Tips from the Experts: Pitching Morning News

This Monday, the Philadelphia Public Relations Association hosted its annual meeting in Old City, Philadelphia. Along with introducing its newest board members, the programming on the agenda included an awesome presentation by CBS3 and CW morning anchor Erika von Tiehl. Erika gave an incredibly eye-opening presentation with tips on pitching your client to morning news programs.

As PR professionals, whenever we can gain access to the preferences and desires of the media, we instantly have a one-up over our competitors. Getting coverage for your client can be a matter of pitching the right way at the right time. Here are some tips for Erika to help land your client a spot on morning news.

1. Know your morning show audience and set up.

In the mornings, more people are listening to the news rather than sitting down to watch it, Erika explained. It's important that the story you're pitching be something that can catch the viewers ear, as well as their eyes. Also, because morning shows tend to run longer than evening news, prepare for more time to be allotted. If you're offered four minutes on air, make sure ever minute is interesting and engaging.

2. Be visual with your pitch.

Instead of sending a few paragraphs to a reporter when pitching, send just the information they need summed up in a few sentences, a long with a photo or video. Don't worry about describing every minute detail. If a reporter needs more information, they'll request it.

3. Be flexible and responsive.

Realized that journalist, similarly to PR pros, are working on very tight deadlines. If a reporter emails you for information, or needs to client on air, act fast and deliver. Also, encourage your client to do the same! Be very frank and explain that the offer and opportunity has an expiration date.

4. Think of the viewer benefit.

Reporters want to share news that will truly benefit their audience. Don't pitch a commercial for your client, instead, create a story that will benefit or make the lives of the viewing audience easier. Offer your clients expertise, and relate it to current news that's impacting the lives of the audience.

5. Use social media.

Imagine how many emails flood the inboxes of the journalists you're pitching. Instead of going the traditional route, try using social media to pitch. Erika recommended tweeting a short blurb and including a photo or video. The more visual you can be, the better. Also, when your client lands a spot, be sure to promote it using the morning show's social media handles and hashtags. Always ask if there are any social links you and your client can share!

What strategies do you use to help get your pitch across?

Are You Using The Internet To Its Full Extent?

Today, the Internet is one of the most helpful tools a publicist can use.  Recently I heard from a few speakers a few websites that seemed like must-knows for a public relations specialist.  While we are all Facebook, Twitter and Instagram experts, here are some other websites that will be helpful to you and your public relations career:

1.  HelpAReporter.com - HelpAReporter.com, or HARO, can offer you that extra story you did not know you could have had.  HARO is a free website that emails you three times a day with publicity alerts from journalists looking for article assistance from publicists. HARO is partnered with some of the top journalists in the country, such as ABC.  Also, it allows you to make connections with even more journalists than before!
2. SeekOrShout.com - SeekOrShout.com helps you create and promote new content.  The ‘seek’ feature lets you search editorial news from all over the web.  After you find what you are seeking, you can ask the SeekOrShout community for its help with your search by requesting an interview, product review or helpful document.  The ‘shout’ option allows you to promote or announce new content.  People who follow you or who follow the topics you tag, will be able to see the post and use it themselves.  This website is a great way to help you with a blog post, find someone to help you promote your new product, and promote your new content.
3. PitchEngine.com – PitchEngine is the sleekest way to release your press releases.  They claim that, “It combines the readability of a magazine with the immersive experience of an app.”  It allows people to interact with your press release and also share it with others.  It automatically formats your press releases for viewing on any smart phone.  PitchEngine also allows you to leverage your release, reach more networks make it more searchable and even tracks your release and lets you see where it is being published.  The basic package of PitchEngine is free, however there are other packages with more features that will cost you a bit more.

Also, do not forget to follow websites that are specialized to the field you are working.  You never know where there is an extra story you can find!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Jackie Grillo.

Media Relations Myths

After reading this article on PR Daily, I will never look at media relations the same way.  The author points out three major misconceptions that people have about pitching to the media:

1. It's all about who you know.
I've always been told that connections will make or break your career, especially in public relations.  The author of this article combats this theory by saying it is not, in fact, about who you know; it's about having a good story.  Maintaining a relationship with a reporter is always a good idea, but if your story isn't up to par, no relationship is going to help you.

