Survey Says: THIS is How to Pitch Media

InkHouse’s approach to thought leadership involves defining a client’s point-of-view that supports its corporate position and validating that POV through industry analysis, data, or customer endorsement.

So imagine our delight when we saw new survey data that validates our approach to media relations. Since our inception in the late 2000s our media relations work has been validated by consistent and on-message client coverage, but it’s also nice to have new data to back up our POV.

This week on MarketingLand.com, Fractl marketing vice president Kelsey Libert published some pretty substantial research data on how content publishers (mostly writers at well-known publications) like to be pitched story ideas. It wasn’t surprising that InkHouse media relations practices were well-represented throughout the data, but it was, well, validating.

To me, the data only reinforced the main challenge for PR pros today: cutting through the noise. Writers, on average, according to Libert’s data, receive 26,000 pitches a year, and the vast majority of respondents write only one story per day. It’s no wonder then that 85 percent of writers decide whether to open an email based on its subject line. The lesson is clear, and it’s an InkHouse best practice: make sure those 5-8 words count, and create a compelling subject line.

The good news is that the well-written and smartly-targeted pitches will reach their intended destination: the reporter’s screen. 56 percent of writers will at least some of the time write a story based on a pitch, and another 39 percent will as well, albeit rarely. The odds are in your favor.

You can increase your chances of success by remembering another fundamental InkHouse tenet: relationships still matter. Our relationships with media are grounded in providing them timely, relevant stories (whether they involve our clients or not), and building a level of professional respect to the point where the reporter opens our email, takes our call, and comes to us when he/she needs a quote, client insight, contributed article, etc. 63 percent of respondents said a personal connection with the PR person is of at least moderate importance, including nearly 15 percent who said it’s very important.

Personal connections and subject lines won’t get you everywhere, though. We know the best ways of gaining media interest in a story is to offer new research, exclusive news, stories with tension in them, rapid response, and various other angles. Again, the InkHouse approach was validated through Libert’s data, with exclusive research, breaking news, relevant content, and emotional stories listed by reporters as the defining characteristics of the “perfect piece of content.”

There's a lot more to dig into (and you should), including how long (or short) your pitches should be, and poor grammar/spelling's deleterious effect on the success of your pitch. But these are the best practices we preach every day in our thought leadership niche of media relations. Check out the full research here: http://marketingland.com/500-publishers-weighed-content-marketing-best-practices-research-90603