24 Jul Picking the National Outlet That Works Best for You

What comes to mind when you think of getting “national coverage”? Is it The New York Times, Good Morning America, or The Wall Street Journal? Those are huge wins worthy of celebrating with your company or client. However, if you only pitch major outlets, you could be missing out on some coverage just as meaningful. Or maybe you are pitching the wrong person at those major outlets. Never fear, we are here to help you sort it out!

National Television Shows

Pitching your story to a major outlet and hoping for the best probably won’t end with the result you want.  A good strategy is to find those reporters and producers who create the content you want to be featured on. NBC’s streaming news has weekly segments focused on mental health and parenting. Scripps’ national morning show, Morning Rush, has segments dedicated to finance and school. Look for ways to pitch based on the topics you know they need content for consistently. Then include that segment in the subject line. Example: “Money Matters” Segment Idea: 5 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half!

Podcasts

We all know that there is a podcast for EVERY. SINGLE. TOPIC. out there. So, how do you know if your company’s expertise is the right fit? One thing to do is take a look at what previous guests have talked about. If your story or topic adds something previous guests haven’t touched on yet, make sure you include that in the pitch! If you see a lot of similarities, maybe change up your angle to make it just a tad different, if you’re comfortable with doing that.

Digital Publications

Landing a story or coverage in a major newspaper, online or print, isn’t the same as it was even a few years ago. Newsrooms are shrinking and many outlets use freelance writers and journalists who cover a particular beat. This can really work in your favor. Pitching a reporter who focuses on, let’s say, personal finance, could result in a writer using your source for multiple publications.

Helpful Hint

To find journalists who write about the topics you want to pitch, set up media alerts that will tell you when an article hits. Then you can add the byline to your media lists. This can easily be done on Google. Using the example above on personal finance, set up searches for phrases that fit that topic like “financial future”, “retirement”, etc.

At the end of the day, it is about doing your research and pitching the right angles (and this applies to both national and local news). Have fun pitching!