All about PR: PR Pitching Do's and Don'ts

THE DO'S

Stay Transparent: If you pitch a story idea to more than one reporter at the same publication, TELL THEM. No reporter likes getting hooked on an idea and finding out that they aren’t the only one. If you say “I wasn’t sure who would be best for this pitch, so I sent it to X, Y and Z,” you are building trust which is key to a lasting reporter relationship.

Be Flexible: A fortune cookie once said, “Those that remain flexible will not be bent out of shape.” With that said, if a reporter is interested in a pitch, be flexible with when they get around to the idea. If a topic is not time sensitive, reporters might save the idea for later on in the year. I’ve received call backs months down the road from my initial contact.

Patience Is a Virtue: As stated above, reporters are inundated with PR people. A New York 1 had already received 600 emails by 9AM. There will be a lag time between your email and a response. Be patient!

Stand Out: When dealing with over 600 faceless personalities, it helps when someone stands out from the bunch. If you have worked with a reporter before, mention it! If you both share a similar last name, joke about it. Anything that can help you stand out from the bunch is a definite plus. If you sound like a robot on the phone, your message does not convey any personality and in turn, will not provoke much of a response.

Be Nice: All the reporters mentioned horror stories about PR ‘professionals’ screaming and swearing at them for not returning phone calls or replying to emails immediately. Respect that they are busy too – it’s hard to do their job when they receive over 500 emails a day from PR people.

THE DON'TS

Don’t Leave Long Messages: Imagine you check your voicemail midway through the day and you have 23 messages. As one reporter said, “we don’t care what firm you’re from, we want to know why you’re calling and how we can get in touch with you.” The more concise and clear you message is, the better a chance you have on getting a call back.

Stalkers Not Appreciated: Also dealing with the phone, calling 20 times in a row will not help your cause. Reporters all have caller ID and you DO NOT want to be the person who gets caught calling again and again without leaving a message.

Missing the Boat: If your client totally fit the story that just ran but wasn’t mentioned, don’t contact the writer the next day -- you already missed the boat. Save the reporter’s name and contact them in a few months with a new trend in the industry or new information they might be interested in.

Know When to Be Quiet: If you’re facilitating an interview, let the reporter talk! Adding in a media training tip to an ailing client might be appreciated by the reporter, but taking over the interview is not appreciated nor will it help get your story placed.

Don’t Try to Be Houdini: Our job is not to pull rabbits out of a hat. If a reporter is looking for a tri-lingual business owner and your client speaks no more than English and Pig Latin, do not try and sell the reporter on an interview. If you can’t deliver the goods, don’t pitch it. Eventually truths come out, and you do not want to look like you were more interested in the placement than the reporter’s wishes.

Want to Waste Paper? Send a fax. No one checks it anymore except for a few television newsrooms. Reporters stress that email is the best mode of communication.

Recycling Within the Publication: If an editor was not interested in your idea, be very wary about approaching another editor at the same publication.

Acknowledge the Current Topics: No reporter wants to hear about your shiny new widget on the fifth anniversary of September 11th. There is clearly a bigger story that is being covered. Pay attention to what media trends are and find the correct time to pitch your story or product.

By: Laura Kowalcyk, CJP. See original post @ http://cjpcom.blogspot.com/2006/08/pr-pitching-dos-and-donts.html