Media pitching is an art, requiring excellence in clarity, research, relationships, timing, and coordination. Our skilled communications professionals have the experience and connections needed to earn you valuable media coverage with the following considerations in mind.
Planning is paramount
What does your organization want to say and who needs to hear it? Laying the groundwork by outlining your goals and defining your target audience(s) is key. For Elmore’s clients, this occurs during a strategic planning session. Also, at this time, we identify organizational milestones and the potential story angles to captivate our clients’ audiences.
Learn your audience
Where does your audience seek information? An arts patron may look to the Houston Chronicle or Arts and Culture Texas for what’s going on with their favorite local arts organizations, while healthcare audiences may read Modern Healthcare or other industry trade publications. Research where your audiences are getting their news. “Media” is a general term with breadth; at Elmore, we focus our efforts on targeted publications to maximize impact where your audiences are found.
Find your angle
Most stories are multi-faceted and have multiple components that may be of interest. By understanding the interests of the journalist you want to engage, you can shape the story angle to what is relevant to them and will entice them to cover your story.
In some circumstances, you may elect to offer an exclusive to one reporter or an embargoed story to one or more reporters in advance of an official announcement. Elmore has the expertise to help you determine whether this is the right strategy for your news and execute accordingly.
Crafting the pitch
The pitch, or initial outreach to a reporter to cover your news, is arguably the most critical element of media outreach. It is an art form itself. It must capture the reporter’s attention quickly and show relevance and timeliness. The pitch includes the news to be shared and describes the specific story angle of most interest. It always extends an invitation for further dialogue, and usually offers an interview opportunity with a representative from your organization.
Be prepared
With a pitch or as follow-up to a pitch, you may also need to provide supporting materials like a press release, data points, additional images, and/or who will be the voice of the story for an interview. If the person speaking on behalf of your organization needs to be trained, do this in advance of reaching out to any reporter. Elmore facilitates media training and can be a resource for you.
Follow up
Reporters may or may not reply to a pitch right away. They receive hundreds of story ideas a week, and often have to get buy in from their editor or producer. Follow up strategically and professionally and limit the number of times you reach out. When following up, be thoughtful in your approach and thank them for considering your story.
Be flexible
If a reporter shows interest in the pitch, the goal is to collaborate on a story that satisfies all parties. Sometimes a reporter has a different angle in mind, or, perhaps, rather than devote an entire article to one entity, they want to include multiple examples in one story to show a trend. It’s also possible they choose to use the spokesperson as a subject matter expert on a different story. Flexibility affords you exposure, even if the story looks different than originally imagined.
And while not every pitch will result in a published story, there is great benefit to the pitching process. The pitched reporter now has an awareness of your organization and may be more likely to follow future news or even cover a story in the future.
At Elmore, we pitch media with thoughtfulness and respect. We consider members of the media our partners in sharing stories that are meaningful to the right audiences. We have spent decades building relationships with various media contacts to allow us to share our clients’ stories. Let us know what stories we can help you tell!
