Get more of your agency鈥檚 stories placed with these best practices.
In the history of marketing and public relations, few tools have been as important as media pitches. Historically, well-written pitches to journalists have been a reliable way to unlock earned media attention and publicity. Of course, pitching journalists in 2025 looks different than it used to. Rapid advancements in technology and shifts in the news industry have transformed the media landscape, rendering many of the old methods obsolete. Market changes in the news industry have completely reshaped media relations as well, creating new pressures for those who want to get their stories placed. Let鈥檚 break down how you and your agency can navigate this complex landscape effectively and start gaining more valuable coverage.
Pitching Journalists: A Brief History
To properly contextualize how you can effectively pitch journalists today, it can be helpful to take a brief look back at what was once best practice. In the 1980s and 1990s, media relations often relied heavily on cold calls and faxed press releases to reach journalists. In the 2000s, however, everything changed with the digital revolution. Emails replaced faxes. Press releases took a back seat to short, direct email pitches. And media databases streamlined distribution lists, making it easier to target reporters.
The rise of social media and content marketing in the 2010s caused further disruption, allowing professionals to engage with journalists directly and even promote their own social media content.
Media relations today
In the 2020s, things have once again changed. The explosion of digital publishing has constricted newsrooms and caused outright closures. Local press, for instance, has been decimated by these market dynamics, with over 3,500 local papers closing across the United States in the past 20 years alone.[i] As a result, the day-to-day work of contemporary journalists has changed dramatically. These professionals are under more pressure than ever, having to wade through a larger number of stories due to there being far fewer outlets overall.
How to Break Through
Considering such pressures, businesses must be strategic about how they pitch to journalists if they want to break through and gain valuable media attention. Here are some of the top ways to do just that:
Personalization: Tailoring your pitches and personalizing them to journalists is essential to gaining traction for stories. While PR pros have been personalizing their pitches for years, past methods were often time-consuming and inefficient. New technology like AI has changed the game. AI-powered databases can analyze journalists’ past work to find the best matches for your story. AI tools can also be deployed to optimize subject lines, refine body copy, and enhance follow-ups.
Invest in Relationships: Successful PR efforts still often hinge on building strong relationships with journalists. This can sound overwhelming, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be. Start small by doing your homework and reading different journalists鈥� work. That way, you can reference previous stories when pitching and explain how your piece fits well with their journalistic interests. Then, engage with them on social media to further the relationship by commenting on or sharing their work. Additionally, attending events or webinars where journalists are speaking can foster organic connections and meaningful conversations.
Keep It Short and Simple: It may seem like common sense, but when reaching out to journalists in 2025, brevity is key. Your letter must be short, snackable and ideally scannable. Also, don鈥檛 forget that any communication you send must be mobile-friendly.
Newsjacking: One effective way to raise the attractiveness of your pitch is to leverage existing media cycles or news trends. This technique is called 鈥渘ewsjacking,鈥� and it requires just a few simple steps. First, monitor relevant news topics with a digital tool like Google Trends or BuzzSumo. When you spot a trend that aligns with your priorities, craft your pitch and center your unique expertise at the heart of the story. Finally, get it out as quickly as possible by sending a short, punchy note to journalists who are covering the news trend.
Follow-Up: As we鈥檝e discussed, many journalists today are completely overwhelmed by the volume of pitches they receive daily. You can elevate your chances of getting a story picked up by following up. Don鈥檛 simply send a canned follow-up email, though.Basic follow-up messages are likely to be ignored. Instead, focus on providing a fresh angle or new data to supplement your initial pitch.
Pitch Effectively in 2025 and Beyond In the battle for attention in today鈥檚 economy, businesses of all stripes, including title agencies, must leverage earned media to stay competitive. But gaining coverage from respected journalists is not easy, especially given the evolving nature of news business. You can increase your chances of success by incorporating the best practices we鈥檝e discussed here. By doing so, you鈥檒l engage with journalists on their terms, maximizing your chances
In the battle for attention, here’s how your agency can stand out.
Our current media moment is defined by paradox. On one hand, there have never been more channels you can use to promote your agency. But on the other, it has never been harder to separate yourself from the crowd and gain media attention. There are multiple reasons for this, including information overload and a changing media landscape. This doesn鈥檛 even account for how algorithms prioritize content, preventing many important stories from gaining the coverage they deserve. Yet amidst these challenges, an effective use of earned media can break through the clutter and increase public awareness for your agency. Join us as we explore the details of what this looks like!
Earned media: what is it and why is it important?
As we鈥檝e talked about before, there are many different types of media that you can use to promote your business 鈥� each with its own pros, cons and tradeoffs.
First, there is owned media, which is any type of media that you control. This could include things like your website, your social media feeds or your email newsletter. Owned media offers advantages like creative control and cost-effectiveness but also requires continuous effort and delivers slow results.
Second, we have paid media 鈥� basically media you put an ad spend behind, like search, social and display ads. Paid media also carries significant advantages for business. For one thing, it can deliver quick and easy wins for a company, but if you鈥檙e not careful, those results can come with a sizable cost that harms overall ROI.
