Publicity Hounds in my mentoring program hear me harp repeatedly that they should never pitch a magazine unless they hold it in their hands, read it thoroughly and search for clues inside that will help them craft an irresistible pitch.
So before Michelle Tennant of Wasabi Publicity, Inc. pitched an idea about her client, artist Nancy Noel, to the editor of Weekend magazine, she bought a copy of the magazine and studied it.
Michelle’s assistant called the editor and left a message. To their surprise, days later, a senior editor returned the call. Michelle’s assistant wasn’t in the office yet, so Michelle quickly put the editor on hold and grabbed the magazine for a split-second review. Michelle chatted up the editor and delivered her pitch. Then the editor asked a question that would make an unprepared Media Mutt crumble on the spot.
“Why us?” the editor asked.
“Because I know your readers like stories about relaxing on the weekends and that most of your readers are women over the age of 35,” Michelle said. “My client is a perfect profile for the women who read your magazine.”
Having the magazine in front of her during the call saved the day. When the editor asked “Why us?”, Michelle quickly flipped through the magazine and referred to several stories that had been in that issue. The editor said she was interested.
I’m mentioning this because before you deliver your next pitch—whether it’s via email, or telephone or a snail-mail letter—I want you to be ready in case an editor, TV producer, or radio talk show hosts asks you “Why us?” If you can’t answer intelligently, you’ll sound like a goof.
Here are four other ways to research media outlets before pitching:
—If it’s a newspaper, magazine or trade journal, pay particular attention to any columns written by the editors. Magazine editors, for example, often a write column in the front of the magazine that includes all kinds of interesting tidbits, from new features they’re introducing to emerging trends they’re covering.
—Call the advertising department at newspapers and magazines and ask for a free copy of their editorial calendar, the January-to-December list of special topics and special sections. In fact, ask for their entire media kit. It will be chock full of facts and figures such as their demographics and the geographic areas they cover.
—Visit their websites. TV stations, in particular, often feature short bios of their anchors, on-air reporters, the weather people and sports announcers. The website will sometimes mention the special charity they support and community events they’re sponsoring.
—If you’re pitching TV or radio, watch or listen to the show. This seems like a no-brainer, but I’ll bet at least half of you aren’t doing this. Many broadcast outlets feature snippets of their shows, or entire shows, at their websites.
—Media directories are fine, but don’t rely on them exclusively because many of are out-of-date by the time they reach you. If you’re using a directory, always call a media outlet to make sure the contact whose name is listed still works there before you pitch. But be prepared in case your contact is the person who answers the phone when you call. You don’t want to stammer when you should be pitching.
Once you’ve done your research, be sure you know how to pitch. In “Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters,” a transcript of a teleseminar I conducted, I explained that the one word you must NEVER use in your pitch is “publicity.” This will kill your chance of being covered.
Why? Because media people aren’t in business to give you publicity. They’re in business to present the news.