Episode 149: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Journalists for PR
From cold pitching thousands of times with zero PR connections, or knowing the journalist beforehand, yet getting a combined 1 Billion organic views on hundreds of top media outlets for small businesses, I am sharing my 5 top lessons and what NOT TO DO, so you can get featured for free and make more sales! Remember: journalists are looking for fresh voices to feature and if you do these simple things, they will thank you for making their job easier when publishing a story--one that can reach millions of potential new customers!
Here’s What We Cover and More:
Essential steps before sending a pitch email.
Importance of correct spelling, formatting and recipient details.
Crafting irresistible subject lines.
Verifying journalists’ recent coverage.
The CPR Method: Credibility, Point of view, and Relevance.
Structuring concise, three-paragraph pitches.
Effective calls to action.
Enhancing pitch credibility by connecting journalists with experts.
Maintaining persistence and resilience in pitching
Before hitting send, remember: sloppy spelling and broken links scream unprofessional; don’t pitch what they just published— no one likes déjà vu; your subject line should be enticing, not clickbait; brevity is the soul of a good pitch— ditch the fluff; and finally, a confident call to action beats desperate pleas every time.
Product Businesses! Download my free HOW TO GET INTO A GIFT GUIDE/PRODUCT ROUND UP roadmap for free HERE to get more sales and traffic to your site this season.
If you want to land your first feature for free without any connections, I want to invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought-after industry expert. Register now at www.gloriachoupr.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Join the PR Secrets Masterclass
Join the Small Biz PR Pros Facebook Group
DM the word “PITCH” to us on Instagram to get a pitching freebie https://www.instagram.com/gloriachoupr
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaychou
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/428633254951941
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Transcript
00:00:00 Gloria: All right. So for those of you who have gotten your pitch ready, you're ready to press that send button. I want to make sure that you have all your ducks in the row. So this episode are the five things you need to make sure that you have in order before you press that send button, whether it's a LinkedIn message or a longer email. These are the five things that are a must. And don't make this mistake without checking.
00:00:22 Gloria: So the first one is I want you to make sure, which is very obvious, to check the spelling, formatting and to make sure that the name and outlet of the person receiving it is correct. A lot of times when we're outreaching and owning our own outreach, it can seem, like, so much easier to just copy and paste and press send, but be careful that your Gmail or whatever email that you're using is not improperly formatting it.
00:00:47 Gloria: What I mean is a lot of times when you copy and paste, the text can be wonky, it can be dark purple, it can be small and large. So just give it that extra 30 seconds to make sure that it's formatted properly. And one more thing is if you do add a hyperlink, which I really encourage you to do because it allows you to not add attachments which can trigger their spam filter, make sure that the hyperlink is properly done when you transfer it from person to person.
00:01:15 Gloria: So again, this is a quick 30 second non-negotiable. You gotta spell their name right, make sure the formatting is correct. The hyperlinks are proper and that you have given the right contact information. So that's whether your cell phone number or your email or what have you. That is just out of respect and courtesy.
00:01:35 Gloria: And if you want to know how to send a pitch out and exactly how I teach you to cold email or cold pitch, go back to episode two of this podcast where I talk about my unique and winning CPR method. That's again, episode two and you can access that right now by going to gloriachoupr.com/2. And that's spelled C-H-O-U, and you'll know exactly how to write a pitch.
00:02:02 Gloria: So moving on from number one is the second thing you must check before you send out an email is make sure that the journalist hasn't just covered something super similar. What I mean is if they just covered someone with the exact background to give an exact, let's say it's on a podcast, right? And they just interviewed someone who talked about introverts and how introverts can win and still communicate with power in this virtual landscape, you're probably not gonna want to pitch that, right?
00:02:32 Gloria: Or if someone just interviewed someone on their show who was a mom, a mompreneur with the same kind of mindset hats for time management, they're probably not gonna wanna cover it right away. So just make sure that you're not making the mistake of pitching something that they just covered.
