I admit it. I'm on a PR kick these days. PR can do so much for service firms in the form of lead generation and brand enhancement. Over the next while, I'll be releasing brief service firm PR thoughts and tips as they come to mind. (And much is coming to mind because we just finished the research and writing of
The Professional Services Guide To Online PR). Now, without further adieu...thoughts on customizing your media pitches.
Media relations is just that, building relationships with the media – regardless of whether that media is a TV station, a blog, a radio station, a trade publication, a newspaper, or a magazine. Media relations is best done with one-to-one outreach with each individual on your list.
When pitching the media, you must understand their needs before you contact them, and then you must develop your pitch around those needs. It's not enough to craft one generic pitch and email it to all of the editors on your media list. Connect with each editor and writer one-to-one. Build a relationship with them (i.e. media relations). Non-targeted broadcast pitches are spam, and the media (both online and off) treat them as such, and think of you as the spammer.
Lest you don't think I practice what I preach, here is a PR pitch to B.L. Ochman’s weblog that she liked so much, she published it as an example of a good PR pitch.