The Right Pitch, And Why It Matters

A big part of Public Relations is media outreach. PR pros are constantly emailing ideas and opportunities to different media outlets, bloggers and journalists. When doing this, it’s extremely important that the pitches sent are targeted and personalized to each individual recipient. After all, people who work in the media are extremely busy, and receive hundreds of pitches each week. Here’s some things your PR firm (if they’re worth their salt) will incorporate into their pitch.

PERSONALIZATION

Knowing the reporter, blogger, etc. and having a good understanding of the topics they write about along with their history of work is paramount. PR pros effectively evaluate whether the individual will find their pitch interesting, and offer targeted information suited to the reporter’s outlet.

KEY INFORMATION

PR pros have a knack for assembling key points into a brief summary for the reporter/blogger. As we said before, these people are very busy – so being able to convey the big ideas in a couple sentences is of upmost importance.

AVOID MASS EMAILS

As tempting as it is to send a mass email out to a variety of sources, PR pros know that’s a big no-no. When there’s no context for the reporter/blogger/journalist – it becomes irrelevant information (if they even bother to open the email).

PHONE FOLLOW-UPS

Again, because media is often so busy – it’s important to conduct follow ups. Phone is the most effective method, so you can humanize your messaging, and connect with the reporter. However, PR pros are persistent (it’s in our nature) – so if a phone call isn’t in the cards, a follow up email certainly will be!

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