Re: News Story Pitching - Call & Blab?

From: Andy Chang <acc1972_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Thu 19 Oct 2000 14:09:07 -0500

ION VITAE <ivitae_at_mail.com> WROTE:
> Do any PR, Marcom & Marketing experts out there have
> any tales & advice on what truly works when pitching a
> story? How about sending a pitch email 1st, then
> calling? Or, is calling not effective, since it takes
> forever to reach the journalist, & they never listen
> unless you're a close contact?

Ion,

I have read some of the responses and I think one
important point that hasn't been mentioned is that you
would far more likely get your story featured by a
reporter if he/she feels that you're owed a feature.
If you become a "source" for reporters' research or
have offered them leads on other companies that
resulted in published articles, they will most likely
feature your own when the time is right. You will then
only need to write a letter that goes "Hello Reporter
X, remember me? I gave you the lead that led to your
breaking story on CompanyX Inc..."

It would also be useful to build a contact sheet.
Anytime you read an article that's related to your
industry, write down the reporter's name, publication,
email address if visible, and what they covered on.
Reporters like it when you know their areas of
expertise.

Andy Chang
acc1972_at_yahoo.com





Received on Thu Oct 19 2000 - 14:09:07 CDT