No Response to Your Media Pitch?

Here Are Some Tips to Get Your Pitch Read

Journalists, especially those in mainstream media, receive hundreds of emails each week.  What you may not realise is your email is competing against countless others. The sheer volume of pitches can make it difficult for your email to stand out and be noticed.

Most journalists scroll through emails quickly, pausing only on the ones that immediately grab their attention, seem relevant and meet editorial guidelines. If the subject line of your pitch doesn’t pique interest or clearly capture the essence of the press release, it won’t be opened.

It doesn’t mean journalists don’t want to hear from PR’s, it’s quite the opposite. They need our content but the stories must work and they must be ideas they can pick up and run with, without too much effort.  So if you don’t hear back, ask yourself if your email topline is attention grabbing and truly reflects the story – and your pitch gets to the point of the story, issue or the announcement in a few simple lines.

So what do you do if your pitch remains unanswered and how do you change this so you’re heard?

• Change the topline and resend – The subject line of your email, functions like a TV promo. It’s designed to grab attention, spark curiosity, and compel the journalist, chief of staff or producer to want more, just like a well-crafted promo works to lure viewers to tune in for a show.
• Follow up, don’t give up – If you haven’t had a response, it’s usually because your email’s been missed, another news event has taken precedence or the email hasn’t struck a chord.  Rather than give up, follow up on the subject line asking if there’s interest.
• Re-write the pitch and re-send – If your initial pitch doesn’t garner interest, there’s nothing wrong with a revision and re-send. Most releases contain a couple of angles so spell out the options that may appeal depending on the news cycle and stories currently making headlines. Maybe your original pitch emphasised the economic impact of the story, but a cultural or technological angle may suit the current news environment better.
• Pick up the phone – We’re so used to communicating from our computers and smart phones that we forget the most direct and immediate way to sell in an idea to a journalist is to talk to them over the phone. You’d be surprised how compelling your pitch can be when delivered in your own voice.

So in a nutshell, if your first pitch doesn’t succeed, re-assess, re-angle, and re-send.