5 Ways to Improve Your PR Outreach to the Press Today

Doing PR well is difficult, to judge from the onslaught of utterly bad pitches I see day in and out as a working journalist. Whether trite language, basics that are missing, or other common blunders, the churn rate is high. Far less than 1 percent of pitches that reach me--and I look at all of them--are of any interest at all.

I hear similar numbers from many of my colleagues. Bad press releases become objects of mirth, passed around as people say, "Did you get this one?"

It's not necessary. Yes, PR is partly an issue of working big numbers to hope that some fall into place. Howeer, there are many things you can do to make your efforts more effective. Here are some tips to improve your chances.

It's not about you

This is the point that most entrepreneurs and corporate executives have a hard time grasping, and that's understandable to start. You're out to promote yourself so why aren't things about you?

Because, unless your business is already well known and a factor that reporters have to deal with on their beat, they don't care about you at all. It's not to be mean but they have a practical agenda. They are employed to present stories of interest to an audience and a publication.

Your communications become important only if, in the estimation of the reporters in question, what you have is something that informs the audience in ways that interest them and satisfy the expectations of editors. Until then, it's another piece of email or paper to junk.

Not all publications and journalists are the same

Different publications and journalist have various interests and beats. They cover some in a spectrum of subjects or, even if the same in theory, they write about them differently. The idea of one pitch you send out to thousands of people and expect a good response just won't work.

You need to understand the types of pieces a given writer or publication will gravitate toward.

Do some research

You could probably tell this was coming. Understand which publications might cover your company and its products and services, who would be the writers for each of those publications that might respond with at least some interest, and what sort of angle could intrigue them.

To want PR to work for you, research is a must. Find the correct writers and publications, read what they do, and start to understand them. Looking for some one-size-fits-all press list is a waste and can reduce your chances. I get people pitching all sorts of products to me that are of no interest. I have no idea why they do so, but it tells me the companies in question, or their PR, are not paying attention. Even if I were inclined, it is unlikely I would likely be difficult to deal with. Because, again, they don't pay attention.

This is work that's a pain in the rear, but absolutely necessary. If you don't want to do it, your PR efforts will be bad. Similarly, if you're working with a PR agency that doesn't make these types of efforts, things will go nowhere. The only difference is that you'll be spending more money.

Think bigger than yourself

You know it's not all about you, so choose your pitch carefully. New product announcements or even high-level personnel changes may matter to some places and some writers. They  won't to others.

Always think of how whatever it is you want to say fits into a bigger context, whether that of an industry, class of consumer, national or global issue, economic conditions, and so forth. If you can show the bigger importance of what you're saying, you are much closer to getting some attention.

Also be sure to connect the topic to the audience.

Be simple

No one has the time to go through a long and "clever" windup to get to the heart of a pitch. You've got about five or six seconds to begin to demonstrate that there might be something of interest. Really, that little. If you can't signal enough--we have this or that news that we think will interest your readers and you for the following reason now if yead more you'll get additional supporting details--in that amount of time, you won't succeed.

There's no guarantee that you will succeed even if you do all of that, but you'll have a much higher average and get closer to coverage.

Part of being simple is avoiding being clever. Just say things plainly. Don't use exclamation points, emoticons, or other attempts to rally attention. It's generally off-putting.

If you do get a nibble, respond quickly and completely. There is a constant flood of communications hitting the inbox of most reporters. Put things off and chances are you'll be forgotten.