Last week I showed 15 pitches to the executive editor of the best-selling newsstand magazine in the nation.

She reacted to them in real time, as if she were opening emails at her desk in her Manhattan office, and followed my prompting to think out loud.

“She’s 23? Too young.”

“Definitely doesn’t matter to my reader that Gwyneth is involved – celebrities don’t do well for us.”

“This one is completely right. It’s right for our demographic. Brain health is something that we’re very focused on.”

What stood out to me right from the beginning is how intimately this editor knows her readers, and how almost protective she is of them.

She wasn’t applying some “standards of newsworthiness” that she got out of a journalism textbook. Nor was she thinking consciously about society’s views of media bias or anything like that. It was only, “Does this hit home to my readers where they live, with what they’re doing every day?”

Every journalist thinks this way now. Because whether they need to sell magazines off of newsstands, or accumulate a certain quota of page views, earn a certain TV rating, or a certain number of podcast downloads, their success or failure is inextricably tied to their audience’s immediate reaction to their content.

That means your success or failure in pitching them is tied to THEIR audience, not yours.

And if your pitches are like most of the ones I see, they are still too focused on your organization’s key messages. I’m not saying you have to abandon those. You just need to reframe them.

Whether you would ever pitch this particular magazine is irrelevant. You need to get inside the heads of the media you’re pitching. Think like a journalist. Best way to do that is talk to them. If you can’t go down to the nearest bar and run into them, then you’ve got to find a way to hear them talk about their needs and how they think.

Do you know anywhere else you can do that besides my Inner Circle? Because I would love to find out.

Right now, the Inner Circle is the only place I’ve ever heard of that lets you hear real journalists’ reactions to real pitches. We’ve done it again and again, with staffers from USAT, WSJ, WaPo, Today, and more.

All those interviews (complete with the screen sharing of the pitches) are available to members of the program.

You can be watching this one, with this particular editor, later today. And then if you want, you can cancel and get a full refund. I’m so confident in the value of the Inner Circle that I happily invite you to do just that 🙂

It’s all right here.

more

Here was my first reaction when I saw the viral video of the storm-chasing weatherman who appeared to be bracing against fake wind:

Great, another high-profile example that people will point at and claim that news media can’t be trusted.

One of my friends used to be one of those guys who stands in front of a camera during a hurricane. He says he hated doing it. Pure theatrics, he called it.

But in thinking further about it, and applying the principles that I teach PR teams, these types of incidents don’t matter. Because there is no monolithic “news media.”

When individuals respond to surveys and say they don’t trust “the news media,” that’s a worthless question. Nobody consumes the entire “news media.”

Individuals are drawn to the outlets and sources they trust. And they mostly ignore the ones they don’t.

The people who read Woman’s Day generally don’t watch MSNBC. Those who subscribe to Precast Concrete magazine generally don’t rely on the New York Times for their information.

This applies even within niches – passionate followers of IFL Science aren’t usually pulling Discover magazine out of their mailboxes.

My guess is that the devoted viewers of the Weather Channel, who treat hurricane coverage like others did the royal wedding, don’t doubt that Mike Seidel was bracing himself on slippery grass against potential gusts after reporting all night, just like the network said in a statement. And those diehards will continue to love the Weather Channel.

All this variety and disruption and “fake news” in the media landscape is “good news” for the diligent PR professional. It’s up to you to zero in on those trusted outlets where your organization’s diehards – and future diehards – gather.

You don’t need to be covered favorably by the collective “news media.” You need to be covered by handful of specific outlets that have the highest credibility among your key audiences.

more

more

Whenever possible, pitches should be about people. Not products or programs.

Readers and viewers are people. And that’s who your target journalist needs to attract and please to keep their job.

I recently reviewed a group of pitches and saw the power of this principle highlighted by two good examples and one that needed some help.

Pitch #1

The client is a large city’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters. But the PR pro had wisely found a new and different angle, one that’s different from all the other cities clamoring for the honor. How? His pitch was a profile of an up-and-coming minority woman leader who happened to be in charge of the bid. Her backstory is intriguing, and a profile of her will inevitably reflect positively on the city’s bid. Smart approach.

