Alex told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts
At yesterday’s #HowToPitchAJournalist class led by Muck Rack’s Natan Edelsburg, we were joined by guest journalist, Alex Fitzpatrick of Mashable. Alex covers the intersection of politics, international affairs, social media and technology. He has contributed to The Washington Post, been syndicated on CNN and Yahoo and has appeared as a guest on CNN International, NPR and SiriusXM. Check out some highlights from last night’s discussion:
A few things Alex had to say:
Don’t be offended if: you’re a communications professional and don’t hear back from a journalist; getting 300-600 pitches per day can keep you busy for quite some time.
You’re GOLDEN if: you send a tweetable version of the press release right before your full-on pitch and press release in the body of the email.
Always: grab someone’s attention with a good and exciting headline.
Never: Send a headline titled “Free Justin Timberlake Tickets,” and then say you were joking in the body of the email. That’s just mean.
Best time of day to email? Early afternoon, after lunch time, but breaking news is always in the morning. Feel free to follow up a day later if you don’t hear back.
Thank you notes, yay or nay? Yay! Friendliness is cool, don’t be shy to say thanks!
Stay ahead of the game: by writing a pitch that leads the journalist to see the headline in his/her head before even finishing it.
Buzzwords to stay away from? “Revolutionary” or “Thrilled.” But To Kill a Mockingbird explains it all: “Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.”
Try to: tie client stuff into what’s happening in the news.
And remember, always try to be friendly in a non-creepy way when building relationships with journalists. Tweeting with an @reply is great, but Facebook friending on the other hand, not so much.
Thanks for a great class!
-SP
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