Facing tight timelines and high expectations, many PR pros overthink their pitches. Ironically enough, pitching efforts can often be improved by taking a simpler approach — and what could be simpler than the ABCs?
The next time you go out with a pitch, keep these “ABCs” in mind to ensure success.
A: Attention-grabbing
If your pitch doesn’t spark interest, what’s the point of sending it?
A well-crafted opener is often the key to grabbing a journalist’s attention. Try creating a provocative subject line or intriguing opening statement, followed by a unique angle. When you go against the grain, it’ll help your pitch stand out from the hundreds of others pouring in. No matter how great you think your pitch is, keep in mind that it only has a few seconds to capture a journalist’s attention before it starts collecting dust.
B: Brief
There’s a time and a place to get on your soapbox, but a pitch is never it.
A truly effective pitch is succinct and conveys the most important details as quickly as possible. Clarity and brevity are the best friends of busy journalists. Less is more — as long as you cover all your bases. Prioritize the most important pieces and forget the fluff.
C: Customized
Sending journalists pitches that aren’t tailored to them is like buying someone clothes without knowing their size. If it’s the wrong fit, it’s probably going to end up in the trash.
Before you ever send a pitch, be sure to research journalists’ past coverage and areas of expertise. It’s always helpful to personalize a pitch in any way you can; for starters, quickly connect the dots between your pitch and their areas of interest. Oh, and make sure the journalist’s name is spelled correctly. Still needs to be said — being attentive to the small details can make a big difference.
The perfect pitch is as easy as ABC
When you craft your pitch to be interesting, punchy and tailored, you’ll find that pitching really can be as easy as ABC.
Pitching is even easier with Taylor, our new generative AI writing tool. Taylor is now fully integrated into PRophet and ready to help brands and agencies create compelling copy faster than ever before. Give Taylor a short prompt (at least 30 words), and it will produce a pitch or press release from that prompt. Or, you can paste in a press release, and Taylor will generate a pitch that can be personalized for individual journalists. What once took PR pros hours can now be done in two minutes. Ready to meet Taylor? Get the Pro version here or request a quick 15-minute demo here!
