StreetStyleChi
by Alex Moresco
How To Pitch Brands and Influence Media: The Basics
Last week I talked about the FTC Blogger Guidelines and how Edelman is changing the data analytics game for bloggers- both important subjects to have a basic understanding of in the day and age of the career blogger.
When I first started blogging my Freshman year of college, I had no idea that in a few short years there would be a “business” side to something that I found pure enjoyment in. As I progressed in my blog and ultimately started working with brands, I had to learn the basics, like how to create a simple media kit and how to send a pitch to publicists and journalists. Being a PR professional, it is slightly comical to look back at something that caused me so much anxiety!
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the textbook definition of PR is: professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company or other organization or a famous person. The state of the relationship between the public and a company or other organization or a famous person. While this is true, a PR person is as follows: the gatekeeper between you and the brand. To work with a brand, there are numerous people that have to approve: the marketing director, the PR director, the social media strategist…and on and on.
With blogger + brand partnerships being extremely prevalent, something I often get asked is “what does a proper pitch look like?” While that is a tricky question to answer because every PR professional has their own style of pitching, there are some basics that will help you get across the finish line in a brands’ inbox and hopefully a response!
Pitching brands versus media is very different. A brand pitch is tailored to one specific product and has a call to action. For example: “Would you like to partner…”, “Will you send me XYZ product….”. The question to ask yourself is, what do I have to offer this brand that the ten million other bloggers do not? Make sure you are asking for the right things. While these pitches will help you be professional, also know what level of goods to ask for. If you are a new blogger, request samples to review and start building a relationship with a brand you love.
Remember that when you are pitching media outlets, you are pitching to a writer/journalist. When you are pitching to a brand, you are pitching to a publicist. The job of a publicist is to protect their brands image and think about the business side of how actions will benefit the brand. Also, keep in mind timeliness: if you are pitching a holiday style segment positioning yourself as a fashion expert, give at least a month leeway for scheduling.
One thing that will help to set you apart is using PR to your advantage and aligning yourself with a brands current initiatives. If you directly link your blog or Instagram page and a brand immediately sees their product pop up, that helps set you apart. Below are an example of a brand pitch vs. a media pitch:
Example Brand pitch:
Hi Kaylee,
I hope you are having a lovely week! I just wanted to shoot you a note getting Chicago based blog XYZ on your radar for the upcoming Spring months! We explore career, food and fashion combined with unique elements.
(Introduce yourself and tell the publicist exactly what you do!)
Utilizing our background in public relations and digital strategy, we have tapped into a demographic of 21-27 year old women that value experiences over physical items.
(What sets us apart.)
With “spring break” season quickly approaching in Chicago, I just wanted to reach out and see if you would be interest in a collaboration post with us across XYZ and showcasing XYZ HOTEL as the ultimate alternate hotel from getting away from the craziness of the strip but still having all the amenities you could ever want at your fingertips.
I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have and am happy to shoot over my media kit. Do you have any time for a call next week?
Example Press Pitch :
Hi Stanton!
Hope you are having a lovely week! I just wanted to shoot you a note getting XYZ BLOG on your radar for XYZ PUBLICATION. Utilizing our backgrounds in public relations and digital strategy, we decided to launch XYZ BLOG as a culmination of our passions. Do you have any “Real Women, Real Style” segments coming up?
(In this case, we are asking to be featured for a specific segment “real women, real style.” This lets the journalist/producer (if a tv show) know that you did your homework and actually know what they cover.)
XYZ BLOG is based out of Chicago and will be on the ground at Lollapalooza for activations. I just wanted to reach out and see if you would be interested in any kind of festival fashion piece or behind the scenes Snapchat takeover for XYZ or a “10 Craziest Things We Saw At Lollapalloza” segment for the WXYZ Morning Show?
(What can you offer that is different: come up with a catchy headline and offer it up. Also, mention specifics of what you can talk about.
Things to ask yourself when writing a pitch:
- Who gives a crap? Why should someone care about what you are writing?
- What makes your story outshine the others?
- Where does your story fit into the writers world? How can they use you to make news?
- When is this most important? (EX: if it is a pitch about Lollapalooza, make sure you send it out 4 weeks prior.)
- Timeliness to a pitch presents a sense of urgency to the Journalist/Publicist.
- Why would people want to read your story?
- How can this story help readers?
General Tips on PR:
- Have an idea for a specific niche collaboration? Offer it up!
- If you aren’t comfortable with your stats yet, don’t offer them up right away! Focus on the gorgeous photos you take of your reader demographic.
- Make sure your public image is clean, brands do not want to be associated with people with dirt in their closet (or on their timeline.)
- If you can’t find the direct PR contact for a company, try multiple versions in the BCC. Ex: info@morescopr.com, alex@morescopr.com, am@morescopr.com. One of them is bound to work!
