You and your team have worked hard to achieve great results.
Whether this is an important Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative or even some exciting business updates to share, you can’t wait to shout it from the rooftops!
…but how do you get journalists to agree with you and publish your story over the many others they have received?
It’s a competitive landscape, with every business thinking their press release is more important than everyone else’s, so it’s important to understand what makes journalists tick and how to pitch a news story successfully to get the best spread of coverage possible (not that that is why you did it in the first place…)
Working with an experienced PR agency, like tigerbond, is the first key step in landing the results you want, but in the meantime, we are revealing some of our team members, who are former journalists, top tips for how to pitch a story to a journalist across print, radio and TV.
Contents:
Our Former Journalists
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- Lesley Pert has two decades of media experience and began her career as a local newspaper reporter, later working as a news agency reporter covering breaking news stories for the Scottish national press.
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- Calum Woodger is a former sports reporter at The Courier, Dundee Evening Telegraph, Sunday Post, Football Scotland, Daily Record, Glasgow Live and Edinburgh Live.
Award-winning podcaster for 'Twa Teams, One Street' and experience working with football charities such as the SPFL Trust, Football Memories and Big Hearts. Occasional matchday commentator for St Mirren TV.
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- A former staff reporter at The Sun newspaper – and an honours graduate in Law – Chris Gilmour is a renowned specialist in issues and reputation management, with experience across a range of sectors.
A regular commentator on crisis and reputation issues, having appeared on Radio 4’s World at One, BBC Six O’clock News and ITN News at Ten, as well as in The Times, PR Week, Legal Week, The Grocer, and a range of trade and sector publications.
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- Specialising in human interest stories, Jamie Mountain worked at the Press Association as a deputy editor before making the jump to PR.
Writing stories for the national newspapers on a daily basis, Jamie would regularly help everyday people find their voice to share their extraordinary stories.
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- Alex Wignall trained as a journalist with the Press Association, achieving an NCTJ diploma in journalism, and was a former freelance music journalist He now specialises in several areas of PR including crisis and B2B.
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- A journalist with a solid history of working in communications, including The Scottish Sun, Sunday Mail and various magazine titles, Lisa Boyle is skilled in Media Relations, Strategic Communications, Press Releases, Writing, and Internal Communications and has a BA Hons in Journalism from University of the West of Scotland.
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- Sophie Wallace is a former broadcast journalist with extensive experience working in both television and radio.
An honours graduate in Multimedia Journalism, she worked as a reporter for some of Scotland’s best loved radio stations before securing a job at STV News, where she produced and presented a range of programmes, including the late and weekend news. She went on to freelance as a reporter and producer for Good Morning Britain, where she covered a range of local, domestic, and international stories.
Press Release Tips
You Can Quote Me on That – Chris Gilmour
If you're writing a quote on behalf of a client, make it interesting and something likely to capture the attention of a journalist and their audience.
Never write 'I'm delighted' - it stands to reason that if you're sending out a press release then you'll usually be quite pleased about it.
Get to the point and say what it is that makes the client happy.
The journalist will be more likely to use it and the client will be happy when the coverage lands.
Pun-ishingly Bad Content – Chris Gilmour
If you're sending a press release, make sure it's not full of terrible puns or written in flowery language with a vague story buried after a four paragraph drop intro.
Remember to KISS:
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- Keep
- It
- Simple
- Stupid
The cat sat on a mat and then it...had its morning ablutions.
Who was it, what did they do, and why was it interesting?
Writing Your Pitch
Don’t Bore Them Stupid – Lesley Pert
“Hi, my name is Blah Blah, I’m calling from Blah Blah, I wanted to tell you all about a company that’s blaaaah-waffle-salespitch.”
Give it a rest.
They’re time pressed, they only care what you’ve got to offer, so cut to the chase and be succinct.
“I’m calling to flag a story about [news hook]”, “the pictures are brilliant, you’ll want to take a look”.
