october-2009

088 BUSINESS
LEARN HOW TO PITCH: Familiarize
yourself with the media outlets before sending
a pitch. For magazines, it’s a good idea
to study back issues so you understand its
niche and how it differs from competitors.
“This Old House is a ‘shelter’ magazine,
but we’re not like other magazines in our
category,” Rodriguez says. “I hate it when I
get emails or product pictures that are for
the whole ‘shelter’ category, and the person
hasn’t thought of how we can use it.”
Many journalists prefer receiving
pitches via email, with links to the company
website and an online press kit. Shawne
Duperon, a former executive health producer
for NBC in Detroit and five-time
Emmy Award-winning documentary producer,
advises including your pitch in the
body of the email so the recipient doesn’t
have to download an attachment. She also
suggests starting your subject line with
the attention-getting word “LOOK” (as in,
“LOOK: Tips on autumn travel bargains”).
And while many large media outlets
do their own photography, it never hurts
to sell the visual side of your story by
including an attractive, professional CEO
headshot or product photos. In some cases,
a publication may end up running your
pictures. “Art budgets across the board are
being slashed,” Rodriquez says. “The better
your pickup photography, the better your
chances of being featured.”
If you’re thinking of sending a press
kit with a product sample by mail, contact
a journalist ahead of time to see if it’s
needed. And avoid mailing duplicates to
everyone on staff or going overboard with
elaborate, themed packaging. “It makes
you wonder if what they’re pitching should
merit your attention in and of itself,” says
Alison Ashton, a former senior food editor
at Cooking Light.
GO MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2009
It’s also important that the pitch proves
that your company is a success. “Provide
quantitative information (like sales
figures), not self-promotional PR talk,”
Gardella says.
Steve Bills, deputy editor of technology
at trade newspaper American Banker,
always asks if a company can provide the
name of at least one satisfied customer.
But he often hears, “Banks would love this
thing if they only knew it existed.” Not
good enough. “It’s not my job to be your
sales agent,” he says.
He recently wrote about a tiny company
that came up with a new way to help
banks monitor electronic transactions after
it put him in touch with a bank that liked
the product. After the story ran, he says,
several other clients used the service.
JUMP INTO EXISTING STORIES: It’s
easier to get mentioned in a piece that is
already in motion than to sell a media outlet
on a brand-new feature about a product
or service. You can volunteer to be interviewed
by checking for postings on Help
a Reporter Out (www.helpareporter.com)
and Profnet (www.profnet.com), which
journalists use to look for interviewees
with specific expertise or experiences.
HARO, which is free, sends members
up to three daily alerts listing reporters’
requests by subject, such as “travel.” At
Profnet, small business memberships,
which entitle subscribers to daily alerts
about media requests in 13 industries, cost
$950 per year; corporate memberships
range from $1,500 to $2,650, depending on
the number of industries monitored.
“A site like HARO could get your
story into a bigger publication if you’re
offering something new and different,”
Ashton says.
“Companies have to say why they have
larger relevance to the readership of the
publication they’re pitching. There has
to be some trend or fad involved.”
SHOW HOW YOUR PRODUCT FITS
INTO A NEW TREND: Most media will
be more interested in covering your company
if you show that it’s part of a larger
story that will interest a broad audience.
“Companies have to say why they have
larger relevance to the readership of the
publication they’re pitching,” says Jim
Gaines, former editor-in-chief of Time, Life
and People and current editor-in-chief of
FLYP, a multimedia publication on American
culture. “There has to be some trend or
fad involved.”
TIME YOUR PITCH: Check the editorial
calendar on a media outlet’s website so you
can pitch stories with the right lead time.
“You might be thinking because it’s July, we’d
be thinking about back-to-school, but we’re
closing the October issue, already planning
November and starting to think of December,”
Owens says. “I get a lot of pitches four
weeks before the issue comes out.”
However, TV and radio news shows,
websites and newspapers often create
their lineups on a day-to-day basis, so lastminute
pitches based on current events
can work. If you’re pitching TV or radio
programs, avoid calling on days when a
major news story has broken, unless you’re
an expert on the topic. “The first thing
you should do before sending an email is
turn on the TV,” says Jennifer Simpson,
the former head booker for CBS who now
does media training for Washington Media
Group in Washington, DC.