Congratulations! Your business or organization has something exciting in the works. Promotions, deals, and events are all sure-fire ways to increase exposure and build powerful branding buzz.
The next question? How, exactly, do you let people know about what’s upcoming? One tried and true method is the PR pitch: contacting local news and media outlets to get your message heard. As an open door to wide readerships and broad audiences, PR pitches can be truly effective. While crafting one might seem a little intimidating, the experts at Communication Insights have a few ideas for better pitches. Check out the guide!
Bold….
First and foremost, you need to make an impression. In many cases, local news outlets and media groups may receive multiple pitches each day. In a sea of community events, promotions, and other “noteworthy” happenings, how can you stand out?
Open, friendly, and conversational pitches go much further in getting your message heard than you might expect. Making bold statements, providing powerful stats, or even sharing photos can also be great ways to separate yourself from nearly everyone else. The ultimate key? Be unique.
Be Mindful Of Competition
Even with the best PR pitches, you’ll probably still be competing with at least a few other “unique and exciting” entities in your target’s inbox. Coupled with busy schedules, time crunches, and long to-do lists, this means your message might not be seen for long.
Considering this, it can be useful to write your pitch in a highly concise and clear manner. Use lots of action verbs to explain, not describe. It can also be helpful to try and distill your ultimate point into a sentence or two and offering it in bold type.
With this strategy, you can make your PR pitch easier to read – ultimately making it easier to promote.
Answer The Right Questions
With time and other constraints in mind, writing a good PR pitch should involve you stepping into the shoes of the reader or recipient. What do they really want to know about pitch?
For most media outlets, knowing how your product or service will benefit the community is important, above nearly all else. For event-centric pitches, dates, times, and locations are of course critical. By providing answers to these common concerns at the forefront of your pitch, you can eliminate confusion and, more importantly, build excitement!
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Crafting an effective PR pitch means one thing: you must write it.
When aiming for an overall media blitz, it can be tempting to simply copy and paste the content of your message and just tailor the greeting to whatever organization you are sending it to. This is a mistake.
For one, these template-style pitches are easy to spot, with expected sentence structures and turns of phrase that sound coached, boring, and worst of all, disingenuous. Even further, by failing to develop a unique spin on your announcement, you letting potential readers know that you haven’t given their respective outlet the attention it deserves.
As discussed in this Entrepreneur.com article, engaging and unique content can help even the most low-level PR pitch stand out.
Consult The Pros
If your business or organization is gearing up to make a big first impression, you might benefit from the advice of someone who knows a thing or two about communication.
Communication Insights founder Kathryn Lancioni holds a wealth of experience in all things corporate communication, business presentation, and media marketing. With her advanced tools and techniques, your PR pitch is sure to get the attention it deserves.
To get started, contact Communication Insights today!