A media pitch is a short, engaging, and timely message to a journalist or editor that explains why a story should be published.
For decades, it has been among the essential tools businesses utilize to obtain media coverage. However, piquing media interest in the content that a brand is pitching has become one of the biggest challenges in media relations. This edition of Muse will help you find out why.
Time-poor journalists are bombarded with pitches
Many journalists may receive over 50 pitches per week, including emails, phone calls, or direct messages on social media. For the average news journalist, this increases to more than 60 pitches daily.
As well as the sheer volume of pitches, journalists are under more pressure than ever; many editorial teams were reduced during the pandemic, meaning there are fewer people to do the same amount of work. This means that journalists are time-poor and must make decisions quickly to meet their deadlines.
With these factors in mind, it is no surprise that in its latest report on the state of the media, Cision revealed that a minimal number of the pitches journalists receive are considered relevant and result in publication.
Why pitches get rejected
A yearly survey by media database Muck Rack discovered that the absence of personalization was one of the reasons for the immediate rejection of pitches, even if they were related to a journalist’s area of interest.
A lack of personalization includes mass emailing, an obvious lack of knowledge of their publication, and no concise explanation as to why they should care about the story.
Addressing the journalist by the correct name in an email is the minimum standard of personalization that should apply, even if the same email is going to multiple contacts. Otherwise, your pitch will look like spam, and nobody likes receiving spam.
According to data from Perspectus Global, 84% of journalists also say irrelevant content and stories that have no bearing on what they write about are one of the biggest pitching mistakes. This is a sure-fire way to have a pitch deleted before a journalist even reads the content. Knowing who the journalist is and the topics they cover can go a long way to helping your pitch succeed.
Understanding the days and time a journalist likes to be pitched can also increase your chances of publication. Just like the rest of us, journalists have different professional commitments and schedules.
The significance of personalized pitches
Catering your pitch to the journalist shows respect for their professional needs and helps make their hectic working lives a little easier. Although this approach requires more research and attention to detail than simply sending a mass email with multiple contacts on BCC, a personalized pitch that is more appealing to journalists is more likely to lead to coverage, which is the ultimate aim of media pitching!
At Midas PR, we have spent over a decade cultivating relationships with journalists across national, trade, lifestyle, and business publications, and we are experts in presenting brand content to yield positive results.
If you want to utilize the power of effective media pitching, contact us for consultation at www.midas-pr.com or email us directly.