Growing up, my mom stressed the importance of writing personal thank you notes. As an adult, I truly appreciate receiving personal invitations and holiday cards. In my professional career as a publicist with a focus on media relations, I have found nothing can top the power of personalization. Slowing down and getting to know the person you’re sending those pitches to can help build successful professional relationships.
Here are some top tips for personalizing each pitch leaving your outbox:
Do Your Homework
It’s so easy to pull a huge media list from one of the online databases, but are all of these contacts pulled still reporting on the topic you’re trying to pitch them on? In the age of social media, it’s easier than ever to find out. Twitter and LinkedIn are great resources to double check that the person you are pitching is still writing about what you think they are. Many members of the media have their beat written in their social media bios, or you can simply look at their feed to see if they are still actively covering a certain topic. Nothing bothers people more than having irrelevant emails clog their inbox, so make sure to do your research and read what they’ve most recently written before sending the pitch.
Strut your stuff
Did you do your research and know they are the perfect fit to cover your story? Prove it! If I know a reporter has covered a topic extremely relevant to what I’m pitching them, I always like to lead my note showing them that I did my research. This personal touch proves you know their beat and gives them no excuse to not respond. Extra points if you link to some of their recent work in your pitch!
Introduce yourself
If you’ve never sent an email to a certain contact, briefly introduce yourself as a member of your client’s media relations team. Even if they don’t want to cover what you’re pitching, the personal touch can oftentimes stir a response and will position you as a go-to PR contact for your client moving forward. This opens the door to future conversations and a productive publicist – journalist relationship down the road.
Personalizing your pitch isn’t a guarantee of coverage. However, adding a personal element can surely help new relationships to blossom, which is a major plus for any PR professional actively conducting media outreach for their client.
