Only Personalized Pitching
After producing national TV for twenty years and receiving hundreds of pitches a day, I know how ineffective generic press releases are. As a producer, I delete them and quickly start ignoring the publicists who send them. So, as a publicist, I don’t blast every member of the media with the same message. I write a personalized email to EACH REPORTER with a pitch just for them. Does this take more time? Yes. Do I pitch to fewer people in a day? Yes. Are my hit rates through the roof when I use this tactic? Absolutely. Plus, I develop relationships on behalf of your organization — which is the most invaluable tool for growing your media RELATIONS department.
Make it a Win for the Media
Whenever I approach a reporter with a story idea, I’ve always stopped to consider how the pitch isn’t only a win for the organization I’m representing, but how it’s a win for the media outlet as well. How will this story attract more viewers to their platform? Or improve their audience’s lives? And what can I do to make the producer’s job easier? If I make it a big enough win for them, they won’t pass.
Find Your Passion
When I coach my talent on how to give an interview, I stress how important it is NOT to just regurgitate the same talking points that everyone else on the team is providing. Each individual in an organization must find their own personal connection to the pitch. You must prepare for interviews—practice is key—but you must also take time to connect to your passion for the project, so that you can handle the unexpected questions. Plus, your passion will help draw the audience into your story and your mission.
This is just a smattering of my thoughts on how to build relationships with the media. I think about this stuff a lot and would love to continue the conversation with you about how our philosophies might mesh.
