Pitch Revamp: Making Something Old New Again
Over the last few months as a publicist, I’ve come to understand that pitching is the core component of the job. Perfectly crafting the best angle that suits your client, aligns with a journalist’s needs and is newsworthy takes time, patience and serious editing. It can often seem impossible to do but as the great Audrey Hepburn once said, “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible.”
Pitching makes things happen; it’s getting your client’s message in the right people’s hands and keeping their attention when it hits their inbox. So how do you prevent it from getting stale? Well, unlike bread, a pitch can be repurposed and can once again become fresh - it just takes some tweaking.
New subject lineA new subject line is crucial when revamping a pitch. If a journalist checks their email and see’s the same email they saw a month ago, they’re not going to take the time to read on. The subject line is the hook of the pitch. What’s going to make a journalist open your email as opposed to the dozens they received that day? What keywords are they looking for? What beats do they cover and how is your client relevant to them? These are questions you should ask yourself every time you craft a pitch, especially when you don’t have a new news hook.
Make it personable
A huge factor to remember is that there is a human on the receiving end of your email. Sending out a cold pitch is harsh and there are definitely ways to warm it up. Adding a simple “I hope you are having a great week!” is a good way to make a journalist keep reading. You don’t need to invite them out for coffee, but establishing a friendly rapport in the beginning of an email makes a busy journalist read on. If you are targeting a specific journalist for a niche client, do your research. “I saw your recent article and I thought you might want to speak to my client, who recently discussed this similar topic.” Building a connection is difficult, but crucial for pitching.
Not the same old song and danceWithin each pitch, the information on your client doesn’t always change. Adding new stats or other recent news your client has been featured in is a good way to establish relevance. Maybe your client is a company with incredible diversity numbers. Those can be highlighted as a differentiating factor between your client and their competitors. The goal is to state how your client is different from every other pitch the journalist has received, especially in super niche cases.
Adding imagesIt’s very important to add images to a pitch. Having a visual component not only shows the journalist a specific product or person, it also breaks up the words. Nobody wants to receive a pitch with 8 paragraphs in AP writing style. Adding photos to a pitch is a great way to show AND tell the journalist more about your client.
The sign offI sometimes like to ask a yes or no question before signing off, as it prompts a higher response rate. For example “Is meeting with my client something you would be interested in? I would be more than happy to coordinate schedules.” Even if the answer is no, a response is better than none at all. It shows the journalist took time to read through the information you sent them. If it’s not a good fit at the time, you’ve established a connection and they’re more likely to remember you next time.
Pitching makes things happen in PR. I hope these tips have been beneficial! May the email-odds be ever in your favor! Best of luck out there!
Xo
Lauren
