How to create relevant PR content

About a quarter of PR pitches received by journalists are actually relevant to their audience or publication, according to 68% of journalists.

Think about that for a second.

For every four pitches made to journalists, only one – if that – is relevant to the publication it is being sent to.

This is one of the findings in Cision’s 2021 Global State of the Media report and continues to highlight a failing amongst PROs when it comes to creating content.

That problem that too many PROs seem to be either overlooking, ignoring or just failing to understand is that tailoring your content to the audience of the journalist or publication your aiming at is vital.

We take the time to get a firm grip on the audience and industry of our client(s) and pitch relevant articles to the relevant journalists – so this stat is particularly worrying as an industry. 

Journalists are under constant pressure to publish more stories online to drive traffic.

This provides a great opportunity for businesses to make the most of their media relations and supply journalists with stories they can take from their inbox and put onto the website with minimal fuss – but is an opportunity too many seem to be missing.

It sounds simple to say you should be researching the publications you are targeting with your stories and keep their audience in mind when creating stories or features in the first place.

But this report suggests it is just not happening.

If you are to have any chance of getting your business into your target media, there are a few things you should be doing before ever starting the writing process and some key questions you should be asking:

• Who is the audience you’re writing for?
• What kind of articles are they going to be interested in?
• What is going to attract their attention?
• How is what you’re saying new or different to what is already being said?

All of this is key to ensure your PR campaign and content is relevant to your target publication and giving you a better chance of getting seen in these publications.

It is also vital to consider the long-term impact of sending a journalist a story which isn’t relevant to them, and that is whether they become less likely to consider your articles in the future.

As one journalist quoted in the report states: “Ninety-nine percent
of those emailing me have never even read a story I wrote.” Even if this is an isolated view, which let's be honest - it probably isn't, it is a worrying comment.  

If you want a few more tips and tricks for writing relevant content for the media, download our “How to write for the media” eBook below: