How to garner top-tier coverage without pitching those outlets directly
There’s a back door for landing your stories in major publications like The New York Times or on shows like ‘Today.’ It just entails a little work to get upstream. Here’s what you should know.
Imagine the thrill of turning on the television and catching your work on a network morning show or opening The New York Times and seeing a story you pitched.
It is not that earning ink in Manure Manager is not a big deal; it is just that coverage in those national media outlets is a huge accomplishment. Top-tier outlets are difficult to pitch and much more elusive than the rest of the market—or are they?
Some of the smartest pitching professionals earn massive media coverage in a repeatable way using the “Waterfall Effect.”
All mainstream media stories can be traced upstream to smaller, more accessible, outlets in a predictable pattern. Instead of directly pitching the biggest, least accessible journalists, smart PR professionals build relationships with the smaller, more available, niche-focused reporters who influence your mainstream targets.
Rather than pitching the tech reporter for NBC’s “Today Show,” you might find that he often covers stories found in The Wall Street Journal—and that they were broken first by a Mashable reporter. Instead of pitching the “Today Show,” you could build a trusted relationship with the Mashable writer who influences the influencers. So, how do you trace these sources upstream? Try these steps:
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
