Best Practices
Successful Media Relations Relies on Preparation,
Professionalism, and Persistence

In my past life as second-in-command at an Irvine-based full-service public relations agency, I trained and managed a midsized staff of account coordinators and executives.

We served clients in the commercial real estate industry: Our primary duties were writing and pitching the media on stories featuring our clients, their projects, and their expertise in various aspects of the business. We dealt with consumer and trade publications and spent hours on the phone pitching journalists.

Looking back, I’m grateful to have been in a position to influence members of a new generation of PR professionals. As a former newspaper reporter, city desk editor, and magazine editor, I’d received more than my share of abysmal pitches from PR representatives, so I was determined that our agency would be different – recognized for its media wisdom and consummate professionalism.
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A recent survey disseminated by HubSpot – a service that provides tools for social media marketing, content management, web analytics and search engine optimization – jolted my memory of those days and the file I used to keep containing the worst PR releases and pitches I’d received.

The HubSpot survey detailed the most offensive email pitches 500 journalists, editors and freelancers got this year. They said the Top 10 worst tactics occurred when PR representatives:
1. Didn’t research my work / included pitches irrelevant to my beat
2. Hasn’t researched the publication I write for
3. Conducted too many follow-ups
4. Acted self-promotional without a real story
5. Cold called without any background research
6. Blasted mass emails in a shotgun approach
7. Pitched a generic angle to a common story
8. Didn’t cooperate and lacked transparency, including broken embargoes
9. Didn’t personalize the pitch
10. Merely sent a copy of a press release.

The HubSpot offenders reminded me of the inexperienced young PR rep who had the misfortune to call the city desk on deadline during an extremely stressful afternoon to inquire in a timid voice if I’d received her press release. I’m ashamed to say that I barked at her with such hostility that, when I hung up on her, she was crying.

Even my journalist’s hard heart was touched that afternoon. I vowed that, should I ever be in a position to train PR pros, I would ensure that none of them, ever, called to ask an editor such a stupid question. Especially on deadline.
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Instead, I instructed our account representatives to always have a valid reason for calling a journalist. And, the reason should always serve the reporter or editor rather than crassly promoting a client or service. In other words, if we called to follow up on a news release or pitch, we offered more information tailored to that particular journalist or additional exclusive details that we knew would interest that publication.

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Professionalism is Key

We respected deadlines, worked well ahead of schedule on pitches based on each publication’s editorial calendar, regularly offered up expert sources available for consultation anytime, and even referred reporters and editors to competitors if we knew they had the information needed by deadline. That professionalism rewarded us over and over again. 

Tailored Pitches Work

In her recent issue of PRoclaimer, her company e-newsletter, valued colleague Hilary Kaye – owner of Tustin-based HKA, Inc. Marketing Communications – described the creative ways her associates recently tailored client pitches to niche, specialty, and trade publications. One of their successful pitches, which really pleased a client, was the client’s inclusion in a feature story for a funeral industry magazine. Another client proudly appeared in a heavy trucking trade journal. 

These tailored, well-researched public relations pitches are successful because they rely on experienced PR pros recognized for offering useful, original, and accurate information that reaches the clients’ desired media outlets.

Even the most deadline-challenged reporters and editors will take calls from the public relations professionals they respect. 

Pitching in the OC

I dusted off my pitching skills last summer in service of a valued client, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. Working with Tracey Kincaid, director of communications, we tailored pitches to media representing the local, regional, national, religious, architectural and foreign-language press covering the historic dedication of Christ Cathedral, formerly known as Rev. Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral.

Attracting impressive hits from international media as far afield as Rome and as varied as several Little Saigon television news shows, the dedication and a special media preview day produced results that went well beyond the client’s expectations. 
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In addition, our work positioned Christ Cathedral and the Diocese as recognized Catholic leaders on the West Coast and paved the way for future media coverage as the cathedral’s calendar of events continues to fill up.

Technology Hasn't Changed Everything

With all the changes we’ve experienced in the media and the burgeoning growth of technology and nontraditional media, the old-fashioned PR values of preparation, research, excellent writing and tailored media pitching won the day. 
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That makes me proud and fills me with hope that the best public relations profession practitioners will continue to flourish in this brave new world.