00:02:50 Gloria: Same thing for me is if I am about to pitch something for myself, I want to make sure that the journalist or the podcaster or blogger literally didn't just publish another thing or an episode with another PR, a small business PR expert. You want to give it some time to breathe. It doesn't mean that they're not going to cover, generally, your industry. It just means that if they just covered it, you might want to wait a few weeks, but have them on your radar. So that's number two.
00:03:17 Gloria: Number three is make sure you have a really solid subject line. And I teach this in my PR masterclass, which you can access at GloriaChouPR.com/Masterclass. But the subject line is the most important part of your pitch because if your subject line is not eye-catching, they're not going to open the email. So we want to make sure that the subject line is super, super enticing, but we don't want to make it gimmicky. We don't want to make it weird and spammy like, Hey, did you know or hey, I made you a video or guess what I found? That's gonna make them feel like it's spam and they're probably not gonna read it.
00:03:54 Gloria: So as a journalist, they're browsing through hundreds of subject lines. You wanna make sure your subject line fits in the preview but is also specific so that they know what the pitch is about. So they can make a quick decision on whether or not to open it. Another reason why the subject line is so important is that it allows them to go back later on and do a quick search. I can't tell you how many journalists I have interviewed where they don't respond to every email they get, obviously, right? Because that would be insane. They don't have enough time to respond.
00:04:26 Gloria: But what they do is they file it under a certain folder, maybe by keyword or by industry. And it's as easy as them doing a quick search later on for them to go back to the person who sent them an email so that they can interview that person. So you wanna make sure your subject line has the idea, the specific insight or the summary of the pitch. I'll give you an example, right? So for example, instead of saying, oops, you forgot your gift idea, right? If you're gonna pitch, like a last minute gift idea, you wanna say something like in the subject line, last minute gift idea for the eco-conscious mom under $50.
00:05:01 Gloria: Do you see how that's specific? It gives them exactly how and what you're pitching. And that way, if they are making a gift guide or a product guide for under $50, that's last minute. Boom, there you go. Right. So you want to make it specific. Another example of a winning subject line could be we're launching the first app to do X, Y, and Z, and we're helping startups overcome this particular problem. Right.
00:05:26 Gloria: So it tells a journalist what the news is, which is you're launching something and what you're launching. Right. That's also another great angle is around launch times when you're announcing that here we are. This is what we created, right? You only have that one chance to announce that you've launched. So you make sure that you do use that time and make it a media moment.
00:05:47 Gloria: Another example of a great subject line is three insights from gym owners who reopened after the lockdown and turned a profit. So I like the number threes and I say this all the time. And if you've listened to any of the previous episodes, I give tons of examples. I like the number three because it's not so many insights and it's not too little. And it gives the journalist an option if they don't like the first two insights to maybe pick the third one. So I like the number three.
00:06:14 Gloria: Another example of a great subject line that'll help them decide whether or not to open the email is something like this. This one behavior from your employee is the top indicator that they will leave in 60 days. This is one of the pitches that I wrote recently for a PR Starter Pack member who upgraded to a one-on-one session with me. She was an organizational consultant and a leadership coach. And we came up with a really strong angle despite all the different angles that we came up with. She liked this one the most.
00:06:44 Gloria: Another example is this one. I am a doctor and this is what patients should know about this new medical bill. So that's a regulatory angle. And if you are in a regulated industry, if you're a doctor, if you're a lawyer, finance, one of the best ways to be newsworthy is to not talk about yourself and your experience, but to help the audience decipher or understand a new piece of law or policy.
00:07:10 Gloria: If you're in beauty, it could be something in the FDA and they have approved or have found an ingredient to be toxic. If you are in finance, it might be something around tax season. So there's always a way to tie your pitch to something seasonal or relevant. And if you watched a masterclass or listened to episode two of the podcast, you know exactly what I mean. So that's number three is make sure you have a really strong subject line that tells exactly what the pitch is about and that it's not gimmicky or spammy.
