10 Ways to Ensure Your Pitch Gets Media Attention
PR Strategist Elizabeth Galewski shares 10 simple steps to send a winning pitch to the media. (Hey, her pitch worked with us, so she must be on to something!)
In my experience as an account strategist at Otter PR, successful media campaigns result from careful planning and research, hard work, and a keen understanding of the news cycle. Here are my tips for writing a winning pitch:
1. Research Outlets
Reporters get annoyed if you pitch them inappropriate sources for their publications. For instance, SheVentures is a podcast and website focused on female entrepreneurs who pivot, so it would be inappropriate to pitch a male client to them.
The more targeted and personal the pitch, the better your chances are of getting a positive response. Time spent familiarizing yourself with a writer or venue can pay off later, even if your research necessitates taking them off your media list for now.
If you use public relations software like Meltwater or Cision to manage media lists, keep in mind that some categories are narrow and easily defined, like “U.S. Supreme Court” or “antique/vintage motor vehicles,” while others are broad and amorphous, like “men’s interest,” “women’s interest,” and “domestic lifestyle.” The latter include reporters who cover many diverse topics, so these lists will require more time to vet. Though “women’s interest” broadly describes SheVentures’ target demographic, pitches about travel, weddings, or beauty are likely not to be a fit, unless the topic is related to a female founder’s business.
2. Send Your Pitch to Targeted Lists
To identify those journalists who would be most receptive to a given pitch, scrutinize the other subjects they write about. For instance, many of my clients work in health and wellness. That doesn’t mean I should always contact all “Health and Wellness” reporters, however. To increase my chances of success, I look at the other topics these writers’ articles cover and ask myself: Does the tone of these pieces align with my angle?
In other words, I use a “wonky versus fun” scale to decide which journalists should be included in a given pitch. Though some dabble in both “hard” and “soft” news, many tend to lean in one direction or the other. I send the more substantive, meaty pitches to the general assignment reporters and more lighthearted stories to those who are open to human interest or entertainment.
For a pitch about a new biotech’s cancer-fighting invention, I would focus on the “health and wellness” reporters who also cover topics like “medical research” or “oncology.” For a doctor who wants to talk about maintaining healthy relationships, I’ll look for “health and wellness” contacts who also write about “family and parenting,” “holistic lifestyle,” etc.
Finally, knowing the geographic region of reporters can help. In general, pitches for reporters in a client’s designated market area should mention that local connection in the subject line and first paragraph.
3. Understand Readers’ Desires and Pain Points
Empathy and imagination are key in this business. When creating a pitch, put yourself in the shoes of the readers for your desired outlets. What does the audience for this kind of publication want? How can you help the journalist give this content to their customers?
As an example, one of my clients is a woman of color who founded a nonprofit that fundraises online. I asked one of my publicists to write a pitch for her that we could send to reporters who cover the relevant minority groups. The publicist sent me a pitch that focused on her crowdfunding platform.
Now, if I were a reporter for an outlet dedicated to people of color, I would want to write uplifting stories about relevant individuals showing them doing amazing things. In order to feature a nonprofit founder, I would want her to explain how her background has served as a source of strength and wisdom, and how her product has benefited other people of color.
I asked the publicist to rewrite the pitch to center on the founder’s backstory, and the result generated good hits. I believe my targeted approach — which also included a human element versus yet another platform — made a difference.
Similarly, it’s important to steer clear of anything that would alienate, confuse, or inadvertently offend readers. Sometimes, I think I can build out a specific angle for a client, but when their quotes come in, I have to nix the plan since their comments don’t work in the narrative.
Hello, World!
It’s my job to protect my clients, and sometimes this means protecting them from themselves. It's painful to scrap a good idea you know would have gotten traction, but sometimes it’s necessary.
4. The Most Important Line? The Subject
If the reporter doesn’t like your pitch’s subject line, then they won’t read the email. If they don’t read the email, then they won’t respond to you. This is why publicists spend time contemplating how to write effective subject lines.
The first 40 characters of the subject line are the most important, according to Nielsen. This suggests that publicists should experiment with short, snappy subject lines that evoke curiosity.
Personally, I think of subject lines as analogous to article headlines. I’ve had good luck with those that hook the reporter. Sometimes, I do this by saying something provocative or counterintuitive. Other times, I focus on a question people currently want answered or present a solution to a timely problem. I recommend avoiding rampant clickbait; the body of the email should fulfill the subject line’s promise in a genuine and authoritative way.
5. Write the Pitch to the Reporter, Not the Client
Though business success relies on both media relations and marketing, these communication subdisciplines require different approaches.
