Last week I had my first journalist guest in my Facebook group giving all her top tips from what makes a good story, to the 'dos and don'ts' when it comes to pitching journalists.
Katie is a Feature Writer for the London Evening Standard, covering the latest trends from lifestyle and fitness to tech, podcasts and new TV series.
Here are Katie’s top five tips when it comes to working with the media.
1. What makes a good story?
That really depends on the publication – it took me a while to work out what a good story for the Evening Standard is! Think about the audience and the demographic of the outlet you’re pitching to – and how is your story useful or interesting to them? And what makes you different?
2. Read the publications you want to get featured in!
Getting familiar with a publication will help you understand what makes a story interesting to them and also helps you identify regular features to pitch to.
3. Make your pitch stand out
We get lots of pitches every day so make sure your subject line really stands out – give it a headline – get us interested from the start. And tell us what the story is – journalists don’t have time to mould the story themselves, so tell us why we should be interested.
4. The best time to send your pitch
The Evening Standard is a daily newspaper and we go to print at lunchtime - which means the mornings are really busy! If you’re sending a pitch over, it’s best to do it in the afternoon once the rush to file our stories for that day is over.
5. What make a good interviewee?
Someone who is open and themselves! Most journalists aren’t out to get you – if we want to interview you, we’re already a fan. Good examples and anecdotes are great and help to make the story more human.