The Power of Personalization: Connecting through Media Pitching
Think about the brands you follow on social media. Why do you follow them? It’s most likely because you feel like you’re connecting with a person rather than a brand. Brands with high engagement mean your customers have a more substantial, authentic connection with the company. The same idea applies to pitching stories to journalists.
Personalization might not seem like it is essential in media relations, mainly because you are trying to reach as many journalists and reporters as possible without having them read too much information. However, personalizing your subject lines and pitches can result in more traction.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Subject Lines
The subject line is the first thing people see when they open their emails. If you spice it up and make it sound interesting, they’ll open the email. However, think about all of the emails and pitches that end up in a reporter’s inbox — if something doesn’t pique their interest right away, they’re not going to waste their time.
With that being said, it may be a good idea to include statistics in your subject lines, along with a “New research” or “Study” thrown in there. For example:
You can even throw in the person’s name:
Or, throw in the name of the website you’re pitching to:
With all these tips in mind, you can create a killer subject line that will grab the attention of journalists and reporters when they open their email inboxes.
They’ve Opened My Email! Now What?
Congratulations, you have completed your first step! Now it is time to reel them in. Don’t make them open an email just to see a dull pitch that could’ve been copied and pasted to every other journalist in the area. Make it personal!
Reference an article of theirs and show them how their interests connect with your company. If you start with something like, “I noticed your coverage on easy and convenient travel items and as such, I wanted to get another great travel brand on your radar that is making trekking across the world with your family a breeze” that will grab their attention, especially after showing them that you put in the time and effort to read their work. If you need examples of this in action, take a look at Prowly’s resource for media pitching.
Additionally, although it may seem like a good practice to include an “I hope all is well!” at the beginning of your pitch, that may drive journalists out of your email. That kind of message can come off as generic or fake. Get right to the point without leaving out relevant details and include only what is necessary.
No Answer…Did My Personalization Not Work?
Follow up with journalists and reporters after about one week. If they still don’t answer it may be worth a second attempt, but never more than that. Their emails are getting clogged by other pitches on the daily, so they may not have even seen yours in their inboxes.
The follow-up emails should be short and sweet, and also include a reference to your prior personalized message. Prowly has another good example follow-up, which includes a useful personalized portion:
“As I mentioned before, this topic (is trending, aligns with your audience, expands on something you wrote recently—some mention of why it’s a good subject for now). Here’s the short version of what you need to know:
Top-level statement about news you want to share
Why it’s important
Relevant stats, charts, data, etc.”
The follow-up isn’t a generic “Hey! Just checking in,” but rather a reminder that your story is something they are interested in and should consider writing about.
Don’t Hesitate to Create Relationships
If you receive coverage, thank the journalists who placed your story. This will keep your name at the top of their inbox, and will show them that you appreciated their time and effort.
This may even result in a “next time” situation, where you pitch another story and they take it solely because it is you who is pitching it. Forming relationships with journalists should become a part of your normal as a media relations expert, and personalization is the key to making this happen.
Clare Quirin is a senior with a double major in Advertising & Public Relations and Film & Video. She is in her seventh semester with PRSSA, where she currently serves as the GrandPR CEO and previously served as the Social Media Director. Clare has worked as a Marketing Associate for Senior Living Experts Chicagoland, Multimedia Journalist for Grand Rapids Public Schools, and Student Coordinator for Piper & Gold Public Relations. Clare hopes to work for an environmentally-friendly or outdoors-associated company after graduation, where she can hopefully find a position that integrates her film editing and PR skills. Clare loves to ski, camp, hike, rock climb, and trail bike.