Submitted by Sabina Hitchen on | 0 Comments
If you've ever been on any PR Tune Up calls or attended any of our Tin Shingle PR training sessions online or in person, you know that one of my BIGGEST pet peeves is when people try to pitch an outlet without actually knowing who writes for it or how that outlet works. It is 100% your responsibility as the person pitching your brand to be aware of who covers your beat, what stories they've covered in the past (to see if you are a good fit for them in terms of coverage), and how they prefer to be contacted. The latter tends to be trial and error often (I know that the majority want to be pitched via email, but sometimes a phone call is the fastest way to connect), but the former isn't as hard as it seems.
As I tell people daily - before you pitch a magazine, READ it. Know how it works, the sections, the writers and understand the masthead. The same goes for newspapers.....pick up a copy for a week and look at who is writing what in the sections.
One newspaper that many small businesses and experts that I speak with are interested in is USA Today. Why wouldn't it be? It's a fantastic paper that brings you great, validating natoinal coverage. That said, knowing you want to be in USA Today isn't enough, you need to know who to pitch as well!
Sure you can find contacts in the Tin Shingle media contact database, but how will you know who you should really be reaching out to? Fear not - those questions can be answered without even leaving your desk to grab the latest edition of the paper. Instead, go to the newspaper's website and check out the Reporter Index, which I've linked to HERE. In it you will find a list of the reporters who work at the paper, a profile for most of them, and links to all the recent articles they have done for the publication. Talk about one-stop-shopping for your pitch research!
I still recommend reading the publication as much as possible if you intend to pitch your story to them, but this is a great place to refer to when you find potential editors and writers to pitch.
Remember - research may seem tedious, but it will help you guarantee your pitches are headed in the right direction and that the relationships you are creating are with the people who really want to tell your story as much as you want your story to be shared!
