5 easy rules to remember when pitching to media

Most professionals outside of the PR world expect pitching to media to be a breeze. Why wouldn’t the Editor-in-Chief at Nature be interested in how your recombinant DNA technology could improve life in the future, beyond existing technologies? Or why the FT wouldn’t want to include you in its centre pages as the next company to watch since your latest partnership deal was your biggest to date, and your executive board has added several new industry leaders?

The fact is, the editors and journalists of every media outlet have a job to do, and that job is to cut through a huge volume of noise and cherry pick the stories that they feel will be of most interest to their readers.

Before you pitch to the press, consider the following:

Rule #1. What have you got to say and why does it matter?

Rule #2. Define who needs to know about the story you’re aiming to communicate

Rule #3. Crystallise your story in plain English, without industry jargon!

Rule #4. Select the publication/media platform you feel has the strongest presence amongst the audience you’re targeting and consider your content in context with the material previously published in the publication

Rule #5. Be clear, provide rationale as to why you’re contacting a particular publication or editor and be succinct in your story delivery and the value it offers the readers you aim to reach

Rule #6. Have one killer stat/number prepared to close the conversation. Provide a clear reason as to why your story matters and leave a memorable fact in the journalists note pad that will prompt them to want to know more!