The New Rules of Media Pitching

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The New Rules ofMedia Pitching

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Results

AP and Reuters, 800 online,50 broadcast, 43 print


You might be thinking . . .

• “Well, it helps if you’ve got JLaw . . .”

•But they didn’t “have” her either!•They created this angle entirely with their own

in-house resources

Creativity > Budget


The question on everyone’s mind

Who is this talking, and what does he look like?


My singular goal today:

Distract you from whatever you’re multitasking


You already know:

•Some media are hemorrhaging readers/viewers . . .

• . . . while others are soaring•Journalists/bloggers/influencers are busier

and more distracted than ever•Old outreach doesn’t work


What you get today

• The NEW prime factor editors use when considering pitches and how to make it work for you

• 1 simple formula to rev up lame material• Contrarian HARO hack to add depth to shallow ideas

• Plugging the holes in your media list

• Using social media to warm up cold emails

• 2 nuances of customizing your outreach

• LOTS of successful pitches

Copyright 2014 MichaelSMARTPR LLC


A prize for listening closely

• I will drop three random song lyrics

•Tweet each song and artist name to @michaelsmartpr as it happens

•Fastest person to get all three wins $25 Amazon gift card


What you get today

• The NEW prime factor editors use when considering pitches and how to make it work for you


A shift on having everything first?

• “That’s already been out there.”• “We already covered that.”

•This philosophy is turning on its head


And then three years later . . .

•Re-posted with permission on Slate•Became their-most viewed story of the year!•And then the next summer . . .


Which of these metrics do you think is most important in determining content's success?

Cision’s 2016 State of the Media report

Jon McBride

• Cold-pitching New York Times blogger

Pitch to NYT

Subject: Study: What Makes Siblings Different?

Hi KJ,

Wanted to let you know about a new study on sibling differences from researchers at BYU and Penn State. The study finds that when parents compare their children, it can have negative effects in the classroom. Parental belief (not just actual parenting) has a big influence on who their children become.

Thought this might be of interest to you for The Motherlode Blog.

Let me know if you’d be interested in seeing the study itself, our release, or if I can get anything else for you, including an interview with the professor.

Also, you might be interested to know that our story on this went crazy on Reddit last night, bringing more than 42,000 page views to our story (93% upvoted the story, 700+ comments). This is something people seem to really want to talk about.

Jon


What’s the takeaway?

•Pitch content that is already performing well online

WORKS BEST WITH:

• Digital natives like Buzzfeed, Mashable, etc.

• OR younger influencers

• OR influencers active on Twitter who value measurable results

•Bonus takeaway: Show how your idea WILL perform well online

Brittney Maxfield

• PR manager for HR consulting company

• Has a CEO she wants to promote as thought leader

• Proposes a recurring column to Forbes.com

Pitch to Forbes

. . . Joseph contributes to his own weekly e-newsletter and blog, which reach more than 190,000 subscribers. In the past, we directed this traffic to Joseph’s online columns, generating great conversation and often catapulting his columns to the most-read articles of the day. We know our audience of executives and managers will benefit from the thought leadership available at Forbes and we’d love to send our readers to your site in a similar fashion.


What we’re learning today

•Tout online performance•1 simple formula to rev up lame material


Does this happen to you?

•CEO’s or client’s “major announcement” • “We just hit our numbers for the third quarter!”

the PR person



Creativity formula

MOSTPOPULAR

FLAVOR

8-year-old book

Tip sheet: “When Bad Relatives Happen to Good People”

Fox & Friends

Jon Sullivan, Aflac

Annual donation to pediatric cancer research

Pre-existing NASCAR sponsorship

“Color Carl’s Car”


Combinations CAN go too far

#PuppyMonkeyBaby



•Tout online performance•1 simple formula to rev up lame material•Contrarian HARO hack to add depth to

shallow ideas

Erin Morrisey

• At LA agency Konnect PR

• Repping a pool cleaning company

• Challenge: WSJ

Hi [WSJ writer],

[customized intro]

With that said, I wanted to see if you might be interested in the topic of acquisitions. Many businesses are using this strategy to expand their respective companies. For example, the CEO of VivoPools . . .

