We Earn Media

By Britt Klontz & Jackie LambertBusiness Marketing

We Earn Media episodes

June 26, 2023 63: Pitch a Trade Publication with Greg Sleter (Store Brands/Ensemble IQ)
Our guest today is a media veteran with over 30 years of experience. He’s been on both the PR and journalism side of things and lately has been the executive editor at a trade publication. We end up talking quite a bit of shop with him. Hear us chat about the past, present, and future of media, and so much more, on today’s episode.
In this episode, you'll learn about pitching a trade publication…
What the benefits are of sitting in on interviews
How far in advance you should pitch a story
How editorial calendars and news wires can be useful tools
Our guest is:
Greg Sleter, executive editor and associate publisher of Store Brands, which covers the world of retail and private brand products. He has worked in the world of communications for nearly 30 years. Most of his career has been spent in journalism, working for several B2B and consumer-facing news outlets. He has also worked in PR for two Long Island, NY-based healthcare systems.
43 min
June 12, 202362: Master Nuance with Olivia Morley (Adweek)
Today’s episode features a guest who covers media agencies for Adweek and is very open about how to pitch her and others at her publication. We go over the bigger picture of what to do and not do when pitching her and her colleagues, as well as where she maintains all this information for publicists to review at any time. Walk away from this episode with more tools in your toolkit of how to better collaborate, including new ones we hadn’t heard of ourselves
In this episode, you'll learn…
What the nuances of an Adweek journalist’s coverage are

How to host a productive in-person meeting with a journalist

Why online communities might help you level up your networking skills
Our guest is:
Olivia Morley is a senior agencies reporter at Adweek focused on media agencies. Previously, she worked on Forrester’s media agency research and was an editorial strategist for Samsung’s Business Insights publication. Olivia holds a B.A. in English from Boston College and attended the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY as a visiting student. She is based in Boston, MA and is originally from Salt Lake City, UT.
29 min
May 15, 202361: Pitch an Education Reporter with Cole Douglas Claybourn
Today we have an awesome education journalist who focuses on consumer advice. Unfortunately, even some of the most well-meaning publicists get his name and his beat wrong all of the time. We find that even with some of the most seasoned professionals, these mistakes are surprisingly easy to make in a fast-paced, efficient environment. Listen on to find out how some things that may seem obvious still fall through the cracks.
In this episode, you'll learn how to…
Triple-check your media lists and pitches

Understand the nuances of a journalist’s beat

Avoid being overtly self-promotional
Our guest is:
Cole Douglas Claybourn is a reporter who primarily covers the transition from high school to college. He’s also a writer and podcast producer for Sports Spectrum, which covers the intersection of sports and faith, as well as his Christian podcast, “In No Hurry.” Before that, Cole spent five years as a public educator where he taught high school English and served as the Student Publications Advisor. He also worked for the Evansville Courier & Press and the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, where he covered both news and sports on a regional scale.
54 min
May 02, 202360: Send a Product Pitch with Joni Sweet
In today’s episode, we analyze a product pitch that inspired a freelance journalist to write a gift guide for Forbes. We’ll learn the etiquette around offering a product to a journalist to test out, the fact that coverage is not always guaranteed, and the balance of being polite, direct, and professional. Walk away empowered with the skills to pitch a product and potentially earn a spot in a future gift guide.
In this episode, you'll learn…
When aggressiveness can work against you in product PR
How gift guides and product reviews are written for top-tier publications

Why more journalists are turning toward Substack for story sources
Our guest is:
Joni Sweet is a freelance writer who focuses on travel, health, and wellness. Her work has been published by TIME, National Geographic, Forbes, SELF, Health magazine, Lonely Planet, TripSavvy Real Simple, and dozens of other publications. She travels often, but when she's not on the road, you can find her at home in the Hudson Valley, practicing yoga, cooking vegetarian food, or biking. Check out her Substack to see what she’s working on!
35 min
April 18, 202359: Pivot Your Story Angle with Cloey Callahan
In today’s episode, we analyze a story that experienced a complete pivot from the original pitch and follow-up. Get a glimpse into how this happened, and why having that rapport built already led to an active brainstorming and changing of the story altogether— talk about PR-journalist collaboration heaven! From it, walk away encouraged to do the same, should your original story idea need a fresh angle for that journalist to say yes to you.
In this episode, you'll learn to leverage authenticity and flexibility in all aspects of your outreach…
Communicating with a journalist

