You have an idea for a story that will generate free publicity for your company or nonprofit, a product or a service, or a book you’re launching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your first temptation is to write a press release. But you know press releases are often ineffective for getting a major story. Customized pitches to specific journalists and bloggers, however, often go unanswered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what do you do? Take your chance on a press releases or on a pitch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision is important because each has its own purpose. If you choose the wrong one, you can miss your chance at publicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each. Tomorrow, I’ll explain guidelines on when to use a press release and when to deliver a pitch.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. A press release can include all the pertinent details.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. It lives online forever. <\/strong>People can find the release in your online press room months and even years later and discover a lot about you and your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. It can include valuable links<\/strong> to things like sales pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. It can include<\/strong> hashtags,<\/strong> which make it easier to be found via the search engines. You can even use hashtags in press release headlines<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. If a blogger or journalist is interested in covering your story, they don’t have to waste time asking for all the details. <\/strong>You can send them the link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. You don’t have to write a press release only when you have news. You can reach consumers directly and write it in the form of a tips list<\/strong> that offers helpful information on how to solve a problem. See How tips lists can get you publicity in top-tier media.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. You can promote your press release<\/strong> dozens of ways such as linking to it on the social media sites and from your social media profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. A press release can position you as an expert.<\/strong> If you answer questions on a site like Quora.com,<\/a> you can link to a release where people can find more information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The release, by itself, seldom results in a major story<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Journalists receive them by the thousands<\/strong> and don’t have time to read more than just a few lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. If the headline is poorly written<\/strong> or confusing, you’ve lost the reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. They’re difficult to write well <\/strong>and often include industry jargon and B.S. quotes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Younger journalists, particularly those in the tech sector, see press releases as an “old school”<\/strong> tool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Journalists and bloggers want to break news<\/strong> and often want an “exclusive.” A press release gives everyone the same news at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. A well-written customized pitch<\/strong> tells a journalist or blogger “I know who you are, I know what you cover and I can help your audience.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The Internet makes it possible for you to thoroughly research<\/strong> the person you’re going to pitch and, if appropriate, weave in details that pertain only to them. It’s even possible to find the name of a blogger’s dog, cat or kid in 60 seconds.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. You can customize different pitches<\/strong> for the same story idea, depending on the media outlet. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Journalists and bloggers don’t know if they’re the only ones receiving your pitch. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. You can offer enticing “extras”<\/strong> such as additional sources, a video, an infographic, a Skype interview, <\/a>or a list of industry definitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. You can time a pitch<\/strong> so it’s perfect for an upcoming special section in a magazine, or an upcoming holiday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. You should know how the journalist or blogger wants to be contacted.<\/strong> If you don’t know, and you call reporters who absolutely hate phone calls, or pitch them on a site like Facebook which they use only for staying in touch with family and friends, you risk alienating them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. A pitch must be succinct<\/strong>—no more than 15 seconds by phone and only a few sentences if you’re emailing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. You will often hear nothing,<\/strong> and you must decide the best way to follow up and know the mistakes to avoid.<\/a> Do not contact the recipient and ask, “Did you receive my pitch?” Do not include an annoying “delivery confirmation” request on an email pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. A pitch is very difficult to craft well.<\/strong> It must offer enough information to be enticing, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. The best pitch promises a great story and entices the recipient to contact you to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. If you don’t do adequate research,<\/strong> you can end up addressing blogger Pat Brown as “Ms. Brown” when, in fact, Pat is a man. Know the 7 deadly sins of pitching journalists and bloggers.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n What advantages or disadvantages have I missed? Comment below, and share this post in your Google+ groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have an idea for a story that will generate free publicity for your company or nonprofit, a product or a service, or a book you’re launching. Your first temptation is to write a press release. But you know press releases are often ineffective for getting a major story. Customized pitches to specific journalists and\u2026 Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","iawp_total_views":52,"wds_primary_category":691,"footnotes":""},"categories":[691],"tags":[245,36,13,625],"class_list":{"0":"post-26621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-publicity","7":"tag-hashtags","8":"tag-pitching-the-media","9":"tag-press-releases","10":"tag-press-room","11":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Joan Stewart","author_link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/author\/jstewart\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26621"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43012,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26621\/revisions\/43012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Advantages of a Press Release<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Disadvantages of a Press Release<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advantages of a Pitch
<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nDisadvantages of a Pitch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Next: When to Use a Press Release and When to Deliver a Pitch<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"