[details about his approach]

Overall, I thought it might be interesting to do a piece on this strategy, detailing the pros and cons businesses face in growing this way.

Please let me know if this is of any interest as I would love to provide you with additional examples.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best,

Erin


Here comes HARO

• Usually used by journalists to gather examples

• Erin issued a query herself to solicit input from similar non-competitors

• Pulled together 11 different companies as examples for reporter

• Resulting article includes two of her clients



•Tout online performance•1 simple formula to rev up lame material•Contrarian HARO hack •Plugging the holes in your media list


Ranked by unique visitors

HuffingtonPostUSA TodayBuzzfeedNY Times

Washington PostBusiness Insider

TimeMashable

comScore, 2015


Ranked by unique visitors

HuffingtonPostUSA TodayBuzzfeedNY Times

Washington PostBusiness Insider

TimeMashable

comScore, 2015

What about your trade pubs/verticals?

• Science writers dwindling

• Just like biz journos in local markets

Kim Ward

Subject Line: Black Holes Don’t Entirely Suck….

…because, Elise, Michigan State University Professor Chris Adami believes he has plugged the hole in Stephen Hawking’s black hole theory — the information paradox hole. Here’s the link to the release and study: [continued]


Takeaway

•What’s the “IFL Science” in your niche?•Ask your prospects and scour your media

database•Refresh your media lists at least quarterly



•Tout online performance•1 simple formula to rev up lame material•Contrarian HARO hack to add depth to shallow

ideas•Plugging the holes in your media list •Using social media to warm up cold emails



Cision State of the Media report

Email 93.4%

Phone 2.0%

Social Media - Pitch publicly 0.6%

Social Media - Pitch via private message

1.4%

“How do you prefer to receive pitches?”



Sarina Gleason

Yahoo! Health

Still reacting

Jeff Chandler

• PR Director for internet security firm

• Noticed one CNN reporter tweeting at individuals asking if they could talk to him about a particular security protocol

The email

Subject: SHA-1

Hi XXXX:

Jeremy Rowley of DigiCert is very involved in the CA/Browser Forum, which includes Google and sets much of the policy for how digital certificates are handled. He could be a good source for you on the SHA-1 matter, answering questions about the transition from SHA-1 to SHA-2, what some companies have been doing to buy extra time before they must fully transition to comply with the Google timelines, what’s important to know about the state of SHA-1 and the push for migration to SHA-2, etc.

Would you like to set up a time for a phone interview with him tomorrow? Please let me know what you have in mind and I can put you in touch.



•Tout online performance•1 simple formula to rev up lame material•Contrarian HARO •Plugging the holes in your media list •Using social media to warm up cold emails•2 nuances of customizing your outreach



Typical pitch today

Dear _____________,

Hope you’re well – I enjoy your tech coverage so I thought I’d reach out. I represent Lockstiff Innovations, a leading provider or rigid security solutions, that is announcing today its new . . .


PR pro-turned-editor

I value good pitches – I just don’t get any.

It’s the same generic crap that I was doing at [PR agency] 15 years ago. My immediate reaction is, “You have no idea who we are or what we do.”




Two best practices

•Make a well-researched, accurate personal reference

Claire Grady

• LA’s Konnect PR• Repping Linus bike

brand

Pitch for Vanity Fair’s Mother’s Day gift guide

VanityFair.com

Mercy Chikowore

• Pitching new online store to Business Insider

Hi Dylan,

Just read your story on the bitcoin ATM – definitely impressive. We’re also so impressed with bitcoin that we opened an online megastore where bitcoin users can buy just about anything they want. Don’t believe me, just click on our link.

You can find more information about the store below. We haven’t been on Letterman but let us know if this is something that interests you.

