Every brand out there wants to get media coverage with high-profile outlets. This type of coverage is not only coveted but can propel brands in sales and brand awareness. Getting major media coverage isn’t something that’s easy. Keep in mind because they are major media outlets they get thousands of pitches every day. Some viable and some are just not even usable to the reporters. 

It’s no secret that journalists ignore your pitches if it’s not relevant to their beat or even something that’s worth covering. Sometimes you’re pitching the wrong journalist while other times your story won’t resonate with their audience. Think of journalists like social media influencers, they care about their audience and want to provide factual information to them. 

So we know you’re already wondering how you can get in front of journalists who are part of major media outlets. Here are the TOP 8 ways to get noticed. 

1. Email Subject Lines Matter 

An email subject line has the power to get someone to click or simply ignore. Think about yourself, whenever you get an email in your inbox. If the title was something like, “Buy a new product,” you probably would ignore it or drop it into the spam folder. But if the title was something like, “New product saving lives and time,” you might get curious and open it. 

2. Be Patient 

Landing major media coverage isn’t an overnight sensation. It takes time to build these relationships with journalists and get them to trust you as a viable source. Journalists are naturally skeptical because their job is to cover real information. Their reputation is on the line, so that’s why they carefully vet pitches. 

3. Stop Asking for Features 

We all love features but when you keep pitching for features it makes you look desperate. Plus journalists do talk to each other no matter what outlet they are with. Instead of asking for a feature ask how you can help them by providing information for pieces they’re working on or by being a source. Sometimes starting by providing a quote is a great way to build credibility with journalists. 

4. Make Yourself Available 

Most of the time journalists are working stories in real-time and they might need to speak to you right away. If you’re not available they’ll easily find someone else to connect with. Remember journalists have tons of sources to choose from so be ready to answer questions when they need you. 

5. Newsjacking Is A Thing 

If you’re keeping up with the trends and what’s happening in your industry, you might be able to piggyback off of trending topics. A great example to highlight this is when Oreo newsjacked the Super Bowl in 2013, during the on-field power outage. Brand managers tweeted, “You can still dunk in the dark,” resulting in massive media coverage. Another great way is setting up Google alerts of happenings in your industry or even news about your competitors. 

6. Check The Archives

Before you pitch to news outlets take a look at their archives to see if someone else already wrote a story about it. Pitching the same story over to that outlet will show that you didn’t do your homework and you don’t have the journalists’ audience in mind. 

7. Timely News is New News 

Send your pitch early in the morning to ensure that journalists see your email. Sometimes sending it late in the day, they won’t see it till the next day. 

• For a daily morning newspaper, journalists typically file in late afternoon/early evening.

• TV news stations are swamped one to three hours before live broadcasts.

• The deadline day for local business journals that publish on Fridays is generally Tuesday or Wednesday morning, however, you should always double-check. 

Speaking of timely you also want to make sure that the topic your pitching makes sense for the news cycle. If for example, you want to pitch gift ideas for moms you wouldn’t pitch it for a Father’s day piece or feature. 

8.  Build A Media List 

This is super important. You need to have a clear idea of what media you want to pitch to and if it makes sense for your product. List building also takes time you need to research the outlet not just on Google but also on social media. You don’t need a list of 200 journalists to make it a great list, sometimes focusing on your top 20 journalists will do the trick.