Tips for Pitching Media Courtesy of The Bachelorette
This Monday, the 21st season of The Bachelorette aired its finale, with Rachel giving her final rose to Bryan. If you’re a fairly active Twitter user, you know this was an unpopular decision amongst Bachelor Nation (the collective group of committed Bachelor/Bachelorette fans). Nonetheless, in honor of this significant (yet, undeniably disappointing) television moment, I’ve decided to explore the similarities between competitive-dating, and media relations. Believe it or not, pitching to editors is markedly similar to fighting for love on TV! Let’s dive in, shall we?
If you’re a dedicated Bachelorette viewer, you know the first question asked of many contestants is “are you here for the right reasons?” We all know every season one or two “eligible bachelors” are really just looking for their 15 minutes of fame. The good guys we root for are the ones who are done messing around and ready to find love.
A tip we learned from my previous PRSA recap post; the key to developing solid relationships with the media is doing your homework! Similar to developing a new serious relationship, before pitching the media it’s important to decide if you’re prepared to dedicate the time, effort, and research required to create a well-crafted pitch.
A majority of editors and journalists prefer to receive pitches via email, so your pitch has to stand out amongst hundreds of email pitches flooding their inbox every week. Similarly, at the first Bachelorette cocktail party, each newly introduced contestant bears some crazy pressure to stand out amongst 24 (often extremely attractive) other men. The Bachelorette doesn’t give her rose to the guy who drank too much champagne, or overused the oldest pickup lines in the book all night. The Bachelorette gives her rose to the guy who did his research, knew how to catch her eye and keep her interest, all while sharing the same priorities. 
If your goal is to secure media coverage, you’ve got to know who you’re pitching. Determining whether or not what you’re bringing to the table aligns with the journalist’s interests and priorities is the most important part of the process. Do some cyber stalking, read up on the editor’s/journalist’s published material from the past month, note what topics they generally cover. No contestant ever arrived on set of The Bachelorette, night of premiere, without doing some thorough social media stalking of the woman they’d be courting for the next three months. Same rules apply here.
PR people could all learn a thing or two from The Bachelorette about pitching to the media. If you didn’t already have an excuse to watch singles fight for love on TV, now you do! #TeamPeter
