In the last article, I broke down several reasons why your pitch is not successful. Thank you for the positive feedback and the sheer number of reads! In this article, I'll round up what I started by breaking down the last three PR mistakes.
Avoid double pitching
Journalists love two things: respect for their personality and exclusive information. If you've written to a popular media author, don't expect a quick response. It usually takes 2-3 working days and sometimes up to 5 days to reach them. Once this period has passed, ask the journalist if it would be OK if you forward the story to another journalist. An example of a good message is: "Hi Sam! I wrote to you a week ago but haven't heard back yet. I hope you don't mind if I give the story to your colleague Mike at Forbes. Best regards, Alex."
This way, you not only save communication but also avoid the embarrassment of double pitching. This is a common mistake among startups who are not yet aware of the rules of the PR market. In the worst-case scenario, it may happen that both journalists publish your story. And as you remember from the last article, journalists always check the relevance of a story and are always bound to discover similar material. Then you can't keep your head on your shoulders... Just kidding! But relations with journalists from both media outlets will be irrevocably damaged.
Leave their colleagues alone
Proactivity, not arrogance, is good in PR. Don't try to ask your target journalist's colleagues to hurry him up with a response. That's a violation of PR ethics. Plus, you run the risk of being seen as a stickler. Such PR people are feared as hell by journalists, and they will willingly talk about them to colleagues in the community to warn them off. Trust me, this is not a case where black PR will work to your advantage!
Work with their colleagues in the same way you work with journalists from different media outlets. Wait around a week for a response, and then send a pitch to a colleague of your target journalist, with a slightly different angle on the story. Another option is to send your pitch to the editorial office with the message: "Hi, I'm Alex, Apple's PR manager. I sent the pitch to your colleague Sam about a week ago, but I haven't heard back from him yet. Maybe someone in your department would be interested in this story? Best regards, Alex."
Set a deadline for a response
We're not in kindergarten, where it's common to complain about the mischief of your fellas to the teacher. In the professional community, there can be situations where journalists seem to be in contact with PR people but are hesitant to respond to their messages. The worst solution in this case is to call the editorial office. You are more likely to annoy them than make them want to help you.
So what should you do? Put aside your feelings and be smart; set a deadline to respond to your message. This is typically a 1-2 day deadline. For example, you could write, "Hi Sam! I understand that you're busy, but I'd be glad if you could reply to my messages sooner. Let's agree to a maximum delay of 1 working day. Unfortunately, if our communication doesn't work out, I'll have to pass the story on to another media. Best regards, Alex."
Were these recommendations useful for you? Let's discuss in the comments.
