If you’re pitching me on the phone, talk to me. Don’t read me the flippin’ press release. It puts me to sleep.
October 20, 2009
Tip #130: You can’t pick the vic
You don’t get to choose your reporter. If you pitch a story to a particular reporter at a publication, and it’s bounced to another, and maybe even another after that, then talk to the new person. If you try to hang on to the person you sent the pitch to, first, it won’t work, and second, you’ll annoy the person who actually is doing the story.
October 19, 2009
Tip #129: Single file, please
Got two pitches? Send two emails.
It’s easier to forward pitch emails around if there’s only one pitch per. Also, it makes you look cheap if you send one e-mail pitching two (or more) separate clients.
August 28, 2009
Tip #128: It’s an act
If you pitch me, and I’m grumpy or dismissive, don’t be a wuss and then not follow up as you said you would. Reporters (well, me anyway) put up walls to ward off amateurs and those who don’t really care about their story. It’s a test. One of many.
August 20, 2009
Tip #127: Circle jerks
For some reason I don’t quite get, there’s nothing that gets under the skin of journalists more than an email pitch that’s cc’d to a lot of people at once. Do this and you will get killed on the cc list itself as writers whine and complain via “reply to all” about your email etiquette transgression, and to make things worse you might also get killed in the press itself: See TechCrunch and ZDNet .
Instead, use bcc. Better yet: Use a mail-merge app that sends individual emails. Best option: Don’t blast a ton of people with the same crap. Pick and choose your media targets, and write personal notes to them.
And a side note to my compatriots in the media: Chill. If you get one of these bonehead PR spams — and we all do — just delete it. Nothing good ever comes from a vitriolic reply to all, and if you think you’re doing the world a favor by replying to all with the high-minded advice that everyone stop replying, you are fooling no one.
August 19, 2009
Tip #126: Beast of the East
If you launch a product from your New York office, and a journalist from CBS (or anywhere for that matter) calls at 3:00 PM West Coast time to do a story, you might want to tell your receptionist that the response, “It’s after hours here, someone will get back to you in the morning,” is really more infuriating than helpful.
Better yet: Put contact information for your execs or your PR firm up on your Web site so said journalist doesn’t have to deal with your receptionist in the first place. See: Tip #22.
August 10, 2009
Tip #125: Hammer time
If you have an issue with a story, don’t whine to the writer about how you’re getting “hammered” by your client about it. We don’t care (usually). And it’s part of your job. So suck it up. Just say what the issue is and let’s move on from there.
August 6, 2009
“A real hack”
I was interviewed for episode 100 of the Hack and the Flack podcast. Listen now.
July 31, 2009
Tip #124: Dot Zero
We can agree that there is this thing called the Web. But no two people will agree on what "Web 2.0" means. "Web 3.0" means less. And "Web 4.0?" Just stop it.
July 28, 2009
Tip #123: Not my department
If I tell you that your pitch is for a topic outside of my coverage area, believe it. No amount of wheedling is going to magically change my job description and get me to cover your company or product. However, if you maintain your composure, you might get a referral to another writer who does cover your area.
Rafe