If media relations is a tactic in your strategy and you’re in pursuit of publicity, nailing the pitch is important. Media receive a deluge of editorial opportunities a day; so you need to make it matter.
The secret to a great pitch is groundwork.
We’ve dedicated blogs to ‘how to pitch’ in the past and provided freebie templates and lists on what to include and what not to include; but this blog is about what you need to do before you pitch and to position yourself well for take-up.
Here are the things you’ll need to do to prepare for the pitch:
Know how to articulate WHY your business exists.
What’s the greater purpose?
Know how to articulate clearly HOW do you do it.
What’s the process and how is your approach different?
Know how to articulate WHAT you do.
Most people know this! These are your products and services.
Know how the business is unique and special.
This is the differentiation and remarkability.
Know who can benefit from what you’ve got most.
This is about getting your targeting and distribution right. If you know who your ideal customer is then you can make sure you know which media to align your pitch with.
Nail the micro pitch
You need to be good at the elevator pitch for your business so that you can quickly get to the point of what you do, who for and why it’s important. The micro pitch always needs to be ‘value’ based and it should feature in your pitch email or conversation. You might not roll it out in your email verbatim but being clear on your micro pitch strengthens your pitching muscles – the foundational message.
Uncover the news story
This is about making sure what you’re pitching is of value to the person you’re pitching it to and the audience they represent and centred in legitimate news. The best pitches are the ones that have explored, developed and presented an interesting story with ‘giving’ and not taking at the core. It needs to not be story based and not a sales message.
Develop a quality press release
It’s important to have a media release that backs up your email pitch so that if the journalist decides to learn more they have the facts available at their convenience.
The lesson here is that before you even start writing your pitch, you should be able to summarise your client’s products, purpose and unique qualities succinctly. If your messaging and wording is organised from the beginning, it will help guide your messaging throughout the entire pitch process and the campaign.
If you get good at articulating all of these communication basics for your business or the business you’re pitching for and you’ll be better primed to craft a pitch that matters or speak with confidence given the chance.
Words by Jade Roberts
raraPR Founder and Creative Director
raraPR is above all the sum of people who together help build brands and share stories. We are present in our determination to make a positive difference to the world by representing individuals and businesses that are doing good. We are an extension of the personal stories within us, those that we exist for and those within you that need to be heard.
