Perch's Perfect Pitch Formula
By Rachel Henry
Storytelling can be a powerful tool to help your community-minded organization connect with your audience on a deeper level. But it takes the right story to make a compelling pitch for the media. You need to craft a pitch that journalists and reporters crave. Like baking a cake, we have a recipe you can follow to create an irresistible final product.
The base of your cake is the narrative—you have to have a good foundation to communicate your mission, vision, and impact in a way that hits them right in the feels. By telling an edge-of-your-seat story, you can get the media coverage you need to bring attention to your work, and turn publicity into donors, patrons, and partners.
In this article, we’ll uncover how to turn your next announcement into a newsworthy media pitch with 3 key ingredients:
The base of your cake is the narrative—you have to have a good foundation to communicate your mission, vision, and impact in a way that hits them right in the feels. By telling an edge-of-your-seat story, you can get the media coverage you need to bring attention to your work, and turn publicity into donors, patrons, and partners.
In this article, we’ll uncover how to turn your next announcement into a newsworthy media pitch with 3 key ingredients:
- A well-packaged pitch that gives journalists what they need, when they need it
- An understanding of current affairs and how your story relates to trending topics
- Strong links between your work and real-word issues that need solving
Perch's Perfect Pitch Formula
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1. Editorial insights (media know-how)
When it comes to pitching to the media, it’s essential to package your pitch in a way that meets the needs of modern reporters and journalists. That means making it easy for them to identify an angle that's relevant to their readers. So, clearly provide the what, how and why of your story. Don't forget about the details! To show how your story is relevant to their readers, provide specific examples that really bring it to life. Hard, stand-out data points backed by evidence-based, high-quality research can help you stand out from the crowd and demonstrate the importance of your story. With an explicit, substantive, and detailed pitch, you’ll be sure to capture the attention of journalists and get your story told. |
2. Cultural insights (current and trending topics)
Show them you’re not just a flavour of the week by keeping up with the latest news and trends in your industry. This is essential to staying ahead of the curve and connecting with your audience. By researching emerging trends and talking points, you can position yourself as a thought leader and provide valuable insights to your community—establishing your organization as a go-to resource when pitching to the media.
It’s important to consider the 24/7 news cycle and the dynamic preferences of reporters and journalists. This means being flexible and adaptable in your approach, and always staying on top of trending topics. To take advantage of coverage opportunities, you need to create story ideas that go beyond traditional perspectives. Give them something to sink their teeth into by illustrating your story with facts paired with unique viewpoints that make a real impact.
3. Organizational insights (proof)
It’s vital to consider how your programs, services and purposes align with current topics when crafting your pitch. Rather than just talking about what you provide, focus on the problem you solve and demonstrate how you’re making a difference —the real icing on the cake.
Providing real-life examples and humanizing your pitch can help it attract the media. It’s also important to examine different perspectives and how you can contribute to the conversation in an authentic and current way. Make sure your storytelling strategy and messaging is consistent across all platforms, and don’t try to shoehorn your work into complex current affairs—people notice when you’re being disingenuous.
Show them you’re not just a flavour of the week by keeping up with the latest news and trends in your industry. This is essential to staying ahead of the curve and connecting with your audience. By researching emerging trends and talking points, you can position yourself as a thought leader and provide valuable insights to your community—establishing your organization as a go-to resource when pitching to the media.
It’s important to consider the 24/7 news cycle and the dynamic preferences of reporters and journalists. This means being flexible and adaptable in your approach, and always staying on top of trending topics. To take advantage of coverage opportunities, you need to create story ideas that go beyond traditional perspectives. Give them something to sink their teeth into by illustrating your story with facts paired with unique viewpoints that make a real impact.
3. Organizational insights (proof)
It’s vital to consider how your programs, services and purposes align with current topics when crafting your pitch. Rather than just talking about what you provide, focus on the problem you solve and demonstrate how you’re making a difference —the real icing on the cake.
Providing real-life examples and humanizing your pitch can help it attract the media. It’s also important to examine different perspectives and how you can contribute to the conversation in an authentic and current way. Make sure your storytelling strategy and messaging is consistent across all platforms, and don’t try to shoehorn your work into complex current affairs—people notice when you’re being disingenuous.
Turn your story idea into publicity
Your media pitch should be like eating a piece of rich chocolate cake—it should leave journalists wanting more. Turning your story into an irresistible pitch requires a narrative approach that builds an emotional connection with your audience. By focusing on the angle and cultural relevance of your pitch, you can master how to write a pitch and establish your organization as authentic and credible. At Perch Communications, we know all the secret ingredients of how to write a pitch that leads to publicity. Contact us for a free 30-minute consultation.
