5 selfish pitching behaviors PR pros should banish

For media relations success, consider putting the reporter first.

Often, PR pros scrambling to grab media coverage list reasons why a journalist should publish their stories. Sometimes, PR pros will ask nicely. Others will beg.

Too often, these pitches miss a crucial element to land success (and headlines): What’s in it for the reporter—and his or her readers. Missing this can mean your pitch might be deleted almost as soon as you send it, and it often translates to lackluster media relations effectiveness.

Here are five examples of selfish pitching behaviors—and how to avoid them:

1. Using a template without personalizing it.

If you’re going to use a template, don’t make it obvious.

Here’s a good example:

… I’m a big fan of prdaily.com. I wanted to reach out because I’ve really been enjoying your content, particularly your article on “. [sic]

I have some ideas I think the prdaily [sic] audience would love, and I was wondering if you’d be open to a guest blog post?

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