Imagine meeting someone at a cocktail party and immediately telling them a very longwinded story about your love life and then asking if they would be interested in going out on a date – or start dating exclusively. Chances are they will try to get away from you at the first available opportunity and avoid eye contact for the rest of the evening.
Many PR professionals don’t realize that their pitching style is essentially the same thing. Your pitch should be clear and concise with a strong hook or angle that piques the editor’s interest. Resist the urge to include every single detail – it will go in the trash bin before they even see your exclusivity offer. (Note: with a pitch, it is perfectly acceptable to offer exclusivity immediately – but don’t try that with dating).
Reporters and editors receive upwards of 200 PR pitches in a single day. In order to make your pitch standout, you’ll need to be willing to put in a little extra work to get noticed.
Don’t stress if it all seems very overwhelming at first. Media pitching is not something that comes naturally to most people. That said, pitching skills like persuasion, creative thinking and storytelling can be acquired over time and these tips will help!
- Use a strong subject line.
Put yourself in the shoes of the person you are pitching. If you read only the subject line of your pitch, would you have an understanding of what the story is or be interested in opening the email to learn more? Your pitch’s subject line should be a newsworthy statement that grabs attention. While the body of your pitch should be short and sweet, data supports that longer subject lines generate significantly higher response rates than shorter ones. Which makes sense knowing that many members of the media only read the subject line when reviewing pitches. That being said, don’t use fluff or filler words just for the hell of it. Take this opportunity to fully describe the content of your email so the recipient knows what to expect.
- Keep it short
Think of it as an elevator pitch for your latest product, service, or campaign. Challenge yourself to narrow it down to 100 words otherwise its likely too complex and your recipient will lose interest. If there is way too much information to make this possible, lead with the angle you catered specifically to that editor. Ask them if they think it could be of interest to their audience and if so, link to or attach further information or include slightly more information below your informal pitch.
Think of it this way: you don’t need to – nor should you – propose marriage on the first date. All you need to do is get someone interested in taking the next step with you. Go back and look at your current pitch. Cross out any words or sentences that aren’t explicitly necessary to getting someone to move forward with you. You probably need fewer sentences to do that than you think.
- Take a personalized approach.
The man or woman receiving your email is, well, a human being. Take the time to customize each email for that person because there is nothing worse than a generic pitch. Mention a story they just published or something they shared on social media recently. If you email your recipient mentioning something of interest to them, you’ve at least got their attention for the next 5-10 seconds to tell them what your pitch is about. Personalizing your subject lines and the body copy of your email can deliver a considerable upturn in response rates. Just don’t go crazy spending hours composing each message – that’s clearly not going to deliver ROI. Instead, take a few minutes to:
Check out their social media profiles
Skim through their most recent articles
Check out where they publish outside of that website (and what topics they cover)
See who they’re connected to on LinkedIn and any mutual friends you share
Here’s a quick example of what I mean: I went on a “media date” once with an editor and we grabbed pizza. She was new to New York City and excited to go on an upcoming pizza tour with her friend. At the beginning of every pitch I sent to her moving forward, I mentioned the last place I had amazing pizza. Sometimes it helped the story I was pitching, sometimes it led to an entirely different story and sometimes it led to nothing at all – but I always got a response from her and when she needed something (or a pizza recommendation in a certain neighborhood) she came to me.
- Don’t blast or BCC.
Trust me, I know how tempting this is when you’re working at a fast pace and are pressed for time. If you’re doing proper personalization, you shouldn’t be using BCC anyway because the same pitch shouldn’t apply to multiple people at once.
o BCC: Recipients can clearly see that their name is in the BCC field, and they’re going to automatically know that you’ve emailed your pitch to a bunch of other people at the same time.
o Blast: If you think you’re savvy and can get around the BCC recognition with a blast, you’re right. You can do that, but the industry is small and its easy to recognize a blast – super generic, zero personalization, often weirdly formal. Or they’ll hear about it from a friend and know you sent out to all of your contacts.
Just don’t do it, promise? It makes you look lazy.
You can, however, send out the same pitch to a few publications at the same time; not every reporter will respond to your pitch, so it’s smart to maximize your chances of coverage. Personalize the beginning of the pitch to specifically cater to each individual editor and curate your list of outlets taking a tiered approach.
Think of it this way: If you introduce yourself to someone at the bar and talk to them a little bit, they are more likely to offer to buy you a drink once you get to know each other and if they find you interesting. If you walk up to a group of ten or more people and say, “hi! Buy me a drink!” …your chances of getting the desired response – or a vodka soda – are incredibly low.
- Connect with them outside of email.
So now that you’re above sending spam-like junk PR pitches, focus on developing and nurturing your media relationships. Start by trying to get their attention on social media. Some ideas of how to do that:
o Share content they’ve written with your audience
o Email a “thanks, really loved this” when you enjoy an article
o Like and comment on their blog posts or articles
o Engage and interact with them on social media
o Send them a compliment
Just keep in mind, you’re not sliding into their DMs with a pitch. It’s not appropriate. The mood is relaxed, friendly and conversational so don’t be a buzzkill. If you find yourselves in conversation and the perfect opportunity arises say something like “this actually gave me a crazy idea that I think you’ll be into – I’ll email you!”
- Focus more on building a relationship.
In-person meetings – or for our current time, video meetings – are a truly necessary investment that you should carve out time to make. Once you begin to build a rapport, connect on Zoom, Skype or FaceTime to help build your relationship. Scheduling one can be as simple as requesting a meeting over lunch, instead of a conference call. Or, suggesting via email that you connect quickly via video or phone to explain in greater detail and ask when they may be available.
The best way I know to build relationships is to find something you can do to help that person and build from there. Don’t ask for anything initially or suggest something that’s “mutually beneficial” but really benefits you more than the person you’re trying to connect with. In fact, don’t use “mutually beneficial” ever, gross. Find something you can offer that’s genuinely valuable to them and show them your integrity.
Most people will really appreciate your hard work and effort. There will be some people who take that for granted but they won’t forget it either. It creates a connection or at the very least, gains you their respect. The more time you spend investing in building genuine relationships, the less you’ll have to worry about whether or not you are getting attention.
