A lot of my work at Clairemont thus far has been centered around doing social media and blogging for clients, but every once in a while, I’m doing what we now consider “traditional PR,” as well. My most recent task has involved pitching the Charlotte and nearby Lancaster, S.C. media regarding our client Walnut Creek’sannouncement that three new builders are set to begin construction in the housing development.
Pitching media is still a new experience for me, and it is probably one of the most nerve-wracking assignments that I have worked on yet at a PR agency. Reporters are busy and can receive hundreds of pitches a day. Sometimes they are just not interested in hearing another pitch, and sometimes your story just really isn’t what that reporter needs.

My best advice? Don’t take the rejection personally. Pitching the media can be hard, but it gets much better with practice (so I’ve heard). Instead, make the pitch into a game. What can you do, what angle can you approach it from to make your story sound the most interesting to the reporter? What can you do to make the reporter’s job easy? If you can give the journalist as much information as they need as soon as they need it, you are making his or her job easier, which means you are in a much better position to get placement for your story.

This is just my initial reaction on how to make pitching the most interesting and effective, but for those of you who have had way more experience than me, do you have any tips and tricks to share?