Media Consultant | Clean Energy & Transportation
By Paul Griffo
Much of the advice—dare I say most of the advice?—you’ll receive on writing is shit. How do I know? I’ve supported myself as a writer for more than 40 years. So I’ve had to wade through deep cesspools of horrible writing advice. And the worst advice typically comes from someone who once got an A […]
“Pitch with my readers, not me, in mind.” That’s advice from one of the best journalists in the business. PR folks got a windfall recently when Wall Street Journal reporter James Rundle served up a 500-word post on LinkedIn that gives some wise pitching guidelines. “I write for an audience, and that’s the lens I […]
When I’m pitching a story, I approach a reporter like I’m talking to a colleague or a friend. Instead of trying to create a false sense of urgency, I try to offer a helping hand by drawing their attention to something—just in case they may have missed it. Reporters, especially beat reporters, talk to a […]
A tired old PR cliché that I’ve seen repeated over and over again is “nature abhors a vacuum.” Applied to public relations—especially crisis management—this unscientific factoid is supposed to mean “get your message out there immediately, because if you don’t, someone else will fill the void with misinformation and speculation.” My response to that is, […]
There seems to be a lot of mystery around how to pitch an influencer versus how to pitch a journalist. To demystify things, we first need to answer, “What is the essential difference between journalists and influencers?” The role of the journalist For most journalists, their material gets read because it has the imprimatur, or […]
So, you discover from your research that the reporter you’re pitching to—or their news outlet—has recently done a story similar to the one you’re pitching. Don’t let that stop you! With a few prepped responses you can still turn things around. The key is to acknowledge their previous work, and then immediately pivot to what […]
You may be using your company blog to build brand awareness or generate leads. But have you considered using it as your main channel for announcing company news instead of issuing conventional news releases? Using an “owned” media channel like a blog for news distribution gives you full control over messaging. Your blog post is […]
A report might sound like the dullest, most boring thing you can pitch. But to the journalist who specializes in a particular beat, reports are catnip. Reports usually have lots of data. And beat reporters—especially those in the tech world—geek out on data. When it comes to pitching reports, I like to use the phone […]
In your quest to go viral, don’t forget that, although your digital reach may be global, all news is still local. Whether it’s local newsletters, blogs or podcasts, local radio, local affiliate news, or the weekly newspaper, they all crave stories that aren’t just relevant, but feel close to home. And remember, they all have websites […]