Public relations has only grown more complicated in the Internet era. PR representatives are expected to do everything from running a client’s Twitter account to creating viral videos. However, despite all these advances, one bedeviling issue remains: helping clients get coverage in the media. Whether you’re trying to get a tech blog to cover a startup's new gadget or looking to have a nonprofit's founder profiled in a glossy print magazine, attempting to reach the public through the press can be difficult. Luckily, you can employ a few of the following strategies to successfully pitch stories to journalists.

1. Seven Ways PR
Professionals Can
Craft Successful
Pitches to
Journalists

2. Public relations has only grown more complicated in the Internet
era. PR representatives are expected to do everything from running
a client’s Twitter account to creating viral videos. However,
despite all these advances, one bedeviling issue remains: helping
clients get coverage in the media. Whether you’re trying to get a
tech blog to cover a startup's new gadget or looking to have a
nonprofit's founder profiled in a glossy print magazine, attempting
to reach the public through the press can be difficult. Luckily, you
can employ a few of the following strategies to successfully pitch
stories to journalists.

3. Consider the
Competition

4. Some journalists report that they often receive hundreds of
unsolicited pitches from PR reps every week, so one of the most
important goals when creating a pitch is to rise above the pack.
Naturally, as these journalists are sifting through their inboxes,
longwinded emails are likely to end up in the trash unread. Focus
on clear, concise text that gets straight to the point without
hyperbole or reliance on buzzwords or industry jargon.

5. Choose the Right
Target

6. A well-targeted email sent to the right person is worth hundreds of
pitches sent out aimlessly. You should be regularly reading and
watching the journalists who cover your client’s industry, so you’ll
know the best person to contact when you have a pitch. Ideally,
you should send personalized emails to journalists about story
ideas that fall within their beat and involve the subjects they’re
interested in. Avoid mass emails at all costs; many journalists will
simply toss out emails that look like something sent to hundreds of
people at once.

7. Make It Personal

8. Any good PR professional knows the importance of personal
relationships in business, and dealing with the press is no different.
If you specialize in a given industry, work to develop good
working relationships with the journalists that cover it. In addition,
many journalists appreciate when a pitch demonstrates familiarity
with their work, which is a good way to start a conversation. Later,
keep that conversation going with thank you notes and offers to be
a source for further information—journalists are always looking
for reliable sources they can turn to when they’re on a deadline.

9. Understand the
Journalist's Role

10. Media outlets are not press release publishers; most reporters
started their careers with the goal of helping people learn the
unvarnished truth, not writing slick copy on behalf of paying
clients. So if you’re hoping to get your client covered in the media,
you need to think like a journalist. Consider: How does your client
fit in with a broader news story or trend? What kind of stories
would a journalist want to tell about your client or your client’s
products? Does your client relate to previous stories a particular
journalist has covered? The best pitches are those that
contextualize your client as part of a true narrative—ideally one
that's timely and pertinent to the journalist's beat and writing style.

11. Pitch to the Right
Person

12. Many PR representatives err by pitching to the wrong person at a
media outlet, most of whom are too busy to forward the pitch to
the right person instead of tossing it in the trash. Start by looking
at the publication or show's website, which will usually include
information on pitching stories or contributing content. Generally,
however, PR pitches are fielded by subject-matter editors and
associate editors as opposed to editors-in-chief and other high-
level managers, so start there if the media outlet lacks clear
guidelines.

13. Make Timely Pitches

14. It can be easy to forget that the media is always looking far into
the future to craft the next story; newspapers have to write about
tomorrow's events today, and magazines, TV shows, and even
blogs are often working on projects that may not be seen for
months. As a PR professional, you need to be cognizant of
reporters' schedules. Luckily, many publications offer an editorial
calendar as part of their materials for advertisers and other press
outlets. If this kind of calendar can't be found, consider reaching
out to an editor at the publication for more information, and
include an offer to be a source for future stories.

15. Don’t Be Annoying

16. The best way to keep your client out of a publication is to
convince a journalist not to work with you. The advice above is a
good start, so avoid ruining it by calling journalists repeatedly, or
failing to respond to their questions in a timely manner. If a
journalist has indicated how they would like to receive pitches,
follow their requests to the letter. Finally, accept that no means no;
while a journalist that says "no" to one pitch might say "yes" to the
next, that won't happen if you try to badger them into
reconsidering.