Three Girls Media

A pitch and a press release are actually two very different things

Despite their similarities, a pitch and a press release are actually two very different things. Although most people think of press releases as the bread and butter of getting media coverage, the reality is that a lot of story ideas simply aren’t worthy of a press release and a pitch is actually much better. So what’s the difference between a pitch and a press release?

A pitch letter is like a cover letter
A few years ago, the Bad Pitch Blog made the analogy that a pitch letter is to press release as a cover letter is to resume. The post stated:

A press release is not a pitch. Would you send a resume with no cover letter to a prospective employer?

In both instances, the letter provides context. You should pull out the value your release or resume offers that specific media outlet/editor and company/HR contact, respectively.

No one has the time to digest an entire news release or an entire resume to see why/how it applies to them. And the more I see just press releases being sent to me, without even so much as a salutation, the more I realize this is probably the reason so many hold such (deep) hatred for the news release format.

While the analogy isn’t perfect, it makes it easier to figure out how to go about writing a pitch. Like a cover letter, there are a few key points to hit:

• What/who the product/person is
• Why the person receiving this should care
• Where to get more information

The analogy falls apart a bit because, unlike a cover letter and resume, sending a pitch letter without a press release is perfectly fine. You don’t need to bombard the press with information all at once. Send a quick note to let them know what you’re pitching, why they should care, and where to get more information. If they want a formal release or have specific questions, they’ll let you know.

So what is a pitch letter?
A pitch letter is a suggested story idea that’s submitted to individual journalists via email. It gives the reporter an idea for a story that they could write. If the journalist likes the idea and their editors approve, they then write a story for their media outlet based on the suggestion.

Pitches tend to be shorter and more informal than press releases. The more personalized you make it the better – this shows the reporter that you’ve taken enough interest in them to get their name right, mention a past article, etc.

And what is a press release?
A press release is generally longer than a pitch and provides details of something newsworthy. Newsworthy is key here. You can write a pitch about a fantastic line of makeup, but unless the makeup is made by a major brand and has a phenomenal feature (e.g. is made from recycled plastic) it just isn’t worthy of a full release.

Press releases are generally distributed much more widely. They’re generally sent to reporters and newsrooms, in addition to being posted on your site. A nice benefit to posting them on aggregating sites such as eReleases.com or indy-biz.com is they can usually help improve your SEO a little bit.

So which is better?
A pitch tends to be more effective, although press releases do have their time and place. Yes, they take more time and effort, but most of the coverage we secure at Three Girls is in response to pitches.

So how do I write a pitch?
Here are six posts that will help:

• 5 Tips for Writing a Pitch That Stands Out http://ow.ly/3m8zh
• How to Pitch Your Story http://ow.ly/3m8yB
• DIY PR – 3 Subject Line Tips http://ow.ly/3m8zQ
• 9 Dos and Don’ts for Working with the Media http://ow.ly/3m8wp
• How to Get Editorial Coverage in Media Outlets Like Oprah’s Magazine http://ow.ly/3m8vG
• Ingredients of the “Pitchwich” http://bit.ly/91cF3C

Photo Credit: JonathanRossi

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