On a given day, I can get five to 15 emails from public relations (PR) people pitching news stories. Occasionally, they lead to me following up for an interview, but 95% of those emails end up being deleted a few seconds after I scan them. And if you think 15 is bad, many reporters get five times that amount in the course of a day.
I have been on both sides of this communication. In my past life, I worked in PR and had to pitch reporters. If you ever worry that you might be annoying, I can assure you that you are nowhere near as irritating as I was when the preferred pitching method was to call reporters. In fact, they might even find you helpful when you email them if you follow these three tips.
1. Be Concise
As you know, not every reporter is going to take you up on your pitch, but they will appreciate it if they can make that decision to move on in a second or two. Make it clear in the email subject and first paragraph exactly what you are pitching.
2. Package Multiple Sources in Your Pitch
This may not always be feasible, but if you can reach out to a reporter with an oven-baked story that has multiple interview sources, that will also pique a reporter’s interest if the story is strong. Chasing down interviews is arguably the most annoying part of their job, so reducing that burden will go a long way.
3. Focus on Quality, Not Quantity
Your success in securing news coverage often depends on the relationships that you have with reporters, so treat pitching as a relationship-building exercise. Do not blast out a pitch email as you would a news release. Find the handful of reporters you want to target and reach out to them individually. Also, they may not want to write about what you are pitching, but your spokesperson may be a good fit for something else that they are covering. If they circle back with their own request, that is still a win for you.
Finally, do not worry about getting a response. Reporters are generally too swamped to respond, but most still appreciate your pitch, especially if it is done well. Now, here is a NSFW scene on pitching from Boiler Room.
If you enjoyed this piece, you might also like my earlier blog on Understanding Both sides for your writing.
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