General Media Pitching Strategies – March 10, 2008
By Mitch Leff
Mitch Leff is president of Leff & Associates (www.leffassociates.com) an Atlanta-based public relations agency. In addition to public relations services and media training, Leff also offers two public relations focused web sites:
• Mitch's Media Match (www.MitchsMediaMatch.com) is a new online service for Atlanta and Georgia-based media that matches their story assignments and story concepts with local sources and experts. FREE for journalists.
• Leff's Atlanta Media (www.LeffsAtlantaMedia.com) is an online resource featuring a comprehensive directory of Atlanta media, plus media relations guidelines and prepared templates for commonly used press materials.
General Media Relations Pitching
For those of you who've been listening to my podcasts in order, over the past few months we've been covering some of the basics of public relations. We talked about Developing Messaging. Next, we talked about ways to Make Your News Topical.
So, if you've gone through those exercises, you're ready for the real thing: actually pitching your story to reporters. Now, I always tell my clients to avoid jargon, so let me explain what I mean by "pitching." If you're in sales, you know what the "sales pitch" is. It's that presentation or direct mail piece or phone call or email ... whatever you call the way you try get your customers to buy your product.
In this case, think of the "product" you're trying to sell as information. You're trying to get a reporter to use the information you give him or her to write a story about your company, your new service, your new widget.
You're making a "pitch" to the reporter to – hopefully – get them to bite on the story idea you're selling.
It's important to understand that the reporter is doing a job, just as you are. However, your objectives and the reporter's are not likely to be identical. You may want simply to see a story about your company, but the reporter is working to create a story that will be interesting to all of their viewers or readers.
Know the dynamics of news and understand the differences in the types of media you're pitching. Future podcasts will talk about specifics when pitching newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, and other types of media, but today we're going to just talk in general terms.
In general, there are four ways to pitch:
• In person
• Phone
• Email
• Mail
A one-on-one meeting with a report is THE ideal way to pitch your story. You've got the reporters' attention and you can make a personal connection. Phone calls are good, but it's easy for the reporter to get distracted with other things – like reading emails – while you're talking.
Email can be an effective method, but it's very impersonal and often reporters can say "no thanks" to your pitch without ever talking to you. We'll be talking a bit more about email pitches in our next podcast.
The most important thing to remember is that reporters get a lot of these pitches every day. In some cases, one reporter might get hundreds of emails and phone calls ... every day.
So the trick is to a) make your pitch stand out and b) provide all the necessary information a reporter needs to make their decision to return your phone call and write a story about your company.
So how do you make your pitch stand out? A few thoughts on that. First off, put your "reporter hat" on. Think about your pitch from the reporter's perspective and focus on the most important elements.
So what information in really "necessary" to provide the reporter in that first call? You don't have you tell the reporter everything about your product, just the most important things. What's unique? What's different? Why should their viewers care?
Make sure your pitch is short, concise, and informative. I always practice my pitches to myself before I pick up the phone to make sure they make sense. You can also rehearse with a colleague or spouse. It's great to run your pitch by someone who isn't as close to the pitch as you and ask them "would you be interested in this the way I'm pitching it?"
In general, I like to be able to get all my important points out in ten seconds or less. I know, that sounds tough, but it's doable and the exercise will make you really codify your pitch.
Of course, you need to give the reporter the information they need to make a decision about coverage.
For example, if you're working on an event, you need to remember "Who, What, Where, When, Why." 1) Tell the reporter what the event is about, 2) who's going to be there, 3) why it's important to their readers or viewers, 4) when it is and 5) where it is.
Lead time is very important. If you've got an event coming up in a few weeks, give the media time to plan for it. Don't call them the day of the event and expect them to attend. Keep in mind that while magazines and newspapers might plan weeks in advance, television is still a very short lead medium and they won't commit to covering your event more than a day or two out.
As you're preparing for your pitch, there a few things you should take care of before you pick up the phone.
Do Your Homework
Make sure you've read the publication or TV program you're pitching. There's nothing that turns a reporter off more than knowing the person he's talking to hasn't even taken the time to look at their publication.
It's also important to know a little bit about the reporter you're talking to. What type of stories do they write? How often? Are the stories they write generally positive or negative? Feature-y or investigative?
Anticipate
You should always have at least one back up or fallback pitch in case the reporter doesn't bite on the story exactly the way you've pitched it.
For example, you might pitch an event straight up for coverage and get a "Sorry, I've got another story I'm working on that day, but it sounds interesting." You might respond with "Ok, perhaps you'd be interested in a story related to the topic of the event for a story next week."
Another response would be to say "Thanks for your consideration. I'd really like to meet you for a cup of coffee sometime, so that you can get to know how my company might be source for future stories."
Know when to just accept a "no." Remember, your goal is to generate coverage for your company over a period of months or years. Try and build a good relationship with the reporter so that they might be receptive to future pitches.
Next week we'll be talking more specifically about pitching via email.
As a bonus this week, I'm giving a free subscription to my Leff's Atlanta Media web site to the first person who emails me with the correct answer to this question: What movie is the music at the beginning of this podcast from?
Leff's Atlanta Media is an online resource featuring a comprehensive directory of Atlanta media, plus media relations guidelines and prepared templates for commonly used press materials.
