How To Submit a Guest Post To The Drum
US Editor shares tips on the perfect pitch
Reading Time: ~ 4 min.
Good morning!
Want to hear pitch advice directly from an editor?
Before I go there, in case you missed it I shared how to measure PR ROI two days ago in a three-part series.
Keeping Promises
When I decided to write this newsletter, one of the things I set out to do was reveal what PR professionals do and know to get media coverage. Soooo today’s edition covers something that some PR practitioners would trade their first-born for: advice from a current editor on sending the perfect guest post pitch.
Ohh. You wanna know do ya?
Editor Reveals How To Pitch Him
If your company dabbles in marketing or media, one of the trade publications to read and be seen in is The Drum. And I got news for you, landing bylines there is doable and hard. Hard is good because if it were easy you’d see all sorts of fluffy, self-serving guest columns in it.
Fortunately, the US Editor of The Drum, Kenneth Hein, a former Chief Communications Officer at Dentsu Aegis Network, isn’t having any of that. Yesterday I sat in on a webinar. I listened to what Kenneth and editors from Ad Age and Campaign US said about how they choose stories, how they like to be pitched, how to develop a relationship with them, and other gold nuggets.
“But John, if you do PR for a living why sit in on this webinar?”
I always try to know how journalists think.
So, got your mental wheelbarrow ready?
Today I’m focusing on Kenneth, but don’t fret. In a few days, I’ll tell you what the other editors look for in guest post pitches as well as how many times they feel is acceptable for people to follow up with them after the first pitch. It may sound unimportant to some but PR is all about the details.
Normally, this advice gets sent to PR colleagues of mine, but that’s selfish of me. Remember, you can get your voice in the mix on your own.
What Kenneth Wants, He Should Get
Kenneth wants all pitches sent his way to:
- Push an idea forward and stay focused
- Not bury the story after 2 intro paragraphs
- Not try to cover too many areas
Kenneth added, “Cut to the chase and pick one point. Too often there’s a massive amount of context in the way.”
Anyone pitching him has to present something unique and not talk about buzzwords like 'transformation' that we all keep hearing. He’s not asking for much. Kenneth, like all of us, wants people to be respectful of his time and send well-crafted emails.
And will you hear from Kenneth if he isn’t interested in your pitch? No. With so little time, he’d never get any work down if he advised PR folks how to improve their pitches. It’s on us to decipher why a reporter might not be interested in a story. Sometimes it’s not what you pitched, With 16,160 newsroom jobs cut in 2020, newsrooms are shrinking.
All About Building Good Relationships
Parry Headrick, head of Crackle PR, recently said in another of his LinkedIn truth 💣s, “In PR “who you know” means diddly-squat.” It’s true. Whom a PR agency or consultant knows these days doesn’t mean anything. There are still many people that think because we know a reporter or worked with one that we can ask for “favors.”
That’s far from the truth.
We can’t force one’s hand to write about your business.
Nor should we.
Back to Kenneth.
Say you were looking to develop a relationship with Kenneth, how should you do it? He says it comes down to giving him a great story, plain and simple. I bet you’re thinking that sounds too simplistic, but his answer has layers of wisdom in it.
For one, it’s true. Great stories get covered even if you have to shop it around to dozens of publications and it takes longer than you’d like it to. Secondly, you’re probably sitting on a great story nobody is telling—go tell it. Thirdly, only pitch stories you believe in. Carefully choose when to approach media.
With PR specialists outnumbering journalists 6-to-1, anything you can do to step up your pitch game is worth doing.
Take all of this and apply it the next time you pitch Kenneth or anyone else!
By the way…
I thought you should know.
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-John