10 PR behaviors that scare off reporters

PR pros’ media relations strategies can run from excellent to downright scary.

Though some journalists might like to get spooked during the Halloween season with a scary movie or a haunted house, sending them overly aggressive pitches or becoming too personal won’t endear you to them.

Here are 10 behaviors that can put a nail in the coffin of a PR pro/reporter relationship:

1. Following up too soon. Some clients want a pitch sent on Friday and a follow up email or call to go out Monday.

That’s a too aggressive; the reporter probably hasn’t had time to weed through the pitches they received last week to read your original email. Give it a little time.

2. Sending a poorly written pitch. Reporters will have trouble seeing past typos, misspelled words, grammatical errors and run-on sentences to get to your point.

Proofread—and get another set of eyes to review that pitch before you hit send.

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