My mother, a successful long-time business owner, taught me at an early age that for every one thousand no’s, you’ll get a yes. But you’ll only get there if you have persistence.
That’s what it’s like in our world of PR, especially when it comes to pitching yourself to land media placements like CBS News, The New York Times, the TODAY Show, and more. It’s why persistence is one of our core values here at Nardi Media and woven into our DNA. Whether it’s showing up for our clients again and again so they can reach their media goals, to making a consistent effort to support our team internally, being persistent is what has made Nardi Media so successful over the last decade. It’s truly the reason we’re able to celebrate our 10th anniversary this year!
If you’re curious how Nardi Media has stayed persistent all these years and how we use persistence to help our clients reach their media goals, check out our biggest tips below.
But First, Media Realities: Why You Must Keep Going
In order to get a media placement, you have to craft an eye-catching pitch email to entice journalists and bookers at the outlet in which you want to be featured to open it. Then, it’s time to send your thoughtful email pitch out and wait for a reply.
Sounds simple, right? Think again!
In reality, sending one email to land a media placement is hardly ever a one-and-done win. Even after you’ve crafted the most beautifully well-thought-out pitch, chances are it could take you a while to hear an answer in return. You might even write dozens and dozens of perfect and personalized pitches and still hear crickets. And when they do respond, the answer might be “no”.
It can be incredibly time-consuming, frustrating, and, at times, make you want to scream into a pillow, but you have to remember a few things. First, you’re not alone. Even the savviest publicists don’t get that victorious “yes” at the first try. Second, journalists get inundated with email pitches daily, so there’s a good chance they don’t see your pitch right away. In fact, most journalists get 50 to 150+ pitches per week across email, calls, and DMs.
Lastly and most importantly: the name of the game is persistence! Even if a network booker passes on your pitch idea, it doesn’t mean the next one will! Don’t give up, follow up, and keep forging forward. Remember: whether it’s getting a “no” or silence, this is not the end of the road. Your “yes” will come!
In fact, we at Nardi Media believe persistence is so important in media outreach that we teach it as a core step in our Media Mastery Method, which includes 3 P’s: Prepare, Pitch, and, of course, PERSIST! Follow up, follow up, and follow up some more.
If You Hear Crickets, Follow Up, But Get Creative!
While following up is crucial, so is the way in which you do it. Why? If you hit resend on the same email that didn’t get you a response in the first place, chances are you’ll get the same result. Avoid further frustration and try following up in creative ways that have a better chance of grabbing their attention.
Here are some of the ways my team and I follow up when we don’t hear a response:
- Compliment their recent work. Journalists and bookers work extremely hard to bring their audience relevant news and information that is most meaningful to them. That’s why I love opening my pitch emails with a compliment about their recent work for a personal touch. This can include the name of the piece, who they worked with, if applicable, when it went live, and a link to the piece if it’s available.
- Offer a new angle or relevant update. Just because one angle didn’t work, doesn’t mean another one won’t! To find a new angle, try looking at what the journalists/bookers are reporting lately and align your angle with those topics. You can also adjust your angle to the current newscycle (we call this newsjumping!) or align your angle with a holiday. If there isn’t an obvious holiday that makes sense, try looking at the National Day Calendar. You’ll quickly learn that there’s a holiday for everything!
- Change the subject line. A subject line needs to be short and attention-grabbing to entice journalists/bookers to open your email. If you didn’t hear a response back from your original email, simply creating a catchier subject line could do the trick!
- DM them on social media. Though we learned that journalists and bookers still get tons of pitches through social media DMs, they might be more active on social media than on email. It’s worth a try!
- Reach out to a new contact at the same outlet. If you’re not having any luck reaching out to the same contact, try a different one! Who knows, someone else at the same outlet might be looking for an expert like you!
Case Study: Roseann Austin, Founder of Fearlessly Fertile
Roseann Austin, a fertility expert and founder of Fearlessly Fertile, came to Nardi Media with the goal of elevating her thought leadership through a world media tour.
We attempted many different pitch angles to see what stuck. Some didn’t, until we persisted, and others did! Here are the angles that finally got responses:
- Debunking Fertility Myths
- June’s Infertility Awareness Month
- Rosanne’s Powerful Story
- Breaking News: Giselle Bundchen Gets Pregnant After 40!
Here’s why each angle worked:
- Debunking Fertility Myths: it’s catchy/controversial
- June’s Infertility Awareness Month: it’s timely
- Rosanne’s Powerful Story: it’s personal
- Breaking News: Giselle Bundchen Gets Pregnant After 40!: it’s newsjumping
Then, the media wins followed! Why? Because we never gave up! Here are just a few placements that resulted from our collective persistence:
TV/Radio:
- Washington, DC: #9 US Media Market
- WUSA-CBS: LINK
- Tampa, FL #13 US Media Market
- WFLA-NBC: LINK
- Seattle, WA #14 US Media Market
- KCPQ-FOX: LINK
- Portland, OR #22 US Media Market
- KATU-ABC: LINK
Podcasts:
Print/Online:
- Authority Magazine
The Follow-Up That Landed a National Win
Being in the PR business for 10 years has brought me my own fair share of crickets and the need to be persistent again and again.
When I founded Nardi Media, one of my very first clients was Thomas J. Cryan, author of Freddie Steinmark: Faith, Family, Football, and I knew he’d be the perfect fit for CBS This Morning. I sent my first pitch, and nothing! So, what did I do? I pitched the same producer about 8 or 9 times. Yes, 8-9 times! I was not giving up!
Can you guess what followed? A “yes”! Because I persisted, my client landed an amazing feature on CBS This Morning. That experience taught me a huge lesson and proved just how important persistence is, even with major national media outlets.
Allow yourself to have that same persistence, and you, too, can land a feature on CBS This Morning! Believe in yourself, never give up, and keep forging forward!
Final Thought: Keep Showing Up
Whether you’re pitching the media, growing your following, or expanding your business, persistence is how you will make it happen.
At Nardi Media, it’s how we succeed, and it’s been the driver of our success for the last 10 years. If you need an ally to believe in you, to be persistent for you, and to be your advocate in the world of media, we have your back. Contact us today so we can discuss your media goals. Persistence is a lot easier when you’re not doing it alone!