How to pitch your local food writer

As public relations people, it’s our job to keep our clients in the media. But food editors, writers, and bloggers are constantly approached by PR people to cover the latest and greatest restaurants, recipes, and products.

So, how do you break through the onslaught of bad email pitches, long-winded phone messages, and off-topic tweets to get through to these local industry influencers and get your clients those much-coveted regional and local kudos?

And once you’ve broken through the clutter how do get your fair share of press?

Here are some ideas.

Include viral content

As more and more publications turn to social media to drive traffic to their websites, PR people should be thinking of viral additions to their written pitches—include a YouTube video, a Flickr photo gallery, or a pin board on Pinterest.

Offer the writers you’re pitching some additional resources they can use on their Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and Pinterest boards. Think about making their job easier and giving them more to work with. Chances are your emails will get more than a second glance.

Localize it!