Let them know the sender’s name so they can locate it in their vast pile of emails and leave them to it.
Write In Plain English and Be Succinct – Calum Woodger
There’s no need for jargon or chapter and verse on the subject matter of your press release.
That’s an instant turn off for a journo.
Keep it simple and newsy with a top line that speaks to the audience you’re targeting.
Cut the Schmoozing – Jamie Mountain
Yes, journalists help PRs get great coverage - but it's a two-way street.
By offering a great exclusive, you're helping them land a great story.
Similarly, if they're having a tough news day/week, our copy can be the perfect piece to fill the news agenda.
It's always good to curry favour but don't forget journalists depend on us too (more than they'd like to admit!)
Leave the schmoozing at the front door when pitching - you don't need it.
Set a Deadline – Jamie Mountain
Like all of us, at times journalists will come across your email and think 'I'll get back to that later'.
If you need an answer quickly, let them know.
If they don't get back to you by the set deadline, chances are they're not interested.
Think Outside of the Paper Box – Lisa Boyle
Most press releases will be published online, even if they don’t make it into print.
It’s worth bearing this in mind when pitching. If I knew a news story was likely to rank highly in search engines, I would be more likely to put it on our website.
Offer First Refusal/Exclusivity – Calum Woodger
Where appropriate this can be a useful tactic for securing ‘hero’ coverage with a desired title.
Not always the best approach, but when your client wants quality over quantity, taking the time to work on a contact and pitcht a bespoke piece can be much more effective and targeted than a dreaded BCC mass email.
Utilise Case Studies – Lisa Boyle
A case study is imperative for most journalists when it comes to selling-in specific types of stories, namely those which are human interest.
By being able to supply a reporter with a case study that helps to accompany your pitch, it will add immediate value, as writers need the human element to be able to stir emotion within a story or create sources as evidence to back why your client has solved a consumer challenge.
Make sure you have plenty of detail in there about the case study too – don’t forget ages, occupation, location, and of course a surname.
Choosing who to Pitch To
Stay Relevant – Alex Wignall
The most annoying thing for a journalist is to receive a pitch that has nothing to do with their niche.
If you have a press release about the launch of a new food product, why are you sending it to a health journalist?
Tailor Made Pitch – Alex Wignall
When you are sending a story to a journalist, don’t just think ‘I need to get this health-related press release published so I’ll send it to health journalists’.
Take a bit of time to research what the journalist has been writing about and reference this in your pitch.
Understand what the journalist is interested in and tailor your pitch accordingly.
Following Up
You Know They’ve Got It – Lesley Pert
Don’t call and ask, “did you get my press release?”
Did you send it to them?
Then they have it.
But it may be buried in an inbox with a million emails.
If you genuinely believe your press release has a unique selling point (USP), call the journalist and tell them you know they’re inundated but you’re keen to flag up your release because there’s an angle that’s [too good to miss / relevant to something they ran recently / of huge significance to their patch] and you don’t want it to get lost in the pile.
Pitching for TV Coverage
Make Sure the Story Can Actually Be Told in Pictures – Sophie Wallace
There’s no point in pitching a story that won’t tell itself visually on TV.
Telly journalists think in pictures, so make sure you illustrate exactly what the filming opportunities are and the range of shots available.
That will help a producer get an understanding of how the piece could fit into a news programme.
Conclusion
Every story that is sent to a journalist is competing for attention so understanding the fine art of how to pitch a news story is a crucial skill in any PR’s arsenal.
Making your pitch stand out with a tailored intro, considering the online value of your story, and keeping your pitch simple but interesting, could be the difference between your story getting coverage or being lost in a sea of emails.
In terms of getting your story onto the telly, remember that this is a visual medium, so if you can’t demonstrate how your story would work in this format, or you don’t have an expert who would be available for interviews, it would be worth going back to the drawing board and rethinking your strategy.
To find out more about tigerbond’s PR services, including digital PR, visit our website or get in touch.