Patient Persistence Pays Off - A True Lesson

Hey Ladies

A common frustration in pitching is simlar to this one:

"I've pitched Cookie 10 times and they never called back, should I give up?"

or

"InStyle is NEVER going to return my pitches and I send them emails every two months"

or

"Am I not a good enough expert for Fast Company, they never seem to return my calls"

Well here's a secret - sometimes I feel the same way!  Not to toot my own horn but in my years in PR I have landed everything from O Magazine to Daily Candy to CNBC to Entrepreneur and all things in between, but I often have the same frustrations.  Case in point, I have been pitching a major lifestyle magazine since my early days at Escada and I never get a great response.  Does that stop me?  Heck no!  

Sure I could give up and say "they don't like what I have", but instead what I say is "they don't need what I have right now", because that is the truth!  Magazines and television go by what they need, what the trends are, what the price points are, trend stories, breaking news, SO MANY FACTORS!  If you have a great product and good pitch (see our how to's on pitching) chances are they just don't need you yet.

Chances also are that you need to be patient and persistent to be sure they keep you in the back of their minds.  This magazine I pitched finally got back in touch with me last month, and the result was a huge success.  The funny ("funny") thing was that the editor said "how have we never worked together in the past?"  I wanted to say "because you never called me back" but of course i could not, and I knew she was too busy and I was lucky we were creating our relationship now - better late than never!

If you feel funny pitching monthly follow these rules:

* Do it - you must reach out every month IF you and your brand have something new to say or share

* Find something new to say or share

* Piggyback on trends, news stories, seasons, breaking news, or popular stories that you could be an expert on

* Share new products or new pricing or fabrications

* Create a reason to briefly get in touch

* Keep track of these monthly emails so you know when you contacted them last and what you sent

* Read their ed cals if they are a magazine to see how you could help them - if you are a Core member you can find those online at Tin Shingle

* Never give up - have an actor's mentality:  audition, audition, audition and never look back!

Eventually if you are a good fit they will come to you - but only if they remember you, your product, and how patient and easy you have been to work with!