Tools for Pitching to Media

A pitch to press is key to getting your client coverage on any media outlet. Getting media to cover your story or include your client in a segment can be difficult with so many factors going into it—the quality of your pitch, the relevance to that outlet, the time you send your pitch out, the overall newsworthy element of the story or client…the list goes on. PR professionals know this struggle, but there are tools that will help ease and contribute to the success of pitching to media.

Cision

There are other media databases, but Cision has been the only one I’ve used since I was in school and have always loved it since. It has various tools for PR pros and even smaller businesses looking to do their own PR.

Cision is a great place to start when working on a completely new project that involves stepping out from your usual or general media contacts and pitching to bloggers, local newspapers, or any other contacts that write for a very specific target market. And, of course, you can find your local TV segment producers in seconds.

Mail Merge

Mail merge is amazing because you can send large quantities of emails all at once— I can send up to 100 with the add-ons, I currently have— and personalize each one at the same time, which is very important. I personally use Google’s mail merge, Yet Another Mail Merge, because it’s convenient since we use Gmail at Gossip Genie.

It’s not only beneficial for sending out emails, but it helps you to update your agency’s own media database. This helps cut down on time that may be spent searching for contacts on Cision and sifting through all the contacts it generates. I like to have a column in my Google sheets dedicated to what that specific contact covers and any additional information that is vital for pitching to them (or not pitching to them).

The Phone

These days, a phone call may seem old-fashioned, but it’s not outdated in the PR industry. Email follow-ups go unnoticed far too much. A simple follow-up call can actually determine whether or not your story is covered. Some contacts prefer not to be called, which Cision has noted under each contact. Mail merge also has a tracking report and merge status that lets you know which contacts have opened your email.

Phone calls work well when you’re on a time-crunch and to ensure your story or event is on the books at TV stations to be covered that same day.