5 pitching sins PR pros should purge

See more success with your outreach efforts by taking these offensive strategies out of your tool belt. 

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

It’s just as important to learn what not to do when building a pitching strategy.

Journalists have been open about what bugs them, but it’s time to clear the air again. PR pros, these five pitching sins are doing you no favors:

1. Using way too much jargon.

Journalists don’t have time or patience to wade through jargon-filled press releases; a pitch that uses insider terms is even more unpalatable.

Some PR pros use jargon because a piece of news or process is hard to understand, but taking the time to explain it simply and briefly will get more reporters to look at (and use) your story idea.

Other PR pros use overinflated words to play up how wonderful a company or its products and services are. There’s no need; readers can deduce for themselves whether something deserves praise.

Need help identifying overused words? Play a game of “press release bingo.”

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.