00:07:41 Gloria: All right, let's move on to number four. This is a fourth thing you have to make sure before you send out that pitch is, you want to make sure your email is concise, right? What I mean is let's say you have mastered the art of the subject line and they open the email. If it's just paragraph upon paragraph upon paragraph, it is so overwhelming for a journalist who gets hundreds of emails. They're just not going to read it. Remember, it's all about respecting their time and being of service. And you want to do the work to make sure your messaging is completely dialed in. And that means talking in short, concise sentences.
00:08:18 Gloria: And I'm sure you've heard of this before that it takes a lot more skill and effort to communicate something in a shorter amount of time than a longer amount of time. So make sure you roll up your sleeves and do the most important work as a founder, which is get clear on your messaging and keep shaving away at it until it is super concise.
00:08:36 Gloria: I teach this in my CPR method, which is again, episode two of this podcast. You can go to gloriachoupr.com/2 to listen to it. But the CPR method, I lay out word for word, how you can actually write a cold pitch or an email. The CPR method stands for Credibility, Points of view and Relevance. And from cold calling and cold email, emailing thousands of times because remember I never had a PR agency experience. I never had any fancy contacts. I was never in the Cool Kids Club. I had to literally cold email and cold call.
00:09:10 Gloria: I created this proprietary method just from picking up the patterns on what worked and what didn't. So the CPR method allows you to have a framework, a structure to write your pitch because you probably have a billion things you want to say and you want to fit it all into an email, but that is such a rookie mistake. And it's the number one way to tell that a founder has not quite mastered the art of the pitch. So you wanna make sure that your pitch follows the CPR method. You wanna trim it down to three paragraphs.
00:09:43 Gloria: And if you want, make sure that you put in bullets or numbers, I really like bullets or numbers so that when they open it, it's concise. It's not just three huge paragraphs. I like to start actually with relevance. So the CPR method stands for Credibility, Point of view and Relevance. And I want you to have all those things, but in the actual email and I teach those in my masterclass and when I work one-on-one with clients is I actually put the relevance in the very beginning paragraph because you are competing for the journalist's attention every single line. So you don't want to lose them. You don't want to bury the lead, right? You've probably heard of that before.
00:10:23 Gloria: And the most important part of a pitch is relevance. Why does it matter to them? Why should they open it? Why should they not file it away for five years later and forget about it? So boom, you want to start the email with setting the stage, why it's important right now. It could be something like, we are now in tax season, and this is why it's so important for small business owners to not make this one mistake. Or we're in graduation season, and we have 100,000 new students looking for jobs. Here are three skills that I find trending on LinkedIn that employers are looking for. Right?
00:10:56 Gloria: So do you see, you want to start with the relevance. That's what I mean by making it sure your email is concise and not giving like five paragraphs, painting a picture of where we are now. You want it to be super short and concise. Here's what's happening. Here's why it matters. Here's my point of view. Here's how you can contact me. Right. All right. So that's number four is make sure your email is concise by trimming it down and having bullets or numbers to make it easy on the eyes.
00:11:24 Gloria: The last thing that's an absolute non-negotiable along with the rest of the things in your cold email or pitch before you send it is, you wanna have a strong and confident call to action at the end. You don't wanna end your email with, we cannot wait for you to share this story and feature us. Here's what we're doing and why it's helping. That energy is an energy of eagerness, of desperation of you basically trying to get the journalists to run a free advertisement for you. And remember as experts, we do not want to pay for an ad. And the way to get out of paying for an ad is by positioning yourself as an industry expert with a point of view. And that's why the CPR method is amazing because it allows you to bypass having to buy an ad.
