Public Relations Tips | Writing a Pitch | Public Relations Blogger

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Public Relations Tips | Writing a Pitch
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A pitch is crucial to getting publicity, recognition, and stories featured. Pitches are used to get journalists, reporters, and bloggers to pay attention to you, and often determine whether or not your story is even pursued. It is the first step to getting your stories, press releases, or other company news read and published. As such, it is important to have an attention grabbing and pertinent pitch.

A good pitch offers newsworthy ideas and stories. They can be used as an introduction or cover letter to a press release, an invitation to an event you would like them to cover, or requests for contributions, among other things. A good pitch will also make the reporter's life a little easier with important company information present.

Here are a few tips and things to remember when writing your next pitch:

Establish who will welcome your pitches. This requires calling around, doing some research online, and a lot of reading. As with most aspects of business, you need to know who your target audience is so as to have the best results. Spamming reporters is not the best way to get your pitches read; instead, do some homework and read what reporters write about so that you may have a better chance of sending them something they would want to print. Calling a publication can save you a lot of time and effort; simply ask who deals with your topic can make the pitching process easier and more pleasant for both parties.
Consider how your pitch will be delivered. Most journalists and reporters are busy, so a pitch should be sent as an email, fax, or mail. These are less demanding and allows the receiver to read it at their convenience. With a deadline on your end, this may not seem like a good idea, but know that you can often call and follow-up when a letter, email, or fax is sent to see if they had received it.
Proofread and write well. When a reporter receives a poorly written pitch, they may disregard it with the rest of the impertinent or irrelative pitches and send it to the recycling bin. Sloppy writing and careless error may tell a reporter that your news it also sloppy and not worth their time. It takes little to no time to proofread a pitch and ensure that the grammar and spelling are correct. If you, as the PR team, are not very good at this subject, consider taking a course to improve your writing skills, as these are essential to successful PR.
Monitor the tone you use. Unless you know the reporter well and are friends, know that you should probably not address them as such; most reporters do not know who you are, and you probably do not know most reporters. Avoid using their first names, and use a professional tone, but try not to be too stuffy or formal as it can be a boring pitch to read. Stay professional and be respectful and polite.
Make the important points readily accessible. Making the story easy to cover and publish will likely only help your cause. When a reporter has all of the facts, such as product information, biographies, and company history (as would be found in a media kit) they may be more likely to pursue and print your story because they have less work to do.

Some other things to consider include keeping your pitch to one page or less in length, making getting in touch with you easy, and ensuring that the pitch is to the point, clear, and concise. Also make sure that it is catchy and full of information. As mentioned earlier, reporters are often inundated with pitches and press releases, which makes it crucial to get your pitch to the right person, to catch their attention, and to intrigue them enough to cover the story. To save yourself and the reporter time, try asking yourself a few questions before you send a pitch: Is this to the point? Can I get to the point any faster? Was there information I didn't need to include?

Remember that the pitch represents you and your client; you want to reflect yourself and your client in a positive light. Your pitch should convey a high level of professionalism and competency. Lastly, end the pitch with a call to action such as "I will be in touch in a few days to see if you are interested" or "Looking forward to hearing from you", and follow up if you say you plan to! Try not to expect that your pitch was read; they may not have gotten time to read it, and if they had and hadn't gotten in touch yet, they may not be interested or may not have had time to reply. Don't be offended; they have many, many stories, press releases, and announcements to sift through. But don't forget: they rely on your pitches to write stories and news, so don't hesitate to send a pitch out.