3 Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching to Media
Pitching to the media is an integral part of any press and public relations strategy. Sure, you can issue press releases without pitching to the media directly. However, if you want to elevate the results of your press release and really seize an opportunity to grow your brand, then pitching to the media is a logical step. Pitching simply means telling chosen media reps your story idea and information before you issue your press release. It’s giving them an advantage and an opportunity to talk about your company and your news before everyone knows about it.
So, while pitching to the media is a fantastic, albeit sometimes stressful, opportunity, you want to go into it with some advance insight. Let’s talk about the most common mistakes people make when pitching to the media and how to avoid them.
- Pitching to random media reps.
When you pitch to a media representative, they should be handpicked by you or your team. It’s important to make sure that you’re pitching to media reps (which include bloggers, journalists, and reporters) that cover your industry and topic. There’s no sense pitching to someone who doesn’t care about your story because it’s not relevant to them or their audience. So, do your research. Choose quality media folks to pitch to and be selective.
- Not Personalizing Your Pitch
Would you likely respond to what clearly looks like a template email asking you to do something or would you be more likely to respond to something that addresses specific interests, experience, and connections personal to you? Generally speaking, people respond much more positively to you when they feel you’re invested and interested in them. To put it simply, a form email doesn’t say, “hey, I think you’re great and have a story that your audience may be interested in.” Personalize your pitch. That means researching the media rep and learning about them. Start a media outreach program and start building a relationship long before you pitch a story idea to them.
- Not Following Up
It’s vital that you follow up. It tells your recipient that you care about your story and that you are interested in working with them. Not following up communicates the opposite. And make sure that you always tell the representative when you’re going to follow up with them. Then follow through.
You won’t always get a yes when you make your pitch. However, by avoiding these mistakes you dramatically increase your odds. And you ensure that you establish a respectful and professional relationship with your chosen media representatives. It will pay off.
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