Though you know a media relations misstep when you see it, good PR pitches are harder to define.
To get to the bottom of this, my team at Communications@Syracuse surveyed top PR agency pros for advice from those who work in the trenches.
Twenty-five public relations practitioners weighed in, each answering the question, “What is the most crucial element of a PR pitch?” Their answers contain several common themes, including the importance of personalization, relevance and timeliness.
1. Personalize it.
Jessica Klenk, a PR pro at Merritt Group, emphasizes the importance of personalization:
The secret weapon is the person sending it—their voice and their personality. The first thing reporters delete is a canned, generic pitch, so take the time to be authentic. Personalize your note and make sure it sounds like it came from an actual human.
Klenk’s co-worker, Julia McGavran, agreed. “It’s easy to become robotic and just copy and paste e-mails,” McGavran says, “but actually speaking to them like a human can really help break down the barriers.”
2. Ensure it’s relevant.
Personalization may get you started, but if your pitch is not relevant to the reporter in question, it’ll soon find its way to the trash.
RELATED: Think like a journalist to get your story covered at our PR Writing Conference.
David Cumpston of Landis Communications says:
To me, the most crucial element is to explain up front why you’re pitching the reporter that you’re pitching (meaning, why do you think they or their readers will care), and why do you think this is a story now. To put it simply, one should always ask: “Why this reporter, and why now?”
Merritt Group’s Katie Hocker echoes the sentiment. She says “the most crucial element of a PR pitch is the ‘why now?’”
Hocker says to ask yourself why your pitch (and your news story) is relevant to the media landscape—and current trends.
3. Make sure it’s timely.
Many PR pros say to ask, “Why now?” and stress that timeliness must be considered before sending any pitch.
Denise DiMeglio of Gregory FCA explains the reason timeliness is important:
“Because your client wants to talk about this story, sell more product, generate leads, etc. now” is not a sufficient answer. The story or topic you’re pitching must somehow tie into broader news or trends affecting the industry today. On the other side of that, be aware of current events or news that could conflict with the reporter’s ability to tell your story at the desired time, and plan accordingly.
For more media relations insights from PR pros, check out “The Perfect Pitch.” How do you make sure
Jenna Dutcher is the community relations manager of Communications@Syracuse and current Communications@Syracuse student specializing in journalism innovation.
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