Today we are lucky to have several sources for free media leads:
As more and more people become aware of these sources of free leads, there is more competition when pitching your story.
Here are some tips to help you stand out from the pack:
1. Always follow the media contact’s specific requests. So, if you are told to put “Jane Doe Story” in the Subject Line, do that. Why? Because the reporter might have a filter that sends all of those queries to a specific e-mail folder. Otherwise, those replies might get lost.
2. Don’t pitch unless you are truly a good candidate for the story. If you make fat-free dog biscuits, and that’s what the reporter is looking for, then by all means reply. But if you make great-tasting ones and want to prove that yours are just as great as the fat-free ones, don’t bother. You’ll just annoy the reporter, making it unlikely that that person will consider you for a future piece that would be a perfect fit for you.
3. Include all of your contact information in your e-mail pitch. That includes your full name, business name, title, day, night and weekend telephone numbers, location (for time zone purposes and in case the reporter is looking for a specific geography) and e-mail address. Including your Web site is also good – it shows credibility and can provide additional info that the reporter might use.
4. Do not send attachments, unless they are specifically asked for. E-mail filters sometimes delete e-mails with attachments automatically. If a picture if requested, send a link to a .jpg on your Web site.
5. Put the title of the query in the Subject Line, along with your company name, if no specific title is given by the reporter. Something like “Source and Information for Credit Crunch – John Doe” should work. This allows the reporter to find your information through a search if s/he doesn’t remember where to find it.
6. Give ‘em some information. If a reporter is looking for ways employers are helping employees with high gas prices, don’t just say that you have the answers, and can be contacted any time. Give a couple of bullet points with your ideas. Enough to whet a reporter’s appetite, without writing the entire piece.
7. Always respond immediately to a reporter query, even if the deadline is far away. Why? Because the reporter has also asked other people for sources, and if they get responses from other sources quickly, they may stop considering other sources.
8. If you are submitting a product for consideration, include a link to a photo, the price, listing of colors available and a description of the product.
Hope this helps. Good pitching!
Margie Zable Fisher is the president of Zable Fisher Public Relations, and the publisher of WBO Digest. You can get Margie’s award-winning free P.R. tips at www.zfpr.com, and free tips for Women Business Owners at www.wbodigest.com.
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Margie,
As always, these are great tips you gave! I especially love #6–I always try to give reporters a few bulleted points while making sure that I’m very BRIEF. As someone who is often on the receiving end of pitches, I so appreciate brevity.
Another great tip is to make sure you address the person by name and not “Dear Blogger” or “Hi Reporter”. Ugh. It’s happened to me many times. I actually had someone address me by my site’s title tag and their salutation read like this:
“Dear Coaching & Resources for Mom Entrepreneurs”.
Delete.
Thanks again for the great tips!
Heather
.-= Heather Allard´s last blog ..5 Ways To Start A Business For Under $1000 =-.
Great article. I just submitted a HARO request and you wouldn’t believe the range of responses I got. Some followed all your guidelines but the worst was a one line response: “I’m interested. Email me.”
.-= Katherine´s last blog ..Travel, via Music Festivals… =-.