The year my first book, Money: A Love Story, came out our email list jumped from 3,000 people to 45,000 people.
Why? Visibility.
How? Media.
Getting your work featured by media outlets that already have eyeballs is one of the most “do less” ways to grow your business
How do you do it? I’m so glad you’re here because it’s all about learning to pitch to media…and it’s not hard or out of reach for any of us.
When more eyeballs see your stuff, more people have the opportunity to build a genuine connection with what you’re doing and evolve into true fans and customers for you.
Plus, visibility begets visibility so once you pitch to media and get the pump primed, it doesn’t take much effort to keep it all flowing!
I’ve learned a lot of lessons from being featured by the media, being pitched as a podcast host myself, and pitching other media outlets that you can apply to prime the visibility pump for yourself.
Here are 5 tips to pitch to media to increase your publicity and visibility:
1. Lean on your quirks. What makes you different than everyone else is your media superpower. Include what makes you stand out in your pitch to media.
Society has tried to get us to blend in as a means of survival. But the people and companies who get visibility stand out for a reason: they stopped trying to blend in.
The things that make you and your business the most unusual make great additions to your pitches.
Think about the things that make you weird that you’ve been trying to dial down or hide your whole life. Now is the time to dial them up!
Have 8 kids? Mention that.
Managed to grow a 6-figure business while navigating debilitating periods every month that take you out for days at a time? Talk about it.
Started your business young and out-paced your peers’ income by the age of 22? That’s a great hook.
Grew up in shelters and created a magical life anyway? Use it.
Operate your business completely different than other people in your industry? Highlight it.
Focusing on what makes you different and special fertilizes visibility.
2. Be personal in your pitches.
When you write your pitch to the media, be specific about why this particular person or outlet is a great fit for your message.
Make sure you’ve done your research and mention specifics about articles they’ve run before, episodes that they’ve run where you’re well-poised to continue the conversation, and/or issues you know are important to this host/outlet.
(Don’t go over the top – a couple of sentences to build connection and context is fine!)
Remember: there’s always a human on the other side of every message you send. Getting media is all about relationships so start off on the right foot by connecting to the human first.
3. Be timely.
When possible, connect your pitch to the media to what’s going on in the world. If you can connect your message to the time of year, a holiday, or something going on in the news, you’ll be more likely to get featured.
Want 12 months of epic story ideas, dates, and hooks to help you become the media’s favorite go-to expert and to help you be timely with your pitches? Grab my friend Selena Soo’s 2022 Publicity Calendar and you’ll also get the 3 pitch must-haves to get your pitch read and score major media coverage.
Download the free 2022 Publicity Calendar now.4. Add value.
Focus your pitch to the media on how you can add value to the outlet’s hosts and/or audience. A good pitch is really about the person you’re pitching and how you can support what they’re up to, not about how they can support you in being visible. Extra points if you can offer to do a live about the article or interview once it goes live, host a panel discussion to keep the conversation going, and/or email your list and share the feature on your social media.
5. Build relationships.
If there’s a particular podcast or website you’d like to be featured on, listen to it/read it regularly, share it with your community, comment on the hosts/owners social media, and generally show up with a generosity of spirit.
If it’s a larger media outlet, find out who the editors or producers are and follow them on social to get to know what they’re interested in and working on. Contribute to the conversation by sharing their work, providing resources, commenting, etc.
When it’s time to pitch, if you’ve already been building the relationship on social media and by listening/reading/watching, you’re gonna know that it’s the right moment. Plus, the pitch will feel organic and be way more likely to be accepted.
Then, once you’ve been featured, keep investing in the relationship. Keep up with what the outlet is up to, pitch new, relevant ideas, offer to make introductions when relevant and look for other ways to add value.
Getting featured by the media is part of the 20% that gets you 80% of the results for the lion’s share of businesses.
Give these 5 tips a go and get pitching!
Want even more support with pitching? I’ve got a gift for you that will help you with visibility in terms of media and publicity immensely. It’s my friend Selena Soo’s 2022 Publicity Calendar and inside it you’ll discover:
- 12 months of epic story ideas, dates, and hooks to help you become the media’s favorite go-to expert
- Smart ways to tackle sensitive and timely issues to make your biggest impact
- The 3 pitch must-haves to get your pitch read and score major media coverage
- How to become a productivity powerhouse by planning your content and pitches in advance, earning you more time—and more success!
OVER TO YOU:
Which of these 5 tips have you the biggest a-ha? Tell us in the comments and let us know how you’re going to apply it!
Kate Northrup is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, mother, and founder and CEO of The Origin Company, which reaches hundreds of thousands globally. Kate is committed to supporting ambitious women to light up the world without burning themselves out. She’s the author of Do Less, the Do Less Planner System creator, and runs The Origin Membership, which helps business owners grow their business while doing less.
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