Full Frontal PR Report
Jennifer Solar

I love watching morning news shows and talk shows. On weekends, I especially enjoy watching the national morning shows (in case Campbell Brown and Lester Holt are reading!). This obsession gives me insight to morning show styles and content that has helped me place story after on-message story on these shows.

When considering a pitch idea for TV, I link my segment with current trends and news. I can’t stress enough how imperative it is to pay attention to any and all current news. If there’s no hook for a particular angle, I come up with a truly unique idea.

When I pitch producers, I often start my pitch by saying “Recently in the news…” or “A recent article revealed…” Pitching this way piques the producer’s curiosity, so s/he will listen to my pitch with a (semi) open mind.

Obviously, pitching local market morning shows (like Good Day Wherever) is more likely to get you a segment quickly than a pitch to Good Morning America. They just get fewer pitches! Still, a weak pitch will get you nowhere—locally, regionally, or nationally. You have to start strong, and finish stronger. This is not telemarketing, people!

Here’s another secret to pitching TV: The relentless redial works. I call it my “every-five-minute-redial” method. I always get my man (or woman). This is not, of course, a guarantee that a story gets placed, but it gives me the opportunity to deliver my on-message, well-researched, personalized and enthusiastic pitch…and then move on.

Once you’ve had the conversation with a producer, there are three things to do: Follow up! Follow up! Follow up!

First, follow up with an immediate email (no more than five minutes between phone call and email!), especially if the producer has requested more information. In those cases, the e-mail subject line reads, “Per Your Request,” or “Here is the Info You Requested.” Or you can say “Hey, You Asked for This.”

Second: Call within a few hours to make sure s/he received the email. You would be surprised how many times the producer did not get the e-mail (or claims s/he did not get it).

Third: Wait a day, and then call until you speak with the producer. Remind him he “requested.”

This method, by the way, works with print and radio. For example, I recently followed the above method with a writer for the Christian Science Monitor. Not only did I get the placement, the writer appreciated my persistence (well, that’s what she said sweetly!).

To recap, when it comes to pitching TV:

1. Watch TV: Get to know the morning news shows’ style and flow. Then watch again shortly after to see how they amend that style and flow.

2. Relevance: Read, watch, listen and think about ways to make your clients relevant to today’s news and trends. Then think again.

3. Hook: Be super creative and think about opening pitch lines that will hook the producer quickly.

4. Dog-With-a-Bone: Be consistent in your communications with producers, and for heaven’s sake, follow-up (oh, and follow up on the follow-up!).

Jennifer Solar gets real targeted, on-message placements for her clients every day, If you’re not getting coverage you deserve, drop her a line!