I saw my first magic show when I was a 4th grader. It was at a county fair and the magician, dressed in a multicolored clown suit, asked for volunteers… and no one raised their hands.
“Anyone? Anyone? This is a super cool trick!” Sadly, his warm enthusiasm was met with icy silence.
I felt so bad for him and vowed to never be in that position when I grew up.
Decades later, as a novice PR professional, I became the magician in a loud clown suit vying for attention. Even though I worked for a multi-billion dollar e-commerce company and we had incredible stories to tell, still, many pitches fell on deaf ears.
After many MANY failures, I realized what I did wrong. Moreover, I learned what to do to get reporters’ attention. Remember, no matter what you do, you will never hit a perfect 10 when you pitch. But by following the 6 points below, the chance of being ghosted or ignored by reporters will drastically decrease.
- Know Your Audience
Research the reporter and the outlet to make sure your topic aligns with the reporter’s beat and the nature of the outlet. Find out what the reporter has written on the topic so you can tailor-craft your pitches. A good rule of thumb is reading the last 5-10 articles by the reporter you are pitching to.
2. Newsworthiness
No matter how cool you think the story is, unless it has news relevance to the reporter, it will not get picked up. In your pitch, highlight why the pitch is compelling and game-changing to the industry. What is the “est” factor in your pitch? Is your product the fastest? Biggest? Rated the highest? When making any claims, you must provide accurate and newsy facts, data, stats, and quotes to back up your claims.
3. Data-fy the Pitch
Write a catchy opening and give the WHY right away. Adhere to the K.I.S.S. rule – “Keep It Short & Simple”—when writing the pitch. Use clear and concise language. When giving stats and comparisons, always give the comparison base so the reporter can immediately get the solid idea of your product or company. For example, instead of saying “revenue grew by 30%”, you should say “year-on-year revenue grew 30% to $30 million, outpacing the industry’s annual growth of 20%.”
4. Call to Action
Clearly state what you would like the reporter to do with the information. For example, you would like to schedule an off-the-record call, arrange an exclusive interview with an executive, place the reporter under an embargo or invite the reporter to an event. Give the relevant information so reporters know exactly how to pitch to their editors.
5. Follow Up
Reporters are NEVER obligated to respond to your pitch. They only have to answer to their editors and their readers. With that in mind, you must remain respectful of their time and attention. It is fine to follow up after a few days of not hearing from them but never pester. Always offer to provide additional info or answer questions.
6. Be kind and respectful
Kindness never fails. No matter the reply from the reporters, you should always remain kind, calm and courteous. Practice what I like to call “the courteous assumption.” Don’t assume the reporter is being a diva or purposefully difficult to work with. Assume he or she is busy with another project and be respectful of their time. Remember, people may not remember what you said or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Pitching can be stressful, but it can also be the perfect opportunity to show off your personality, share notable highlights of your products and cultivate relationships with reporters that would be mutually beneficial for many years to come.
This guest blog post was provided by Jenny W. Hsu. Jenny is the co-founder of Rhino Communications, the premier media consultancy that specializes in helping tech startups expand their media outreach globally. Based in Taipei and Los Angeles, Jenny is a veteran journalist who worked at multiple newspaper outlets, including being a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Upon leaving journalism, Jenny worked as a public relations manager at Alibaba Group in Hangzhou as part of the international affairs team. She can be reached at [email protected].