2. Every pitch has to be perfect.
It has been drilled into our brains that we need to double and triple check our emails.  We are told that if there is one typo our credibility goes out the window and our pitches are disregarded.  This article disagrees, and I see the authors point.  Having internships in the professional world has shown me that there really are times where people forego grammar laws and just shoot out an email that gets their point across.  While it's always good to maintain a professional writing style, sometimes a spelling error really isn't going to ruin your pitch.

3. Print is king.
The article points out that clients generally like to see their names in hold-able, foldable print.  This is probably true because for some reason a tactile version of a story can seem more glorified than something you read off a computer screen.  This attitude is definitely changing, however, especially with the evolution of online media and the ability to have an online subscription to many newspapers.  I wouldn't say that press in a print newspaper is any more or less exciting than it is online.

Pitching has always been something that made me nervous, and I'm sure many of my peers will agree.  It's important to take seriously and be professional, but these myths are important to crack.  While I don't know if I will ever be able to send a pitch without triple-checking my grammar and spelling, it's nice to know that pitching isn't as pressure-packed as people make it out to be.

Compiling a Media List

The other day I was asked to compile a media list.  I figured it wouldn't be a problem and I would just be able to find all the contacts online, put the list together, and impress my boss with my abilities.

(I was wrong).

I spent several hours searching around various media outlet websites for names and emails of someone, ANYONE that I could pitch a story to.  In case you hadn't guessed, media outlets aren't always so eager to just put that type of contact information out there.  So after I gathered together a few emails that I thought would be helpful I sent them over to my boss.

They weren't helpful at all.

So, I learned a new lesson I figured I would share with my fellow aspiring PR professionals:

Don't ever assume something is going to be easy. Assume that your skills are going to be challenged with every assignment you get.  Sometimes it might not be the case, but at least you'll be prepared!

After this experience, I have some tips for compiling a media list:

1. Call the newsroom.  A lot of people have hesitancies towards making phone calls.  The beauty of calling a newsroom is that they are usually on some kind of deadline and only have a moment, if any, to talk in the first place.  Your phone call isn't going to last more than two minutes.

2. You're looking for producers, editors, and the news desk. Go directly to the people who are going to be making the decision about your story.

3. Ask for help! If you're uncomfortable or unsure, just ask someone to help you.  My boss assured me that when she was an intern she felt the exact same way.  Now she's a pitching pro and isn't that we are all striving for?

Do you have any tips for media lists and pitching?  Share them with us!

3 Tips To Avoid Pitiful Pitches

As a public relations professional, many long office days (and some long nights as well) will be spent researching for and crafting the perfect pitch. Every client wants to be featured somewhere, but it is your job as the professional to find the perfect fit for them. While your client may have ambitions of being featured on the glossy pages of infamous magazines, it is also your job to introduce them to a world of publications they may never have considered before. Before drafting your next pitch, consider these tips to avoid sending a pitiful pitch:

1. Know your client's niche: Do you know what sets your client apart from other brands or companies in the same market? If you don't know what makes your client original, no one else will either. Create a brand identify for your client that sets them apart from others, even if there are similar brands on the market. Remember - it is not your clients ability to BE different, but rather your ability to represent and brand them differently.

2. Take the time to research: Don't waste your tip pitching your client to someone who has no interest in what they do. Keep a log about which journalist, bloggers, writers, and editors are covering which stories. Keep a running list and update it often, including links to stories you can reference while pitching. Nothing makes a writer more eager to cover your story than to know that you have been following them.

3. Excite and engage: If you aren't excited about what you're pitching, you will likely be shot down for a story. Your pitch should show that you are passionate about what you're saying. Do not approach the pitch like a professional trying to cross an item off a 'to-do' list. Instead, sit in the seat of a consumer sharing exciting news about a product or idea to another consumer. Getting your reader excited will always yield better results than boring them with stats and factoids.

