It feels that since Covid-19 started the world hasn’t had a month without abnormal news. Crazy stocks, blocked trading routes, controversy with the royals, German April fools humour and the never-ending game of vaccines.
And with everyone at home and working longer, it seems more (bad) pitches are being sent than ever. We can’t measure the amount of pet peeves tweeted by journalists globally, but we’re certain it has gone up in 2021. Whether it’s bad pitches or an increasing need to vent about them, one thing is certain – there is more we can use to learn.
It’s getting brutal out there.
No time for chit chat. No time for being lazy. Do your homework, do your research.
The next 4 tweets are all part of the same conversation. When a pet peeve is so strong that it develops into a full-blown Twitter thread, we got to pay attention. Journalists aren’t buyers, and PR professionals aren’t salespeople. Well, not quite. In sales, we can expect a potential customer to politely decline. This is a luxury journalists don’t have.
One of the worst ways to follow up is by typing the words “just wanted to follow up”. It’s lazy. If you follow up, introduce something new and interesting that will add sufficient value to potentially change the journalist’s mind. Chances are your email was seen already and there was no interest.
Another important one. Don’t link to an article you just landed and ask a journalist for the same article. Just don’t. Journalists want to produce quality, original pieces, not copy others or cover you just because you so desire.
I’m not your homie, homie.
John here is wondering why PR people send press releases attached as Word documents. Kind of half of a pet peeve, he doesn’t mind, but Word is not ideal. In this day and age, the fastest and best way is to copy the text into the body of the email. Need to send images, etc? Send a link to a G Drive.
Before you ask when a story runs, check if the story is already out.
Sometimes, the writer of the piece has nothing to do with the publishing date.
Got a question asked by a journalist? Answer it!
Don’t offer what you can’t give (in a timely manner).
Some say pitching journalists via LinkedIn is a no-go. We imagine pitching them via dating sites is a massive no-go.
Sending unsolicited calendar invites are being used more and more by salespeople as a tactic of last-resort. It can backfire there already. With journalists it’s probably much worse.
If a journalist asks you to see a press release with an embargo date it just means they are considering, but not sold on covering yet.
If you’re a professional in PR in 2021 there is no excuse not to have your own email extension. It could be worse (hotmail).
We can’t expect journalists to write up an article in 24 hours. People have things to do. How would you like to plan an outreach in 24 hours? Exactly.
If in doubt, always pitch the email address associated with the outlet – not the personal email.
Every month there’s the same pet peeve. As some journalists say: some messages stay the same, but the audiences change. Calls are a no-no (in most cases).
Startups in the teledildonics sector must have a ‘hard’ time getting placements. Jokes aside. Know who your teledildonic journos are.
Not everything needs expert commentary. Especially not things that are common – like price fluctuations in crypto.
Do not add journalists into email newsletters without their express permission. Ideally, only if they themselves subscribe.
Conviction in your story can be good. But not always.
If a journalist agrees to cover your funding round, you can rely on their word.
Wow. Journalists are not distributors for your news. Massive faux pas in PR and assured destruction of a future relationship. Plus, do you want to generate animosity with journalists from TechCrunch? Simply no need for that language.
Special: LinkedIn (yes, some take it to LinkedIn now as well)
Yea. Confirmation of email receipt is not a thing in PR.
Don’t send pitches saying “breaking news”. Just. Don’t!
