Does Your Pitch Pass the Test?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: A solid pitch trumps a lukewarm relationship.

Anyone can throw together a generic pitch, send it to a handful of reporters and see what happens. If the story/news is at least somewhat compelling, maybe you’ll land a quick mention or two. Will those placements accurately convey your brand’s/client’s key messages? Probably not. Will they result in a detailed, feature-length story that helps you/your clients accomplish your/their business goals? I doubt it.

This “blanket” approach to pitching doesn’t fly at Geben. Instead, we customize and personalize every pitch that leaves our inboxes. That way, instead of just amassing meaningless mentions and clips (not a smart PR strategy!), we can secure placements that build awareness, establish authority and drive sales/leads – the results that truly matter to clients.

So, how do we do it? Last year, Megan Severs, Geben’s VP of client strategy, developed a rubric outlining the various components of a pitch, plus a scale to determine on what level you’ve accomplished each one. Zero means the element is missing all together; two is the standard or target, while one and three are below and above average, respectively.

Next time you’re ready to hit send on a pitch, use this tool to gauge how we’ll you’ve done and if there’s room to improve: