Tag: media coverage

What’s the difference between a media pitch and a press release?

When you have news to announce about your brand, you’re likely wanting to share it with the media as well.

It could be a product launch, company announcement, upcoming event or something else. But regardless of what the news is, you should consider getting your information out in a way that resonates with journalists and reaches your intended audience.

In a recent survey, about 61 percent of journalists either agree or strongly agree with the following statement: “The way most companies share information with the media is outdated.”

Consider sending a press release, a media pitch or both, but what’s the difference, and what’s the best way to not be “outdated” in the eyes of journalists? 

Press release versus media pitch

No matter what, the ultimate goal is that the media covers your story. So, knowing when to use a press release and when to use a media pitch is critical to achieving that goal.

Press releases

In the simplest sense, a press release is a news story written by a public relations professional and sent to targeted members of the media. Typical elements include:

  • Headline
  • Subheadline
  • Dateline
  • Lead sentence with the most important information up front
  • Body text that expands on the news
  • Quotes from representatives of your brand or other relevant individuals
  • Company boilerplate
  • Contact information

A press release typically consists of one to two pages and includes all of the “five Ws,” which are the who, what, when, where and why of your news. It should be easy enough for a journalist to repurpose into a news story, where he or she can reach out with any follow-up questions.

Press releases can be more broadly written as they’re sent to multiple journalists directly and/or through a PR wire service.

Media pitches

On the other hand, a media pitch is the personalized outreach that you send to journalists in hopes of compelling them to cover your story. This typically is done in the form of a short, concise email. About 91 percent of journalists prefer that media pitches are 200 words or less. It can include an attachment of the press release with it, though, if it makes sense to do so. Traditional media pitch elements include:

  • Compelling subject line
  • Personalized greeting to the journalist
  • About two to four sentences explaining the story idea
  • Call to action, which is what you are hoping the journalist will do

About 94 percent of journalists prefer media pitches over press releases. This is because pitches are personalized and show that you understand what a particular journalist covers and why he or she might be interested in covering your news. You want to make sure you convey how this story idea is relevant for the journalist’s audience.

Of course, media pitches (just like press releases) are your first impression on a journalist. They can make or break your chances of getting media coverage. 

But a press release aims to communicate exactly what happened or will be happening, while a media pitch explains why a story angle or event is newsworthy and deserves coverage from a particular journalist. 

When to use a press release

There will be times when it is best to send out a press release, such as when:

  • Your news requires more explanation and detail than you can fit into 200 words.
  • You have important news to share with a large number of journalists.
  • You prefer to have a formal piece of writing that can be added to your website or elsewhere.
  • A journalist requests more information after responding positively to a media pitch.

When to use a media pitch

There also are times when it is best to send a media pitch, such as when you have a story idea intended for a specific journalist, where you can clearly explain why the pitch is for that journalist and his or her audience. 

It’s all about personalization and specificity. Journalists definitely appreciate that.

In conclusion

When deciding between sending a press release or a media pitch, remember their purpose and your ultimate media goal. Of course, as mentioned before, the two can work together, where a media pitch directs to a press release with more information.

Make sure that regardless of what you’re sending, you are:

  • Reaching out to the right journalists.
  • Using email to distribute your pitch or release
  • Always using a compelling subject line
  • Being concise (even in press releases)

While you’re evaluating your best opportunities for media pitches and press releases, think about your digital marketing process. Is it everything you want it to be? DailyStory features automation, audience segmentation and more. Schedule your free demo with us today.

4 ways to find the right journalists to cover your brand

Generating buzz through earned media coverage begins with finding the right journalists to cover your brand’s story and various news updates.

Earned media results from media outreach and is the fastest-growing form of marketing. In the simplest sense, earned media refers to any material written about you or your brand that you haven’t paid for or created yourself.

Keep in mind that journalists get multiple pitches and requests every day. In fact, a recent study estimates that journalists have more than 300 emails waiting for them each morning.

Check out our eight tips to write a press release that gets noticed, and dive deeper into the difference between a media pitch and a press release.

But regardless of how great your media pitch, press release or both are, if you’re directing them to the wrong journalist, you’re not going to get the media coverage you’re aiming for.

The following are four ways to find the right journalists to cover your brand. You can then add everyone you find to a standing media list.

Consider your target audience

Just like with any other digital marketing tactic, you must keep your target audience in mind. If you’re clear on who you’re trying to reach, you’ll have a better direction of the journalists (and their beat coverages) that you want to connect with.

In addition, you can locate media consumption habits through various data published by several research organizations. That also can help you fine-tune your media search.

Check out our seven tips to help you determine your target audience. 

Start searching locally

While national media coverage is a top goal for many brands, don’t underestimate the power of local journalists.

You can locate individual journalist names through:

  • Newsletters
  • Regional publications
  • Social media
  • Google searches (including with relevant keywords)
  • Media databases, such as Muckrack

Remember to exhaust all local publications and media outlets in your area. To narrow down to the best journalists to potentially cover your brand, look for news stories on related topics and take note of the byline, which should include both the journalist’s name and preferred contact information.