00:12:10 Gloria: So the call to action should not be begging. It should not be, please feature us. It should not be, we would love for you to include us. It's literally like, Hey, I have seen this firsthand, I know this is what people are talking about. I'm happy to discuss this in further detail and connect you with someone who's experiencing this. Now, whatever you're doing, come back to me. This is super important. Is that one of the ways you can be super valuable to a journalist is by connecting them with other people in your community. So if you're a life coach, it might be other life coaches or entrepreneurs that you coach. If you are an author, it might be connecting them to readers or authors.
00:12:49 Gloria: Remember you are a vessel of valuable information. You are a valuable conduit between the journalists and your world. So put that there, offer that up and don't have the scarcity mindset of, oh, the journalists is just going to skip over me and go directly to my contact. No, it's only going to make you more valuable. If you can say, Hey, here is my pitch. Here's why it matters. And I can connect you with all of these other people who can give their point of view.
00:13:19 Gloria: Right, so if you are an Etsy seller, or if you're on Shopify, and you're talking about a new policy or a new trend, you could be like, hey, I'm happy to connect you with other artisan people and don't have the scarcity mindset. Remember, it's all about having the abundance mindset and approaching it from a place of self-worthiness. You deserve to be seen, you deserve to be featured. And the fact that you have connections with other people, it's only gonna make you more powerful.
00:13:45 Gloria: Another thing is you're basically allowing the journalist to validate whatever you're pitching. You're saying, hey, this is a pitch. I can validate this right away by connecting you with these people or connecting you with these customers who have found that my method works. Right? So you're telling them not only does your stuff work, but you're giving them a way to validate it because that's what journalists, that's why they have their journalist integrity is because they need to validate that you are not just talking about things that you actually, it's actually fact-based. And that's what separates journalism with just paying an influencer, is their integrity. And that's why they have such a high bar. And people really value their opinion.
00:14:25 Gloria: So that's the last one is, have a strong and confident CTA. Say you're happy to discuss it further. Maybe give a sample of your product if it's easy and accessible. If you have something that's very expensive, like $500 speakers, then maybe you wouldn't give them a free sample of it, but you can give them a link to a video or a sample, like a sample audio clip that gives them the experience of your product, right? Or you can connect them with other people in your community and make sure to always leave your cell phone number as well.
00:14:56 Gloria: This is why it's so important is the episode right before this one with PR Starter Pack member, Vincent Fan Van, he actually talks about how when he left a cell phone number for a quick response, the journalist texted him and was like, hey, I wanna get more info on this. Are you ready for a call? Right? Once the journalist knows that you have something substantive to say, and that you can give them a quote, it's just a matter of getting on the phone.
00:15:20 Gloria: Remember the whole pitch is not to tell them what the story is, is for them to be able to decide whether or not you are a credible source. It's for them to act and to decide, yes or no, let's get on the phone or not. So you want to make it super easy for them by giving them your contact information, especially your cell phone, because a lot of times journalists will actually text you back. So that is another way. You wanna have a strong and confident CTA.
00:15:44 Gloria: There you have it, this week's short episode with the five non-negotiable things you must check for before you hit that send button. And remember, everything you want is on the other side of the send button. So get out there, keep pitching, have the energy where you are not bothered by getting rejected because having the rejections and being able to be okay with that, that is the energy that's gonna allow you to keep persisting until you get that yes and you just need that first yes before the dominoes start to fall. I know you got this and I look forward to seeing you here next week.
00:16:22 Gloria: Hey, small business hero, did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, the New York Times, Marie Claire, PopSugar, and so many more, even if you're not yet launched or if you don't have any connections? That's right. That's why I invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought after industry expert.
00:16:50 Gloria: Now, if you want to land your first press feature, get on a podcast, secure a VIP speaking gig or just reach out to that very intimidating editor, this class will show you exactly how to do it. Register now at GloriaChouPR.com/Masterclass. That's Gloria Chou, C-H-O-U-P-R.com/Masterclass. So you can get featured in 30 days without spending a penny on ads or agencies. Best of all, this is completely free. So get in there and let's get you featured.