OK so here is the thing. I have a confession to make before we get to the meat of this post. When I was a television and radio news producer I was never a big fan of the phone pitch. There are so many reasons why pitching a story over the phone to a producer or reporter is not the best strategy, including…
- It is time-consuming for the journalist who is almost always working on a deadline
- Newsrooms are busy places, with journalists doing more with less these days, and that means no one has the time to sit on the phone listening to a story pitch
- It is disruptive to the journalist who is in the flow of a news day, especially if they are working up to a show or print deadline
- The caller/pitchers time has to be good and know that they are calling the journalist at a good time because if they are not they will surely end up on the bad side of the journalist
- Many journalists just won’t accept phone calls or waste time on the phone with someone they don’t know…so cold calls are tricky
That is just a short list but I think you get the point.
I want to make it clear here, when I say pick up the phone and call a journalist I am not saying pitch your story over the phone. Most journalists still prefer an email pitch because it allows them to open and read at their own pace when they have time. An email pitch gives them all the basic details, in written form, right in front of them. I can tell you from experience, listening to a story pitch over the phone, while trying to take notes and still working on a show in a busy newsroom is nearly impossible to do. You lose focus on everything, including the story pitch, and it loses any potential punch. That being said, I do think there is a place for picking up the phone and calling a journalist.
When is it OK to call a journalist? Or more importantly when is it the most effective to call a journalist?
I think you should always keep the idea of a phone call to a journalist in your back-pocket. It shouldn’t be your go-to for every story and every journalist. Like anything with your media and PR strategy, you need to do your research. Get to know the journalists who are OK with a phone call every now and again. Figure out when the best time to call a particular journalist is. Find out what their daily schedule is. When do they have editorial/story meetings? When do they have downtime to chat?
Chatting is important here. When you call a journalist it is not about keeping them on the phone for as long as possible. You need to be short and sweet. Get to the point of your phone call and when a journalist says they don’t have time to chat or need to end the call believe them, don’t keep talking, respect their time and ask when you can call back to chat.
When do I think it is OK to phone a journalist?
- Story Follow-up: If you have sent an email pitch or two and you haven’t heard anything ( or even if you have) I think it is a good idea to follow up with a quick reminder phone call. Don’t be pushy but use the call as a gentle reminder about your story, product, book or event. Ask if there is anything else you can send them, for example, photos, fact sheets or set up specific interviews for them. Sometimes you will find a producer asking you to send the release or pitch again so it hits the top of their email pile.
- Introduction Follow-up: If you have sent an introductory email saying who you are and the type of stories you are hoping to pitch it is sometimes a good idea to follow up with a phone call. Be sure to say you would love to chat over the phone in your initial email. Ask the journalist when it is best to call them. Be sure to clarify the call is a way for you to touch base with the journalist to better understand how you can serve them and their audience. Remember, it is not about you but always about the journalist and the audience.
- Event Heads Up: A quick reminder phone call on the day of an event is OK. You will have probably already sent a follow-up email as a quick event reminder too.
I caution you about calling with a story pitch over the phone, especially if it is a cold call. You will be much more likely to have success with a phone pitch when you have a relationship with the journalist and they know you will be calling with a pitch. Cold calls are hard to do and are not always successful.
When I was a radio news editor I got to know a couple of PR people who would pitch me stories over the phone BUT they always emailed first. They asked when the best time to call me was. They emailed me with a list of a few potential story ideas they wanted to chat about and they kept the phone call to a reasonable amount of time knowing that I was short on time. Those phone pitches worked because there were boundaries set and everyone kept to them. The PR rep respected my time and understood what I needed and wanted from them. We built a relationship that worked and that respected both my media/news needs and their PR/client needs.
So don’t discard the idea of phoning a journalist but have a strategy in mind. Don’t abuse it and always remember it’s not about you but about the journalist and what they need.
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