A marketing plan targets ideal customers, envisions an idealized avatar to represent them, makes informed guesses about their demographics and psychographics, and designs public-facing communications to appeal to them.
A media relations plan, however, aims to get clients as many opportunities for coverage as possible. A good publicist brainstorms a wealth of different ideas about an account that could potentially interest reporters who cover a variety of topics. To acquire placements, publicists reach out to media members who may or may not be prospective customers.
In my experience, some clients assume that all their company’s communications should mirror their marketing plan. If they insist on pitching only a single kind of story to their most coveted outlets, however, they decrease their own chances for success. Plus, repeatedly pinging the same group of writers with the same basic story only leads them to unsubscribe.
Publicists can build out many quality angles for a single client since there are discrete groups of reporters. We just need to generate appropriate ideas for each. The key is to write an effective pitch for its actual recipients, not to mirror the marketing plan.
6. Surf the News Cycle
One reason why marketing plans often don’t translate into effective pitches is that marketing plans are meant to apply at any given time, while pitches are time-sensitive. The news cycle changes rapidly. Trending topics come and go, some faster than others.
Effective publicists connect clients to subjects in the news cycle that are popular now — not last week, not yesterday, and sometimes not even the same morning! Timing is imperative. To maximize outcomes, pitches should explain how the client possesses the necessary platform to speak credibly on topics ripped from the headlines.
This can be challenging. When Russia invaded Ukraine, for instance, the media dropped nearly everything else to cover the war. If a big story dominates the news cycle and no connection can be made to your client, you might just have to wait and counsel patience. Sending nothing is better than pitching an angle that makes you look clueless, self-absorbed, or tone-deaf, considering larger events happening in the world.
7. Make News
In media relations, it’s our business literally to make news. To do this, you must first understand what makes an angle newsworthy. Anything that could make history or set records undoubtedly applies. Stories that rise to this high bar are rare, however. To qualify as news, information needs to be novel, interesting, unexpected, unique, or important.
Publicists can build a case for the newsworthiness of clients by distinguishing them from competitors and explaining how they are new and different. It’s also productive to mine founders’ stories for conflict and emotion. Many readers find it inspiring to hear that a successful individual has struggled with adversity and overcome it.
Businesses’ anniversaries — particularly notable ones like one year, five years, etc. — can also present opportunities for coverage. These present an appropriate moment to take stock of an enterprise and reflect on its evolution. Important dates from history and holidays can function in a similar way.
8. Avoid Promotional Copy
Imagine that you are a reporter. What is your job description? What does your boss require you to do? The hours can be long. You can be called away from your family in the middle of the night, chances are you aren’t paid enough, and your boss expects you to work when there is news — holidays included!
Why do you do it? To give a business owner free advertising? I doubt it. Rather, most reporters do this difficult, underpaid, and largely thankless job because they want to inform the public and tell meaningful stories. No reader wants to read a story that screams “sales pitch,” and no reporter wants their byline attached to one. Last, no potential customer wants to read thinly veiled promotional copy masquerading as a feature or news story. Focus on quality and promoting value.
Understanding reporters’ jobs is the first step to getting your client’s story in a publication. Their bottom line is to publish a compelling article; yours is to get your client’s story to the public. To develop relationships with reporters based on mutual need, trust, and respect, send them pitches explaining how your clients could help or inform the public. Avoid empty, self-serving hype.
9. Establish Credibility with Good Writing
Reporters write for a profession, so they know the difference between good and bad writing. Pitches that exhibit the former can help inspire a journalist to work with you and prioritize your pitches in the future.
Pristine grammar should go without saying. Many other things contribute to high-quality prose, such as eliminating extraneous words, using apt vocabulary, and phrasing ideas in innovative ways. Try to be as clear and concise as possible.
When clients give you long quotes, I recommend trimming them down to the most interesting part. If they give you a quote that doesn’t say anything interesting, run the pitch without it. If you’re trying to surf a trending news topic, you might not have the luxury of time. But if you do, you can suggest your own quote to the client and have them approve it before sending the pitch out.
10. Just Do It
At the end of the day, you need to hit “send.” There’s no shame in sending out a pitch that doesn’t get traction, especially if it is thoughtfully crafted. It happens to everyone, so don’t take it personally. Mass rejection is part of this job. Look at the analytics, try to determine what might have happened, and try something new next time.
Innovation combined with persistence is the name of this game. Relationship-building with reporters and editors is a worthwhile investment for all parties. The more time and effort you put into media relations, the more it will give you back.
This expert produced this original thought leadership piece free of charge to SheVentures. This expert values educating female entrepreneurs and the SheVentures community. SheVentures is not receiving affiliate compensation from the author/expert. Questions? Contact social@sheventurespodcast.com.