Every pitch you write should be different, unique, and tell a different story depending on who you are pitching. Which elements do you find create the most effective pitches? Let us know!

How To Reach Out to Bloggers

With the explosion of the internet over the past decade, every PR pro knows that no public relations campaign is complete without blogger outreach. Bloggers target certain niche audiences that may be hard to reach otherwise. Blogs also have a lot more credibility than ads that are paid for. Making strong connections with bloggers can prove to be very beneficial because they tend to have a loyal audience who are always willing to follow their recommendations.

Blogging is a fairly new media outlet and for most PR professionals interacting with bloggers is a whole new ball park. Bloggers are extremely diverse. Some write because they are passionate about their subject matter. Some write for profit. Some do both. This is why one approach may be welcomed by one blogger but not well received by another.

I don’t believe there is one right way to pitch to bloggers, just like there isn’t just one way to pitch to any other media outlet. Just keep in mind bloggers are people too. They enjoy well thought out pitches that are sincere, relevant and useful to their audience. And who can resist a good story?

Here are some tips to help you achieve better results from your blogger outreach:

1.    Do your research: Before you approach the blog owner with your pitch make sure you know what the blog is about, the content of the posts as well as what kind of audience they are reaching out to. You can do this by reading a variety of posts and comments from various months/years to get a good idea.

2.   Interact with bloggers way before your campaign: When you reach out to a blogger to pitch a story, it is always better to already have a relationship with them before hand. Bloggers could get offended if you only approach them when you have a campaign you’re working on. No one likes being used! To start building a relationship long before your campaign starts, read and comment on their blog posts, follow their social media accounts and recommend them within your personal network. Going the extra mile will definitely help you out in the long run.

3.   Be natural: Bloggers write in everyday, conversational language. When pitching to them, make sure you lose the formal, corporate language. 

4.   Provide more than they need: Make their job easy by providing them with all the essentials to publish a high-quality blog post. This could include photos, videos, quotes, pre-written tweets/status updates and always offer them interview options.

5.   Offer valuable content: Try to pitch stories that will grab a bloggers attention. Most of the time bloggers will be more inclined to publish a story about free products, giveaways, special offers or exclusive interviews rather than a boring press release. You need to make sure your story has potential to go viral, will attract traffic to the blog and help to build profit by enticing subscribers.

        

Have you ever had to reach out to a blogger before? If so, what was your experience? Let us know!

Plan B

You've spent hours crafting and proofreading a press release, one that you just sent out to the media. A couple days go by, and not a bite from reporters. So now what? Yeah you can follow up by emailing, calling, the works. But before you pull your hair out from frustration, consider the following points via PR Daily:

• Remember that timing is critical when pitching: Consider what is going on in the world when you are pitching. If you are pitching a farmers market in the midst of a national disaster, then obviously your pitch is going to get pushed to the back burner. Sometimes reporters will pick up on your story after a couple rounds of pitches, simply because the time is right. 
• Sometimes it takes a while, too: Of course it's better when a reporter gets back to you immediately. But sometimes it'll take a while, depending on several different factors like time, place, market, etc.
• It's not always about timing, of course, so trust your instincts: While someone can get back to you months after your initial pitch, maybe its time to switch it up after a while. Sometimes we can be so focused on just getting the pitch out and running that we neglect to see when the body of our story is lacking. 
• Regrouping with colleagues always helps if you need a new perspective: Another set of eyes are always beneficial when you're in need of an extra push. A colleague may be able to show or tell you something that you missed. Even a family member or friend could be of help, after all, they're representative of your target audience. 

Have you ever been stuck when reporters don't respond to your pitch? What was your Plan B? Let us know!

What Volunteer Journalism Means For PR Pros

The relationship between the PR professional and the professional journalist has always been one with a give-and-take balance. Public relations professionals pitch stories to journalist who turn those pitches into successful news articles. One professional could not turn a profit without help from the other. But today, when many journalist work for free on blogs or websites such as The Huffington Post, the game has changed a little. Journalist and bloggers have a lot less to lose when they work for free, so the PR pro should consider this when pitching to them, and adjust the pitch accordingly. Here are some tips for pitching to volunteer journalist:

Is the blogger/journalist worth pitching? - Not all bloggers or volunteer journalist are the kinds of writers you want to trust with a story for your client. Does their blog get a considerable amount of views? Is the website they contribute to one you would want your client to appear on? If not, you may want to consider bypassing pitching to that particular writer.

