Whether you’re working with a new or established client, pr pitching remains the same. However, how you approach the procedure should vary each time. A typical, generic pitch will turn off any writer or journalist before they can finish the first phrase. Hence, it is critical to understand your target audience ahead of time so that you can approach the appropriate media. But what exactly defines a pitch? It is a brief message designed to attract media attention. As a public relations professional, your job is to help the client raise awareness and exposure for their service or brand. Read on to learn about Pr pitching mistakes to avoid as startups.
Key Takeaways
- Avoid generic pitches. Research your journalist’s interests and their audience’s needs, ensuring your pitch aligns with their beat and perspective. Personal touches show genuine interest and build rapport.
- A successful pitch highlights how the brand or product benefits the target audience rather than merely promoting the brand. Consider the “why” behind your story to make it relevant and engaging for readers.
- Journalists have limited time, so get to the core of your story in the first sentence. Clearly state why the story is newsworthy to capture their attention immediately.
- Keep your pitch engaging but straightforward. This is because too much detail can overwhelm you, so focus on the essentials to spark curiosity without overselling. Also, following up shows you’re committed, but timing and tact are key. Avoid being overly aggressive and respect when to let a pitch go.
What is Pr Pitching?
Pr pitching is the process of presenting your news to a journalist for it to be featured in their magazine for promotional purposes. This brief, known as a pitch, is the key to getting free publicity. A pitch is a brief communication, usually via email or direct message, that recommends a news story to a writer or editor at a publication, radio station, or broadcast network. The purpose of a pitch is to generate coverage and evaluate whether your media contact is interested in producing a story around the content.
The objective of this remark is to inform the reader about an advancement or other news within a firm and persuade them that it is a worthwhile tale. Depending upon the publication, a pitch can persuade a media professional to write an article, create a news segment, or discuss the company’s advancement with their audience through other digital or print platforms.
In many cases, PR professionals may send a media pitch over email for ease and convenience. They may also contact media personnel by phone or through social media to describe a company’s news. If the media outlet chooses to run a story based on the pitch, the company can receive additional publicity and connections with potential customers. This can also spread awareness about new products, upcoming events or exciting business changes.
Examples Of Pr Pitch
Review these pr pitching examples to help you develop strategies for success as you send various PR pitches:
#1. Company Announcement Pitch
A company announcement pitch seeks to highlight company news and persuade media personnel to spread awareness on a local, national, or international scale. Company announcements may include new hires, company expansion opportunities, new products or services, upgrades to products or services, or partnerships with other brands and charities. When pitching this news, it’s important to describe how a new policy, hire, or announcement can affect customers or the community.
Example:
Hello Jason Smith,
Our restaurant, Floral Veg, plans to open a rooftop dining area and bar for the summer of 2022, and we’re extending our patio seating on our ground floor to maximize our dining capacity. I think that this could be an exciting story to share with your readers who frequently dine downtown.
Feel free to give me a call so we can schedule a time to meet.
Thank you,
Jordan Berwick
123-456-7891
jb@email.com
#2. Cold Media Pitch
A cold media pitch represents a type of media pitch strategy where a marketing professional sends a media pitch to a news agency with whom they haven’t had previous contact.
This pitch requires you to provide some information about you, your company, the topic you’d like them to cover, and why. Since this can represent the beginning of a relationship, it’s important to be clear about the company’s identity and connection to the media outlet.
Example:
Hello Jay Hordy,
My name is Jordan Berwick, and I’m the PR coordinator for Baker Real Estate, located in southern Virginia. We help homeowners buy, sell, and rent properties that fit their budget, and we’re looking to expand our services to southern Maryland.
Since our magazine focuses on southern living and how to make the most of the DMV area, I think a mention of our services could add great value to your readers and their real estate needs.
I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Best,
Jordan Berwick
123-456-7891
jh@email.com
#3. Marketing Trend Pitch
When your company’s brand, product line, or recent news aligns with market trends, you can contact media outlets that cover topics and trends in your industry and use it to your advantage. Since these trends can be time-sensitive, try to send out these pitches as soon as possible. This can also create a sense of urgency for the reader, which can inspire them to contact you back.
Example:
Hi Ken Porch,
Our software firm just developed new HR programs that make it easier to transfer current HR data into an organized, secure software program. With your publication being business-focused and the recent market trends in digitized HR practices, I thought this could be a great educational piece for your readers.
