Your “Pitching Personality”

Maureen and Jessica consistently land WSJ and NYT placements. But they do it very differently.

Observing these longtime members of my Inner Circle program inspired me to explore how recognizing your inherent “Pitching Personality” can accelerate your PR success.

Sure, there are some overarching principles that are the same for everyone who aspires to succeed at this top-tier level . . . such as focusing on one journalist at a time.

Maureen and Jessica both do that. But here’s how they differ:

Maureen’s natural approach is to strike up a digital conversation via email about the journalist’s recent work, and then explore what kind of sources the writer needs for upcoming pieces. She then hunts down great sources (usually not even her clients) and shows her value that way. Eventually, the journalist starts asking Maureen about her clients, and the placements flow.

But maybe your personality isn’t the same as Maureen’s, maybe you’re not a natural networker. You might be more like Jessica.

She’s a thinker. Her style is to start first with her client and their expertise, then carefully research what’s going on in the world so she can frame the expert as relevant. Then she thoroughly vets lots of journalists to find the one who has demonstrated strong interest in the issue at hand. Then she painstakingly crafts a pitch that weaves together the journalist’s previous work, the current relevance of the topic, and her expert. It’s more like a “silver bullet” approach. She gets positive responses, and many of these eventually result in full stories or long broadcast/podcast interviews, not just quotes.

But maybe your natural approach is like neither of these pros. That’s okay too. I’ve identified a total of 10 “Pitching Personalities” that encompass the successful people in our discipline. There’s plenty of room for you, however you’re wired.

As you seek and apply best practices related to pitching, be sure to acknowledge your unique personality. You’re an introvert or an extrovert, or some combination thereof. You’ve got other individual tendencies and aptitudes. Recognize and apply your strengths instead of trying to shoehorn your style into someone else’s.

I recently shared all 10 Pitching Personalities with my Inner Circle members and highlighted best practices associated with each of them. If you’d like to explore getting access to that training, and lots more sessions like it, you should register for our Wait List.