1. Five top media pitching tips for more and better press coverage By Sandy Bell, www.sbellinc.com
2. Search the editorial calendars 1.) Search editorial calendars - Editorial calendars are a great way to get quality coverage. Why? We search the editorial calendars thoroughly for topics that are in line with our clients' expertise because, this way, the publication has already dedicated a number of pages to that topic and needs to fill them. You are then pitching something you know for a fact they have an interest in, not something out of the blue. If you were in sales, I'd liken this to a warm call versus a cold call. “ S. Bell, Inc. got us on the Today Show several short months after we retained them. They also positioned us as experts in customer service with the media and obtained placements in all kinds of retail and hospitality trades. They could ghost write in my voice for any industry segment I needed to be exposed to – top notch!” Mike Albert, founder of Satisfaction Services
3. Research the outlet and the journalist 2.) Research the outlet and the journalist - It is important to know the outlet and journalist and the kinds of pieces they do before picking up the phone. Our specialty is media relations and you can bet it is not good media relations to waste a journalist's time. Know what they like and what serves their audience and be able to quickly cut to the chase with what your feature will do for them. “ Sandy and I worked together on The All Star Miracle Home. She was the perfect PR person who got things done and gave our whole company so much publicity. I would recommend her to anyone who wants great PR.” Lisa Doney , Meritage Homes Corporation
4. Use common courtesy 3.) Use common courtesy - Journalists are extremely busy and inundated with pitches. If you are calling them, always be sure to ask first off if you've reached them at an okay time. That way, if you have caught them on deadline or in the middle of something, you can ask for a better time to get back with them, which shows respect for their time. A pitch will fall on deaf ears when someone is too buried to hear it. “ I was very impressed with all the free press S. Bell PR was able to get for us. You have to be creative to get free ink for an automotive parts distribution company!” Thom Davis , Omega Environmental
5. Use media feeding frenzies to your advantage 4.) Use media feeding frenzies to your advantage - You may have noticed that there are some stories the news channels run and keep following for days, even months. They'll do this when it is a story of ongoing concern to their audience. If you have a company expert that can speak on any aspect of the story they are covering, you can 'tag on' to that media feeding frenzy with the right pitch. “ Sandy Bell has a knack for getting companies directly in front of their target audiences in the most credible and creative ways. I highly recommend her.” Madelon Cohen , Communication Concepts
6. Pitch far enough out for the media outlet 5.) Pitch far enough out for the media outlet Every type of media outlet works in a different time frame. If your pitch is to be successful, you must take into consideration how far out the outlet works. Here's some general guidelines: Magazines - as a rule, work way out. Many national publications work 6 to 10 months out, and the more local and regional ones may work within tighter time frames like 3 to 6 months out. Newspapers - Because newspapers are looking for hot and timely news, you can let your beat reporter know about an upcoming news item as much as a month or two out, but they usually won't work on it it until the week of the news event. Business Journals - Business journals are usually weeklies and I like to pitch them about a month out. Television - I would pitch a local TV producer 4 to 6 weeks in advance, and national shows further out. However, if you are pitching your company spokesman to a news show as an expert source on a timely news item, you are back to a very tight timeframe of days to hours, as they can bring your spokesman into a local affiliate and interview them remotely. Radio Interviews - I'd recommend pitching radio at least 2 weeks out. “ Sandy and her staff at S. Bell PR have done a fantastic job of getting us consistent press in the trades, business journals, Hispanic publications and newscasts, newspapers and online. I would proudly recommend her services to anyone.” Andrew Gamm , Pizza Patron
7. Main number: 972-934-2850 Fax Number: 972-934-2870 Primary contact: Sandy Bell www.sbellinc.com SandyBell (at) sbellinc (dot) com As you can see, media pitching is very involved and time consuming. That’s why many companies leave it to pitching pros like us. But, the results are well worth it. Feel free to contact me for further guidance.
