Over the last five years, 'The Party People' appeared in the media twice a week on average. My secret? I spent less than 15 minutes a week pitching and land most of my pitches. It worked so well that I sold the business in 2025. Now, as Chief Party Dude at Party Hire Group, I continue to land massive media exposure while running a company. Here’s how I do it.
I’m not saying don’t use AI at all, just use it for feedback, not to write the pitch. Your unique tone and personality are what make your pitch stand out! Read this story for details on why you shouldn’t use chat GPT to write your pitches or media stories.
Journalists will research your company before deciding if you're worthy of a story. Make sure your 'About Us' page on your site has heaps of detail including a summary of what you do and the detail on your story. You can see ours here.
I get you might be a PR professional or an employee of the company. Still get the client/expert to comment as them where possible. Use 'I' instead of 'We' in all my pitches so they know the pitch is coming from the source. Journalists prefer to talk directly to the source, so pitch as the source - even if it's not the source that wrote the pitch.
Journalists will research you personally before deciding if you're worthy of a story. Make sure your Linkedin is full of everything it should. Fill out all the sections in detail. Check mine here for inspiration.
I always respond in my pitches with a comment with something about the media I am pitching to. You might reference a related story you like or highlight why your pitch is perfect for their target market.
Journalists get thousands of pitches a day. They won’t read them all, so grab their attention in the first paragraph. (See how I grabbed your attention in the first paragraph of this piece?)
Provide lots of detail in your response but keep that in the main body of your pitch. I often put lots of links or references in my pitch so all the information is at the journalist's fingertips. For example, I might reference some relevant statistics or even tell them to 'Google Dean Salakas' to learn more about me. This way you give them the juiciest bits while leaving some of the detail to the links if they're interested and want more.
Don't forget to spell check. Even when responding to a SourceBottle call out, either use a spell checker in your browser or copy and paste it to Microsoft Word. You lose credibility with journalists if you make lots of spelling mistakes.
A GOOD story rarely gets published, but an AMAZING story has a good chance. Use language and comments that will make your pitch memorable. I might put something in it like: 'From Clown to Australia's Largest Party Store' in the pitch to help get cut through and make readers remember it.
Pitch confidently as the expert on the topic you're talking about. You might mention experience or awards that support this statement. For example, I often mention that I won the 'Australian Retail Associations Independent Retailer Of The Year' award, or that I was named as a Top 50 People in Ecommerce. I also sign off as 'Chief Party Dude' so my title also reflects my position that I'm an 'expert on party'.
If you're really hard-core like I am about getting yourself in the media as much as possible, I recommend reading the books Key Person Of Influence and Platform.
These hacks have helped me land hundreds of media stories and I hope they do the same for you.
Happy pitching!
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