Contact Method - Because you aren't pitching to a traditional blogger, the way you send your pitch may change. It isn't uncommon for a lot of bloggers and volunteer journalist to be reachable through contact forms on their websites or through social media networking sites. Be prepared to travel through unfamiliar contact channels to get your story out there.

Know what they are in it for - Reality TV, Hollywood glamour, and seeking a claim to fame is often the motivation behind many bloggers. For this reason, some of them don't want to put out your newsworthy story. They would much rather blog to promote themselves and boost their own self made celebrity spotlight. Make sure you separate these bloggers from more authentic ones.

Give & Take: Pitching to Bloggers

Pitching to bloggers can sometimes be unknown territory. With so many different categories and niches of bloggers, how can you pitch effectively and gain the support of the blogging community? Below are 6 things bloggers want from PR pros:

The specifics up front: Bloggers read a large volume of content daily, keep your pitch simple. Give the who, what, where, when, how up front and make it easier on them. Also, be clear with your deadline so that he/she can feasibly tell you if its possible to cover your story.


Compensation: These are hard times, and while it would be nice to offer monetary compensation to bloggers for coverage, 9 times out of 10 its not possible. A popular trend among bloggers are giveaways. Offer them a gift basket of your products to give away to their readers. Remind them why they should be promoting your product for free.


Information, not prewritten language: Give plenty of data and stats on your product. What are some FAQs? Pictures? Social media accounts? Do you have any other endorsers or sponsors? Give all of this information so that a blogger can easily, and quickly, cover your product, giving you more of a chance of having your product backed.


Promotion: It's a give and take world. While you want bloggers to promote your product, they also expect you to promote their blog via your social media channels. Tweet a link, share their blog on Facebook, anything that will both promote your product and establish a relationship with said blogger.


Patience with data: It's quality not quantity, try not to get bogged down by numbers. What's more important is the amount and scope of people you reached.


To keep in touch: Try to keep in touch with these bloggers, by establishing a good relationship, you will increase your chances of having your other products promoted by them.

Batter Up

When it comes to public relations writing there is no magic formula. One of the hardest and most crucial elements to master in public relations writing is the pitch. A pitch is used to inform the recipient, most recently bloggers, of a product, event, or piece of information on behalf of your client.  The response rate of a pitch is based on the how well you capture the recipients attention. By incorporating and adopting these four keys elements in your pitch, you will have a much higher success rate.

Write "Pitch" in the subject line:

As a general note, people like to know what they’re getting when they open an email. So when you write, “Pitch:," in the subject line, people are more inclined to open the email because they are immediately informed of its contents.

Do your research:

Make your pitch personal. When writing to a recipient include their blog name and a specific article. For example, "Upon reading your article “X” (title of article) I would like to present an opportunity to you and your readers at X (title of blog).

Be clear:

When you are writing to inform a blogger or journalist about an event tell them that you want them to attend. Just providing the information might be misinterpreted as soliciting. If they can't attend ask the author to extend the invitation to their readers.

Be nice:

Being polite gets you much farther with a pitch then if you just give the facts. For example if you say, "Thank you for your consideration in attending our upcoming event," at the end of your email, it can leave a great lasting impression.

Apply these four tips and score a home run with your next pitch.

Pitching Basics

As a public relations professional, one of the most basic things you write is a pitch to the media. A media pitch is helpful to accompany a press release, to convince a journalist why your story should be covered or in a time crunch, a pitch can even replace a press release. But how do you ensure a successful pitch?

It’s all about relationships: No matter how many times you’re told this, you always need to hear it one more time. Reporters have jobs too. They aren’t going to listen to every PR person that calls or emails them. Finding key people to help your clients and maintaining good relationships with them, such as getting them information on time, remembering personal information and only pitching stories to them that you know they would have interest in covering, can really help show that you aren’t just trying to use them for their coverage, but do in fact value their time.