Of course, while you should begin locally, once you exhaust those possibilities, it never hurts to expand nationally.

Target the individual journalists, not the publications

It’s a common mistake for marketers to email their media pitches and/or press releases to the generic email address for an entire publication.

Consider these generic publication email addresses the black hole of media outreach. It’s very easy to assume that these inboxes are high volume, and you can easily get lost in the shuffle.

Make the effort to dig beyond the generic publication contact information. 

Look at who’s covering your competitors

Performing a basic competitive analysis can uncover a wealth of information, including which journalists are covering your competition.

If they’re interested enough to cover them, then they’re the journalists you should be reaching out to.

While a simple Google News search is a great way to find this, check out these 16 tools to make your competitive analysis easier.

Once you identify the right journalists to potentially cover your brand through earned media coverage, consider leveling up your digital marketing with DailyStory. Features include automating various marketing tasks, dynamic audience segmentation and more. Schedule your free demo with us today.

How to grow backlinks to boost your SEO using HARO

Quality backlinks support any strong SEO strategy, but have you used HARO yet?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. Simply put, it’s all about consistently showing search engines why your website should be shown above other websites when users search queries that are related to your content.

HARO is a website that stands for Help A Reporter Out. It’s a service that connects journalists with a variety of sources but also gives you the opportunity to get useful media coverage for your business.

In other words, by using HARO, you can grow your quality backlinks. HARO distributes more than 50,000 journalist queries from highly respected media outlets each year seeking experts just like you, and you can pitch your expertise in hopes of being a source for any one of them (as it relates to your industry).

The following are five tips to use HARO and submit the best possible pitch as you aim to grow your backlinks.

Sign up on HARO to be a Source

To start using HARO, you must register. Fortunately, it’s an easy process. When on the HARO website, click “I’m A Source,” review the “Rules for Sources” and then click the “Sign Up” button. There are multiple subscription plans available for Sources:

  • Basic, which gets you daily pitch opportunity emails for free
  • Standard, which includes everything in Basic plus keyword alerts for one keyword, a profile that automatically inserts into your pitches, text alerts and the ability to search through possible pitch opportunities online for $19 per month
  • Advanced, which includes everything in Standard plus keyword alerts for up to three keywords, up to three profiles that can automatically be inserted into your pitches and an advanced alert about upcoming media opportunities as soon as they’re approved by the editorial team (but before they’re released publicly) so that you can get a head start for $49 per month.
  • Premium, which includes everything in Advanced plus keyword alerts for unlimited keywords, unlimited profiles and phone/email support from the HARO team for $149 per month

Choose your plan based on your goals and budget. Then, enter your company information, and get ready to begin receiving three emails per day, one at 5:35 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. (Eastern time).

Seek opportunities in your daily HARO emails

The daily HARO emails you receive are only valuable opportunities if you open and review them.

Make sure you monitor available queries on a daily business to find the best ones that relate to your expertise and business. Spoiler: They’re not all going to make sense for you.

Open these emails as soon as you get them if you’re serious about finding a media coverage opportunity. Keep in mind that quality backlinks are your goal, so as you’re reviewing queries, do your research on the media outlets. Are they the type of backlink you’re looking for? Do they make sense to cover your business in any sort of way? It’s OK to be picky.

When you do find a query that works for you, you’re doing to want to act on it as soon as possible. Time is of the essence. If you wait, someone else will beat you to it with a pitch that gets selected by that journalist.

Optimize your HARO pitches

We’ve been mentioning “pitches.” They are key to you obtaining media coverage and quality backlinks on HARO. 

Keep in mind that journalists receive a large number of pitches, so you want to stand out. Aim to:

  • Keep it short and sweet
  • Offer quality
  • Cover all the requested details that are in the query you’re pitching for (and don’t veer off-topic)
  • Include an author bio that has your full name and a short introduction about your expertise and field
  • Follow the stated HARO rules for Sources because if you don’t, not only will your pitch get rejected, but you may also get entirely banned from the website
  • Take the opportunity to personalize your pitch to stand out (which can vary depending on the pitch)
  • End your pitch with a call-to-action that’s directed to the journalist to contact you or even connect with you on social media (so that you can help that journalist find additional sources)
  • Make life easy on the journalist by sharing downloadable versions of your headshot, company logo and bio that can be featured

Watch out for your placement

It’s entirely possible that if your pitch is selected, the journalist will contact you directly. But it’s also possible that he or she won’t. 

To make sure you’re aware of any placements you’re not directly notified about, set up a Google Alert for your brand name. That way, you’ll always be in the loop.

Be patient when using HARO

The success of generating quality backlinks through HARO is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. 

In other words, don’t get discouraged. Consider HARO a long-term strategy that will benefit your SEO over time.

Check out our 12 SEO tips for beginners. In fact, you can level up your SEO skills with any of these 10 free courses online.

As you’re starting your journey on HARO to grow quality backlinks, consider leveling up your digital marketing with DailyStory and our 21-day free trial. Features include automating various marketing tasks, dynamic audience segmentation and more. Schedule your free demo with us today.