Pitching is all about asking for an opportunity.
So when we are asking “how often should I pitch for PR?”, we are asking “how often should I ask for an opportunity to get in front of someone else’s audience?”
When you are thinking about spending time and effort in your business, you need to think about what you actually want the outcome to be.
So let’s dive in!
There are two ways in which you can pitch for PR:
Reactive
These are opportunities that come to you and you react to them. These are not opportunities that you make happen themselves and you are putting yourself forward at someone else’s request.
#journorequest is a perfect example of this type of PR. This is a free # which connects you with journalist requests on Twitter – which anyone can see and anyone can respond to (where relevant).
You can’t necessarily plan for these types of requests. You just have to be in the right place and the right time and respond to the right opportunities.
Another great example of these types of requests is when someone within a Facebook group shares that they are looking for people to speak to their personal group, podcast or another type of collaboration.
How often should you pitch for reactive opportunities?
As often as you can and is realistic for you. I would suggest that you dip into these as and when you can.
One day you may see 3 that are relevant to you and then you may go a week without seeing any – you cannot really plan for that, so don’t be hard on yourself!
You need to have that publicity mindset of having your antenna up to find any relevant opportunities.
Perhaps set yourself 15-20 mins every day to have a scan around socials and #journorequest? Have everything ready to go, as in a quick paragraph about you and an image of yourself, so if you see something you want to react to, you can do so quickly and effortlessly.
Need tips on how to get your PR done in 30 mins a day (or less)? Then click here!
Proactive
These are the opportunities that YOU make happen, where you have gone out and found publications to pitch to and have taken action. The timing of these are much more in your control.
It may be when you have some news in your business, you have a new product, you are taking part in an event or even if you want to pitch some tips pieces!
The best way to make the most of them is to link it to a time when you want action to happen in your business. For example, if you are about to launch a new program, that gives you an incentive to look for PR opportunities to drive eyes on your business at a certain point.
These are things that you can plan in advance.
How often should you pitch for proactive opportunities?
This is completely related to your business and what activities you want to promote and how many relevant moments there are in the calendar.
What is manageable for you? What time can you dedicate to PR planning and preparation?
This is why PR planning is so crucial!
You need to know when and where you want to pitch and why, so it allows you to work backwards and make a plan on what you need to do and by when.
PR takes time. It is a marathon and not a sprint.
It’s a cumulative effort – so being consistent, planning in advance and having some time set aside to react to things (within reason) will all help you to get the momentum and to get noticed.
The more you do it, the more opportunities will come your way, without you having to do quite so much proactive work.
It all adds up to make something really powerful, raising your profile and building your reputation.
Want my help in getting started with your PR and getting a plan in place? Then sign up for a 2-hour Cheerleader PR Strategy Session with me 📣.
Book now here.
To see my live video talking about ‘How Often Should I Pitch For PR?’, click here.
