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I get asked a lot about PR pitching and the best way to sell your story into magazines. So, here’s 10 tips I can share on the PR pitch, share if it’s useful to you! A thread:
1. Don’t send your press release with “PRESS RELEASE” in capitals. It’s shouty and gives us anxiety. There are no emergencies in lifestyle journalism; it’s PR, not ER.
2. Don’t fight for superlatives to describe your own brand, you may think it’s ‘revolutionary’ ‘world-first’ ‘groundbreaking’, but who else does? Can you quote someone else, beyond your founders…?
3. Know what’s going on in popular culture. READ. THE ROOM. It’s not cool to talk about ‘guilt’ ‘calories’ or ‘detox’ right now, so maybe don’t use those words to sell your brand?
4. Don’t describe your brand by referencing others, it does you a disservice - i.e. the “Uber of laundry” “Shazam of cats” “Netflix of tea” - work out what’s unique to you.
5. It’s only a story if something new has happened; a record sales month is not a story, having a female MD is not a story, a cute office dog is not a story. Know the story; don’t expect a journalist to do all the work.
6. High-res photos. Ones without branding, logos, that feel relaxed and cool. I’ll say it again for the people in the back: HIGH-RES PHOTOS.
7. If you want to get into a publication, the best way is to become friendly with its writers. Follow them on social media, engage in what they write, take them to lunch if you can. Make it authentic, you’ll find they are way more open to your pitches.
8. Dropbox over WeTransfer, every time.
9. If you’re using stats to build your story, make it a decent sample size, age range etc. Make sure the stats are at least a little bit relevant to the brand involved - we can always feel when it’s a spin.
10. Read the publication. That really bloody helps.