Let me know what you think as soon as you can.
Thanks,
Jordan Berwick
123-456-7891
kp@email.com
PR Pitching Mistakes to Avoid as Startups
You have an excellent press release. You have a wonderful connection with your reporters and journalists. You’ve got everything right. Do you? Nothing is more discouraging than having all of the elements of a flawless pitch in place but failing to deliver at the end.
Similarly to my scenario, Years ago, I sent out my first pitch with great joy. I’d meticulously planned it, including everything I believed was important. To my dismay, the answer was virtually nonexistent. I eventually realized I’d done practically every pitching sin in the book, including too much information, no meaningful hook, and a complete connection with the publication’s target audience. Since then, I’ve learned the hard way (and hopefully, you won’t have to!) that a pitch should be strategic, concise, and crafted with care..
To avoid a situation like that, read on for PR pitching mistakes to avoid. Before you head out the door today for the long weekend, take a peek at these mistakes and make sure you don’t fall into their trap on Tuesday!
#1. Targeting The Wrong Audience
One of the most significant errors you can make is failing to understand who you are pitching to. I once offered a sustainability effort to a fashion magazine without realizing how little they covered environmental issues. I got a nice, manufactured response, but it taught me an important lesson: understand your audience.
If you don’t grasp your target audience, your pitch will be ineffective. As a result, the story begins with selecting the appropriate publicists and press for your story. The angle of your pitch must match the journalist’s perspective; therefore, knowledge of the media landscape is essential. Getting this correct requires research.
#2. Giving Too Much Information
Some entrepreneurs believe pr pitching is always about selling. Although this may be true in some circumstances, you should always do so gently. It’s better to make someone passionate about your product than to force it down their throat.
So, avoid overwhelming your viewers with too much information. You want to be intriguing and informative. Remember, you’re not attempting to sell or promote a product (that’s what advertising is for), and you don’t want to be generic. You must be engaged in a concise news story.
#3. Not Being Flexible
You must think critically about your target audience and be prepared to solve problems and answer queries. Flexibility is essential, and a backup plan should always be in place. Even if it is a different take on your narrative. Make sure you have more than one concept to pitch. Flexibility allows you to shape your story in a variety of ways. Try different pitches until you succeed, but don’t spam the same journalists.
#4. Not Standing Out
Journalists receive one to five pitches per day, with highly sought-after blogs and well-known media receiving many more. Your pitches should stand out from the throng. PR pitching can be really difficult. Encouraging a journalist or outlet to pick up your story takes perseverance. It is important not to get discouraged when journalists don’t respond.
#5. Pitching To Everyone And Everywhere
This is called “spam,” and it’s frowned upon. There are two parts to this: sending the same pitch to multiple queries and sending the same pitch to everyone on every distribution list. Avoid both. You’ll be much more effective with a researched and targeted pitch to the publications and journalists who are relevant to your message.
#6. Not Personalizing Your Pitch
Would you reply to an email that appears to be a template asking you to do something, or would you prefer to respond to something that targets your interests, experiences, and connections? People respond much more positively to you when they believe you care about them. To put it simply, a form email does not say, “Hey, I think you’re fantastic and have a story that your audience might be interested in.” Personalize your pitch. That entails investigating and learning about the media representatives. Start a media outreach program and establish a relationship with them before pitching them a story topic.
#7. Ending without a call to Action
Assume you just delivered an outstanding pitch and your audience became enthralled with your business or concept. This is the time to ask your audience for a favor. This could mean anything, including:
- We’re looking for a $250k investment. Shall we meet for lunch next week?
- We are looking for a sales channel partner. Should we meet tomorrow for coffee?
Depending on your goals, your call to action might take several forms.
#8. Not Following Up
With these templates below in hand, PR professionals can approach follow-ups confidently, knowing they’re staying top-of-mind while respecting their contacts’ time and preferences.
Knowing when to follow up and when to let go is an art form. I once followed up with a journalist several times, only to discover later that they had already passed on the article. That overzealous followup was unnecessary and created a terrible impression.
You must follow up. It demonstrates to your recipient that you are invested in your narrative and want to collaborate with them. Not following up conveys the opposite. Also, make sure you always tell the person when you plan to follow up with them. Then follow through.
