Helen Croydon

How to Pitch to the Press With 15 years experience as a journalist I’ve worked on all the media platforms from radio, television, newspapers, magazines and digital. Knowing what makes a story is instinctive to me. As a journalist and producer, I received dozens of pitches from PRs and entrepreneurs daily, vying for publicity, but only a handful were successful. As an author I also had to pitch myself to the press, and now I’m a publicist myself I’m the one knocking on journalist’s doors. And now, as the founder of a PR agency, I oversee a team of PR strategists delivering media coverage for clients. Using real-life examples from pitches and press releases I’ve received, pitches I’ve sent myself, and successful PR client pitches, I give the inside track on how news and features are planned and when, how and to whom to pitch a story.

The session will include ideas, tips and best practices on raising your professional profile. Areas covered include: How to find media coverage opportunities: Eg: Using #journorequest on Twitter; coming up with a strong topical idea for an opinion article and how to find a publication which may accept contributor opinion articles. Getting onto TV, radio or podcasts – some ideas on where to find a fit. Raising your presence on your own channels like your own website and Linkedin – Eg: dos and don'ts of writing a bio. Optimising your personal descriptions or searchability. Posting to be seen as a thought leader.