Preparing your expert for an interview

Crafting stories that dive deeper than the basics
Our guest is:
Cloey Callahan, a reporter for Digiday Media's newest vertical, WorkLife, where she covers all things future of work, including but not limited to tech, spaces, culture, d/e/i, talent and leadership. Before WorkLife, she spent three years covering local news in New York's Hudson Valley, where she was born and raised and still resides today.
36 min
March 27, 202358: Pitch a Travel Story with Katie Lockhart
Our guest today is active on Twitter and Substack, freely sharing the best tips for journalists in the travel space. In fact, we first heard about our guest through a Tweet she authored that went viral, which sparked conversation amongst journalists on what the best professional traits of go-to publicists are. We talk all about the best responses and what it’s like to pitch and write for the travel industry.
In this episode, you'll learn…
Professional traits all publicists should possess

Do’s and don’ts of pitching press trips

What to pitch a freelance food and travel writer
Our guest is:
Katie Lockhart, a travel and food writer traveling the world full-time while writing for publications like Travel + Leisure, CNN, Conde Nast Traveler, The Points Guy, National Geographic and many more. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @findyourhappyplate.
Things we talked about…
Katie’s Viral Tweet #1

Katie’s Viral Tweet #2

Katie’s Substack

A Press Trip Invite Golden Rule
32 min
March 08, 2023 57: Pitch Your Startup with Samantha Stokes
Today’s episode is all about pitching startup and VC news to a reporter at Insider. Interestingly, the story we explore does not come from one single pitch, but many pitches, spanning the course of many months. Aside from exploring the extensive email organization skills that our guest possesses, we learn the ins and outs of having your pitch stand out and increasing your chances of coverage for your startup, VC funding round, and/or founder (think: transparency and timeliness).
In this episode, you'll learn…
The important roles of intro calls, press pages, and pitch decks
What’s actually considered timely in the startup new cycle
Other considerations for ensuring efficient collaboration
Things we talked about…
14 Healthtech-Fintech Startups That Have Raised Millions From VCs
53 min
February 22, 202356: Pitch an Exclusive Article Series with Liz Shannon Miller
Today’s episode explores an exclusive series pitched by a publicist and written by our guest. This obviously piqued our interest, and we're certain it'll pique yours as well. In this episode, we further explore entertainment journalism and PR, and walk away with an expanded view of just how vast, expansive, and interesting the PR industry is as a whole.
In this episode, you’ll learn...
-When and how pitching an exclusive series works
-What the ins and outs are of entertainment PR
-Why every little detail in your communication matters
Our guest is:
Liz Shannon Miller, a Los Angeles-based writer, and editor. She’s currently a senior entertainment editor at Consequence, and her work has also been published by Vulture, Variety, The Los Angeles Times, Collider, The AV Club, IGN, Paste, The Verge, Thought Catalog, and more. She is also a produced playwright, an occasional podcaster, and a repository of "X-Files" trivia.
Things we talked about…
Liz’s Exclusive Series of Westworld’s composer, Ramin Djawadi
52 min
February 08, 2023 55: Ideate Shareable Campaigns with Iona Townsley
Today’s episode is all about the creative process! Our guest today has worked in an array of industries for some of the UK’s top agencies and has developed a set of skills and processes to ideate and produce digital PR campaigns that have consistently caught the attention of top-tier media outlets across the web.
In this episode, you'll learn how to…
Write effective, creative briefs
Ideate fun, shareable campaign ideas
Validate winning campaigns
Our guest is:
Iona Townsley, a digital PR professional, specializing in creative campaign ideation. She works with brands on end-to-end PR strategies. She’s worked in a variety of industries for some of the UK’s top agencies.
Things we talked about…
A Crash Course in Creative Ideation and Shareable Campaigns - BrightonSEO 2022 Online PR Show
The Grapevine- Iona’s newsletter
38 min
January 24, 202354: Write Better Subject Lines With Surena Chande
Today's episode is all about the art of subject line writing! Our guest has seen great, good, and downright awful subject lines. In fact, she's deleted emails based off the subject-- every PR's worst nightmare! But do not fret, she's not only written about her experience but shared her tips on the BuzzStream blog. Does personalization matter? Is it worth highlighting a statistic from a study? All these questions are answered and more.
In this episode, you'll learn all about improving your subject lines:
Principles to help them stand out

Steps to structuring them successfully

Tips for sprucing up stats and story lines
Our guest is...
Surena Chande, freelance copywriter and former SEO editor at the Mirror & Daily Star. She was the recipient of Hannah Smith's shoutout in episode 39. Give that a listen if you haven't yet!
Things we talked about:
The Art of Writing Subject Lines That Journalists Will Love

PR Percentage Calculator
39 min

About We Earn Media

From the publisher's feed

How does one “earn” media coverage? What makes a story “compelling enough" for a reporter to cover it? Through thoughtful conversations with the journalists themselves, Britt and Jackie leave no stone…

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We Earn Media

We Earn Media episodes

About We Earn Media