When you make your pitch, you will not always receive a positive response. However, by avoiding these blunders, you significantly improve your chances. And you make certain that you develop a courteous professional relationship with your chosen media representatives. It will pay off.
How to Make a Good PR Pitch: To Make Sure Your Brand Stands Out
The media is crowded, and you don’t want your proposal to slip between the cracks. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you must know how to present yourself effectively. Personal experience and trial and error have taught me that there are a few fundamental flaws that can make or destroy a public relations proposal. Here’s a tip to help you avoid these traps and make your pitch stand out.
#1. Be Concise and To The Point
The opening sentence of your pitch should include “the story” of why the brand or service you’re proposing is relevant to the media outlet’s target audience. With hundreds of pitches flooding in, writers don’t have time to figure out what the tale is about and why it matters. The “why” is your newsworthy story; without it, the media source you’re targeting will find nothing to cover.
#2. Identify Your Contact
Before sending any proposals, make sure you have researched the writer and understand the types of stories they tell. You don’t want to waste time making the perfect pitch only to find out their area of expertise doesn’t line up with your client’s. And you never know when you might need to reach out to the journalist on a different story, so being clear the first time around is essential.
#3. Build a Connection With Journalists
I can’t emphasize enough how important relationships are in public relations. Before submitting a proposal, engage with journalists on social media, comment on their articles, and introduce yourself. A tailored pitch from a familiar name has a higher likelihood of getting opened and read.
Social media is an excellent approach to learning about a writer’s niche while also connecting with others. Interacting with and sharing their posts regularly can help you get your name in their heads. That way, when your pitch arrives in their inbox, they’ll identify the sender. By making a genuine connection, you transform a cold sale into something warmer and more personal. Always remember to say thank you at the end of every interaction. This may seem straightforward, yet often it’s overlooked.
#4. Focus on the benefits, not Just the Brand or Service
While a PR executive’s purpose is to increase their customers’ visibility, understanding what the audience can get from it is equally crucial. Before you write a pitch, consider why it matters and who will care about it. How does the product or service fit into a bigger trend, rather than simply telling the story of the brand? Make sure you can clearly define the answers to these questions; otherwise, it will be difficult to persuade the writer, let alone their readers, that this is something they should be concerned about.
#5. Be Prepared For Business
Before you send out your pitch, make sure you have all of the resources or assets you need to support the story ready to go. There’s nothing worse than having a deadline-driven writer answer that they’re interested in running your article but aren’t ready to proceed. Have your documents ready to go, with the expectation that the reporter will want to proceed immediately. Not only will it save you time and frustration, but a busy writer will appreciate how quickly you supply the information they need to get started. In future partnerships, they may even be excited to collaborate with you.
#6. Be Authentic
Think of your pitch as a story. Find a new viewpoint to make your pitch memorable. Instead of claiming “Our app helps with productivity,” position it as “The app that helps [industry or target audience] reclaim their time.” A fascinating narrative, possibly based on a personal experience or a recent trend, can make all the difference.
This is because you always want to come across as genuine, especially while asking the help of others. If you read your pitch aloud and it appears unrealistic or deceptive, modify it. If you don’t like how it sounds, the writer will probably dislike it as well.
How long should a PR pitch be?
The State of Journalism 2020 study found that fewer than 1/3 of journalists surveyed wanted to receive pitches under three sentences in length, with another 61% preferring to cap those pitches at three paragraphs. Less is more when it comes to pitching. But not that much less.
This insight tells us that two to three paragraphs is the sweet spot most journalists are willing to entertain, and your pitch needs to contain just the right amount of information: enough so a journalist has all they need to determine if it’s worth covering, but not so much that the story is written for them already. That’s their job.
Conclusion
Crafting a strong PR pitch is about finding that balance between information and intrigue. Avoiding these common mistakes can elevate your pitches and make sure they truly represent your brand. Remember, a pitch is more than just a sales email; it’s your brand’s story in a bite-sized, irresistible package. Keep it personal, keep it relevant, and give it that extra polish—because every pitch is a chance to make your brand stand out.
Avoid these pr pitching mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to forging valuable connections with the media and showcasing your brand in the best possible light. Got any pitching tips or stories of your own? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
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