72Point’s NYC-based distribution team manages all of the news content that is released on a daily basis. Our team is comprised of former journalists and communications professionals, which aids in uncovering what is newsworthy within a brand’s key messaging when doing media outreach.
In order to assist large brands and PR agencies in achieving maximum news coverage, we have compiled a list of media outreach do’s and don’ts, with insider tips and tricks from our diligent team.
Keep it simple
Alexandra Flowers, our media liaison specialist, says that she learned early on in her career to keep it simple and get straight to the point when doing media outreach.
“A journalist doesn’t want to wade through a lengthy press release that talks about how brilliant, innovative or unique a brand is,” Flowers said. “At 72Point, we have the advantage of sitting within a press agency with in-house access to a direct newswire. But our content wouldn’t be picked up if it wasn’t newsworthy, so we write a page-ready news copy that’s ready to go.”
She advises to “have a strong news hook, get to the point and write a copy that can be easily lifted off the page and incorporated into a news article.”
Be relevant
Daniel Johnson-Kim, the head of 72Point’s distribution team, can attest to this, having been on both sides. Coming from a reporting and editing background at The New York Daily News, News Corp and other publications, he has been on the receiving end of PR pitches, many of which he described as being “irrelevant.”
“I think as journalists and as editors, we are trained to really cut through the nonsense and see whether something is interesting or if it’s not,” Johnson-Kim says. “I think the worst thing is to pretend that something is interesting when it is so objectively not.”
Which pitches caught his attention as an editor? Johnson-Kim says the straightforward ones were always more likely to be noticed. Coming from a journalism background has informed his personal outreach strategy and helped improve the overall distribution team’s method, by removing unnecessary fluff and ensuring that we only send relevant information to the journalists we reach out to.
“On my team, I really don’t want us to be those people that send something to someone that has nothing to do with what they write, which is what annoyed me the most when I was on the other side,” Johnson-Kim adds.
Be current
According to Flowers, one of the fatal flaws some PRs are guilty of is thinking a brand alone is newsworthy enough for a journalist to want to write a story about. It is important to pay attention to what content is already on the internet, what major events are currently taking place and figure out how they can create commentary based on what is happening now.
One example of a newsworthy story that got picked up was our ‘period poverty’ story for feminine-care brand, INTIMINA, that landed on The New York Times.
“I think in terms of securing that high-tier level of content, like The New York Times hit, for example, the writer was working on a wider story about the hypocrisy women and men face in healthcare services,” Flowers says. “The stats we provided fit really easily into the story.”
Another example of 72Point providing relevant material for news outlets to cover: our ‘Superbowl Monday’ story for Keurig that was turned into a Twitter poll by The New York Post.
“Pretty cool to see them use our stuff for an audience engagement play,” Johnson-Kim says. “More evidence that they like our content!”
Grow a thick skin
Even with a well-thought out pitch strategy, you aren’t totally safe from getting ignored or rejected. Sometimes pitching may feel like “shouting into the void,” according to Flowers. Although she has received her fair share of rude responses from journalists during her career, she advises to not take anything personally and just “roll with the punches.”
“You can’t take things too seriously when it comes to these kinds of things, because at the end of the day, journalists just want to write about things that they’re interested in,” Flowers says. “You kind of just gotta take the wins when they come, learn from your mistakes and try to only think about the wins!”
Swamp
The golden rule: quality over quantity.
When building a list of journalists to reach out to, do your research. Look at what they’ve written, what they’ve picked up in the past and anticipate what they are likely to cover in the future. This approach results in a lower volume of pitches being sent out, but allows for more precision and a higher success rate. You don’t want to be labelled as the PR who swamps journalists’ inboxes with tons of irrelevant stories.
“The best PR person knows what a journalist writes about, knows what they do, and isn't trying to just force someone to write about their thing,” Johnson-Kim says. “You need to know the right people who cover the types of things that you’re trying to get coverage for.”
“While it will take you more time, you’ll definitely see more results as a whole,” adds Flowers. “Be a person, don’t sound like a robot.”
Stalk
Stop with the obsessive follow-ups!
According to Flowers, common feedback she’s heard from journalists is about “how crowded their inboxes are and how adamant PRs are about the follow up.”
Flowers adds, “I’ve talked to journalists that say they’ve had PRs follow up with them up upwards of seven times on a single story idea. There have been PRs sending essentially the same pitch, multiple times with different subject lines, to which they’ve already said no to the story. They’ve explicitly given their disinterest and are still very persistent about it.”
“Be patient, and confident in the story you’ve sent over,” she advises. “I’ve waited on a journalist who I know writes only two stories a month for a specific publication, and it paid off: the writer held onto the story and data that I sent over and used it at a time when it fit into a wider story she was writing.”
Sometimes patience pays off, but other times it is appropriate to utilize the follow-up email as a tool to drive engagement — so long as you can recognize the difference between a follow up email and just spamming a journalist.
Jim Rich, former Editor-in-Chief at The New York Daily News and Executive Editor at Huffington Post, gave some tips for constructing a good media outreach technique and how to not annoy a journalist you are trying to follow up with.
“Good research is the stuff of good stories – it gives the credibility and scientific objectivity that journalists crave. Plus, it generally is attached to findings that yield interesting conclusions and observations on human behavior – another wildly attractive element for journos,” Rich says. “But, and this is a critical but, editors and reporters are paid to spend their days sniffing out BS. So make sure that your research and findings are beyond reproach, and also that they are truly compelling. If not, journalists will see through your pitch and be much less likely to even give a second look at any of your follow-ups.”
Bulls**t
“Don’t ever pretend that you liked something a journalist wrote when you didn’t actually like it,” says Johnson-Kim. “But, if you ever see something they write and there’s a really good part you liked, let them know!”
It’s easy to detect when someone has only done a quick Google search on a journalist’s work instead of actually taking their time to read it. Don’t be that person.
Johnson-Kim knows first-hand that journalists rarely ever get positive feedback from their articles. He suggests that the best way to build an authentic and genuine relationship with a journalist is by taking the time to read their work and provide your thoughts.
An insider tip from Johnson-Kim: “A lot of journalists share their stuff on social media. I never shared something that I wasn’t proud of on my social media, so that’s a way you can see what stories they thought were their best work and help you in your outreach.”
Waste your time
Johnson-Kim advises to always remember to use your intuition, knowledge and research to your advantage and don’t waste your time when it comes to media outreach.
“The worst thing that could happen is that you send all these pitches and not only do they not respond, but they remember you because it was so bad,” Johnson-Kim says. “At that point, you’ve ruined your ability to be credible when you have something good.”
Ultimately, the key to successful media outreach boils down to building and maintaining strong relationships, earning respect for your content and creating strong stories worthy of news coverage.
Need a hand? 72Point secures earned media coverage in tier-one publications for America’s largest brands and PR agencies. Take a look at some of our work here, and speak to the team.
Written by Sarah Thaw, Media Liaison at 72Point Inc