Janet Murray, PR coach, consultant and journalist, \u00a0was the guest speaker on today’s Cision webinar, Pitch Perfect: Giving Journalists What They Want. The insightful webinar provided PR and comms professionals in attendance with\u00a0straightforward, practical advice and tips geared to transform their pitching approach to journalists.<\/p>\n
Janet, who is currently editing at the Guardian newsdesk, described how she gets hundreds of emails a day but of which no more than 4-5 of them are relevant. Why? because PRs are out of sync with what journalists really want.<\/p>\n
‘I’m desperate for good story ideas but of the many emails I get a day, I only actually read a few of them,’ she said. This disconnect has prompted Janet to offer PR consultation and training sessions. ‘I’ve been teaching people how to do PR in a different way, in a soulful way. In PR, you can sometimes forget that you’re dealing with real people and their interests and time need to be respected.’<\/p>\n
Citing good (and poor) examples of pitches, Janet demonstrated how a little bit of homework and research from PRs, help getting desired outcomes. ‘Don’t think of a plug for your company, think of how your information will be useful to the journalist, for the publication they write for,’ she advised.<\/p>\n
Janet went on to share best practices that have personally worked for her in pitching story ideas to editors before taking on the many questions that poured in from the audience.<\/p>\n
While the recording of the webinar and a blog post answering all the questions raised by attendees will soon be available on our website, below is a look at some of the fantastic feedback and engagement the webinar generated.<\/p>\n
\nPitching is about pleasing the journalists and their audience. What do THEY want?@jan_murray<\/a> @CisionUK<\/a> #pr<\/a> #press<\/a> #media<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Emma Smith-Bodie (@SmithBodie) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
Fantastic tips from @jan_murray<\/a> @CisionUK<\/a> webinar e.g. \u2018the BBC homepage test – is your story newsworthy?\u2019 #PR<\/a> #media<\/a> #journalism<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Annabel (@annabelherrick) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
Darn good PR and journalism @CisionUK<\/a> webinar with @guardian<\/a> journalist @jan_murray<\/a>. Short but sweet.<\/p>\n\u2014 Joe Baker (@BakerJoe21) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
\nGreat to hear the other side of it and learn what journos are looking for! #PRgirl<\/a> desire to please, show us how! @jan_murray<\/a> @CisionUK<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Beth Osborne (@BethanRothwell) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
\nThanks @jan_murray<\/a> for some great tips in this morning’s @CisionUK<\/a> webinar! #PR<\/a> #media<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Alex Latham (@AlexSLatham) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
fantastic PR advice from @jan_murray<\/a> . Can’t wait to get on the blog and learn more! Thank you to @CisionUK<\/a> for a great webinar! #PR<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Joyte Brown (@JoyteBrown) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
@CisionUK<\/a> @jan_murray<\/a> Thanks for a very insightful webinar and for sharing some great tips – looking forward to practicing some #soulfulPR<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Esme Banks (@ESdotBANKS) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
\nThank you so much @jan_murray<\/a> @CisionUK<\/a> – so glad I am not alone with my permanent #PRfailure<\/a> face!<\/p>\n\u2014 EditorUltimateWedMag (@TinaReading) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
\nReally useful insight from @jan_murray<\/a> on today’s @CisionUK<\/a> webinar on what journalists really want from PRs pic.twitter.com\/GP50gBQbCV<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Ellie Box (@ellieb45) July 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
\nOne of the most useful webinars I’ve attended thanks @jan_murray<\/a> @CisionUK<\/a>, so many tips crammed into 30 mins!<\/p>\n