We all know what to do, and what not to do, when pitching media. Yet, it’s easy to cut corners under time pressure. Here’s a quick list of the “Seven Deadly Pitching Sins” for PR professionals. Feel free to add your own.
1. Being boring – A boring or irrelevant pitch will be deleted faster than a pop star’s divorce. If it doesn’t resonate, don’t bother.
2. Spamming - The “spray and pray” strategy is not only ineffective, it can get you blacklisted.
3. Being unprepared - You only have one shot, so make sure your pitch is bulletproof and think through all logical questions.
4. Being too commercial – Tell a story, don’t pitch a product.
5. Sloppiness – Typos, ungrammatical sentences, obvious ‘form’ emails all send a bad message and undermine your pitch.
6. Giving up too easily – Resourcefulness is key in publicity placement. If a pitch isn’t working, don’t give up; change it and try again.
7. Blind pitching – Make sure you’re up-to-date on media beats, recent stories, and, if possible, reporter preferences. Never pitch blind.
Be respectful of who you pitch and follow the reporter’s protocol. Some reporters will only respond to emails; others will pick up the phone. If you do get a chance to speak with a reporter, politely ask if you can follow-up and when is a reasonable time to call again.