How to Get Media Coverage

Most journalists have overflowing email inbox folders that are usually filled with emails from PR professionals, charity founders, and business owners. All of those emails tend to be sent out with one specific goal – getting media coverage for a given organization. After all it can be a game-changer for business if an organization is able to receive media coverage from a notable outlet.

However, many journalists are already busy, and tend to work with very tight deadlines. That means they don’t have a lot of time to spare for going over a press pitch.  So companies should only be pitching valuable and newsworthy stories that are bound to pique the journalists’ interest.

A Newsworthy Story

The first step in getting media coverage is to pitch a story that’s going to be a great fit for both the given outlet and the journalist. That way, the company can get the best chances at success in receiving media coverage. To do that, it’s important to research and learn what works best for each publication.

Some outlets tend to share personal essays from individuals in the industry, which entails companies  sending them a first-person account on an important topic or experience. Other outlets prefer publishing pieces containing industry tips, and for them, sending a list of tips alongside explanations for those tips works best. Essentially it’s best to only offer the outlet a story that they can actually publish .

Headline of the Pitch

The next step in the pitch is to create a headline for the story that’s going to motivate the journalist to open the email in the first place. Generally, the best way to go is to make the headline short and precise, and to use it to let the journalist know what the story is going to be about before they even read it.

The goal of the headline is to hone in on what the journalist is going to get out of the pitch. It’s also a great idea to include a strong adjective in the headline, as they tend to work well with conversions. Meanwhile, the pitch itself should be short and concise, yet include all the relevant information.

Timing of the Pitch

Another essential rule when sending out a pitch to a journalist or an editor is to make the pitch relevant to what’s currently being talked about in the news. No one wants to read about something that might be useful in the future, because the odds are that they’re going to forget about it when the time comes.

That’s why the best pitches are always going to be linked to a current news story, or the idea is going to be connected to a certain date or holiday. Google Trends is a great tool for figuring out what’s currently relevant, and looking up which topics are being talked about, while looking up holidays is relatively simple.