Advice from professionals can go a long way. Today’s retrospective episode of ConnectThe2 features accounts from six of the reporters that hosts Rich and Millie have interviewed on past episodes. Each reporter answers one of the age-old questions in the PR world: what makes an effective and persuasive pitch? Tune in to hear these seasoned professionals give their unique takes on how PR people should approach contacting, pitching, and hooking reporters and analysts. If you like what you’re reading, be sure to listen to the entire episode linked at the bottom of this page.
Sarah Needleman from The Wall Street Journal describes the best way to contact a reporter. She candidly explains if it is not an email, “pitches for stories usually end up in the trash.”
Eric Savitz from Barrons highlights the importance of “what is going to your attention” in a pitch and how startup companies are a hard market to tap into when pitching to a reporter.
Lydia Dishman from Fast Company emphasizes the universal request from reporters: “Don’t call me!” She also explains how important a written pitch via email is in helping a reporter better understand your storyline.
Ray Le Maistre from Telecom TV explains how new-aged media has changed pitches. A multimedia component will spice up your pitch that much more. And, while email is always the best way of communication, What’s App could be a close second?
Scott Raynovich from Futuriom describes the misperceptions that PR professionals have about analysts. He offers advice on the importance of “doing your homework” on both the pitch and the person you are pitching to.
Brian Heater from TechCrunch discloses how many pitches he receives in a day and what makes a pitch stand out from the crowd.
Tune into this special lookback episode of ConnectThe2 to get honest and informative answers on the grey area of pitching to reporters. As co-host Millie says, “Telling the right story at the right time can change everything.”
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If you've enjoyed these takeaways be sure to listen to the full episode linked below. Also, be sure to listen to, rate and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, iHeartRadio or Soundcloud.
Quotes
“Telling the right story at the right time can change everything.” - Millie (1:40-1:44)
“Never call me. Let me repeat that. Never use the phone.” (5:08-5:14) - Lydia Dishman
“An essay is not required to introduce a press release.” (6:36-6:38) - Ray Le Maistre
“The other thing I would say these days is there is definitely an outreach from the industry to journalists, whenever there is a fuel element included, that is a lot more attractive to the journalist community.” (8:15-8:24) - Ray Le Maistre
“I think the most frustration comes when people aren't doing their homework and they don't know why they are pitching to somebody.” (9:28-9:33) - Scott Raynovich
“You know, we were joking before about, as you said, kind of that idea of, I guess online stalking. But that is very much something that does go in line with some of these pitches to a point that it gets a little uncomfortable when people like are reading your twitter feed and trying to find out personal information about you. It's something that is absolutely the wrong direction.” (10:56-11:17) - Brian Heater
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