Coming up with strategies or ways to pitch journalists can be tricky BUT it doesn’t have to be. There are some solid strategies you can use to ensure a successful pitch. I have already reviewed the HOW-TO pitch but it is not the only way to pitch the media.
Piggy-backing the news it another way to reach out to the media to get featured. I personally feel this is one of the easiest ways to get press. You don’t have to reinvent the news story here it is all about following what is already happening in the news. It does take some effort on your end to actually pay attention to what is happening in the news, specifically when it comes to your business, industry or niche. I know what you are thinking…how can I run a business and be watching, listening or reading news all day long. To that I would say is…you don’t need to be fully immersed in news, to be plugged into to what is happening in your community, city, province or state, or even the world. Technology has really allowed us to be connected like never before.
Google Alerts
Set up Goolge alerts on your specific business, industry or niche. Be sure to set up alerts for any topics you feel you can speak about. The best part is it is FREE. You get alerts on your selected topics right to your inbox every day. Rather than watching, reading or listening to hours of news, you can just take a few minutes to read through your email alerts.
Twitter can really help you stay up-to-date on what is happening in the world. Follow media outlets, journalists and publications. If you create specific lists related to your industry or niche then it just takes a few minutes during your day to see what they are tweeting about. It will allow you to stay on top of what is happening in the news and allow you to see what you might be able to talk about.
TheSkimm/Scoop.It/Storify
These are examples of sites or services you can sign up for that will keep you up to date on the news of the day. I use all of these and more.
Piggy-Back Pitch
So now that I have given you a few ways to find out what is happening in news take that knowledge and find stories already in the news that you might be able to speak about. The idea of piggy-backing the news is to find stories already in the news that you can help journalists advance or push forward. Do you have a unique perspective on the story? Do you have a different opinion on the topic? Or can you put a local spin or angle on the story already being told by the journalist? Reach out to the journalist via email and even Twitter to offer your opinion and expertise.
For example, maybe there is a new health study released about the positive benefits of daily meditation. Are you a yoga instructor or do you teach meditation as a practice? Or maybe you use daily meditation in your business to help you stay more focused? Do you use meditation as an entrepreneur to help you better service your customers and clients? You can add a unique, personal, perspective to a more general topic about the benefits of meditation.
Think about ways you can expand on a story already in the news and how you can share your knowledge and expertise to advance the story or give it a new, different angle. Remember, it is not always directly about your business, think about ways your niche, business, personal and the topic intersect. Sometimes the best way to get your name, and the name of your business out there is to talk about things that help you live a better life, and in turn, help you be a better business owner.
Successfully pitching the media isn’t always about creating a new story all on your own. Think about how you can help a journalist tell a better story that is already in the news. Think about how you can piggy-back a story already being told.
