Pitching The Media? Leave Your Ego At The Door
Here is the thing about pitching journalists….they don’t really care about you!
I don’t say that to be mean. Journalists aren’t mean, uncaring people but when it comes to doing their job they just don’t care that much about you and your business. What the media does care about is the story. Producers, reporters, and writers are interested in telling good stories to their audience. So, as a business owner when you are pitching the media you need to leave your ego at the door. It isn’t all about you! Once you can get over yourself and start thinking about how you can help a journalist tell better stories you will have a better chance of getting press.
Here is the thing….getting press is a good thing and you can get big media with a small budget. Leveraging the power of the media can help promote you and your business. It can help you gain influence, business street cred and clients. The best part is you don’t have to set aside a lot of money to do it. The key here is getting you, your face and your business in front of an audience. The only thing is, it will likely not be so you can talk about how awesome you are or about the latest award your company received. Those are not stories most journalists are interested in hearing about or talking about (unless it is a local broadcast or publication featuring local businesses and entrepreneurs, then that would be a perfect pitch). The best stories come from the part of your life that intersects with your business, topics like money, politics, love, entertainment or relationships. You want to find stories that journalists want to talk about and that you want to tell.
I am a firm believer in Entrepreneurs being the best PR reps for their businesses. You know your business better than anyone so who better to talk about it or represent it than you? The key to pitching great stories that get you media attention is thinking about what a journalist needs rather than what you need. Think about the stories they want to tell. You also need to think about the stories that an audience wants to hear.
Remember, it is not about you.
The key to pitching great stories that get you media attention is thinking about what a journalist needs rather than what you need. Think about the stories they want to tell. You also need to think about the stories that an audience wants to hear.
Remember, it is not about you so check your ego at the door.
When you pitch think about the audience and what stories will make their lives easier and more interesting. Think about stories that inform, entertain, enlighten and engage the audience. When you get our of your own way and stop thinking about what you get out of the media attention you can better understand what the journalist needs and be successful with your media pitches.
