3 ways to delete-proof PR pitches

Today’s newsroom is in flux. Journalists juggle multiple responsibilities. Many receive hundreds of PR pitches every single day. The result: more PR emails overlooked or deleted.

Here are three ways to keep your next pitch from getting trashed:

1. Target reporters first, not editors. The newsroom has become incredibly fluid. “It’s a less top-down place than in the past,” says Tom Hallman, a Pulitzer Prize winner and senior editor at The Oregonian.

The result: “The power to get the story out now really lies with the reporter—not with an editor who assigns stories, as was the case in the past,” he says.

Hallman’s advice: “Get to know the reporters who write about your subject area. Pitch them first. If that doesn’t work, then pitch their editors.”

2. Pitch people, not products. “ The best PR people are storytellers,” says Hallman. “Don’t leave that behind in favor of social media shares or likes.”