Media Relations 101
Posted by Kerri Birtch on December 12th, 2008
Even though I’ve only been with TFC for a mere 3 months now, I have to say, there’s been quite the learning curve. The biggest thing for me has been learning about media relations. Given my background in Journalism, I think I had ‘some’ idea how it all worked, but considering the last month especially has been all about holiday pitching, I think I have a lot better understanding now. Here’s a little bit about what I’ve learned:
Do some research – If you have the time and your budget permits, do a quick scan for similar articles or writers who have covered the topic before. It helps to be able to pitch a writer and say “I noticed you’ve written items on this topic before and I thought this might be of interest to you…”
Media Lists – Before the pitch is even written, it is extremely important to have a good media list. And by this I mean, making sure that you have the right people on your list, their contact information is up to date and it includes everyone you think you message will appeal to.
Know your audience – When you’re making up the list, one of the key points to think about is: Will my pitch suit their audience? For instance, an assignment editor at CBC might not be all that interested in the newest beauty product your client is launching. It might be better to focus your efforts on outlets where you’re more likely to receive coverage.
Writing the pitch – From what I’ve seen so far, the most effective pitches are short and sweet with a descriptive subject line. Given the number of emails journalists receive everyday, something needs to stand out and make them open it first. Then your wonderful words will hopefully persuade them you have something they want to cover. Oh, and bullet points are good to – gives them a glimpse of what you have to offer, quick and easy.
Following Up – This is probably the most nerve-whacking part of the job. Picking up the phone and calling up the journalist only to hear them say “Sorry not interested.” But, then you get the “Oh ya, I saw that, I was meaning to get back to you…” and jackpot, your client’s in Saturday’s paper. Key pointers for following up: Be confident, be cheery, know your pitch and don’t feel get down if they say ‘no’ – it’s nothing personal.
Relationships – Last but definitely not least, remember that all contact you make with the media is about relationships. Building a rapport with media takes time and patience, but eventually you’ll be able to write or call someone and say “Hey, I know you wrote about this before so I thought you might also be interested in this…” If you offer good story ideas and follow through with them, you’re off to a good start.
So, that’s what I’ve learned so far – Does anyone else have thoughts I might have missed? I’m sure there are LOTS more out there.
Posted to Agency Life, Media, Media Business
December 15th, 2008 » 12:53 pm
Kerri, I always look forward to your blog! Thanks for the tips, I’m sure they will be very useful to me! Have you had any negative or scarring experiences pitching to the media?
How long have you been working for TFC?
December 16th, 2008 » 11:58 am
Hi Melissa,
Glad you’re enjoying PR Girlz, once the New Year rolls around hopefully I can coerce a few of the other ladies around here to add in more prespective.
I’ve been with TFC for 3 months now, and as of yet, thankfully I haven’t had any particularly negative experiences with media relations. It’s really nothing to be scared of, but at the same time, sometimes it’s hard not to take it personally when you just can’t seem to get someone to bite on your story – but you just keep trying anyway!
February 9th, 2009 » 10:52 am
It’s interesting that I stumbled across this in February! This is a hot topic discussion in class most recently! I’m in my second semester at Humber College doing the post-grad certificate program and one of my teachers continues to re-iterate “know your audience”. How do you brainstorm to get a very thorough view of who your audience is? We’ve looked at case studies ans often times, some of us by-pass some crucial audience member members!!!!!
Thanks!
February 12th, 2009 » 12:31 am
Hi Kerri,
thank you for the insight on media relations. Media relations is a topic i have recently become interested in as well, as we are discussing the topic in the Humber post-graduate PR program. From the perspective of a fairly new PR practitioner, what have you found to be your most useful resource in developing a media list? I have heard that some people have found that media net central is not the most reliable tool- what has been your experience? I was also wondering, how do you decide when to pitch a story exclusively to one particular media outlet?
Thanks
February 12th, 2009 » 10:53 am
Hi Jessica,
Good questions. In answer to your question about media list resources, I’ll say that you work with what you have. If there are holes or you find that you get bounce backs, then it just takes a bit more effort to look it up on the internet or call the outlet – a bit of a hassle sometimes, but definitely worth it in the end.
As for pitching stories exclusively to one media outlet – we don’t tend to do that often and in fact, have not done that at all since I’ve started here. We’ve toyed with it on occasion, but in the end I think it comes down to breadth of coverage. If you can get multiple outlets across the country to pick up a story, it helps spread the message more than it would from one single outlet. And there’s no guarantees that a single outlet will always run your story or the way you want them to run it – best not to put all your eggs in one basket I think. But it really depends on the story and the client.
Hope that helps!
-Kerri