How to Pitch Your Content

It's not enough to create a piece of content and just let it sit on your website. Sure, if your website's domain authority is super high and you're on top of your SEO and SEM games, you have more of a cushion.

For most of us, unless we put our content out there, no one will read or link to it. In fact, building backlinks can be just as important as building an audience. More quality backlinks equal a higher domain authority.

So how do you get the word out? Traditional public relations can play a big role if done correctly. The following are tips for getting your piece of content exposure in both print and online publications.

Find Pitching Opportunities

The first step is to find opportunities for your content. You can buy a paid tool like Cision, or you can do some free searching on Google.

There are magazines and websites in nearly every industry. Don't believe me? Check out this publication on emu farming.

Once you find a publication, check if they have an editorial calendar (usually these are found in the advertising section), which is a calendar of the types of stories they plan to publish in each upcoming issue. Typically an editorial calendar will be released for an entire year.

If there is no editorial calendar, that's ok. If the publication's focus matches your content, it's fine to pitch them. The worst thing they can say is no.

Be sure to also find the primary point-of-contact. This will usually be someone on the editorial staff. Get their email and phone number if possible.

Craft a Relevant Pitch

The most important part of the outreach process is the pitch. This is where you tell the publication why it should use your content. It's the art of persuasion. Follow these best practices:

• Get to know the editor, journalist or blogger you are pitching. What do they write about? What are their interests? Do a little research on social media and read some of their past articles.
• Make the pitch relevant and persuasive, based on the journalist's interests. If the topic isn't something they or their magazine would cover, why would they be interested?
• Grab their attention will an engaging subject line and body text. Stand out from the crowd with an interesting fact or statistic. Make them care enough about your pitch to open and read it.
• Don't be promotional. The publication's job is not to sell your product or service (that's what paid ads are for). You need to align your content with their editorial needs if you want to appear in the publication for free. The content should be relevant and educational in nature.

Follow Up

Once you've written the best, most engaging pitch you can and PROOFREAD IT, press send. Chances are you won't get a response. Editors get so many pitches that even if yours is relevant and engaging, they simply may not see it.

That's why the follow-up is important. Wait 2-3 days before following up with another email. After that, wait a couple more days and give them a call. If you've had no luck reaching them after three attempts, you should probably move on. And that's ok. You can't win them all. Also, you never know--they might respond a month later when you've forgotten all about it.

Be Overly Helpful

If the editor does respond and is interested in your story, congratulations! But your work isn't done. Be overly helpful in providing them with everything they may need, be it photo or video assets, or even a rewrite of an article. You've made it this far with them, don't lose a great opportunity for publicity due to laziness.

Follow these guidelines, and you will be well on your way to giving your content free exposure.