The Top 5 Reasons Your PR Pitch is Being Ignored

PR pitches are unpredictable. Regardless of whether it’s the most compelling message you’ve ever drafted, or you uncovered a genuine scoop, it’s inevitably out of your hands once you hit the send button. If you’ve recently run into some bad luck with your stories being picked up, you may have fallen victim to a few common blunders that make your pitches easy to miss.

Here are the top 5 reasons your PR pitch may be being ignored, and how you can remedy it immediately:

#1 Face it—you're spamming people

Unfortunately, PR folks are still stuck in the habit of blasting (aka spamming) thousands of journalists and reporters, with the expectation that they will magically express interest. You don’t read spam, so chances are they don’t read spam either.

Tip: Start by targeting a more refined list of publications, especially those that are most relevant to your story or news goals.

#2 You’re expecting a complete stranger to trust you

If you aren’t bothering to establish relationships with your preferred reporters or journalists, why should they bother picking up your story knowing so many others are being hit with the same generic message?

Tip: Build meaningful relationships with your preferred journalists and reporters, so the next time you have incredible news to share, they will instantly recognize its merit.

#3 Your media contact data is stagnant and potentially outdated

If you rely on legacy media database technology to help manage your media contacts, most are manually and infrequently updated. Therefore, you run a great risk connecting with the wrong people because there’s no guarantee you have the most accurate and up-to-date contact details and information.

Tip: Consider technology that updates contact details in real-time, automatically, so you’re absolutely sure you have the most up-to-date information.

#4 Your pitches lack personalization

If you live and die by the “spray and pray” approach, you can’t possibly produce highly targeted pitches to get your story noticed by the right people. You need to incorporate deeper insight into relevant journalists and reporters to really tailor and hone your pitches, including their recently published articles and social interactions.

Tip: Take time to learn more about your preferred journalists beyond name, rank and role to communicate on a more personal and informed level, such as referencing past articles, beats, or even personal things you may have noticed from their Twitter.

#5 Your technology may be blocking you from reaching inboxes

Many publications have caught onto PR spam, and have blocked leading media database providers from flooding their inboxes with spam pitches. If you leverage one of these tools, your PR efforts may not be reaching your most highly sought-after publications.

Tip: Consider technology that updates contact details in real-time, automatically, so you’re absolutely sure you have the most up-to-date information.

Want to get your next PR pitch noticed? Check out Connect, iQ Media’s new take on the traditional media database.