Earned media – an opinion piece, a press release story published, or a quote from an interview – is a valuable third-party endorsement for you or your business.
I’ve been on the receiving end of many op-ed pitches and press releases, plus interviewed countless industry experts as a journalist, and I’ve pulled together some of my best tips.
PITCHING COMMENT & OP-EDS
Have a clear opinion
Comment or opinion pieces, as the names suggest, need to have a viewpoint. If they don’t, they aren’t a comment or op-ed.
For successful pitches, be specific about what you or your subject matter expert wants to say – where they stand – and make it relevant to the publication’s readership.
Editors won’t commission irrelevant op-eds or generic pitches.
Keep pitches brief and punchy
Journalists don’t have time to read the email equivalent of War and Peace, so get to the point.
Have an enticing, relevant angle and a few bullet points outlining the key points that will be covered.
You want the editor to read your pitch and have a pretty good idea what the headline could be.
Deliver on your op-ed promise
Once you’ve got the green light for your op-ed, deliver what was outlined in your pitch and stick to the deadline.
If there is going to be a problem with delivering what was promised, let the editor know in plenty of time.
Leaving an editor scrambling for a last-minute replacement or submitting something different to what was promised damages your reputation and trust. It’ll make it much harder to land future pitches.
PRESS RELEASES
Have a good press release quote
A good quote can make a news story. It needs to add something, not just repeat what has already been said in the body of the release.
Avoid saying you are delighted (see related reading below). It’s a hideously overused word on press releases; everyone is ‘delighted’ so it’s not surprising or different.
Quotes tend to get edited by committee and can read like it too. A human-sounding quote is far more likely to get used, and ideally it should sound like the person whose name is against it.
Ditch the “spray and pray” approach
Sending irrelevant press releases to a scraped, unedited email list of journalists is counterproductive.
If you get a reputation for sending too many duff press releases, you risk having your emails ignored or automatically deleted.
Sounds harsh, but journalists don’t have time to read every press release they receive (they get so many), so you are just making it easier for them to filter.
Research and target
Focus on researching the right publications and media outlets, paying particular attention to who their audience is. Then target your press releases appropriately – only if it’s relevant to the readership will it stand a chance of being used.
While targeting releases to particular outlets might not give you massive distribution numbers, it is far more fruitful and increases your chances of getting coverage in the right places.
PRESS & MEDIA INTERVIEWS INCLUDING PODCASTS
Do your prep
Make sure you know who the journalist is and who their audience is before the interview. If it’s a podcast interview, listen to some episodes so you understand the style and tone – and any regular format points.
Keep the audience in mind and prepare a few key, relevant points you want to make.
Also think about any current events or significant industry news that you might be asked about.
Journalists are unlikely to be working on just one thing and may be looking for comments on other topics relevant to the industry.
Control the controllable
You can’t control the questions you get asked in an interview, but you do have complete control over your answers – both what you say and how you say it.
Carefully listen to the question you are being asked – it might not be the question you are anticipating.
Take your time and don’t rush into your answers. It’s perfectly fine to use fillers like “that’s a good question” to give yourself a moment to gather your thoughts.
Don’t sound like a marketing brochure
It’s not a journalist’s job to do your marketing for you, their job is to give their readership useful and relevant information.
Avoid obvious sells and speak naturally and conversationally rather than using corporate speak. You are more likely to be quoted by being relevant and sounding human.
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Related reading
Finding a strong story angle for B2B press releases
