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.
I love to watch movies and this summer I noticed a lot of highly anticipated films. I find it amazing whenever a “summer blockbuster” not only breaks box office records, but also generates a huge buzz that gets people talking- sometimes months before the movie’s opening!
There are definitely more than a few PR and marketing lessons to be learned from the movies, but when it comes to writing your next media pitch, take special note of these ones:
Releasing a movie during the summer almost always guarantees more box office sales for that movie than any other time of year. Why? Because people have more free time during the summer to watch movies. Read More→
One of the most common misconceptions about PR is that you need to distribute press releases to get media coverage.
Few people know you can get media exposure without writing a press release — many of my students have done it!
But first, what is a press release, how is it different from a media pitch, and when do you use one or the other?
A press release can be a full-blown news article. It has a definite format and conventional style. It’s written in a journalistic tone, which is objective and impersonal.
To be successful, a press release must read like news and be worthy of being published as such. In fact, it should be complete enough to be published as is, or quoted in a bigger news item.
A well-written press release can also get you media interviews. That is, even if journalists don’t use the piece itself, the press release can pique their interest enough to contact you.
Today, I have a guest blogger, Patrick Garmoe. Patrick was a former staff reporter for Duluth News Tribune, suburban city staff reporter at Daily Herald, regional reporter at Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, and editor-in-chief of The Creightonian.
This is the first of what I hope to be a number of guest posts from journalists or former journalists, to give you the other perspective of how media works and how it feels to be on the other side of the PR process. I’m certain this knowledge will help you, the business owner, to get publicity more effectively and build mutually beneficial relationships with journalists and editors.
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About this time a year ago, I swapped banging on doors as a reporter for a Minnesota newspaper, to pounding the pavement for a new job.
One thing I didn’t miss about journalism were pesky public relations types, or local business owners trying to bend my ear in a largely fruitless attempt to lure me into writing about their latest service or gadget.
Looking back on it, I have more empathy for those hunting for headlines. As great as social media is, those megaphones traditional newspapers and television stations provide can still pump out the kind of exposure that could take months or years to garner, no matter how many Twitter followers you’ve got.
So here are some insider tips on successfully pitching reporters, that all reporters assume you intuitively know. I explain further down exactly, how to word your pitch.
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.
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.
One thing I always tell my PR students is: You don’t have to write a press release to get media exposure.
A media pitch is much easier to prepare than a press release and, done right, it can get you that media interview or feature.
A media pitch is simply a brief letter you send to a reporter to get them interested to do a story on you. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to write one of the simplest media pitches, the product-oriented media pitch.
This type of media pitch can be three to five paragraphs long. I’ll break down each part of the media pitch to you and end with a sample media pitch letter that follows this template.
I believe publicity is something accessible to virtually anybody. You don’t need a big PR budget, or to hire a PR agency on retainer, or to spend massive amounts of time to get free publicity for your business.
In fact, I’ve distilled the most essential publicity tools into just four things:
I once interviewed a reporter and asked her how many emails and voicemails she gets on a daily basis. The answer is…a lot. Traditional media – reporters, TV and radio producers – are deluged with inquiries, press releases and story pitches. Many of them thrive on being busy, work on more than one story at a time, and are often on deadline.
That’s not to say they don’t want to hear from you. Here are 5 things you should know:
1. Journalists need a reason to do a story NOW (not tomorrow) – if you can answer the questions, “why you?” and “why now?” you’ll get their attention. Do you have a good story or product for Father’s Day? That was one of our big holiday pitches when we had our socks by subscription company. Are you a coach who can offer tips on How to Survive Valentine’s day without having a partner in your life? Read More→
A question I often get asked about approaching the media is, “do I send the same pitch to everyone?”
The answer is, it depends. I think there are two different ways to approach the media to get publicity:
1. One Size Fits All – in this approach you write one document or media pitch, and send it out to everyone on your media list whether you have hundreds or even thousands on your list.
An example of when to use this approach is if you have a story tied to a particular timing, like “Earth Day”, or want to be a journalist source on a breaking news story (an estate planning expert commenting about Michael Jackson’s death and what it means to his family). Read More→
I have friends whose big dream is to sequester themselves and write a book. Although I like to write, it’s not something I dream of doing day in and day out. I don’t like sitting in front of a blank page, but I do know that once I get an idea and get started, things usually flow.
Most entrepreneurs I know are not writers. You started your business because your passion and natural gifts are in a particular space.
Most entrepreneurs I know didn’t realize how much marketing they would need to do in order to succeed. And that effective writing- from websites to sales materials, direct mail to blog posts- will be a crucial part of you getting heard above the noise. Read More→
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 Elena
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