PR is one of the most important marketing techniques for businesses. No matter whether you are a small entrepreneur or a global brand, getting your organisation’s name into the media will help you to increase brand awareness and drive more people toward your product and services.
As an experienced public relations specialist, Eddy Andrews has helped countless companies to secure coverage in some of the leading titles in the industry. However, pitching your stories into the media can be a daunting and time consuming process, and failure to do it correctly will result in a lack of coverage.
What are some top tips when pitching to media? Eddy Andrews has put his best advice together below.
Do your research
One of the most important things to do before starting to pitch into the media is to do your research. Simply sending your release out to as many people as possible is a waste of time. For the best results, Eddy Andrews says you should take the time to find the media outlets and journalists that are suitable for your story, making sure you are targeting your news to them.
Be factual
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make when trying to pitch a story into a journalist is to turn it into a sales story. Press releases are not a sales opportunity; instead, a release should be a neutral and factual piece, and your pitch should reflect this.
Pitch through email
Journalists are bombarded with pitches from companies and PR agencies every day. This means they are having to continuously face a stream of calls and emails all day long. Eddy Andrews says when making your pitch, it is always best to first approach journalists with an email detailing your news and attaching the press release.
If interested, they will then respond with any questions or further information. However, with so many emails, it can be easy to get lost, so feel free to chase them – just make sure you are giving them a week before chasing.
Don’t send it to multiple people
Another very common mistake is sending the same pitch to multiple people within the same organisation. That is why you should make sure that you are only contacting one person at a time from each outlet. You should also only send emails from one address to avoid confusion and missed messages.
Be concise
Finally, Eddy Andrews says that while you might be tempted to provide an in-depth overview of your news, journalists do not have the time to read long pitches. That is why you should make sure that you are being as concise and to the point as possible.
Need help with your PR pitches? If you are struggling to secure the coverage you deserve and are not sure where to turn, then Eddy Andrews is here to help you. With years of experience in the world of marketing and PR, he knows what it takes to create the most compelling pitches possible, so get in touch today to find out more.