- Know when to follow up: follow up a few days prior to your first email.
- The best time to pitch is first thing in the morning when a journalist/publicist gets to their desk (9am) or midday when they are not buried in emails.
- Have a catchy subject line that fits the length of the line.
I know this is a lot of information to take in, but it is worthwhile to know in the long run. Next week I plan on covering the basics of a brand phone call, a sample call agenda and what questions you should be asking. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!
If you are looking for more information about the business side of blogging, please check out: FTC Blogger Guidelines + how Edelman is changing the data analytics game.
<3 Alexandra Moresco
Alexandra Moresco is the owner and founder of A Moresco PR + Digital Strategy.
38 Comments on “How To Pitch Brands and Influence Media: The Basics”
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This has some great tips, I’m trying to figure out my strategy with pitching to brands and it was so helpful. Thank you!
Lovely tips!! I’m new at pitching and it gives me a lot of anxiety every time I pitch to someone >.< so thanks for the pointers, I'm going to favorite this
Don’t have anxiety!! Best of luck!
Thank you!
Great post! I wish I had this when I started!
Great post! This is very informative, well written and super cool 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this!! xoxo
Great posts for beginners! I’ll have to share with a friend who is just starting.
This is so helpful, thank you! I will keep this in mind if I pitch someone.
This has some great tips and fine them so helpful,
These are great tips! I haven’t pitched anyone yet but I will be starting that this week and I am so glad to have read your blog post with these awesome tips! TY!!
This is very helpful. I started my blog not to long ago, and I am also in Freshman year in college. Hearing your sucesses has definitely inspired me to keep pushing forward. I hope I can reach out to brands like this one day
These are some helpful tips for bloggers. I always make sure to send my media kit with my pitch to PR companies.
I really needed this because I just started to pitch to brands. Thank you for even writing out sample pitches, they really help!
Great tips!! this post is so informative!! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂 its so useful!!
These are amazing tips and I love that you included sample letters for people to read and study. I’ve been looking into working with brands on my own blog lately, and it has been a little nerve-wracking. I’m a writer, not a salesman, not a marketer, definitely not a media expert. But if I want to succeed as a writer, I acknowledge the importance of all the other aspects, so it’s always good learning new tricks.
Don’t be afraid! You can ask for things as simple as complimentary products- the worst that happens is they say no!
Thanks for these templates. I’m terribly bad at pitching my content to anyone so this will really help me!
Katja xxx
http://www.katnapped.com
This is literally what I have been researching all week! Thank you. Some very helpful tips to pitching your brand.
This is really helpful for those that are just starting out. I would have loved to have had this when I was just starting pitching brands.
This takes the cake for the most valuable thing I read today. Thank you for sharing specifics and if I have any questions, I will definitely come back for a visit.
Thank you so much for the kind note!!
I’ve yet to explore the marketing side and pitching in with brands I love. I have a lot to learn and your post made me step into that arena!
Thanks!
This is lovely. It helps to send out a good pitch especially if you’re new to the blogging industry. I’m sure this post will help a lot of bloggers out there who are struggling when it comes to writing a pitch to sponsors and brands.
Thank you so much for this insightful post! This is exactly the area I want to improve on lately so all these were very helpful. I had to share via tweet. 🙂
xo
LAKATWOMAN
This was very interesting to learn about. I will be bookmarking this so I can come back to it again
These are some great tips here. Fortunately I don’t really have to send out many pitches as somehow the brands find me directly, which is nice! 🙂
Always a good “problem” to have! ; )
I have sent out some pitches in the last couple of months but I really do have much to learn. I like the pitch letter samples!
some really great tips here and I will bookmark this page for future reference when I do feel ready to take the plunge
Thank you so much for this, Im currently taking a more strategic approach to marketing and this is great, awesome tips!
Guides like this are golden! Thanks so much for the draft and other tips. It’s important to send out a good pitch to advertisers!
Oh this is a great post especially for those who wants to starts as a social media influencer.
What a great post and this absolutely a perfect tips who wants to start, Glad you share this tips
Thank you Alexandra. This post gave me a lot of insight. I am a student studying public relations at the moment and your post helped me understand how to better pitch brands. I feel like in classes they teach you how but this post was simple to read and follow along with. Thank you for taking the time to write it!
Your comment made my day! SO happy you got something out of it!!
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Nice post. Your content is clearly laid out and simple to read. I liked how you created a relationship between public relations and blogging. I’m learning about brand interaction and social media influencers in some of my classes and your post clearly shows the pathway between the two!
Comment #2
April 10, 2017
How to Pitch Brands and Influence the Media: The Basics; Alpluslex
I really enjoyed reading your post! In class, we had a professional speaker come and speak to us about branding yourself and elevator pitches. The section on things to ask yourself made me laugh and the tips are so true. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to reading more of your posts! -Abbie