Journalists are flooded with hundreds of pitches every day, so it is our job as public relations professionals to make sure our clients stand out. There is nothing more underwhelming than working hard on a pitch, sending it to contacts you think are a perfect fit, and getting no traction from it. Tweaking your pitches, even if it is just a bit, can do a lot for you and your clients. Cutting through the clutter of emails can be a hard worker, but your team will benefit in the long run. Here are some tips on how to catch the ideal journalists eye when sending out your perfect pitches:
Do the Journalist’s Job…At Least 75% of it.
Take the time to skim through a couple of the journalists recent articles. Figure out their writing style and pick up on some constant features. Do they like to add fast facts? Maybe some pictures of the product? Figure out what they like and serve it up on a silver platter in the form of a well written pitch. Give them the story, basically. With a compelling story, the probability of your pitch seeing the light of day is much more likely than the email graveyard a lot of others tend to sit.
Cut to the Chase
We get it, you think your brand deserves all the media exposure in the world. As public relations professionals, we love our brands and want them to succeed. However, when you are writing pitches that are 3-4 paragraphs long, you might want to step back and wonder if you are giving just a bit too much. Keeping pitches short and to the point wins you brownie points with journalists. They are already short on time as it is, and reading long pitches will do neither you nor them any favors. Add more value to your story by selling your story in an easy to read way. If they need more information for the story, you can always add more in follow ups.
Make Creative Subject Lines Your Go-To
The first thing the journalist will see is your subject line, so make it a good one! Seems like common knowledge but it is something a lot of people often miss the mark on. The subject line is what many journalist use to decide if the pitch is even worth reading or not. So, let your creative side flow and think of cool subject lines that will make them open your email. Engage the journalist and make them want to read more — because that is always the goal!
Relevancy is Key
As a public relations professional, it is your job to research exactly what publications are interested in the news you want to share. You would probably wouldn’t want to send a beauty product pitch to an ESPN reporter. Researching does take up a lot of time, but the results are worth it. Sometimes pitching to just 15 relevant journalists creates better traction than sending out a pitch to 50 people who are semi-relevant at best.
To learn more on how to catch the attention of journalist, click here!