Timing is everything: Reporters are just as busy as you are: They don’t want to hear about stories that aren’t newsworthy. Try to keep in mind the relevance of your topic to each reporter and keep your pitches to around 15-30 seconds. Also, try to avoid calling the office at the busiest times of the day. For TV, the busiest times are around the morning, noon, and evening newscast. Newspapers have deadlines in the evening, so call them well before, when they aren’t working against the clock. Lastly, keep magazine calls between 11 a.m.- 3 p.m., which gives them time to settle in for the day before becoming bombarded with pitches.

Follow-ups and persistence are musts: Many times, stories are never covered because they get lost or forgotten about. There is a fine line between persistence and annoyance, but if you truly know your story is beneficial to that report, there is no shame in making sure they received enough information on it. Even if they don’t end up using your story, follow-ups, including a thank you, can help maintain that relationship that is so important in this industry.

Learning key concepts in pitching the media is an invaluable resource in the PR field. Pitches are one of the simplest forms of reaching out to the media, and once you begin to become more comfortable with media pitches, all these concepts will become second nature to you.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Ross.

My First Press Release

This past week I experienced writing my first press release. We've all been there, that first time when you have absolutely NO idea what a press release entails, with the sure chance that your teacher or employer will flat out turn it down. Well, maybe you're not that dramatic, but I was! Fortunately, PRowl's Firm Director Niki Ianni helped me through every step of the process and gave me a solid foundation on how to write and pitch a press release. Below are some pointers I've learned so far:

• Provide enough information so that the person you're pitching to won't have to go out of their way to research your event, but at the same time won't yawn at the sight of your 3 page long release.


• Language matters, every word can carry a different meeting so tread carefully to ensure that you sound excited while at the same time professional.


• Pitching, now this one had me kind of confused. What is pitching? Am I supposed to just reiterate what I said in the press release, because that's what the purpose of it is, right? To get someone to cover your story? Well, no, not exactly. A pitch is what you will include before your release, and basically entails why your story should be picked up and how it will be beneficial to whoever is receiving the release.
  

Hopefully, for you who have yet to write a press release, you will take these tips into account and rest assured that you're not alone! Do you have any additional tips for first-time press release writers? Let us know!

Writing the Perfect Email Pitch

With hundreds of emails piling up in journalist's inboxes daily, it is necessary to have a well-crafted pitch to make sure your story stands out. Below I have outlined some things to keep in mind before you hit the send button.

• Think of who you are pitching. While you may have a very well-written and thought out pitch, you need to make sure that you are tailoring your story so that it is relevant to the publication you are sending it to.


• Keep your subject line short and to the point. Journalists won't take the time to read a long and rambling subject line. If you are having trouble, try writing the body of the email first and then picking key words that will get your point across.


• When you start the body of your email, the first sentence needs to grab the reader's attention by letting them know how they will be affected by what you have to say. Expand upon your subject line to give them more detail.


• Make it personal. Don't send out the same generic email to a ton of journalists hoping one of them will decide to write your story. You need to build relationships with these journalists and show that you want their attention specifically, not just taking a shot in the dark.


• NEVER send attachments. This will successfully get your email put in the trash or stuck in a spam folder. Only attach files if asked.


• Follow-up at an appropriate time. Editors have to look through their entire inbox, so if after a week or two you still haven't heard back from them, send a reminder email or phone call to pitch your story.

While pitching a story of any kind can be stressful, just remember to remain polite and professional while creating these relationships and the process will get easier every time.

What makes your email pitches successful?

Why your Pitching E-mails get Deleted

My first pitching experience was absolutely nerve racking complete with clammy hands and nervous voice. I know rejection is part of the industry and pitching in general, but I couldn't help  but feel nervous about my precious pitch not getting a second look. A recent article in  Business Insider shed some light on why a pitch gets deleted and the specific things to avoid when pitching.

