Some pitches hold more significance than business or the bottom line. Groups often send emails to media to raise awareness about health issues. It seems many months are called an “awareness month.”
Pitching these stories effectively may be most important of all. Lives are at stake, not necessarily money. Unfortunately, too often, the emails are no more than electronic fliers.
There’s no doubt these “Walk For …” emails inform more people about an event and how to get more information. But if you want media coverage to spread the word to thousands more, you must approach journalists differently than you would taping a flier on a corner telephone pole.
If the story is about prostate cancer, don’t start with “press release” and “National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.” Start by telling a story about someone who is battling or survived prostate cancer. Make sure that person is available for an interview and available at their home, not in some sterile conference room. Find several survivors so media isn’t profiling the same person over and over. Then offer an expert to discuss the issue’s bigger picture.
Also consider the audience the media is trying to attract. If you’re pitching to a publication whose audience belongs to AARP, the reporter probably doesn’t care how old the survivor is. But if you’re pitching to media that covets a younger demographic which supposedly spends the dollars advertisers crave, don’t offer an interview with a survivor who is in his Medicare years. If, in this instance, you can’t find a younger prostate cancer survivor for someone to interview, find his son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter. Show the impact an older generation’s disease might have on a younger generation.
Don’t worry. All the flier’s pertinent information will find its way into the story.
For a walk raising awareness, taking a few extra steps can go a long way. This is about health not business. If any pitch takes priority, this type does.
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