below are some of my tips for working with your PR agency or consultant.
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How to Choose a PR Partner
At some point in your business’ life, you’re going to need the services of a PR professional. Perhaps you’ve got big goals that require getting your message out to a bigger audience — one you can’t reach if you tried to do your own PR, and one you don’t have the staff for.
Choosing a PR partner to help you accomplish your goals can leave you as confused as a kid in a candy store. With so many options and a limited budget, how do you get the most bang for your buck?
In this post, I’ll share with you the considerations you need to make to determine what you really need, and how to find the right PR expertise.
Before Hiring a PR Partner
Before you work with a PR partner, make sure to clarify your:
- Goals
What do you want to accomplish through PR? How do you want to position your company in the market? How do you want to be perceived?
- Expectations
Assess the newsworthiness of your products, services, and programs. Be realistic with what you expect from PR. It isn’t a magic wand that will make your products a bestseller.
- Budget
How much can you allocate for PR? Many companies think of PR as a one-off expense to launch a major product or service, but a sustained effort over at least six months is really what will build momentum. Figuring out an overall budget will determine which PR activities can be implemented, and which will have to wait.
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10 Ways to Repurpose Your Media Coverage
Getting your business talked about in media — newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, and the Internet — is what PR is all about.
You rejoice every time you get media coverage. It’s an opportunity to reach more of your target market, as well as potential partners and investors.
However, there’s more to media coverage than just getting exposure.
It also adds to your perceived credibility and authority in your field. It gives social proof that you’re good at what you do, that your product delivers, that your business is legit.
Therefore, you should use any media coverage you get to maximize these benefits. Don’t just clip them and stick them into your media kit. Of course, you should be doing that — at the very least.
Below are 10 ways you can reuse and repurpose your media coverage:
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5 Tips for Pitching to Media on the Phone
I know you dread it. But sooner or later, if you’re serious about getting publicity, you’ll have to pick up the phone and pitch a reporter on your story.
It doesn’t have to hurt. Not if you follow these simple tips.
1. Ask permission.
You wouldn’t call your best friend and then start ranting when she picks up the phone. Same thing with reporters. Show that you respect their time. Before diving into your pitch, ask them, “”Do you have time for a story pitch?”
If they say yes, then great. If they say no, then ask when would be a better time.
And more 
