Stop Randomly Pitching to Reporters

We'll make this very simple.

Though I'm certainly fond of posting blogs about three ways to do this or six reasons never to do that, I only have one thing to say today.

That thing you do where you blindly cc every reporter on the planet, cross your fingers and hope you get a call back about your story?

Stop it. Immediately.

Related: Where Is Your Media Plan?

Just like with anything else: a failure to plan to planning to fail. When you send out a blanket release, unless you're a super powerful organization or government body that gets news simply for being who you are, reporters can tell that you have essentially spammed them. Now I actually have three quick reasons how they know:

• The story doesn't have any angles that fit their beat.
• The story doesn't involve the location the reporters serves.
• It's quite obvious by the boilerplate presser you sent.

The moral of the story? I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but it certainly bears repeating: one targeted pitch is certainly better than throwing 10 press releases at reporters and hoping one sticks. Do your research and send a pitch that may genuinely interest a reporter.

Read more: Planning Ahead is an Understatement
                     Can A Reporter Contact You?

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news.

Say It On Your Own

I'm always willing to talk about how social media and traditional media should work hand-in-hand.

The one great thing about social media is that you can broadcast whatever you want -- even if you haven't been able to get on the news.

But that doesn't mean that when you post a blog entry, it should be boring and dull. It doesn't mean that your videos shouldn't be quality or that audio shouldn't be compelling.

You still have to fulfill the elements of news that grab your audience's attention if you want people to notice it. You still want to be sure that your content:

• Informs, educates or entertains
• Is truthful and credible
• Tells a great story.

The moral of the story? Great social media can prepare you for your placement in traditional media.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Look Harder: The Story Behind the Story

Reporters like creative, unique stories. We have covered that fact time and time again.

So I would like to challenge you to think outside the box when you're considering what a reporter may be interested in about your story.

Ask yourself: Is there something about your story, beyond the fundraiser, beyond the annual workshop that could make for an even more interesting story? Something that uniquely belongs to your organization? Look at what you think your story is. And then look again.

If there is, begin to brainstorm about the best way to describe it and communicate it to a reporter to get coverage. The moral of the story? Be different. It's key to getting news coverage.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Timing is Everything

I know that I have stressed and stressed the idea of contacting a reporter as early as possible (although a reporter on deadline is a different situation entirely.

Well, when you're planning an in-depth publicity campaign, this is even more important.

What do I mean by in-depth campaign? Well, let's say you commemorate a holiday every year at about the same time with an annual event.

If this is the case, you should be gearing up to contact the reporter at least eight weeks out. Why?

• You want to make sure that you have an advance (which is a story about your event, in advance)
  
• You want to get the word out and grab more attendees.
• You want to give the reporters time to cover it and plan.

The moral of the story? The rule of them is still: the earlier, the better...and it's always better to be too early than too late.


Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc.  Her background is in print journalism and she has written hundreds of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how they can get media attention for their programs and efforts. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism. 

By the Numbers...Reporters Love Statistics

You're pitching a story about...some amazing phenomenon.

BE SURE you have some statistics, facts or figures to back up the claim.

Read, listen to or watch any news story about a trend and just about every time you will hear something about how many people affected, how much it costs, how this number or that number of whatever grew or shrunk, etc.

Reporters love numbers. We love cold, hard visuals of data that we can spout off -- or even better -- stick in colorful graphic charts.

The moral of the story? Find some cold hard (relevant) data to support your story. It will make your pitch that much better.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.