Have you ever wanted to get your story out there? Of course, you have.
We have successfully generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in free exposure for our clients, and now we’re sharing our secrets with the world. We’ve pulled together a short guide on how to pitch journalists, bloggers or other media outlets to reveal the secrets of writing great pitches that win coverage.
Creating a successful pitch doesn’t take long. There are only five things you need to include, all of which should be edited for impact and interest.
- A strong subject lineThink to yourself: would I open this email? Don’t waste this important real estate with “Please read!” or “URGENT”. Your subject line is the make or break. If it’s interesting, the email gets opened. If it’s vague, the email joins the rest of them in the deleted folder. Make sure your subject line is specific, concise and relevant to the recipient.
- Get to the point…quickly
This rule is pretty simply: the longer it takes you to get to your point, the higher the likelihood your email gets deleted. Think short sentences — there is nothing wrong with bullet points.
[Our template has sample wording — see it here]
- Build relationships
Personalize your pitch. This doesn’t just mean adding their first name to the email. Personalization means you’ve gone the extra mile to get to know the individual you’re sending the pitch to. You’ve done your research – you know their beat, where their interests lie and you’re sending valuable information their way. Most journalists and bloggers are constantly looking for new stories to cover — which also suggests they would be looking for new, valuable sources.
- Be relevant
You need to be able to demonstrate some kind of value right away — how is the information beneficial to their reader/viewer. They want to receive pitches that have contain something new or an approach to things that fall into their beat from a different angle. Remember, no one wants to receive spammy mass emails that contain nothing noteworthy whatsoever.
- Give them the ability to learn more…wait for it….links!
Never include unsolicited attachments but you can include links to stuff that’s actually useful! Be clear on where each link leads to to save them time. It also allows you to keep the email clean — shorten links or hyperlink text such as “go here.”
Oh, and it’s completely okay to do a follow up, on your first email. The reality is your first email may have gone unnoticed, triggered a spam filter and ended up in the dreaded junk folder or simply never got read because your recipient didn’t have the time to respond. Inboxes are filling up quicker and quicker these days!
One final reminder…always be respectful of your recipients’ time — your objective is to add value without being intrusive.