So, following our last six tips, you now have the perfect pitch…or do you? Here, tip 7 offers you more detail on positioning your pitch and giving it context:
7. OMIT PREAMBLE:
In just a few sentences, answer the five w’s. These are the most important questions to be answered by anyone writing an article or pitching to a journalist as they provide every detail needed without further research having to be done by the journalist. The five w’s are who, what, where, when and why – basically giving all the relevant information required for an article. Get straight to the point of your pitch by answering these questions without preamble, as journalists have very limited time on their hands and are unlikely to spend hours researching the five w’s in order to draft an article.
Next week’s tips will offer you the five w’s and whether attachments are a good idea.
Here’s the rest of the series:
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 1: talk don’t pitch
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 2: timing
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 3: contact
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 4: subject lines
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 5: everyday news
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 6: positioning
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 7: preamble
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 8: attachments
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 9: summarise
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 10: time sensitive
