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How to Find your Customers Interests OnlineHow to Find Reporters Contact InformationEmail Template for Contacting Reporters

7 Ways NOT to Pitch a Reporter

+ How to GET Media

Rachel Olsen media

Okay, I know you won’t do that, right?? No one likes to be

*yelled* at online, proverbially hands up in the air

reaching as high as they can go saying “pick me, pick me” -

especially a busy reporter.

Think of it this way. Reporters are trying to grow their

audience, too. Realize it may take some time to build a

relationship. You and your business are in this for long

run so think marathon, not sprint.

Take Action:

Follow them on Twitter or any social media outlet

Show some love - Retweet, Favorite a Tweet, Share, Plus, Pin,

Like

Authentically comment on articles they’ve written without

asking for anything in return

#1Do NOT Tweet them - @Reporter xyz - #WriteAboutMe!

© 2014 Rachel Olsen Media - Best Mom Products Mom Entrepreneur Interviews

Look at Matthew’s interests on the left column. He is a

Senior Writer and Entrepreneur Magazine that covers Kid,

Young, and Blog Entrepreneurs. You can go to his profile by

typing in @matthewtoren and read his tweets. See which ones

resonate with you, your business and retweet and favorite.

Get noticed!

I interview mom entrepreneurs so when I saw the “3

Mompreneurs Who Stumbled on Innovative Success,” I read it

and replied to Matt saying “Great Article” which retweeted

it to my followers. Because we are both following each

other, I was able to reply. If the person you are trying to

reach doesn’t follow you, you can still “retweet” or

“favorite.” Show some love. Start building the

relationship.

Twitter Example: @matthewtoren


You know how you think you’ll cut to the top by going to the

highest level contact name you can find? Well, probably not

a good idea. Senior Editor’s are busy managing a team and

they aren’t very accessible. You won’t likely get a

response.

Take Action:

Contact the lowest level person with a title like Associate

Editor. They are eager, accessible and pulling together

stories the Senior Editor has asked them to work on.

#2Do NOT Contact the Senior Editoror the highest level person

Here is a screenshot of the Huffington Post Business Editor

List which can be found:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/p/huffington-post.html


The higher level staff are always at the top.

Aim for the lower, the people who are actually writing the

stories.

Look for the Assistant Editor, Writer or Reporter because they

will be more accessible.

They are more likely to respond and engage in conversation.


#3Do NOT address your email as “DearReporter” or anything generic

If you haven’t taken the time to care enough about who they are,

they aren’t likely to care about you. It’s like any relationship.

(wink, wink)

Finding contact names is much easier online today than it was a

few years ago. (see #2)

Take Action:

Find a contact name through online research - Google, LinkedIn

Personalize your email outreach with their name

Bonus TIP: Set up a Google Alert for topics and/or reporters you

want to follow. You can set as-is, daily or weekly notifications

for when they write stories. You will save time searching because

the information will come to you. I’ve chosen the topic or

“search query” - “entrepreneur” below. It will pull up all the

articles that correspond with your search term. You can click on

the ones you are interested and see who wrote the article. Then,

you have the reporters name.


Look at the publication’s advertising kit page.

It will have contact names and emails because those are the

sales people selling advertising and they want to be contacted.

You can then see how the company formats their email address.

It is usually the same for anyone at the company

(ie) [email protected]

(and yes, that is the real structure for HuffPo - smile)

http://www.google.com/alerts


http://www.google.com/alerts

#4 Do NOT contact a reporter who hasmassive reach if it is NOT your targetmarket

Does it really matter if you reach millions of people who aren’t

really interested in your exact offering?

No. If it doesn’t resonate with the reporter’s audience, they

aren’t going to want to cover your story. It’s more effective to

reach a niche, highly targeted audience of potential customers.

So, how do you find that information?

Take Action:

Think about what your customer reads, watches and listens to

Make a list of relevant media outlets

Focus on niche, accessible reporters that reaches your target

market


One way to find what your customer is interested in is through a

Facebook Social Graph Search which is the searchable box at the

top of the page.

