Interaction with journalists is an inevitable part of business promotion, whichever industry you’re in. The media machine still wields a great deal of influence and can play a significant role in giving your product or service visibility.
So, if you’re wondering who you need to contact when developing a media campaign, you need to sharpen your pitching skills. That’s right, pitching the press is an art that needs to be honed and refined if you want to capture and maintain the attention of the right journalist.
Check out these six key pointers BEFORE making a press pitch.
1. Know Who You’re Contacting
Do your research and find out the kind of stories that a journalist covers before reaching out. Contacting a sports journalist regarding a business-related pitch is an exercise in futility. (And worse, may result in hostility, with 7 out of 10 journalists indicating it’s their BIGGEST bugbear.)
“…find out the kind of stories that a journalist covers before reaching out.”
Find a way to piggy pack your pitch on a story that the journalist has covered in the past. This creates some familiarity and context.
Building a rapport shows that you’ve taken the time to target the right person. So take time to craft a targeted pitch that is the right fit for the journalist.
2. Create a Killer Subject Line
Journalists are busy and are likely to get hundreds of emails a day. Unfortunately, many of them go unread. One of the quickest ways of catching a journalist’s attention is with a catchy subject line. You should tailor each subject line to your product. For instance, if your product is fun and playful, you could use humor to strike a chord. A well-placed zinger can get your email opened in a heartbeat.
“One of the quickest ways of catching a journalist’s attention is with a catchy subject line.”
If you prefer a more straightforward approach, keep the subject line concise but memorable.
Remember, short and descriptive is much better than settling for overused tropes.
3. Short and Sweet Press Release
Nobody likes scouring through a bunch of emails, especially when they are from unknown sources. But if you managed to capture the reader’s attention with a great subject line, the uphill task now is to be convincing enough with the content of your pitch.
A press release has a level of formality that commands some attention, but the content should stand out. Get to the main point at the beginning. It’s essential to provide all the essential info in the first paragraph. The subsequent sections should contain supporting information.
Short and simple sentences are the way to go, so provide accurate info and avoid jargon. Give the content a newsworthy spin. Journalists are trained to sniff out timely content, so you should ensure the press release is current and relevant.
“Short and simple sentences are the way to go, so provide accurate info and avoid jargon.”
Remember not to include any attachments to the email. Include all the essential information in the email body.
4. Honesty
Your pitch should be transparent. Avoid vague language that may be misleading. Journalists are keen on details, and they are bound to trash your content if they spot any inconsistencies. At this point, your correspondence is your reputation, and you have to maintain your credibility.
“Avoid vague language that may be misleading.”
Ensure that you give context to your content and why it matters. Save everyone’s time by being concise.
5. Don’t be too Pushy
Unfortunately, sending 30 press releases about the same product to the same journalist will work against you. The appropriate procedure is to reach out with the first email and a follow-up after a reasonable amount of time (perhaps after a day or longer if the release isn’t time critical), if there is no immediate response.
If you don’t get any feedback after the second email, do not continue with the correspondence.
“If you don’t get any feedback after the second email, do not continue with the correspondence.”
Getting a journalist’s attention is a challenging task, but just make sure you’re getting it for the right reason.
6. Be accessible
Ensure that you are easily reachable by providing all your contact details.
“Ensure that you are easily reachable…”
If a journalist contacts you, ensure that you respond in the shortest time possible. If you don’t respond quickly enough, you may blow the opportunity of a lifetime.
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