The Colab Brief: 015 - Four Pitching Faux Pas 🚫 (And What to Do Instead)

The topic du jour?

Media mistakes. We’ve all made them. We flub names, pitch the wrong person, or offer up a spokesperson who went on a surprise, unannounced vacation (don’t you love that?). 🏝️ Much of the pitching process is completely uncontrollable, but there are a few ground rules we’ve learned from - not to age ourselves - many, many years in the business.

And if you’re a newbie to the media space, working with an agency, or just a one-person comms show, these might be helpful for you to know, too. 🧠

Do you have an idea for a topic, or are you an expert who would like to contribute? Reach out.

Read Time: 3 mins

Even as seasoned pros, we’re still constantly learning, growing, and iterating on our processes (actually, the constant change is one of the things we love most about this industry). It seems like the media is ever-evolving, but there are a few foundational faux pas that always get the side eye. 👀

Same Story, Different Day 🥱

It seems counterintuitive, but you can’t really use press to get more press. Often, clients will ask if we can send a prior piece of coverage to garner new media interest. Unfortunately, it’s more of a turn-off than anything else. Sending a New York Times piece as a way to gain interest from the Wall Street Journal is generally frowned upon. After all, if someone else has already covered it, why would this writer want to do the same thing? In their book, it’s old news. There are specific exceptions to this rule (aka breaking news or a major crisis, or quoting academic publications), but the media appreciates exclusivity, so it’s best to find a fresh angle.

Buy an Ad, Why Dontcha? 📰

We’ll be blunt: your marketing messaging makes a really crappy pitch. If your email sounds like an advertisement for your company, it’s likely to make its way directly to the recycle bin. Also related: marketing wins aren’t necessarily press wins. There is a difference between something being marketable and something being newsworthy. It’s important to know (and convey) the difference.

We’re All on the Same Team 👪

We know you really, really want [Insert Dream Outlet Here]. Despite working remotely, writers still talk to each other. A lot. They know if you’ve pitched the entire editorial staff, and it makes a bad impression. Spamming the whole team is always a sloppy look. Do your research and develop a pitch hierarchy. Start with the person most likely to be interested based on past coverage/beat, and go from there.

Pitching to Pitch 🎪

Upper management thinks the company’s website rebrand is newsworthy and really wants you to pitch it out. What could it hurt? Well, for starters, you’re adding more senseless emails to an already jam-packed inbox. Everyone loves that. In all seriousness, the goal is to develop a relationship. You’re likely to get yourself blacklisted if you continuously email nonsense. And as an advisor, it’s your job to set the boundaries around topics that are worthwhile and those that are just fluff.

By avoiding the most egregious of media blunders, your pitching can go from pas bon to tres magnifique!

Until next week -

Ash + Lizzy

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