The ultimate in media RELATIONS

The ultimate in media relations is getting past “pitching.” It’s way better when you get into organic conversations where you help influencers help their audiences, which in turn helps you achieve your goals.

But obviously there are obstacles to doing that, otherwise you’d be there already. Here come some thoughts that will help you.

I observed these points while presenting the results of my Inner Circle’s “Best Pitch of the Year” competition on a recent webinar for members. Every year the PR pros inside the program submit their best placements, and I not only pick winners, but observe the trends behind what’s working right now and what is no longer effective.

Key principle: you’re seeking to serve the journalist first, and you simply want to know how they work and what they need so you can serve them better.

That tends to require dialogue, and back-and-forth happens more fluidly on the phone or in-person. But it can happen digitally, too.

Example #1: One Inner Circle member was struggling to break through with a Wall Street Journal columnist whose interests are perfectly aligned with this PR pro’s company. Nothing was working, so she sought solely to be helpful.

She emailed the columnist. In the process of complimenting a recent piece, she offered four sources as possible subjects for future profiles.

“None of them were affiliated with our company – I was not looking to push our firm but instead establish the relationship,” the PR pro says. “I found these folks on my own through my own network.”

Several weeks later the columnist responded. She was grateful for the sources, and – this is the key part – she explained her process to the PR pro. They emailed back and forth a bit more on her needs for these types of stories.

And then the columnist asked for her help in sourcing a column, and our PR friend provided one of her executives and also a customer. Those were the lead quotes in the resulting column. Three more inclusions followed over the ensuing twelve months.

Example #2: A different Inner Circle member was getting nowhere with Business Insider. She studied how competitors were showing up on the site, and who was authoring those pieces. That helped her zero in on the right person. Because she had an upcoming trip to New York, she reached out cold to that writer and was able to land a meeting.

Surprised? Those kinds of meetings still happen when you do your research and show up as potentially valuable.

The writer explained how she and her colleagues approach the types of stories our PR friend has to offer.

“That allowed us to follow up with her and pitch for that specific structure,” explained the IC member.

Understanding this writer’s needs allowed our PR friend to place one of her clients in EIGHT separate Business Insider posts this past year.

Key Takeaways: True, there are many nuances and skills at play here. Knowing how to build targeted media lists. The subtle balance required to compliment a previous piece without coming off like a suck up. And the way to phrase the question around “How do you get your job done?” so you actually get an answer.

But there are plenty of PR pros who have those skills who are flailing around and failing. Inner Circle members saw all 16 “Best Pitches of the Year” that I presented during our last virtual meeting. Winners landed everything from the New York Times to GMA to a hyperlocal web site that drove a ton of sales for a client. Members also have access to dozens more stellar pitches to learn from thanks to the previous years’ winners in their Training Vault.

You can be reviewing all of these winning pitches tomorrow if you decide to ramp up your media pitching skills by becoming a member. Check out the opportunity here.

And then you’ll be fully armed to apply the key principle, what everything else grows from, which is a sincere desire to:

“Find out what they need and give them that.”