Pitch #2

This was the classic tech pitch – writing to “introduce” a technological tool that gauges public sentiment on issues and purports to use AI to deliver new and different insights. The pitch listed all the claims about the technology, complete with buzzwords and jargon. And at the very end it mentioned some politicians whose campaigns had used the tool to get elected. I recommended flipping the pitch around to focus on those users and leave the buzzwords on the cutting room floor.

Pitch #3

This pitch came from a company that provides a software platform for business leaders to mentor young people remotely (typically while the mentor is at work and the mentees are at school). I loved the pitch because the PR pro had written it around a specific cross-section of mentors. She focused on female business leaders who want to mentor girls and young women, but are stretched too thin by the demands of their jobs and their own families to be able to regularly travel to do so. Best thing about this niche? It likely describes many of the journalists she would be pitching. We talked about ways she could further personalize the pitch, using the word “you” instead of “many female business leaders.”

By focusing the pitch on the mentors, not on the platform, she brought the service to life and offered her targets interesting characters to explore. My one additional suggestion was that she take the “people, not programs” principle even further and also develop some sources among another group: the students being mentored.

Where do you go to regularly learn from the way other pros are crafting successful pitches-in-the-making, and to get advice on improving yours? Do you have such a resource?

If not, you should check out my Inner Circle group mentoring program. Those three pitches were among those I reviewed during our August “Ask Michael Anything” virtual meeting. I got on the phone with the individual authors of those pitches and worked through improvements with them. Other members of the Inner Circle listened and learned in the background.

You could be joining us for the September AMA – check out the details and apply to join the Inner Circle here.

more

I’ve been encouraging newsmakers to subject themselves to media interviews for the past 20 years. But when the tables turned and the media “spotlight” was on me, everything I used to say to tell clients seemed less important.

I remember many of them balking and hesitating to participate. Either out of modesty – real or feigned. Or fear. Or mistrust. Often, I’d catch myself getting impatient with them, thinking, “This isn’t that big of a deal.”

And then last month, a reporter wanted to do a story about ME and something that’s close to me. And now I understand way better where those reluctant folks were coming from.

This time, I broke all the so-called “rules” about not trying to influence coverage. I’ll explain why, and what I learned that will make me approach future newsmakers differently.

What was this story about? It’s not related to my PR training business – I’ve been fortunate to have been covered by trade publications through the years, and that has never been sensitive for me. Part of the job.

Nope, this was a Salt Lake City newspaper wanting to do a piece on . . . the elementary school flag football team I coached. They wanted to embed some of the fun videos we had made, and were intrigued that we found a way to have fun, help every player score, and also win games.

But when I got that call, all of a sudden, I’m hearing myself think all those “crazy” concerns that those reluctant spokespeople would spout to me in the past:

“Jim down the street is going to think I’m full of myself and that I called the paper to brag.”

“The other coaches are going to be out to get me because they’ll think I’m trying to get the spotlight.”

“What if the reporter is inadvertently insensitive to some of the kids who aren’t athletic and they end up feeling left out or looking bad?”

I know. It’s elementary school youth sports, for crying out loud. It’s not a big deal.

But that’s exactly my point – it’s not a big deal to other people, but it was to me. There didn’t seem to be anything to lose to an outside observer. But to me and the players I felt responsible for, there was. That feeling brought with it emotions I had to manage.

The reporter and his editor were cool. I just told them straight up that I appreciated their interest and would love to work with them, but I had to be assured that none of the kids would be portrayed in the slightest negative light, even accidentally. And that to ensure this, we would fact-check the piece together before it went live. I knew they might get kind of offended and back off doing the story, but was willing to accept that.

They agreed. Later, when the reporter emailed me to set up the fact-checking call, I did what I had told sources many times over the years “you can’t do.” I asked him to email me the draft before it went live. I insisted that I wouldn’t try to edit it, just fact-check it.

The reporter patiently explained that’s against their policy, but he would be happy to go over it with me on the phone. We did, and caught a couple misunderstandings.

