In addition to sending press releases, the media’s attention is also grabbed by a strong, concise, convincing pitch in their inbox on or their voicemail. The pitch is a two-three-sentence idea for a story that you are feeding to one editor at a time.
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The successful story pitch is an idea that appeals to the readership/listeners/viewers of the media outlet you’re targeting. Consider their audience carefully, and think outside the box.
If you are a sculptor who works with metals, pitch a story to metal trade publications. If the story runs, you have a great reprint for your website, and you might spark interest in a corporate commission.
Don’t just pitch to editors. Writers are in constant need of good ideas to pitch at meetings – let them pitch it for you.
Track writers and send them emails.
Develop relationships with them.
Flatter them.
Whatever it takes to get on their radar.
Winding up for the pitch:
Brainstorm what makes you or your event special and, most importantly,?relevant to the readers/viewers/listeners of the publication/station/channel you’re pitching to.
Make a list of publications/websites/blogs and their audience, or create a spreadsheet. Update this spreadsheet regularly
As you begin to draft your pitch, focus on simplicity. Imagine you’re speaking to the person you’re pitching face-to-face at a cocktail party.
Follow up twice, allowing a reasonable amount of time for the response.
In each follow-up, look for something new to add. Sometimes, it’s necessary to do the dreaded follow-up phone call. Act as if you’re pitching them for first time, because chances are the journalist never saw the email anyway. Don’t say or write “Follow Up” if you can avoid it, especially if the journalist or editor never replied the first time. Start from scratch.
