There are 6.4 public relations professionals for every news reporter, according to a Bloomberg report last week. With such a disproportionate ratio, it’s more important than ever for PR pros to do what they can to make their pitches stand out. However, according to Cision’s 2019 Global State of the Media Report, 75 percent of journalists say they receive relevant pitches less than a quarter of the time.
This was one of the most alarming statistics from the report.
Journalists rely on us to share interesting news stories or expert sources to enhance their reporting, just as much as we need them in order to secure coverage for our clients. With such a low number of relevant pitches, PR pros are not only limiting the chance of a story for their client, but harming this ever-so-important relationship with journalists.
While I’m sure I’ve sent some irrelevant pitches to reporters in the past, I pride myself on the thorough research I put into each and every media list I build. As the number of PR professionals continues to grow, there are always going to be those looking for the easy way out by building a massive, minimally researched list, hoping to maximize the odds that someone will bite on their pitch. In theory, this should work since more reporters means more opportunities. But, this is really just lazy. You’ll better your chances by focusing on quality, not quantity.
While it will add some time to the project, it’s not an onerous task to find quality reporters for your pitch.
The easiest way to do this is by reading some of the reporters’ recent stories. Sounds obvious, right? Unfortunately, this step is likely skipped regularly, especially with databases giving you the “best” source for each story. By reading a couple of the journalists’ recent stories, you will be able to discern if they would truly be interested in your pitch. Along with this, the growth of social media makes it incredibly easy to follow a reporter. From sharing their recent stories, trends they’re following or updating their bios, reporters are constantly using social media in ways that could benefit your media relations efforts.
It’s extra steps like this that could help strengthen the sometimes-tense relationship between journalists and public relations professionals.
Reporters often find themselves writing multiple stories per day, on top of trying to read some of the hundreds of emails they receive. Finding a relevant pitch in their inbox shouldn’t be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. If we’re going to rely on journalists to write multiple, fact-checked stories a day, the least we can do is ensure our pitches are accurate.
We can do better, PR pros, and we need to.