When it comes to PR and the promotion of your business persistence really pays off. And that goes for when you are pitching journalists too. You need to be consistently persistent.
Be Persistent When Making Connections
You need to be persistent when it comes to building the relationships and connections with journalists. These relationships don’t come over night. It takes time to find the media connections that are a right fit for you. It also takes time to build the relationship. It is all about the give and take. Be persistent and reach out regularly, especially on social media. Start sharing content from the media you follow and connect with. Reach out and add your voice to stories they share.
Be Persistent When Pitching
When you are pitching stories to journalists you need to have patience but still be persistent. You need to be ready to wait a few days, or even a few weeks before you get an answer. You DO need to follow up. Don’t let the silence last. Journalists are busy people and things can fall through the cracks, especially when it comes to emails. Producers and reporters can get hundreds of emails a day and your pitch can easily get lost in the shuffle. There were times a pitch came through my email that I found interesting but got lost in the shuffle. It was largely do to a follow-up email that the story got back on my radar. Follow up with an email a day or so later if your story is time sensitive or the following week if it can wait a bit. Don’t be pushy but just offer a friendly reminder of the initial email you sent, ask if the journalist needs any more information or ask if there is a particularly good time for you to call and chat over the phone for a few minutes. If you don’t get a response after the follow-up email don’t give up. This pitch might not have been successful but a NO now doesn’t mean a NO forever. A friendly email to say you look forward to connecting in the future and you hope to pitch again soon is a great idea.
Be Persistent And Pitch Again
As I mentioned, a no right now doesn’t mean a no forever, so pitch again. Pitch often. You want to make sure you are pitching the right journalists with the right stories but be consistent and persistent with your pitches. Maybe you need to fine tune the email pitch. Maybe you need to fine-tune the story. Eventually, you will have success. You want to build and nurture the relationship with the journalist so be persistent and continue to offer good stories that are entertaining, informative and engaging.
Remember, being persistent isn’t about being pushy, it is about being friendly, helpful and in service to the journalist and their audience (your potential clients/customers). You always want to check your ego at the door and remember it isn’t about you, it’s always about being of service to the journalist and their audience.
Need help with your pitch? Join my Facebook Group, Media + PR Collective For Entrepreneurs. Join other Entrepreneurs to learn media and PR tips, tools, and techniques to get press.
