The Public Relations Blog

When it comes to media relations, what defines success?

For some, success might mean securing a story in a household-name publication or landing a coveted national broadcast spot. Those achievements are exciting. But they’re not the only — or even the most meaningful — measures of a campaign’s success.

In this episode, Alfredo Garcia joins On Top of PR host Jason Mudd to discuss best practices for producing PR events. 

Tune in to learn more!

Recent data shows focusing your pitch on a person's story leads to higher open rates and journalist interest.

When trying to earn media coverage, many PR pros cram as much information as possible into their email pitches. But a recent analysis of pitches revealed that one of the best ways to capture a journalist’s attention is through a compelling human story.

In this episode, Axia’s David Triana joins On Top of PR host Jason Mudd to discuss key strategies for nurturing mutually beneficial media relationships that make a lasting impact.

Tune in to learn more!

Analysis shows pitches leading with recognizable brand names in subject lines tend to reach higher journalist engagement.

When you're pitching a story that involves a well-known brand, it can be tempting to save that juicy tidbit for the body of your pitch email. But an analysis of millions of successful media pitches suggests that putting the brand name front and center in your subject line can significantly boost the chances a journalist will open your email.

To improve your company's SEO, leverage media placements to build credible backlinks, anchor text, and website authority.

As a PR professional, you may not consider yourself a search engine optimization expert. By understanding some basics, however, you can leverage your media relations skills to help boost your brand’s SEO — driving more qualified traffic to your site and positioning you as an authority in your space.

Understanding the optimal timing for pitches will help you pitch like a pro.

Crafting the perfect media pitch takes time and effort. You've identified relevant media targets, created personalized pitches, and included critical information and compelling angles. But what about timing? When you hit “send” can be just as important to your pitch's success. 

Targeting only 1-50 recipients per pitch can maximize your open and clickthrough rates.

When it comes to media pitching, many PR pros wonder how many journalists they should email to get maximal engagement with their pitch. New data from an analysis of over 14 million pitches provides a clear answer: Pitching to a highly targeted list of 1-50 journalists yields significantly higher open and clickthrough rates than pitching to larger groups does.

Shouting doesn’t make you stand out — the content of the subject line does.

When crafting the perfect email pitch, your subject line is key to getting recipients to open your message. With writers putting so much thought into creating compelling, effective subject lines, many ask: Should you capitalize words for emphasis? The short answer is that it doesn't really matter.

When pitching, find the balance between consistent and irritating to appeal to busy reporters.

You probably know just how bothersome spam or sales calls can be in and outside of the workday. The frustration you feel receiving these calls is comparable to how a news reporter may feel receiving pitches that don’t always pertain to their beat, for example.

As a company desiring news coverage, what are you to do? Your company needs to build relationships with the right reporters and be helpful instead of irritating or spammy. Here are six tips to help ensure reporters don’t hate your company.