Over the weekend I attended a
PRSSA regional activity at
DePaul University in Chicago. The conference, "
Get in the Loop Chi," featured agency tours, workshops, speakers and much more.
One of my favorite sessions from the conference was presented by Linda
Bergstrom, lifestyle editor at
The Chicago Tribune. The workshop, "Perfect Pitch: What You Need to Know About Media Relations," was both informative and entertaining.
I've been to pitching workshops before, but this one was unlike any other.
Bergstrom started the workshop off by opening up her email inbox on the projector for all to see. A cloud of unopened email pitches from PR pros covered the screen. To amuse us, she read a few aloud.
Pitches starting with the generic, "Dear Editor" were abundant. Emails about upcoming concerts, art shows and other misguided information irrelevant to
Bergstrom were not in short supply. One email seemed never-ending as it lacked any paragraph structure, and another clearly used exaggeration to make a client appear more sophisticated.
Bergstrom even brought along a stack of snail mail and gave each audience member a piece. While a small few were actually relevant, most was spam or addressed to the wrong person. One mailing actually included
Bergstrom's title from upwards of 15 years ago.
Bergstrom, whose session mirrored lessons from the
Bad Pitch Blog, did offer some advice to the budding PR pros in the audience. While some of her tips may seem obvious, you'd be surprised at how often editors like
Bergstrom encounter them.
1. Have an attention-grabbing subject line. Your subject line should give a basic overview of what can be expected in the email without being too lengthy. If it doesn't sound interesting from the subject line, chances are the journalist is going to delete it. To save on words and allow for more detail,
Bergstrom suggests leaving "Media Alert" out of the subject line as she believes the nature of the email is already implied.
2. Always include contact information and make it easy to find. Don't make a journalist search for your phone number. Contact information should be clearly provided at either the top or the bottom of a pitch every time, not buried somewhere in the story or included somewhere else.
3. Don't simply ask, "Did you get my email?" Most journalists get more pitches in a day than they can count. If you do a follow-up call, don't just ask them if they got your email--that question will only irritate the reporter and most likely will result in a dial tone on your end. Instead, say your name, organization and a quick overview of what the email was about before asking if they are interested in more information.
4. Know the editor's timeline. For
pre-event coverage,
Bergstrom suggests sending information six weeks in advance. While this may vary depending on the size of the media outlet, timing is everything. What good is a release if it's sent after story assignments have already been given? Unless it is something truly compelling, late information will not be covered.
5. Don't be the boy who cried wolf. As simple as it sounds, don't send information that is not newsworthy. If you have to send something that you feel is lacking, find a way to make it newsworthy. If you send elaborate pitches and releases for every little thing, it is likely that journalists will not be interested when you actually do have something worth covering.
Those are just a few of the many lessons on pitching from
Bergstrom's session. Pitching is an art and is not something that comes easy. It takes practice and experience in order to do well, and even then there are no guarantees.
What pitching tips can you add?
