Ask the average small-business
owner and most will tell you that they know they need
to actively promote their businesses to the media. Sometimes
it's a matter of not knowing where to begin, but many
fall short of achieving their publicity goals when faced
with the prospect of having to write the dreaded press
Yes, writing press releases can be a scary affair, but
did you know that there's an even more effective tool
available in your PR arsenal? It's called the "Pitch Letter."
Taking time to learn how to write one skillfully in order
to attract the media's attention could reap far greater
benefits than a traditional press release and here's why.
Writing an effective pitch letter accomplishes two goals.
It not only shows the reporter that you understand your
business and how it fits into a specific industry, but
it also shows the reporter that you understand what types
of stories he or she likes to cover. The reporter will
be impressed that you've done your homework.
Pitch letters are personalized. You can't send
out pitch letters to reporters blindly - not even to a
targeted list of reporters all covering the same industry.
So when a reporter gets your letter, he or she surely
knows that the letter received is tailored to his or her
Pitch letters are meant to be exclusive. You may
have some basic points that are important for all reporters
to know about your business, but your primary job is to
craft a relevant, yet different story angle for each targeted
Consider these eight steps when constructing your pitch
Begin with a greeting.
Introduce an intriguing issue relevant to the
reporter. This is the first paragraph of your
letter, and use it to demonstrate your familiarity
with a specific reporter's work and the topics he
or she covers.
State a relevant problem and/or consequence.
Identify an emerging trend or big issue within your
industry, and prove that you understand its impact
in both the long and short term.
Provide a solution and introduce your company.
Introduce your company and describe how your services
provide solutions. Emphasize why your solutions or
ideas should matter - not only to the reporter but
to your potential customers.
Supply a link to background information. Direct
the reporter to your online newsroom to review company
press releases, fact sheets and third-party testimonials.
Close with an action you intend the reporter to
take and thank them for their consideration. Ask
the reporter to consider visiting your company website;
invite the reporter on a tour of your facilities if
appropriate, or simply ask the reporter to contact
you via phone or e-mail to discuss details for a possible
Include all means of contact. Add you name,
title, company and mailing address. Reporters must
know how to reach you in a 24-hour cycle so also include
your phone number (office, home and cell), fax number,
pager number, e-mail address, and your IM address.
Keep your letter short. After writing a draft
continue editing until the message is informative,
concise and direct. The reporter will greatly appreciate
this gesture because it's considerate. Reporters don't
have time to read long missives.
Keep in mind that the number of reporters targeted doesn't
matter nearly as much as the impact and size of the reporter's'
readership. Targeting one reporter might yield greater
results than sending a press release to 100 reporters.
That's why if given a choice, many PR professionals will
spend the extra time cultivating, one-on-one relationships
with one reporter at a time. This is also why it takes
a long time to actually attain media coverage.
Here's an example to illustrate my point. It might be
very important for your company to receive media coverage
among reporters covering the automotive industry. Therefore
you might want to spend time getting to know the needs
of the automotive reporter at USA Today and pitching
him or her ideas in hopes of securing a large feature
rather than sending out general press releases to all
the automotive reporters in your database. A press release
sent out to hundreds of reporters might only get a couple
of lines of coverage. The exclusive pitch to one reporter
at a major newspaper or magazine might yield a full-page
article so the value is tremendous.
The bottom line is this. By no means would I ever suggest
that small-business owners stop writing and issuing press
releases to the media completely. However, sometimes there
are better ways of getting the media's attention, and
you can achieve masterful results simply by varying the
means in which you make contact. Whether you're a small-business
owner handling your own media relations or part of a small
in-house team, your goals are always to build long-lasting
relationships with the media and to maximize coverage
opportunities. The ability to achieve these goals often
can be found in the power of the "pitch" letter.
you have a media relations question? Ask
Carolyn! Your questions could be featured in an up-coming
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