(ie) Let’s say you have a baby/kid product focused on health.

You could search competitors like Boogie Wipes to see what their

fans (your potential customers) are interested in.

The first result we see is Parents Magazine liked by over 1.4

million people. Then they show you other suggestions like

FamilyFun, American Baby and other Magazines.

You could begin to create your list of publications. Keep in

mind Parents Magazine is a major national publication that is

working on stories, placements 4-6 months out so when you reach

out -- think about the future timing. Would your product be a

good fit seasonally or year-round? Where does it make the most

sense?

If you are at the beginning stages of press outreach, it may

make sense to go for a more near-term win with a smaller

publication.


#5 Do NOT send a reporter a story afterthey air a similar story on yourcompetitor

“Me, too - Me, too!” They just wrote about something similar so

naturally you would think they’d be interested in your product.

Sure, makes sense. Actually, they aren’t going to write another

story on the same exact topic again … at least not for awhile.

Take Action:

Email the reporter and acknowledge you understand they may not be

interested in covering the same topic again in the near future.

Ask them what they are working on next and see if you have any

value to contribute.

Reporters are working on other stories - maybe you are a fit or

know someone who is. Offer relevant contacts if you are not the

right fit and know of someone who is.


#6Do NOT brag, brag, brag or write anovel I totally get it. You have the most awesome product ev-ah and you

know the reporter will just luv it! Don’t just tell, tell, tell.

Reporters want to be engaged, not listen to another stale pitch.

Share a brief, engaging story.

They also don’t need every.single.detail about your business and

product.

What’s in it for them? What has the reporter written about that

you resonated with, enjoyed and why?

Take Action:

Tell them why you are bringing your incredible story to them

Tell them why you think their audience would appreciate your story

How it can make the reporter look good or grow their audience

(ie) I'd love to promote our segment through my social media

reaching #xyz and include in my newsletter to #xyz


#7Do NOT send the same story to allcontacts at the same timeI know, you want coverage NOW. You’ve spent time crafting your

story and now you want to get it out there as fast as possible.

But, it can take time. Remember, marathon not sprint.

If one reporter decides to go with your story or blog post -

another outlet won’t want to use the same content. They want

original, exclusive content. Be sure to send it to the most

relevant reporter who reaches your target market first.

Take Action:

Personalize your story to the reporter and their audience,

interests.

Email your story to top tier outlets with the most reach in your

target market.

Let them know you will follow up in one week if you don’t hear

back from them. Then, be sure to follow up each week for 4 weeks.

If you don’t hear back, move on.


Example of Pitch Letter:

Subject Line: Hot Tot Haircare (Product Name) Launches Non-Toxic Line

for Children (Benefit)

Dear (insert reporter’s name),

My name is ________ with _________. I am writing to introduce

myself and my company and thought you might be interested in

______________. Include anything impressive (ie) we were recently

featured on xyz, won xyz award, etc...

I enjoyed your article “(article name)” and (why you liked it and

make it relevant to what you have to offer).

Include some benefits, statistics if appropriate.

Did you know _______? I was surprised to learn that, too so I

invented __________ to keep children safe from toxic chemicals like

parabens that are known to cause cancer.

No mother should have to worry about their child’s shampoo causing

illness so I created a line of products to reduce worry for the

entire family.

These products:

Benefit 1

Benefit 2

They are available at _______ retail outlets for $_____.

Call to Action: Would you like a sample to try for

_________(publication name)?

Thank you in advance for your consideration.If I don't hear back from

you, I'll be sure to follow up next week.

(Your name, company, contact info)


Rachel olsen media

A Turn-Key Media Program to Get Your Brand Noticed

+ Build a long-standing brand+ Confidently pitch reporters+ Validate your dream+ Media list + Email Templates - Easy!+ Reach your customers

Announcing "Just Pitch ME"

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