FREE POST: Relationship vs. Transactional Pitching—Here's What it Looks Like!
Learn how building bridges today will pay off in spades throughout your career by analyzing this real-life example
Happy Thursday, TTC Subscribers!
Did you see our post yesterday? Alongside affiliate guru Sarah Karger, we’re offering an insanely inexpensive $49 affiliate marketing class that’ll help give you and your clients the editorial edge for this coming holiday season … yes, it’s already time to start thinking about those holiday gift guides (from getting your assets in order to ensuring you’re on the affiliate platforms your goal publications use). We’ve already got a bunch of sign ups, so be sure to secure your spot today!
This week’s topic: Building Meaningful Relationships with Your Media Contacts
If you’ve been following us for a while and join our monthly Top Tier Talks, then you know we always urge publicists to work on building a relationship with journalists that isn’t purely transactional — and we’re received a few questions about how to execute this strategy. So, this week we wanted to share one excellent example of what that can look like.
Here’s an email Jill received a little while back that totally made her day:
Hi Jill! I hope your week is off to a great start.
I hope you don’t mind me popping into your inbox to share a few thoughts after reading your newsletter today...
CONGRATULATIONS on being IG verified! I'm sure that's an exciting milestone to reach - both personally and professionally. You definitely deserve it and I am thrilled for you!
Congratulations AGAIN on getting your first assignments for BHG and The Spruce! You are crushing the freelance game and I look forward to following your work in these new outlets.
Your list of TOP Tips from 2022 was super helpful and I am so grateful to you and Nicole for taking the time to put it together. Your content is always so thoughtful and engaging, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it!
Sadly, I don't have anything to contribute to your current story assignments. I just had to tell you how excited I am to read those stories once they're published.
I LOVE a good mimosa bar and can't wait to hear your suggestions for taking it up a notch.
I am completely and totally obsessed with Oregon Pinot, especially the ones from Willamette Valley. I'm excited to add a few more to must list of must-tries once your article comes out!
I wish I could be more helpful and contribute to some of those assignments you are working on. But I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to send some encouragement and good vibes your way. Looks like 2023 is already shaping up to be a great year for you, Jill! Keep up the great work - and keep in touch!
Have a good one...
Thanks,
Amanda
Now, let’s dissect why Amanda’s approach is so brilliant:
Amanda has literally nothing to gain by taking the time to write such a heartfelt and lovely email … she has no clients to pitch or coverage to win. She’s just being a human being and reaching out to congratulate a writer she’s worked with a few times on some professional accomplishments. She’s focusing on the relations side of her public relations title — she’s building a relationship with Jill.
Even though she has nothing to pitch that matches Jill’s current assignments, she’s staying top of mind with her. She’s putting herself on Jill’s radar. She’s following Jill’s career and joining in on the conversation. She’s demonstrating that she knows Jill’s beats and is paying attention to which outlets she’s contributing to. She’s not just waiting silently in the wings hoping to shoot her shot some day … she’s doing what she can to be relevant today.
Amanda is demonstrating that she’s reading the content Jill puts out there, which tells us that she’s focused on being a good partner to journalists. She’s looking for learning opportunities within her field and working on perfecting her craft. And that gives a writer some indication that she’ll likely be great to work with because she’s using best practices in her outreach efforts.
The next time Jill sees Amanda’s name pop up in her inbox — in a sea of 400+ daily unsolicited pitches that don’t even address her by name or get her beats right — Jill will be gonna be excited to open her email! Why? First, she gave her the warm fuzzies with all of her sweet sentiments. But second, Jill’s going to feel confident that she’ll be sending useful information that is specifically targeted to her and not a mass pitch, because she’s eagerly watching for what she needs. She’s not here to waste the writer’s time or pitch irrelevant things that distract a writer from their deadlines. Be like Amanda!
Now, we know this isn’t something you can do with every journalist (nor should you!)… it’s a major time commitment to send an email this detailed (and to do the research required to send it!), especially when it doesn’t obviously help get you any closer to your current goals. And you also don’t need to go that in depth with a writer when you send an email.
BUT: Building these bridges today will pay off in spades in the long run, and we all know that PR is a long game. What if you strategically sent ONE of these a week to a journalist you’d really like to develop/maintain a rapport with? What would that goodwill yield at the end of a month? A year? At worst, a new friend/fan. At best, something tangible for your clients! Just make sure that your approach is authentic … don’t do this to be performative. This is about building and maintaining genuine connections that will go on to deliver ROI for many years to come.
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Did you learn anything new today? Have you tried this approach? Do you have other tricks for forging relationships? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this and hear any wins that have come from it! Our comment section is open and we ALWAYS reply!
Book a Private Session With Jill & Nicole for July/August
If you’re interested in more direct access to us, book one of our private consulting sessions!
Want to workshop a few pitches with two top-tier writers? Try our Pitch Perfecting session.
Looking to build deeper relationships with journalists? You’ll love our Become a Journalist’s BFF session.
Have a slew of questions you want answers to? Book an Ask Us Anything session.
Are you putting together a press trip and need help with the details? We offer a Press Trip Invites and Itineraries session.
Need fresh ideas for sending mailers to writers? Book our Press Package session.
Scheduling an in-person or virtual media event? We can help, with our Hosting the Perfect Virtual/In-Person Media Event session.
Have other ideas you need help brainstorming or creating an action plan for? We offer Custom sessions, too!
Thanks again for being a part of this wonderful community we’re building. If you know a colleague who could benefit from this, please share this newsletter with them. We’re putting so much time and effort into these weekly articles and are thrilled to be able to get them in front of people that are benefiting from them.
Jill & Nicole
PS: You can always email us with any questions: info@toptierconsulting.net