5 Tips to Break through the 12,000 Emails Reporters Receive–and Delete–Each Year

How do you cope when the reporters you want to target get 12,000 emails a year – and spike most of them? That’s our job–hitting it over the fence. And shaping new markets with the kind of coverage that drive company value – like one, in the WSJ last week.

Another survey from last week warmed our hearts – because it confirms the truths we play by:

Great media comes to those who listen, understand what’s needed, and aren’t afraid to be creative.

That’s we’ve been doing for 25 years, come next week.

Check out this survey from Fractl Marketing, it confirmed what we’ve known for a long time about the media:relationships still count–and nothing trumps creative, on-point story ideas. The average reporter writes five stories per week, and the competition for placements is fierce. Most journalists receive nearly 12,000 emails per year, and double that for top-tier business reporters. Only 11% of pitches make the cut, converting to published stories. Although media relations by the numbers looks harder than fitting an elephant through the eye of a needle, our tried and true approach of writing smart pitches with fresh data, creative subject lines and, most importantly, building solid relationships, is still a winning combination.

Selfishness doesn’t have a place in PR—it’s about making your pitch a win-win. One way to do this? Don’t just tell reporters what to write. 70% of publishers prefer to collaborate on a project rather than receive an unrequested, finished asset. Use this time to learn more about the reporters preferences, writing styles and how to best work with them is critical in establishing a working relationship. Even better? Take the time to learn about them before you even start pitching them. According to the survey, 64% of respondents said establishing a personal connection before pitching ideas is at least moderately important. Sometimes, the relationship doesn’t exist. You can still win. A standout subject line is a winning ticket: 85% of reporters open emails based only  on the subject line. A few other tips?

• Keep it short. If your pitches are hitting over 200 words, you’re probably losing the attention of 88% of reporters.
• The early bird catches the worm. 69% of writers preffer to receive pitches in the morning hours.
• Don’t just use your words. Go beyond articles and share some visuals or mixed-media pieces. 80% of respondents wish they received other content, including infographics and images. Just keep it on topic!

This September, Corporate Ink celebrates its 25^th birthday, and one thing is for certain: We left “pray and spray” behind decades ago. If you want to keep up, take a deeper look at Libert’s data, including some facts on grammar, subject line suggestions and other tips straight from reporters’ keyboards: http://marketingland.com/500-publishers-weighed-content-marketing-best-practices-research-90603.