Journalist Survey Results Help Authors

A recent survey of journalists by the media database company, Muckrack, reveals many interesting results when it comes to authors understanding how they can influence journalists to give media coverage to their books.  

So, what do we learn from the survey?  

Monday, by a good percentage, is the best day of the week that they prefer to receive media pitches. Then, in chronological order are their next favorite days, Tuesday through Sunday, with Sunday their least favorite day.  

Between 5 am and 9 am, 34 percent favor this as the best time to receive a pitch. A nearly identical 33 percent prefer 9 am to noon. But it falls to 12 percent from 11 pm to 5 am and 11 percent for noon to 3 pm. 3 to 6 pm and 6 pm to 11 pm are a lowly 5 percent each.  

68 percent say they prefer to be solicited with a pitch of no more than 200 words long.  

They say the top reasons for rejecting otherwise relevant pitches is bad timing (24%), lack of personalization (22%}, confusing subject line (15%), too lengthy (13%), and large attachments (3%). 

Journalists prefer customized pitches, primarily via email, say 94 percent. 17 percent are okay with mass email pitches. 15 percent like phone pitches. 13 percent will accept a pitch via Twitter and 8 percent would accept a pitch from another social media platform. 

21 percent said half or more of their stories originated from someone pitching them a story. Nearly 60 percent say a quarter of their stories came as a result of being pitched.  

58 percent say they are optimistic about their profession. 

The average journalist wears many hats. They cover an average of four beats, up from three a year ago. 

77 percent of surveyed journalists ranked Twitter as the social media network that is most valuable to them. Facebook was a distant second. Linked In followed, then Instagram, You Tube and Reddit. Just 4 percent said Tik Tok and 1 percent said Snapchat. 

What makes a story more shareable in the eyes of a journalist? 71 percent said when the subject is connected to a trending story. 65 percent said when it contains an image or infographic. 57 percent said if it offers an exclusive or surprising data. 54 percent said if it is easily localized or made relevant to their target audience. 25% said if a video is included. 20 percent cited the use of brevity in the pitch. 12% said if it involved a relevant social media influencer.  

The survey was of international journalists, with a little more than half from the United States, comprised mainly of (64%) full-time journalists, editorial writers, or bloggers, and full-time freelance journalists (13%). Three-fourths of those surveyed primarily report in online formats, with more than half of those writers also reporting in print.  

If you want to pitch the news media successfully, listen to what they want and like, and deliver it to them the way they prefer.  

 

Please Contact Me For Help

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2022. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This blog, with over 4,000 posts over the past decade, was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, IBPA, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.