Some of the top reasons e-mails never get opened can be related to the following issues; unknown sender, non-compelling subject line, recipient's name spelled wrong, and boring first sentence (you can see it in gmail without ever opening the email). The article further explains that even if your e-mail does get opened, there is a 50/50 chance of your e-mail actually being acknowledged. Either you wrote something untrue about the recipient in attempt to connect with them, your e-mail was too long, or your pitch is irrelevant to what the reporter covers.

With that in mind, its important before you pitch to do some research on the recipient. Research recipients articles or Twitter to find their tailored  interests. Also using a site like Linkdin could help you make a personal connection with the recipient.

Another thing to avoid when pitching is buzz words, there is nothing more annoying to a reporter than a comparison between your topic and an already successful established event or product such as Foursquare. One of BEST things you can do however, is have an intriguing subject line. It catches the recipient right away while providing all the information that the e-mail contains. Its a hard task, but the success is worth the effort.

 The article even provides an example pitch:

Hi Alyson,

Wanted to let you know that a startup BI has written about in the past is seeking between [X] million and [Y] million in Series A funding. The company's founder has received inquiries from a number of VC firms and is now in California meeting with possible investors.

Thought this might be a decent piece of news for you. Let me know if you have any questions or want to speak with the founder. Here's a video of him recently on Fox. [X]

As an aside, my brother went to Syracuse. I sent him your website in case he wants to get a t-shirt for his girlfriend :)

Thanks,

X

Pitching? Consider pop culture

I was reading through my PRSA Issues & Trends e-mail the other day, and a featured story caught my eye: "How Dwight Schrute Helped Me Place a Story in TIME." As an avid fan of "The Office" and a person who finds Dwight's character to be hilarious, I clicked on the link and read the story on PRSA's ComPRehension blog.

So how did Dwight Schrute help Michael Smart land some great placements, including a spot in TIME? The same way his headline enticed me to read his post. Smart had been working with a professor who was researching the pros and cons of working with people she called "'socially distinct newcomers.'" "That's a perfect, precise description of what she studied...[b]ut it's obviously not very familiar language that would be useful in a pitch e-mail subject line or in the lead of a news release," Smart explained.

His solution was to come up with a way of expressing the concept concisely. He made the connection between Dwight Schrute and "socially distinct newcomers," and used it in his e-mail subject line and to help explain the study. His creativity landed him great coverage, including the placement in TIME he mentioned in his headline.

Smart identified two key takeaways from this successful media relations effort:

1. "Ruthlessly trim your pitches to make them as short as possible," he said.
   
2. "Consider an image or concept made familiar through pop culture to make your pitch stand out," he advised.
   

This case study definitely left a lasting impression on me!

You can read Smart's press release by clicking here.

Consider the weather!

"TV viewership increases when families are cooped up in their homes during storms," reported the Huffington Post's David Bauder in a recent article. "Nowhere was this more evident than during the January 10-13 storm that dumped snow across a wide swath of the country, including areas of the south that seldom see it."

In fact, according to the article, Nielsen Co. reported "that storm had a bigger effect on television ratings than any other in recent history." So much so that TV viewership exceeded that of last year
at the time by 8 percent. Furthermore, TV networks that adjusted their programming to accommodate the change in viewership saw ratings increase by as much as 60 percent.

These facts have important implications for those of us in the PR industry:

1. This situation really drives home the point of the importance of knowing your audience. Case in point: with more school-age children home during the day, Nickelodeon "cut short its preschool programming block by two hours, replacing it with programming geared toward older children," the article reported. The network realized ratings 43 percent over last year as a result.
2. The situation also reminds us of the importance of considering external factors when writing and sending pitches. Considering something as simple as the weather and the impact of weather on viewership can give a PR pro's pitch an edge in terms of timing and content. It can also help the PR practitioner get more mileage out of a good placement.
   

MediaSync: A Free Media Relations Tool

Ever wish you could wave a magic wand and have a lengthy list of journalists, editors and bloggers at your finger tips? Many agencies have access to expensive media mapping software such as CisionPoint to develop tailored media lists in order to pitch for clients. Luckily, those working for nonprofits and organizations that can't afford to spend thousands of dollars a month on this handy software can now turn to MediaSync.

