It can take years to write a book and only a few seconds for someone to decide your pitch doesn’t fit their show.
That is a difficult gap to accept.
You know what went into the work.
You’ve spent late nights figuring out how to explain something you believe could help people.
By the time you’re ready to share it, getting someone to pay attention can feel like the last obstacle between your message and the people who need it.
Then you send the pitch and hear nothing.
It’s tempting to respond by adding more credentials or explaining the project at greater length.
But before you write a longer email, consider the decision you’re asking someone to make.
A producer is responsible for the next useful conversation they put in front of their audience.
Your pitch has to help them see what that conversation could be.
Understanding that responsibility changes how you pursue publicity.
You begin to notice where your expertise fits, how to make a useful introduction, and what would make someone comfortable putting you in front of the people who trust them.
Give your expertise a reason to be heard now
When Brand Builders Group released our national research study on personal branding, the timing coincided with a major announcement from Victoria’s Secret.
The company was changing the people representing its brand, moving away from its longstanding supermodel approach.
Our research explored how people’s trust in individuals compared with their trust in company names.
That gave me something relevant to contribute to the story, and Good Morning America invited me to comment.
The connection made the expertise useful at that moment.
A book or research study can contain valuable material long before a producer has a reason to cover it.
A development in the news creates a question that the material can help answer.
Suddenly, the producer can see where the expert belongs in the conversation.
Before pitching an outlet, pay attention to what it is covering.
Watch the segments or listen to the interviews.
Look for a question within that coverage that your experience can help answer.
Then explain the connection.
What could you help the audience understand about this event?
What would your expertise add to the discussion?
Give the producer enough specificity to imagine the segment.
That requires judgment.
Stay within what you know.
The fact that a subject is receiving attention doesn’t automatically make it a good fit for your message.
A timely angle works when your contribution helps the audience understand something that is already relevant to them.
The same principle applies to podcasts.
A host may be exploring a particular subject because it interests them or because their listeners are asking about it.
Paying attention to those conversations can help you recognize an opportunity that a generic pitch would miss.
Learn to make the decision yourself
One of the most useful ways to understand the media is to become someone who produces it.
When you publish consistently, you build an audience you can reach when you have something to share.
You also take on a responsibility that is easy to underestimate from the outside: deciding what deserves that audience’s time.
If you host a podcast, another episode is always coming.
You need worthwhile conversations, and you need to be selective about the people you invite to have them.
I receive pitches from people who want to appear on our podcast.
As I evaluate them, I’m thinking about the people listening.
Will this guest contribute something useful?
Does their expertise fit the conversation we’re having with our audience?
An email can tell me a great deal about someone’s accomplishments and still leave those questions unanswered.
A clear introduction from someone I trust makes the decision easier.
So does a concise explanation of what the guest can discuss, supported by a website or other evidence that helps me understand their work.
That experience has helped me understand the person receiving my own pitches.
They have an audience to serve and a limited amount of time to decide whether I can help them do it.
When you write your next pitch, make the proposed conversation easy to understand.
Explain why it fits the audience and give relevant evidence that you are qualified to contribute. Include a clear place to learn more.
Then read it again. How much work would the producer have to do to turn your email into a useful segment?
If they have to invent the angle for you, keep working on it.
Build relationships before you need them
Launches have deadlines.
Relationships develop on their own schedule.
That creates a problem when you wait until you need publicity to start getting to know people.
Your project is urgent to you.
The person receiving your request has very little experience with you to draw from.
At Brand Builders Group, one of our guiding principles is to build relationships before you need them.
A practical way I do that is through something I call the relationship switchboard.
I keep track of people who host shows and people who would make useful guests.
Then I look for opportunities to connect them.
The host needs a relevant conversation.
The guest has expertise or a project to share.
When there is a good fit, an introduction can help both people accomplish something they already want to do.
That is how I began building a relationship with Gretchen Rubin.
When she had a book coming out, I offered to introduce her to friends with podcasts.
I asked whether she would be comfortable with me pitching her to them.
I had a way to help, and I offered it.
You can begin with the people you already know.
Pay attention when someone is looking for guests or preparing to launch something.
Consider whether a person in your network would be useful to them.
The quality of the match deserves care.
Think about the audience and the conversation these people could have.
An introduction becomes valuable when you’ve done enough thinking to understand why both sides might welcome it.
Give the relationship room to develop
Connecting people takes work.
You have to keep track of conversations, follow through, and remember which introductions you’ve already made.
I keep records so I can do that work well and avoid repeating myself.
I also accept that some people I help may never help me in return.
There are people I’ve helped get onto shows who haven’t invited me onto their own.
There are other people who have helped me far more than I could repay.
That has been part of my experience of building a community.
The benefits have come from different directions and on different timelines.
When you approach relationships this way, you can enjoy a successful introduction for what it accomplishes.
Two people have a worthwhile conversation.
An audience hears an idea that helps them.
You had a hand in making that happen.
Over time, people also get to know how you work.
They have experience with your judgment and your follow-through.
When you eventually have something to share, there is an existing relationship around the request.
Give that relationship room to develop without assigning it a deadline.
Make your next pitch useful
Before sending another request for coverage, read it from the producer’s side.
Can they see why their audience would care?
Have you shown why you are qualified to contribute?
Is the timing relevant to what they are covering?
If the fit is weak, a longer biography is unlikely to solve it.
You may need a different angle or an outlet whose audience has a clearer need for your expertise.
A rejection can reflect timing or fit.
It gives you a reason to reconsider the approach.
When the conversation changes, you may have a relevant new angle to offer.
In the meantime, keep publishing useful work on your own platform.
Pay attention to the people around you and make thoughtful connections where you can.
Those activities build your ability to serve an audience and your understanding of the people who serve one.
You know how much went into the project you want to share.
Help a producer see what their audience will gain from hearing about it.
That gives them a reason to keep reading.
