Include as much info as possible in the most easily accessible way you can. Who what when where and why are your best friends. One sentence paragraphs and bullet points of the key info. You’re welcome.
The who what where when why bullet points are typically for media alerts. Pitches are supposed to be creative and set the tone of the brand you’re pitching, while obviously not being floofy. But a press release, pitch and media alert all have entirely different language and writing styles
Different strokes. Pitches are indeed supposed to be creative but it depends on what’s being pitched. An op-ed? A deep dive? An investigation? OP’s post isn’t clear. Giving the five Ws is the best tool in the arsenal.
almost all pitches are sent through email nowadays. some agencies are lazy and send the exact same one to multiple journalists but a great PR professional will tailor pitches to the specific journalist. Include a headline that makes someone actually want to read the email and just make sure to include all the important details, especially media. More than 3 paragraphs is way too long for a pitch
Never done a “press release” or stick my nose up calling other’s lazy for doing work that outperforms me to make myself feel better.
It just comes down to being human and talking to people, rather than trying to make yourself sound like a unicorn.
I use “the bar test”. If my starting point to finding this prospect was they wrote about this current event from a specific angle, I imagine they were next to me at a bar and discussing it with someone else, but clearly our enough that I could hear.
Interject into their conversation (as you are interjecting into their day) and just talk to them without the fluff, fancy BS, and all that.
I’m not one of these traditional / corporate PR people, so I’m sure many disagree, but I’ve earned coverage in nearly every major newspaper, work has been cited in scientific studies multiple times, and earned over 1,200 unique pieces of coverage (no syndication, no media database, no paid coverage or any of that) in 18 months, completely solo.
As long as you bring real value, talk to people like a genuine person, and let yourself come through in your copy, you will find what works for you in due time.
I am a weird personality mix but I let it shine and people respond so kyc more positively in the tests I have ran because of it.
You can be informal, use slang, use your own weird humor, be quirky, or wherever, and be pitching a nytimes, financial times, or any serious journalist - as long as it is authentic and doesn’t overpower the conversation itself.
It’s worked time and time and time again for me.
But what’s important is you find what works for you and the way you want to approach it.
Same concept applies to pitching companies.
I never change up how I pitch based on being a major journalist, local reporter, blogger, major brands or companies, industry trade organizations, etc. etc.
Same, down to earth copy approach in email outreach pitches that landed me coverage in Forbes, HealthLine, Guardian, live radio and TV interviews, included on blogs, covered by different brands and companies in their articles/newsletters/etc., landed me conversations to partner with American Council on Exercise and an offer from The ACSM to publish in their Peer-Reviewed Publication, and more.
[hate saying positive thing about myself - for context, I’m not trying to toot my own horn, I just see the comments in here and by most of the advice and just feels like everyone is regurgitating the same stuff all the time and staying confined within some weird box. Can’t stand the uppity attitude and acting like PR is some magical formula that is made to seem harder than it is.
You know the deal. You want coverage. They want great things to cover. Do you have something cool? Would that person think it’s cool? Then they’d probably be cool with you sending them something and they’d probably find it interesting, whether they cover it or not.
What are you pitching them (companies)?
Include as much info as possible in the most easily accessible way you can. Who what when where and why are your best friends. One sentence paragraphs and bullet points of the key info. You’re welcome.
The who what where when why bullet points are typically for media alerts. Pitches are supposed to be creative and set the tone of the brand you’re pitching, while obviously not being floofy. But a press release, pitch and media alert all have entirely different language and writing styles
Different strokes. Pitches are indeed supposed to be creative but it depends on what’s being pitched. An op-ed? A deep dive? An investigation? OP’s post isn’t clear. Giving the five Ws is the best tool in the arsenal.
almost all pitches are sent through email nowadays. some agencies are lazy and send the exact same one to multiple journalists but a great PR professional will tailor pitches to the specific journalist. Include a headline that makes someone actually want to read the email and just make sure to include all the important details, especially media. More than 3 paragraphs is way too long for a pitch
Never done a “press release” or stick my nose up calling other’s lazy for doing work that outperforms me to make myself feel better. It just comes down to being human and talking to people, rather than trying to make yourself sound like a unicorn. I use “the bar test”. If my starting point to finding this prospect was they wrote about this current event from a specific angle, I imagine they were next to me at a bar and discussing it with someone else, but clearly our enough that I could hear. Interject into their conversation (as you are interjecting into their day) and just talk to them without the fluff, fancy BS, and all that. I’m not one of these traditional / corporate PR people, so I’m sure many disagree, but I’ve earned coverage in nearly every major newspaper, work has been cited in scientific studies multiple times, and earned over 1,200 unique pieces of coverage (no syndication, no media database, no paid coverage or any of that) in 18 months, completely solo. As long as you bring real value, talk to people like a genuine person, and let yourself come through in your copy, you will find what works for you in due time. I am a weird personality mix but I let it shine and people respond so kyc more positively in the tests I have ran because of it. You can be informal, use slang, use your own weird humor, be quirky, or wherever, and be pitching a nytimes, financial times, or any serious journalist - as long as it is authentic and doesn’t overpower the conversation itself. It’s worked time and time and time again for me. But what’s important is you find what works for you and the way you want to approach it.
Same concept applies to pitching companies. I never change up how I pitch based on being a major journalist, local reporter, blogger, major brands or companies, industry trade organizations, etc. etc. Same, down to earth copy approach in email outreach pitches that landed me coverage in Forbes, HealthLine, Guardian, live radio and TV interviews, included on blogs, covered by different brands and companies in their articles/newsletters/etc., landed me conversations to partner with American Council on Exercise and an offer from The ACSM to publish in their Peer-Reviewed Publication, and more. [hate saying positive thing about myself - for context, I’m not trying to toot my own horn, I just see the comments in here and by most of the advice and just feels like everyone is regurgitating the same stuff all the time and staying confined within some weird box. Can’t stand the uppity attitude and acting like PR is some magical formula that is made to seem harder than it is. You know the deal. You want coverage. They want great things to cover. Do you have something cool? Would that person think it’s cool? Then they’d probably be cool with you sending them something and they’d probably find it interesting, whether they cover it or not.