Then I did something else I would have never let a source do in the past – I straight-up asked him to include the names of my assistant coaches. They had been left out, and although the reader wouldn’t miss them, it would have been unfair to all the hours these men had sacrificed. The reporter agreed.

And in the end, none of my concerns came to fruition. A few people in the neighborhood got a kick out of it and barely anyone else noticed. My rational mind probably knew this is what would happen all along. But that didn’t change the emotions I felt once my personal life was the subject of a news article.

My biggest takeaway is that I’ll be much more attentive to those kind of concerns from newsmakers going forward, especially if the line of questioning veers into their personal life.

And in cases like this, when the reporter has come to me, or needs my client as much or more than they need his story, I won’t hesitate.  I’ll suggest or request anything that would help with accuracy and that might allay personal concerns my clients might have.

I know some media trainers who might cringe at this, but times are changing. Journalists can always say no, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. And if we aren’t comfortable with their approach, we can always decide not to participate and write a blog post instead 🙂

more

I remember Jay Srinivasan clearly because he sat right in the middle, right in the front, and asked a ton of questions. It was obvious that he was committed to learning and improving his skills and his results.

That was at my media pitching workshop in DC four summers ago.

The next summer he was there again. And the next. And again this past June. It’s the same workshop, and he has attended it the last four years in a row.

[The next one is in NYC next month and it’s almost sold out].

I’m around a lot of PR people, and many of them complain about being stuck and unappreciated at work. Not as many of them are willing to invest the time to actually DO something to change their circumstance.

I asked Jay why he keeps coming and said he learns new things every time. It’s obvious Jay is committed to continuous improvement and it has paid off for him.

Here’s what Jay wrote me about the impact of attending my workshop:

“My boss (originally) said if I produce one media placement a month, he would be happy .  . . Last year I was able to place 60 articles, including in The Washington Post, Business Insider, USA Today and Fast Company Design. This was my first time generating national media, and I owe a lot of it to your teachings.”

Armed with that track record of success, during this year’s annual review Jay requested to work from home two days a week, even though that is rare in his company. His boss approved. Now, Jay writes:

“I am now able to avoid three hours of commute time for those two days, drop my daughters off to school, pick them up and take them to swimming and taekwondo classes. It has also reduced some of the load on my wife, who was doing everything while working a high-pressure job.”

Would that be nice? To decrease your commute? Improve your work/life balance? Get more respect from your boss and coworkers?

Do something about it, like Jay did.

Claim one of the remaining seats at this workshop.

It’s almost full – now that I’m writing this final post, it could sell out at any time. Propel your skills and apply what you learn. Improve results and a better life will follow.

And watch out for Jay :).

more

A common lament I hear from even the best PR pros goes like this:

“I bust my tail to book the interview, and then our spokesperson blew it by [insert interviewing fail here].”

But Teri Bond just enjoyed the opposite experience. The Art Center in Pasadena where she does PR appointed a new second-in-command. Teri used her skill, considerable experience and relationships to secure an interview for the new leader with the LA Times. This feat was tremendous in any age, but even more so now when the Times newsroom is a shadow of its former self.

Teri and her spokesperson were so well prepared and gave the reporter such good information and quotes, that the paper ended up running the piece as a Q&A laden with their key messages. The administrator’s vision of “creative activism” (a great tagline for an art school) even made it into the headline!

Teri is a longtime member of my Inner Circle mentoring group. This month’s exclusive training for Inner Circle members focused on preparing spokespeople so they deliver when you put them in front of the camera or on the phone.

My guest expert was Mark Bernheimer, former CNN national correspondent and media trainer of thousands of athletes, celebrities, politicians, executives, doctors and everyone else.

Mark helped restore our confidence that media interviews can still be a win-win, even in the age of Trump. We don’t have space to cover all the golden nuggets he taught, but here were two that especially resonated with the members:

Does your overly confident spokesperson think they’re already great at media interviews and resist media training? Mark says don’t call it “media training.” Call it a “message development session,” to ensure that everyone is on the same page about what you intend to accomplish with the media interactions.