Sincerely,

Mercy ChikoworeBitcoinShop.US PR

http://www.michaelsmartpr.com/

Hi Dylan,

Just read your story on the bitcoin ATM – definitely impressive. We’re also so impressed with bitcoin that we opened an online megastore where bitcoin users can buy just about anything they want. Don’t believe me, just click on our link.

You can find more information about the store below. We haven’t been on Letterman but let us know if this is something that interests you.

Sincerely,

Mercy ChikoworeBitcoinShop.US PR



Two best practices

•Make a well-researched, accurate personal reference

•Reference their earlier work specifically and sincerely

Brittany Borghi

• Pitching earthquake mapping to Wired

Hi Neel,

I wanted to drop a quick note and say I really enjoyed your NYC Tree Map story from yesterday. I thought the map was really informative, and I had to chuckle about the Callery pear smell line, too. You did a nice job wrapping in the emerald ash borer issue, too — it’s something we struggle with here in the Midwest, as well.

Since you seem to like visualization stories, I wanted to see if this one shakes you up:

It’s new GPS and inSAR satellite renderings, compiled together to give the USGS (and the University of Iowa) the fastest available glance at an earthquake’s impact. It could have huge implications for saving lives in the third world (think: Haiti’s 2010 earthquake).

If you like it, and you’d like to know more, I’d love to give you more information about the research (and the researcher) that led to this new map.

Hi Neel,





Hi Neel,





Hi Neel,





Kristie Flynn

Hi Jason,

I saw your spiced BBQ sauce article and thought you might be interested in a PK Grill for all the grilling you hope to get done after Memorial Day. The PK grill is an iconic grill and smoker with a cult-like following, available again after a 30-year hiatus, considered one of the best charcoal cookers in the industry. We'd be glad to send along a grill for story or set up an interview with the brand's revivalists.

Portable Kitchens, also known as PK Grill and Smoker, has an classic design and interesting history. After discovering a PK Grill at a yard sale, one of the new owners decided to revive the brand. These grills are hand-poured here in the South, nearly identical to the ones created in the 1950's. Recently, pitmaster Chris Lilly took third place competing on a PK Grill at the National BBQ Assoc. event.

I'll follow up and hope we can work something out together.

Kindly, Kristie

Jaime Diamond

SUB: American Entrepreneurship Is Actually Vanishing - inDinero's rise/fall/rise again

Hi Leigh,

Fantastic article, you had me up and down and presented so many great points.

We'd love for you to consider the inDinero.com/Jessica Mah comeback story as a follow- up to your article - a Millennial CEO that's already been around the block sort a speak at the ripe old age of 24.

At 20 Jessica started inDinero.com out of her college dorm room and from Y Combinator - she grew the company fast as a "Mint.com for business" - but after much fan fare and plenty of customers signing up and angel funding - the business was dying - $20/month wasn't making a profit. She scaled way back, moved in with her folks and borrowed money to restart/rethink. Below are some compelling milestones to consider, would you like to chat with Jessica? Happy to set something up - looking forward to your reply Leigh, thanks.

Jamie


Almost to Q&A

•First, some additional resources to boost your pitching skills

•Then, some final words of encouragement



MichaelSmartPR.com/cisionOpt in so I can send you:•Media Relations Road Map•Slides from today•My weekly media relations tips

(Even if you already requested the tips, it helps to do it again directly on my site)

Lia Giachino

• First heard me on THIS webinar a year ago Friday

Lia Giachino

• 6 wks later, landed WSJ and Market Watch

• Since then moved up to a new job and 20% raise

Desirae Franco

• Managed PR for 3 of parent company’s brands

• Made a major mindset shift an implemented these approaches

• Increased placements 800 percent year over year

• Promoted to Director to oversee PR for all 10 brands

• Earned major budget increase to hire 3 PR agencies


An investment that pays off

Your company name here

To your success!

@michaelsmartprwww.michaelsmartpr.com


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The New Rules of Media Pitching