Rejected Business Press Release? 6 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Publicity

Getting publicity can be your chance to get through the noise, increase sales, boost brand awareness and widen reach. However, getting media coverage isn’t easy as it sounds because in reality, most emails receive by journalists from marketers and PR people are rejected.

The statistics can be alarming. How can you beat other PR professionals vying to get the media attention? Pitching plays a great role.

Here are 6 reasons why your business if not getting publicity despite established relationships with the press.

1. Wrong timing.

You did everything to write a good press release distribution. You made sure that you followed the format, no jargons, you pitched the right time, and wrote a great headline and subject line. You also had a great relationship with the press.

However, you were shocked to get no response. No one followed up to get an interview or perhaps a brand asset that they can use for covering your story.

The result is something unexpected after meeting all the requirements to write a good business press release. One reason why you didn’t land publicity is because your target journalist recently wrote the same story.

To avoid this, keep track of your target media. Check what kind of stories they are interested to write about. Monitor their most recent work.

2. Not relevant.

If you have an announcement about your latest book, you don’t want to pitch it to a magazine editor or reporter who write about music and entertainment. Doing this kind of mistake is not an excuse. If you understand how pitching work, you will not commit this kind of silly mistakes.

You can avoid this by researching the reporters who cover the same beat. Make sure that you monitor your media list. Check if they are still writing the same story or covering the same industry.

Pitching to irrelevant reporters is a complete waste of time and effort. They may likely ban you by placing you on their spam folder just because you are not doing your research.

3. Wrong spelling.

Have you ever wondered why you didn’t get the publicity despite your effort? You thought everything was in order until you saw the pitch that you sent to an important journalist. You wrote her name Sophia instead of Sofia.

This easily suggests that you don’t pay attention to details and creates a negative impact on your brand. Reporters who encounter these experiences aren’t happy at all and are aware of the PR people that are forever banned from getting publicity from them.

Just the same, don’t pitch a content that is stuffed with grammatical mistakes and wrong spelling. It’s a reflection that your brand is unprofessional.

Avoid this by reading your pitch several times before sending. Review the content through a grammar and spelling application checker. You may also have somebody in charge of editing.

4. Including attachments.

Most reporters follow the rule of not accepting emails with attachments. Some of them filter this kind of email and put directly in the spam or trash folder. If you think that you were smart, but didn’t get any response from any journalist, it could be the reason.

Never include attachment to any email you send to the press because it may contain viruses. Avoid this by using a dedicated newsroom where you can direct the links you use in your press release. Don’t attach anything, provide links or copy and paste the content if it is short.

5. No exclusive.

Journalists can sense what is mass emailing and which is not. As much as possible, they want to be the first one to break the news or the only one to write your story.

If they know that you offered the story of your business to other reporters, they may not like it. If you can offer an exclusive do it. Exclusivity gives you a higher chance of getting publicity.

You can offer exclusive to a few selected press people who you want to cover your announcement. Offer real exclusivity. Indicate the date and time that they should publish it.

It’s better to be slow and more sure than to email your pitch to your target reporters all at the same time. Doing this can lessen the odds of getting publicity.