Here are 10 of the best practices for pitching to the media and blogosphere

Most advice directed toward entrepreneurs on pitching focuses on doing so to investors, not to the media. Yet the media, and for our purposes today, digital media – journalists, writers, bloggers, thought leaders, and so on – is equally important. You can have the best product or service in the world, but if no one knows about it, it’s dead in the proverbial water.

With that in mind, Tech in Asia spoke with one of the best practitioners in the business, Jonha Revesencio from RebelMouse, about how entrepreneurs can build better working relationships with people in digital. I had the privilege of writing about her in the past, and so I know first-hand why she is good at what she does: she understands that working with the press should not be transactional (i.e. “Here’s a press release. Go write a feature on us.”) but relational (i.e. “How can we build a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship?”)

This kind of approach is particularly necessary in Asia, where business is never just business – it’s personal – and entrepreneurs should know the difference between the two. “There’s a big difference between getting a link and building a long-term relationship,” Revesencio says.

In describing her overall approach to media relations, Revesencio cites a quote from Zoe Geddes-Soltess: “Engage with your influencers as people, not as prospects.” To achieve that admirable (yet often ignored) goal, Revesencio had these tips for entrepreneurs:

1. Pitch in the right place

If you know of a digital influencer who is very successful on Twitter, your first impulse might be to tweet them a pitch related to your startup. Revesencio recommends otherwise. She thinks that entrepreneurs will increase the chances of a successful pitch if they get to them where there is less noise.

“If you want to connect with influencers, find an emerging social media platform where they’re pretty active and still looking to build following. Think Instagram or LinkedIn where they probably don’t get a lot of attention,” Revesencio says.

“Engage and provide value with them there. Lesser competition for their attention as you’re the one they’ll likely to see the most in their notifications,” Revesencio points out.

2. Send the right person in to pitch

While the founders of a startup may be the most passionate about their product or service, they are not necessarily the best people to convey this passion to writers or bloggers. “Founders and builders may be good product creators but often lack skills to approaching, so don’t be afraid to seek help in this area when you think it’s not something you’re good at,” Revesencio said.

“Don’t screw up the first chance,” Revesencio cautions. “You only get one chance to make one good impression so be sure to plan your marketing approaches carefully. If possible, ask the people who know it better than you do. Involve others, if possible, to make the approach more relevant and impactful.”

3. Understand what makes your story worth telling

What entrepreneurs think is newsworthy about their startup is not necessarily what most readers will be interested in. You want to find the middle ground that will simultaneously promote your startup as well as provide some value to the reader, and by extension, the writer.

“Being able to clearly identify and communicate your value proposition is not just for your prospective investors,” Revesencio emphasizes. “You need to be able to figure it out and communicate especially with the bloggers and their audience. The simpler and more relevant it is to their readers, the better chance you have of getting coverage.”

According to Revesencio, this also applies to the Twitterverse. If you want to have a Twitter power user share a link or story related to your blog, you better find out what they typically share.

4. Don’t be scared to experiment with your approach

In the same way that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is madness, so too is contacting a media person via the same channel and expecting a different response. Revesencio found this out the hard way.

5. Don’t be scared to be creative in your approach

6. Think in terms of milestones

7. Be willing to give out exclusives

8. Don’t be “that” guy

9. Don’t be afraid to tell your own story

10. Use their former stories that went viral as a signpost