Pitching to the media: Tips from industry experts
In our last Reader, we outlined best practices for conservation organizations when it comes to media engagement. Today's feature focuses on the next stage of this media engagement process - which is often the most critical - effectively pitching your story.
We’re excited to share top tips on how to do this by two guest contributors and media experts - Mike Pflanz and Rachel Nuwer.
Winning Tactics to Effectively Pitch to Media
By Mike Pflanz, Media Specialist
“The reality is that many organizations spend a lot of time writing generic press releases and emailing them to reporters expecting coverage. That is a waste of effort. It's only by having good personal relationships with key reporters, and then being sure you speak to them directly when you have a story for them, that you can expect success. It's hard work, but it pays off.”
Positive and balanced media coverage of your organization's work is hugely valuable. Media audiences find news stories to be more credible than advertising, which is much more expensive. News stories deliver your messages to wide new audiences beyond the existing supporters you reach on your website and social media.
For 15 years, I was a news reporter, and now I advise conservation organizations how to engage with the media. But pitching journalists so they cover your organization's work is not easy. I've seen both sides of the 'pitch', and these are my top tips for securing media attention to your work.
Before pitching your story
1. Create and sustain a network of key reporters: Make the effort to find and meet reporters covering your topic. Stay in touch, always offering a story, an insight, or just a note of praise. Having good relationships with a couple of dozen reporters *before* you need to pitch a story is one of the two most important tips I can give you.
2. Why are you pitching the story? Why do you want media coverage? Be strategic: what audience do you want to reach, with what message? Consider only pitching to the outlets that reach those audiences.
3. Create then segment your Media List: Create a spreadsheet for your reporter contacts. Make the time to find their personal emails - do not pitch to generic emails e.g. news@xymedia.com or info@abmedia.com. Create your ‘short-list’ of target reporters, and a long-list with the rest.
4. Pitch a story, not PR: Journalists will run a mile, and not come back, if you pitch them only marketing or PR puffery about your organization. That’s what advertising is for. You need to send them an idea for a news story, or you’ll lose their respect immediately. Work hard to get this right.
What's a story?
Journalists are always seeking the TRUTH. Be sure to show your story is:
TOPICAL - Why is it interesting right now, and how is it new?
RELEVANT - Why is it interesting to the reporter's readers/viewers?
UNUSUAL - Highlight why it's different. Stories should surprise audiences.
TROUBLE - If there's conflict or two sides to the story, point it out. Reporters love trouble.
HUMAN - How does your story affect people? Who can the reporter talk to about that?
5. What needs to be in a pitch? When she receives your pitch, a reporter needs to imagine very clearly how the story will work for her. She needs it to have the TRUTH in it as above. You also need:
A nutgraf: this is the summary of the story in one or two sentences. This takes hard work.
Your key messages: the three things the audience should remember about the story.
Statistics to prove impact and importance, and show change: improvement, deterioration, scale, impact. Translate big numbers.
The people the reporter can interview.
A short backgrounder with all info about the story.
Logistics of how the reporter can reach you, details of any deadlines or dates to note, and info about press field trips if you're offering one.
How do you pitch the story?
Now you have all the materials you need, how do you go about pitching the story?
1. Draft the pitch email: Focus on your short-list of reporters you now have personal relationships with, or specialists you most want to cover the story. Draft a pitch email with the elements in this order:
A personal intro, which changes each time. The rest below can be generic.
Your nutgraf
The TRUTH of the story
Statistics
Interviewees
Logistics and contacts
Attach your backgrounder but always also copy and paste its content into the body of the email. Spam filters can strip attachments and reporters like all info in one place.
2. First: phone! Your email is ready to send, but before you email it, call the reporter and briefly tell them about the story. Then tell them you'll send the email. They'll be primed to look out for it. This is the second golden rule of successful pitching: you must speak to the reporter to verbally pitch the story, and follow up. Do not expect success only from emailing.
3. Follow-up calls: Within 24 hours, call or WhatsApp to check if they're interested or need more.
4. Email the rest of your media list: Put in the hard work really to get your key target reporters interested. But then you can email a generic version of your pitch to your media longlist, removing the personal intro paragraph. It rarely leads to coverage, but there's no harm taking 20 minutes to send this.
These tips will help to position you for success as you engage and pitch to the media.
Mike Pflanz is a former Africa Correspondent for Britain’s Daily Telegraph. He is now media advisor to conservation organizations including The Nature Conservancy, Space for Giants, and Big Life Foundation. He lives in Nairobi. Contact him at mike.pflanz@plantwoodcommunications.com
Tips from a Top Environmental Journalist
By Rachel Nuwer, award-winning journalist
Effective PR and communications representatives working for conservation organizations are a godsend and make our job as journalists easier. They are efficient in helping track down sources, access the correct information, and confirm facts. The best representatives are helpful without being overbearing, demanding or controlling.
Always do your homework - I always hope that organizations will do their homework and take a few minutes to look at my work to see the type of stories I write. This helps them understand my focus, realize that I'm dedicated to doing a great job, and don't need to be micromanaged.
Keep it short - I appreciate it when conservation organizations send me a short email outlining the story, why it's crucial and timely, and what's new—a version of the pitch I'd send to an editor. I probably receive 50 pitch emails from various people and organizations per day, so the more concise your pitch, the better it is.
Don't overpromise - Do not sell the wrong story or make promises you can't deliver. I once had a PR representative promise access to a news source - a big celebrity running a conservation campaign - that it turned out they couldn't deliver, damaging my relationship and reputation with a top editor.
Do not nitpick - Sometimes, we have organizations being nitpicky, asking for "corrections" to a story after it's published. Often, these are usually small, stylistic changes or additions of extra information after a story goes up. Asking for these types of changes oversteps and misunderstands the relationship between sources and journalists. Most media outlets will only change a story after it's published if an actual error needs to be corrected, anyway.
Rachel Nuwer, an award-winning freelance journalist who reports about conservation, science, travel and adventure for the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American and more.
Thank you Mike and Rachel. Your insights and tips are valued and appreciated!
Read the full newsletter here: Maliasili Reader Issue 32
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