How to Get Better Press Coverage

Getting your issue, organization, or candidate some earned media is always a good idea and, in some cases, it will be a central part of your strategy. But these days, getting press has never been harder. You are competing with a never-ending news cycle. Reporters are spread thin, asked to cover more with fewer resources. These are real challenges, but they also present opportunities to help pitch your story and get the press coverage you want. This blog post will outline some tips about how to do it.

Know your pitch and know who you are pitching

Before you get started, make sure you know what your pitch is. Are you telling the story of your organization and something it has accomplished? Are you using a recent or upcoming action or event as your news hook? Maybe you are highlighting a powerful story from within your organization, or you are using your candidate to drive the story. Or perhaps your goal is to simply get more press and you’d like a bunch of different stories. In all cases, determine what story you’d like to tell in the press.

If your aim is to get press coverage in a specific media market – like local TV news, local newspapers, local radio, and local blogs – you will need slightly different pitches for each outlet. If your aim is mostly cable broadcast like CNN or an outlet like Forbes, Politico, Newsweek, or another online publication, your pitch will also look different. You want to tailor the pitch to each outlet’s needs. A TV news pitch, for example, is going to require someone to be available in-person.

Not only should you know the outlet’s needs, but you should also know the reporter’s needs. Pitching a reporter is far more advisable than pitching an outlet. It allows you to personalize the pitch. If your target reporter covers health care, make sure you aren’t pitching them on a business issue. Research their previous pieces and make sure they are the right person to pitch. Reporters are short on time – prove to them you know their work. When making the pitch, reference previous pieces or their beat. It always helps to make an offer like providing data or research or putting them on the phone with an expert – make it hard for them to say no.

Develop reporter relationships ahead of time

While pitching is important, it’s most advantageous to have laid some groundwork with your target reporters before you pitch them. Once you’ve identified some of your top reporter targets, reach out to introduce yourself, your organization, or your role on your candidate’s campaign. Ask if you can grab a coffee to hear more about what they are covering and see if you can be helpful. Don’t immediately pitch them anything. Start understanding what they are interested in and what their beat or coverage entails. This will help you better understand what would interest them. You want to avoid asking them to cover your issue before you’ve even understood their priorities. This isn’t always possible, but if you have the time, it pays off.

Be useful or valuable

Once you have a better idea of your reporter targets, you should have an idea of the kind of information they would find helpful. See if there’s any useful or valuable information, statistics, or experts that you have access to.

If your organization conducts original research, offer to provide it to the reporter. If you have access to experts on a specific subject, offer an exclusive phone conversation about a topic the reporter might find interesting or that aligns with your own messaging goals. If there’s an upcoming event or announcement, offer to put your candidate on the phone for an exclusive conversation. These are all things that a reporter would be interested in or would find valuable.  

Often, people try to pitch a reporter an angle that is generic or simple without looking at the reporter’s previous coverage. Check out their Twitter and their recently written articles to see if you can provide anything they might find relevant.

Given how busy reporters are, doing some of the work for them is another great strategy to pique their interest. For example, you could gather the data from somewhere else and present it to them along with your angle or even create the content yourself – maybe it’s a video you produce that they could use as a part of the coverage. As reporters are asked to cover more and more, helping set up the story for them can be especially effective. Prowly, a PR software company, offers several good ideas about specifics you can offer to be of value to reporters.

A good pitch

In addition to knowing your target, you must write a good pitch. A good pitch tells the reporter why they should care. It often includes something no one else is offering or provides an angle that hasn’t been covered before. Using a recent news event or hook is a great way to boost the relevancy of your pitch. Offering an exclusive interview is another way to strengthen your pitch. Knowing your reporter helps, but making your case about why the reporter should care in less than 250 words is an ideal way to help secure a response.

Follow up is the real pitching

The other trick of the trade is follow up. You are unlikely to get a response from your first email pitch. It typically takes at least 1-3 more follow-ups with 1-2 phone calls thrown into the mix. Because reporters are busy, following up on your pitch is more akin to the real pitching. You’ll likely need to make your case about why they should cover your story. So make sure you have a quick elevator pitch ready to tell them why they should care about your angle. Don’t get discouraged if a reporter doesn’t bite. They are getting a lot of calls and being asked to cover a lot of things. Consider yourself their aide in helping them understand why your story is relevant and why their readers/viewers/listeners and the community should care.

Conclusion 

It is universally acknowledged that getting good press coverage takes work and time. Focus on relationship building and thinking about how you can be of value to reporters while still framing your issue, organization, or candidate the way you want. Think of yourself as the reporter’s aide, showing them the data or details they might not have time to understand.

Getting better press is possible and it’s worth your time. Earned media might be harder to get, but it is trusted and is a free and effective way to spread your message far and wide.