MediaSync has the name and contact information for 511,621 media contacts and 9,603,096 articles and blogs stored in a database just a click away. The mission of the free website that describes its forte as 'media relationship management' is to aggregate contact information that is already available on the web for free. The site saves public relations and marketing professionals hours of time from being wasted on tedious internet searches.

All you need to do to access this wealth of information is sign up and receive login information. The site promises not to sell your contact information to third parties. Hopefully, MediaSync can help save you and your organization both time and money. Happy pitching!

Tips for Pitching to Bloggers

This spring as a staff member for Prowl, I received the assignment to pitch to several community blogs for one of Rebecca Davis Dance Company’s productions. Before I was given this task, the only pitching I had done was over the phone or to newspapers back in high school, so I was certainly not in my element. As I sat down to write the blog pitches, thinking it would only take a few to jot down an email, I realized that I was completely oblivious of proper pitching etiquette. Thankfully, we went over some pitching techniques in a PRowl workshop and I learned some pointers. We decided the e-mails for our purposes should be conversational, short, and relationship building, where other types of pitches might be more formal. I found this article on Ragan.com that gave some helpful pointers for all of you blog pitchers out there:

Do:

1. Know who to contact: This stems back to making sure that you have an updated PR list and you have done your research! Don’t embarrass yourself or whoever you are representing by contacting the wrong person.
2. Create relationships before the pitch: the blogger will be much more likely to post for you if they trust your character and think you can be of mutual use to each other.
3. Have a unique story: people are more likely to respond to a story than a sentence! Make them remember what you have to say.
4. Personalize the pitch: Be knowledgeable about the blogger and their content.
5. Lay out the benefit for the reader: Mutual friendships are useful, make relationships and don’t use people for their blogs. You can help each other!

Don’t:

1. Be insulting: Don’t act like you know what the blogger’s audience would respond to better than they do.
2. Give them your whole life story: Keep it to the point because long e-mails are less likely to be read.
3. Send 100 Bloggers the same email: Blogging is a small community: bloggers talk to each other and if they discover you don’t care about them enough to personalize a short email, it is very unlikely that they will want to work with you.
4. Ask them to review something they haven’t tried: If you are seeking a review, make sure it’s something the blogger is knowledgeable about. They can’t review a book they haven’t read or a product they haven’t tried.
5. Send the same pitch multiple times: Follow-ups are important, but sending the same pitch over again will just get you ignored.

This all boils down to the key principle that building relationships via social media and blogs will benefit you in the long run. When you pitch, think about it from the blogger’s perspective and ask yourself: is this a request that I would be willing to answer? If your answer is no, perhaps you should think before you send.

A Journalist's Advice About Pitching

I recently came across an insightful video of New York Times technology columnist David Pogue talking about which pitches catch his attention and get turned into stories and which get deleted. Pogue recommends tailoring your pitches to each specific journalist rather than sending generic press releases and email blasts, which many journalists will not even read. Although it takes more effort to tailor your pitches to each journalist's beat and style of writing, you will be more successful at getting your story covered if you take the extra time to do so. Watch the video on MyRaganTV.com.

What I've Learned About Pitching

Over the past few years at PRowl Public Relations I've had the great opportunity of pitching many different publications with many different stories. It hasn't always been easy, it hasn't always worked, but I've learned so much. Since graduation is Thursday, I thought I'd share my tips for pitching before I'm an alum!

1. Give them something they need but don't have. When you pitch it's important to sell the journalist/blogger/etc. on why they need to know about what you're pitching, so be passionate about it! If you're not excited about it why should they be?

2. Don't give them everything at once. If you give the person you're pitching all of the information at once, what will you follow up with? Try to save an interesting piece of information for when you do follow up calls to get their attention again.

3. Be available for whatever they need. It could be something simple like sending the press release again or something more complex like an interview with the client or photos. Whatever they need, get it to them ASAP!

4. Be respectful. It's a hard time for communications practitioners everywhere. Being respectful and kind goes a long way, even if a situation is frustrating.

Do you have tips that you'd love to share? Let us know!