6-Ways Checklist to Pitch Your Business To Media

6-Ways Checklist to Pitch Your Business To Media

I’d be the first to tell you that PR firms can be pricey and good ones will be demanding on your time. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing because done well, the right PR can flip your unknown brand into a media superstar and create tremendous credibility for your business. However, if your company is too small to invest in a PR firm, or it’s just you making those cookies behind closed doors, you need to be more creative about how you go about garnering media attention for your business.

Here is a quick checklist to help you help organize your media efforts:
  • Identify the right audience – Make list of top 10 publications your brand our company belong in. Start a spreadsheet.
  • Identify the appropriate writers and editors who cover your subject area in these publications to fill in your spreadsheet.
  • Find these contacts online: google them, social media, LinkedIn profiles, their blogs. Many journalists have their own websites, you would be surprised — there is a lot of information that is public. Also, Google “how to find anyone” and behold what is revealed.
  • Reach out to the contacts you’ve identified and introduce your brand, product or service in just a few sentences (unique offer, price, website, contact info). Keep your correspondence short and to the point, journalists want to receive a pitch in just a few sentences.
  • Ask if they want a sample and/or simply send it out. If it’s not a product, give them some story ideas.
  • Lastly, follow up by email and/or phone. Phone is often the best way to follow up today simply because the current generation of Millennial editors and writers simply is not expecting it.

 

By Paula Conway