Pitch the perfect pitch..
When leaving my previous internships, I couldn't have been more happy with everything that I learned. Except one little detail. Well, honestly it is not that small of a detail. I am talking about pitching and whether we like it or not, pitching is an important part of being a writer and working in the PR industry. I was used to write the actual pitch but when it came to pitching it, aka sending this over to the big ppl (eg the editors) I have to admit that I had no clue of what I was doing so I handed it over to the Account Executives. And while attending a writing class in Los Angeles which taught me a lot about travel writing, getting into the magazine industry and journalism vs PR, I was still looking like a question mark at the end of the seminar when the professor once again went through the principles of pitching to editors. Therefore, the other day, I was doing some research of do's and don'ts when it comes to pitching. Even though it can be tedious and stressful at times, media relations can be rewarding and a great opportunity to stand out among colleagues. Therefore I am gonna share with you the tips I found at nycprgirls this morning! Read and take notes.
- Avoid mail merge at all costs. Even if you’re sending the same email to every one of your media contacts, it’s easy to tell when you’ve sent one giant merge.
- Personalize your pitch as much as possible. This may be a given, but any indication that you’ve actually read what they wrote sets the stage for a response.
- Use read receipts. Some find them annoying, but I can’t stress how vital they’ve become to my pitching strategy, especially when sending event invites. If the editor/reporter deletes without reading, you give them a call or send to another appropriate contact at that outlet.
- Get them on the phone. Even if you have to make continuous calls throughout the day, if this media contact is a fit for your pitch, talk to them live. You can easily win them over in a conversation as opposed to email.
- Don’t take no for an answer. If you receive a response from a media contact declining your pitch, kindly ask if there’s another contact at their outlet that would be more applicable. The worst that could happen is not receiving a response back, but at least you asked!
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