By Mitch Leff
Mitch Leff is president of Leff & Associates (www.leffassociates.com) an Atlanta-based public relations agency. In addition to public relations services and media training, Leff also offers two public relations focused web sites:
• Mitch's Media Match (www.MitchsMediaMatch.com) is a new online service for Atlanta and Georgia-based media that matches their story assignments and story concepts with local sources and experts. FREE for journalists.
• Leff's Atlanta Media (www.LeffsAtlantaMedia.com) is an online resource featuring a comprehensive directory of Atlanta media, plus media relations guidelines and prepared templates for commonly used press materials.
General Media Relations Pitching
For those of you who've been listening to my podcasts in order, over the past few months we've been covering some of the basics of public relations. We talked about Developing Messaging. Next, we talked about ways to Make Your News Topical.
So, if you've gone through those exercises, you're ready for the real thing: actually pitching your story to reporters. Now, I always tell my clients to avoid jargon, so let me explain what I mean by "pitching." If you're in sales, you know what the "sales pitch" is. It's that presentation or direct mail piece or phone call or email ... whatever you call the way you try get your customers to buy your product.
In this case, think of the "product" you're trying to sell as information. You're trying to get a reporter to use the information you give him or her to write a story about your company, your new service, your new widget.
You're making a "pitch" to the reporter to – hopefully – get them to bite on the story idea you're selling.
It's important to understand that the reporter is doing a job, just as you are. However, your objectives and the reporter's are not likely to be identical. You may want simply to see a story about your company, but the reporter is working to create a story that will be interesting to all of their viewers or readers.
Know the dynamics of news and understand the differences in the types of media you're pitching. Future podcasts will talk about specifics when pitching newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, and other types of media, but today we're going to just talk in general terms.
In general, there are four ways to pitch:
• In person
• Phone
A one-on-one meeting with a report is THE ideal way to pitch your story. You've got the reporters' attention and you can make a personal connection. Phone calls are good, but it's easy for the reporter to get distracted with other things – like reading emails – while you're talking.
Email can be an effective method, but it's very impersonal and often reporters can say "no thanks" to your pitch without ever talking to you. We'll be talking a bit more about email pitches in our next podcast.
The most important thing to remember is that reporters get a lot of these pitches every day. In some cases, one reporter might get hundreds of emails and phone calls ... every day.
So the trick is to a) make your pitch stand out and b) provide all the necessary information a reporter needs to make their decision to return your phone call and write a story about your company.
So how do you make your pitch stand out? A few thoughts on that. First off, put your "reporter hat" on. Think about your pitch from the reporter's perspective and focus on the most important elements.
So what information in really "necessary" to provide the reporter in that first call? You don't have you tell the reporter everything about your product, just the most important things. What's unique? What's different? Why should their viewers care?
Make sure your pitch is short, concise, and informative. I always practice my pitches to myself before I pick up the phone to make sure they make sense. You can also rehearse with a colleague or spouse. It's great to run your pitch by someone who isn't as close to the pitch as you and ask them "would you be interested in this the way I'm pitching it?"
In general, I like to be able to get all my important points out in ten seconds or less. I know, that sounds tough, but it's doable and the exercise will make you really codify your pitch.
Of course, you need to give the reporter the information they need to make a decision about coverage.
For example, if you're working on an event, you need to remember "Who, What, Where, When, Why." 1) Tell the reporter what the event is about, 2) who's going to be there, 3) why it's important to their readers or viewers, 4) when it is and 5) where it is.
Lead time is very important. If you've got an event coming up in a few weeks, give the media time to plan for it. Don't call them the day of the event and expect them to attend. Keep in mind that while magazines and newspapers might plan weeks in advance, television is still a very short lead medium and they won't commit to covering your event more than a day or two out.
As you're preparing for your pitch, there a few things you should take care of before you pick up the phone.
Do Your Homework
Make sure you've read the publication or TV program you're pitching. There's nothing that turns a reporter off more than knowing the person he's talking to hasn't even taken the time to look at their publication.
It's also important to know a little bit about the reporter you're talking to. What type of stories do they write? How often? Are the stories they write generally positive or negative? Feature-y or investigative?
Anticipate
You should always have at least one back up or fallback pitch in case the reporter doesn't bite on the story exactly the way you've pitched it.
For example, you might pitch an event straight up for coverage and get a "Sorry, I've got another story I'm working on that day, but it sounds interesting." You might respond with "Ok, perhaps you'd be interested in a story related to the topic of the event for a story next week."
Another response would be to say "Thanks for your consideration. I'd really like to meet you for a cup of coffee sometime, so that you can get to know how my company might be source for future stories."
Know when to just accept a "no." Remember, your goal is to generate coverage for your company over a period of months or years. Try and build a good relationship with the reporter so that they might be receptive to future pitches.
Next week we'll be talking more specifically about pitching via email.
As a bonus this week, I'm giving a free subscription to my Leff's Atlanta Media web site to the first person who emails me with the correct answer to this question: What movie is the music at the beginning of this podcast from?
Leff's Atlanta Media is an online resource featuring a comprehensive directory of Atlanta media, plus media relations guidelines and prepared templates for commonly used press materials.
