Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Pitching a Story to the Media

Advertising on TV, radio, and in newspapers is a tried-and-tested method of garnering publicity for a brand or company. There’s one caveat, though: even the shortest on-air spot or the tiniest print ad costs a lot of money.
What if there was a way for you to get free media exposure? As a matter of fact, there is—provided you’re willing to pitch a story to a news outlet. After all, these outfits are always looking for stories to fill their airtime and pages, and if you pitch yours properly, they may very well cover your business as a news item.
To help you ‘sell’ a story to the media, take heed of these helpful tips:

Pitch to the Right Person
Let’s say you’re a beauty company that sells an organic brand of makeup. If you’re going to pitch to a journalist, make sure it’s one of the publication’s or station’s beauty, lifestyle or business writers. Pitch your piece to a technology writer and he or she will probably just ‘junk’ your email.

Don’t Pitch a Product

If your story is about how great your product is, editors and journalists aren’t going to buy it—your story, after all, sounds suspiciously like an advertisement. If, however, you organised an event where underprivileged women were treated to a makeover (using your products, of course), reporters will be more likely to pick up your story. Remember: sell a story, not a product.

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