What not to do when a reporter rejects your pitch
It’s always a bummer when a reporter says no to a pitch, but it’s not the end of the world. Pull yourself together, and stay away from these bridge-burners.
Any kind of rejection sucks. Rejection in business pursuits can hurt, too.
But if you’re a PR person, you’d better get used to it.
Call us gluttons for punishment, but those of us who work in PR get rejected pretty regularly. We deal with bloggers, reporters, editors, producers and others who say no to our pitches every day.
But if you don’t learn how to handle rejection well, you’re going to burn a lot of bridges and possibly harm your brand. Don’t do any of the following things when a reporter rejects your pitch:
1. Send an angry reply. You can’t take it personally when a reporter declines to cover your story. This is business—it’s not personal. The reporter probably doesn’t have anything against you; he just doesn’t feel like your story is the right fit at this time.
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