We polled more than 3,000 journalists for our most recent State of the Media report to learn everything there is to know about the biggest problems they encounter and what they require from public relations experts.
Although the majority of our analysis was quantitative, we also got qualitative input on a few important subjects.
You guessed it: pitching is one of them.
We have examined thousands of answers to the query, “The perfect PR pitch is…” with the use of artificial intelligence.
In order to provide you with specific examples of what works for your next pitch, we have also examined five real-life pitches that were published.
Relevant and Tailored to an Audience/BeatÂ
The relevancy of a pitch was a worry for 466 out of 734 respondents to the statement, “The perfect PR pitch is.” Indeed, “relevant” appeared 33% of the time, making it the most often occurring term in our research. The terms “audience,” “targeted,” “tailored,” “beat,” and “personalized” were other often used relevance-based keywords.
When it is obvious that the public relations specialist has done their research, reporters plainly appreciate individualized pitches that are targeted to their beat, publication, and audience. You should avoid using generic blast pitches. Pitches are strengthened by including individualized information beyond just their name. Even while it can sound like cliche, the reality is that a lot of journalists are still not getting proposals that are either intriguing or helpful.
Presenting pertinent content is now practically a need rather than only a best practice recommendation.
Emails sent in bulk (i.e., to more than 5,000 recipients) can now be “unsubscribed” by journalists and reporters using Gmail. Helping Gmail users better avoid spam communications is the goal of the new endeavor.
This means that if you engage in pointless, widespread outreach, you will be blacklisted by the numerous journalists who will not tolerate it, which will mean that you will never again be able to acquire coverage from them. It’s more crucial than ever to tailor your pitches and put relevancy first.
At least 75% of respondents in the Government & Politics, News, and Law/Legal sectors said that two-thirds of pitches irrelevant, making these sectors the most affected by the “irrelevant pitch.”
The perfect PR pitch is…
- Fascinating and significant to my audience, and pertinent to my beat and region. This should be common sense, in my opinion, yet 99 percent of my pitches are not.
- Personal to me.
- pertinent to my target readership.
- Written as a personal message rather than a mass email.
- pertinent to our audience and coverage area.
- pertinent to my coverage of the work.
- made by someone who already knows my target demographic before making a pitch.
One that my audience can relate to. Pitching me something that has nothing to do with what I cover for my audience is the easiest way to end up in my rubbish folder.
Concise or Gets to the Point QuicklyÂ
The necessity of pitch brevity emphasized in half of our comments. Although there a general agreement on the appropriate length or structure for succinct pitches, a few of replies specifically said that pitches should not exceed 25 words. Others advised aiming for no more than three to five sentences or one or two short paragraphs. For skimmability, bullets and conciseness considered desirable. For many reporters, anything much longer than that seems to break the “concise” criterion.
Different sectors have different requirements for succinct pitches. Our State of the Media Report states:
Localized or Contains a Local Angle
More than 200 respondents to the State of the Media poll addressed the significance of location in pitching, ranging from stating that they flatly reject national or regional pitches to advocating for a localized slant, local tie-in, or locally relevant sources. Among the responses, this need one of the most frequently mentioned.
When pitching to local or community magazines, it is crucial to have a clear and thoroughly researched local geographic connection or angle. Targeting the appropriate reporters geographically and logistically ensures that the proper people will read your content, provided you have an intriguing topic. Public relations professionals must explain why the story they are selling would be relevant to that area or community.
Failing to localize and pitching something broad or locally irrelevant will get pitches ignored or rejected by local reporters. Providing ready access to local sources and interviewees is another way to get extra brownie points from journalists and move your story from pitch to publish.Â
Timely and NewsworthyÂ
Reporters stated that they seek out perspectives that are genuinely novel, popular, and provide a compelling “why now” element that goes beyond merely endorsing a good or service in order to make timely and noteworthy pitches.
Pitches must draw on recent discoveries, patterns, or events. Promoting a product or service alone is insufficient; there must be a compelling storyline. For proposals involving breaking news or studies, when reporters require quick access to sources and data while the story is still fresh, timeliness is particularly crucial.
Offers ExclusivityÂ
Reporters also find it very enticing to the first outlet to pitched on a story idea or to have exclusive access to sources, data, or items because it provides them a competitive advantage over other media. Nonetheless, they stress that public relations professionals must be explicit about the unique angle right from the beginning of the pitch.
Another crucial point to remember is that exclusivity goes beyond simply pitching a particular publisher. It involves making a single pitch. It annoys reporters to acquire the same “scoop” as their peers.
Provides Helpful Assets (Quotes, Images, Video, Data)Â
According to journalists in our poll, pitches are much more appealing when they include visual assets like pictures, videos, and infographics in addition to hard data, expert quotations, or products to examine. Providing those resources ahead of time not only gives the possible story more color and context, but it also saves reporters time by removing the need to find all those details on their own. However, bear in mind that the assets must be high-quality and pertinent.