Photo credit: Empresario Estrella
“Pitching” to journalists and bloggers remains an essential PR skill as we explained recently in The Misguided Devaluation of Media Relations. PR pros can’t neglect media relations as they ramp up content marketing, social media and multimedia production. When done well, media relations can reach more people, create greater awareness and generate more leads than most any social media activity.
A lot of journalists are voicing their pet peeves about sloppy PR pitching techniques and sometimes sounding off vociferously or penning an extreme rant about PR pitches (especially see the end and the comments for some good advice).
So… we thought it would help PR pros — both neophytes and seasoned practitioners — to have access to a compendium of the best advice on PR pitching.
Here, then, are some the best articles on media relations and PR pitching from the Glean.info blog:
10 Ways PR Pros Can Improve Media Pitches
5 Homework Assignments for PR to Complete before Pitching
How Data Improves Pitches and Earns More Publicity
The 10 Worst Pitching Mistakes
The Importance of Bloggers to PR (and How Best to Woo Them)
How to Improve Your Blogger Outreach and Tactics to Avoid
PR Etiquette Tips: Pitching Journalists on Social Media
Must-Know Pitching Tips from Experts
Now, here are some really good articles on PR pitching from other publications. Each article contains at least one distinctive insight about media relations. Some of the listed articles may have been used as references for Glean.info’s blog posts on media relations.
10 Ways PR Pros Can Improve Media Pitches
5 Homework Assignments for PR to Complete before Pitching
How Data Improves Pitches and Earns More Publicity
The 10 Worst Pitching Mistakes
The Importance of Bloggers to PR (and How Best to Woo Them)
How to Improve Your Blogger Outreach and Tactics to Avoid
PR Etiquette Tips: Pitching Journalists on Social Media
Must-Know Pitching Tips from Experts
Now, here are some really good articles on PR pitching from other publications. Each article contains at least one distinctive insight about media relations. Some of the listed articles may have been used as references for CyberAlert’s blog posts on media relations.
Pitching to the Media Isn’t Rocket Science [Infographic]
Business 2 Community
Pitching the Old and New Ways (at the Same Time)
Muck Rack
The Etiquette of Following Up a Pitch
Ragan’s PR Daily
10 Things You Should Never Do When Pitching a Journalist
Ragan’s PR Daily
If You Want to Pitch Me an Article, PLEASE Do Not Do These Things
Business 2 Community
Pitching Content to Publications: Mistakes to Avoid and Best-Practices
Marketing Profs
17 PR Professionals Share Their Best Pitching Tips
BuzzStream
11 Media Pitching Tips for PR Pros
PR News Online
4 Ways PR Pros Can Master the Art of One-Line Pitching
Ragan’s PR Daily
Pitching a Journalist on Social Media? Read This First
Muck Rack
5 PR Tips for B2B Media Relations
PR News Online
5 Pointers for Effective Phone Pitches
Ragan.com
These listed articles contain just about every possible tip and caution for successful PR pitching. Keep the list for reference. Make it mandatory reading for all new hires in PR. Following the (admittedly somewhat duplicative) advice in these articles will help improve placement success.
Media relations and “pitching” isn’t so hard. It’s not brain surgery. Then again, maybe it is.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
