It has now been established that PR, or Public Relations, is a great way to build and manage a company’s profile in media. There are many ways we at KBPR achieve this. However, one of the most important steps is ‘pitching in to the press’. Simply put, a media pitch is a short, personalised message which attempts to get a journalist, editor or the media outlet interested in your news so that they decide to cover it. Almost always, a media pitch at KBPR is done by email, but it’s also possible to do it via social platforms, telephone, or text.
But pitching isn’t always easy. With fewer journalists, faster news cycles and an unprecedented number of media outlets, communicators need to get savvier and more strategic about how they tell stories.
Below we have outlined some simple steps to help your pitch stand out from the crowd:
It’s important that you keep your pitch simple and on point – don’t go off on any tangents. Include all the relevant information and don’t over describe your points. The press just wants to know the topic you are pitching and doesn’t want your whole life story. It takes people three seconds to know if they want the story or not, so bare this in mind when drafting your email.
Even if your pitch is great, if it isn’t a topic of interest to that journalist, then they are going to ignore it. Research the journalist before to check that the journalist writes about similar topics to the one you are pitching.
It might sound obvious, but you need to be sure of the story you are telling otherwise if you don’t believe it yourself, how will the journalists believe it? Really understanding the topic will make you feel confident, and the pitch will come across far better.
The subject line is the first thing the journalist sees, so make this positive and stand out from the rest. You want to grab their attention but don’t want to give them an essay. If it already looks like too much work journalists might click the bin button straight away.
Being polite goes a long way. A friendly email/call might just get you over the finishing line with a journalist.
Make your contact details clear. Journalists work on tight deadlines, and one of their biggest pet peeves is not being able to reach the PR person who sent them an email when they need additional details. Being available to provide additional details, quotes, or photos is imperative if you want the coverage.
Make sure to check the whether the journalist is available or on holiday towards the end of week so that the email doesn’t get lost over the weekend. Sometimes it is best to wait!
