JANUARY 2016 BCBusiness 21 ILLUSTRATIONS: vICTORIA PARK
Pitch Perfect
D - I - Y M a n a g e m e n t
mAKe iT eASY
"I like something that gets quickly to the
point," says Tanner. "It helps to sketch out
what you think the story you're trying to tell
is." And put the information in the body of
the email. "Don't make me double click,"
she says. "The chances of me reading that
are way better than if you make me open an
attachment," Dickson advises. "The more
information you give us right off the bat in
that initial pitch helps." For events, include
the "who, what, where and when"; and for
TV, explain the visual aspect.
Be AVAilABle
Provide complete contact details,
including phone numbers. "It's a lot
easier for me to pick up my phone
and dial a number to get a confirma-
tion right away than to write out a
whole email explaining everything,"
says Dickson. "You have to also be
able to cough up your real people,"
says Tanner. "You should be making
a pitch and then you should have
all your ducks lined up and those
people have to be able to respond
really quickly."
mAKe iT newSY
"There has to actually be something new
that warrants coverage," says Adrienne
Tanner, and there has to be something
different and interesting about it. "It can't
just be, 'Oh, we're cool—write about us.'"
Offering exclusivity can help, and the word
"first" is always good—if it truly is first
(she'll check). "There are some PR people
who are really good, and they only pitch
us things that are newsy," she says. "You
learn to recognize those names, and you
pay attention when those ones come in."
Know YoUr TArgeT
Check out what sort of story they cover
and who does what. Then personal-
ize your pitch and get the information
right, says Shaun Dickson. "Knowing
who the producers, the editors and,
in TV and radio, the anchors and
hosts are—and having that little bit of
basic information about each media
outlet—is so important. Anybody would
be more receptive to someone who
sounds like they know what they're
talking about, knows your show and
your station. The worst is when I'll get,
'Now who hosts your show?' Those
things are really common."
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Follow UP?
"One follow-up phone call I
think is great," says Dickson. "I
appreciate them. I get hun-
dreds of pitches a week so a
follow-up 'Did you see that?'
doesn't hurt at all." But no more
than one call—and Tanner often
doesn't pick up at all. "I don't
even mind a follow-up email:
'Just wanted to make sure you
received.' Sometimes when I
get that, I will even write back
one way or the other, but I
appreciate that as opposed to
a phone call which is going to
suck up my life."
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What does it take to get media coverage? Adrienne Tanner, the
Vancouver Sun's deputy editor, content, and Shaun dickson, morning
news producer for Global BC, dish on the dos and don'ts of pitching
a story
by Felicity Stone