Does your spokesperson ramble? Or simply struggle to speak in sound bites?  When Mark assumes the role of a reporter during a media training practice session, he says, “One of us is going to edit you. It can be me, as the journalist, or it can be you, by you focusing your words on what you really want to say. It’s up to you.”

And the war stories he told! The Hollywood diva brought her mom to the media training? The famous golfer who ignored Mark’s advice until the first question during the first interview proved Mark right? Those and the detailed training tips he taught are available only to members of the Inner Circle –  join now and you can be reviewing it later today.

Mark’s newsletter is one of the few I open as soon as it hits my inbox. Check out “Media’s Masters and Disasters” and sign up for it on the right side of this page, halfway down.

If you like it as much as I do, hit reply and tell him you want him to write more often 🙂 Together maybe we can squeeze even more great advice out of him.

more

more

A skilled PR pro from Baltimore is applying a new approach and getting an immediate pay-off.

Adam Yosim is practicing what I call “Read and React.” I’m sure you can guess what it entails.

He wrote me to share:

I just wanted to send a note of appreciation for your tips on Reading and Reacting. Sure, I learned it last year at your workshop, but I never got around to carving out time each week for the practice.

I started this week, and it’s paid off great dividends. I’m hearing back from reporters and editors that I previously pitched without success.

After just one week, Adam got through to a managing editor at CNBC, which has since led to an interview with his client. And another reporter with Money magazine accepted input from a client for a web story she was working on.

All in all, I wish I started reading and reacting on a regular basis last year, but better late than never.

Amen to that, Adam. All of us have things we’ve been meaning to get around to doing. Good for you for actually taking action.

If you haven’t attended the workshop Adam is referencing, it’s called Secrets of Media Relations Masters. The next one is in New York next month.

You and I get into a room with some other PR people and review not just principles like Read and React, but the nitty-gritty real world nuances that get results. I’ve seen two different people apply the same principle in media outreach, and one person gets an annoyed response and the other gets the coverage. The difference is in the details, and that’s why you attend a two-day workshop.

Would you like to be getting an immediate boost to your media outreach next month? Or wait a year?

These workshops usually sell out, and this one is already on its way to filling up.

Register today to secure your spot – hope to see you there!

 

P.S. Last year Adam had just left the TV news business. He was being hard on himself as he transitioned into PR and “wasn’t quite getting it at first.” A colleague recommended the workshop, and here’s what Adam said happened next:

It was a very eye-opening experience. A lot of the lessons I learned, I was able to use them right away and get immediate results. It was like a paradigm shift, and after the workshop, everything I was doing became fun. I could still do storytelling and be creative, which are the reasons I got into news in the first place.

 

more

I recently concluded my busy spring speaking season (this year it extended into summer). And I noticed one principle that resonated from coast to coast.

In Times Square, it hit home with consumer product PR reps the same as it did in a lakeside hotel in Anchorage with oil & gas pros.

In a leafy Georgetown neighborhood in DC, policy wonks took note the same as stretched-thin social justice PR people in Indianapolis.

[My next public workshop is Secrets of Media Relations Masters in NYC in September].

Here are some examples of this principle in action:

– A consumer tech company reaches out to the US Postal Service and gets a nice third-party video on the USPS web site to drive traffic to

– An oil & gas company connects with a trade organization to land an item in its well-read daily email

– A stationery company provides a high-traffic article to the blog of a hobby training company

This isn’t a requirement to apply the overarching principle, but in each of the above cases, the placement resulted from reaching out to a fellow PR professional!

The principle is:

Expand the definition of “media” in “media relations” to include any third-party that is trusted by an audience you need to reach.

This pushes your media list past traditional media, past trade media, past digital-only or blogs, and into the content marketing or brand journalism of other organizations. And before you know it, you’re “pitching” folks with the title of “Brand Content Director” instead of “Reporter.”

Pitching traditional media still works, in the right cases when done properly. But your audiences’ eyeballs are spread further over an ever-increasing number of information sources. To stay relevant, you’ve got to follow those eyeballs elsewhere.

What are the companies or non-profits in your space that need new material each day to keep their successful content marketing machines going?

more