You don’t need to be a PR professional to reach out to media outlets. To do so effectively and secure coverage for your business, however, you should understand the dos and don’ts of this art.
Much more goes into it than many business leaders understand. Indeed, writing a successful media pitch is almost the victory lap after a lot of other hard work.
Understanding the difference between media pitches and press releases
First, don’t confuse media pitches with press releases. Press releases are simple, straightforward statements that delineate the who, what, when, where and why of your company’s latest announcement. These should be about a page long or less and written in a journalistic style. They can be emailed to media contacts, but publishing them through a wire service can expand their reach and create a track record of permanent links.
Conversely, media pitches are short emails that attempt to interest members of the media in covering your story for free. Earning public attention in this way requires offering newsworthy content.
Related: How to Align Your PR and Marketing Strategies to Get More Out of Both
Understanding newsworthy content
To secure media mentions, business leaders (literally) need to make news.
One of the primary ways they can achieve this is through new startups or product launches. Whenever something is new, it can qualify as news. Studies show that doing PR is especially effective in the run-up to a new release.
If your business’s value proposition is novel in some way, that can contribute to its newsworthiness. Anything surprising, unexpected, counterintuitive or paradoxical can also be eligible. Many reporters also find it hard to resist a good story.
Another way to make news is to identify trending topics and offer expert analysis or thought leadership. This PR strategy is sometimes referred to as “newsjacking.” That’s why PR pros keep tabs on what’s happening, looking for ways to insert their clients into the conversation.
Importantly, certain topics are always considered news within specialized beats. For instance, business outlets are often interested in speaking with entrepreneurs who are willing to share the challenges they’ve faced, the mistakes they’ve made or the lessons they’ve learned. Addressing your pitch on an “evergreen” topic typically means a pitch that resonates with a broad audience.
Understanding how to find journalists
Before writing a pitch, you must decide who to send it to. To begin, consider the media contacts you already have. Start a media list, recording their names, outlets, contact information and any relevant notes on a spreadsheet.
If you haven’t built relationships with relevant media personnel, it’s time to start. Effective PR outreach should be approached as a long-term relationship and cultivated patiently over time. Geographic proximity alone can predispose a reporter to cover your business, so if you get an opportunity to hang out with members of your local media, take it.
Conduct online research as well, looking for the right journalists and media channels. Google and LinkedIn come in handy for this purpose. Building a robust media database takes time. Since people are always on the move, this task is arguably never truly completed.
Understanding how to hook the perfect media coverage
To convince someone to take the time to write an article, you’ll need to provide them with valuable insights that align with their areas of interest. For any PR pitch, only reporters covering the angle it proposes should be targeted. The more you personalize your pitch emails to their recipients, the higher your success rate can be expected to be.
To ensure your PR efforts are addressed to the best people, do your due diligence, researching their background and reading a few of their previous articles or watching some of their TV news spots. Following them on social media can also be helpful.
Additionally, having a background knowledge of what reporters are covering can help you craft effective pitch ideas. Brainstorm ways to connect a reporter’s previous work to your business and make that angle the subject of your pitch. For instance, if they did a prior story on technological advances in your industry, you could propose to explain the unexpected challenges your company experienced while incorporating those same advances and how you overcame them.
Now that you have an idea of who to send your pitch to and what it should cover, it’s finally time to write it.
Related: How to Create a Media List for Ongoing Exposure
Understanding best practices for crafting successful pitches
First and foremost, the email subject line is the most crucial part of your entire pitch. Make it short, clear and intriguing. If the subject isn’t interesting and doesn’t offer valuable information, then the recipient is likely to discard the message without reading it.
Start your media pitch email with a call to action — for instance, offer them a guest article from or an interview with your CEO. Offering free samples is another good way to begin. This is also where you should mention their previous work and draw an explicit connection between what they do and what you can offer.
Next, provide a few bullet points on the sorts of interesting things the article could cover, given your spokesperson’s expertise. Provide two to three of these that highlight the story’s value. Then close with your name, title, and multiple options for contacting you.
Great pitches are concise — strive to keep your email under 150 words. Journalists are busy and receive hundreds, if not thousands, of pitches per day. Your pitch should be as lean as possible.
Finally, don’t badger them. After a week, you can follow up with a polite email asking if they received your query. If they don’t answer, then leave them alone and move on.
Understanding effective media pitches leads to successful media coverage
While media relations can seem daunting, few experiences are as rewarding as seeing positive responses from a winning pitch flood your inbox. When you connect with the right media personalities, your original pitch stories can become real news articles.
Don’t fear pitching the media. It’s time to make your pitch and start making news.