Lastly, we have earned media 鈥� publicity you gain from sources you neither control nor pay for. Guest blogging, podcast appearances and press release placements are all examples of earned media in action. Earned media is especially valuable because it often appears more trustworthy and less self-serving than other types of media. It can also deliver tangible benefits like improved SEO and greater reach. It has drawbacks as well, with lack of control and dependence on third parties being among them.
Create more earned media opportunities
With an understanding of the three main types of media, we can look at the top opportunities for generating more earned media coverage for your agency.
Human-interest stories: If you鈥檝e ever watched the news, you鈥檒l know how effective human-interest stories are at generating coverage. The reason is simple: People are emotional beings who respond to stories of human triumph and resilience. By tapping into this need, agencies can grow awareness for their businesses.
Novelty: Stories that introduce something novel can be just as effective as human-interest pieces. Pitching about new hires, products or business expansions all naturally lend themselves to potential pick-up in the media, as does staking out a position that runs contrary to the dominant perspective in your field. With the latter point, however, never try to gin up controversy just for the sake of it. People can detect disingenuousness a mile away, which will wind up hurting rather than helping you in the long run.
News jacking: As we鈥檝e discussed, there are more communication channels today than ever before. While this can be overwhelming, it also implies that there is no shortage of news stories in which a title agency could insert itself to offer its unique perspective and expertise. This is known as 鈥渘ews jacking,鈥� a straightforward process where you strategically align your brand with a trending news topic and position yourself as a subject matter expert. When done correctly, news jacking can increase your agency鈥檚 credibility, leading to more customers seeing you as a knowledgeable thought leader.
None of these techniques are easy to pull off, but each can help you overcome some of the barriers to entry that exist in the modern media landscape. No matter how many algorithms or communication channels we create, tailoring our stories to cater to human psychological needs will always be a powerful tool for achieving publicity. Similarly, news jacking can help you turn the deluge of daily news we all experience to your advantage, enabling you to hop onto an existing story or news cycle for maximum impact.
Spread the word far and wide about your business
The media environment today is challenging and ever-changing, with contours that are far more complex and fast-moving than they were even a few years ago. For many, this can feel like an impossible burden for gaining the recognition they need to succeed in an already difficult business environment. Even so, a well-planned earned media strategy that leverages human psychology and timely news opportunities can elevate your agency’s visibility, building the buzz necessary for both short- and long-term success.
Blogging consistently and strategically can elevate your business.
They say that there are no certainties in life aside from death and taxes. If I had to add one more, though, it would be the value of a good business blog. Data from Hubspot clearly supports this, with a recent study showing how companies that blog earn three times more organic traffic[i] than those that don鈥檛. But before you jump into blogging, it鈥檚 always wise to put a strong strategy in place to ensure you gain maximum value. Let’s look at what this entails.
1.) Decide on your blog鈥檚 goal
A successful blog starts with a clear goal. While every company is different, most businesses focus their blog on providing education and resources to their target audience. Title companies would be well advised to do the same. By delivering valuable content that educates your audiences on topics meaningful to them, you will raise your brand鈥檚 reputation. Better yet, you will be seen as a trusted resource that stakeholders can turn to in times of need.
2.) Develop your content
Next, start planning the content you will create. As a title agency, your stakeholders include realtors, attorneys, home buyers and more. This gives you a wealth of topics to draw from to create educational blogs and other resources. The importance of title insurance, industry cybersecurity concerns or agent/realtor partnerships could all serve as great topics to build content around. Whatever you write, always keep your content laser-focused on solving problems for your target audience.
3.) Make a plan with a content calendar
It is not uncommon for a business blog to get neglected in the hustle and bustle of running an agency. You can avoid this problem by deploying a simple content calendar. Content calendars assist with keeping your content development efforts on track and ensuring a consistent posting cadence. They allow businesses to easily track what type of content is going out to which audience, while facilitating internal alignment, consensus and accountability.
4.) Vary your content mixture
When building out your blogging strategy, vary the type of content assets you are creating to foster greater reach and engagement amongst your audience. You have probably heard the expression that 鈥渁 picture is worth a thousand words,鈥� and that holds true with marketing. While pure text blogs are a must-have for agencies, data shows that assets like infographics and especially videos are far more effective in connecting with digital-first audiences. If creating visual content isn’t feasible, add variety with text-based formats like FAQs, listicles, and how-to guides.
5.) Optimize for SEO and readability
Remember to optimize your blog content for both search engines AND human readers. Obviously, this can be a tricky balance to strike, but it is not impossible if you adhere to the following tips:
Headlines: Your headline is one of the most important parts of your blog. Use primary keywords within the title text and keep it as clear, concise and compelling as possible to ensnare readers.
Paragraph structure: Aim for no more than four sentences and use subheadings to create a logical flow for both search engines and human readers.\
Subheadings: Further increase your SEO by utilizing secondary or tertiary keywords in subheadings, which can also break up blogs for readers by making them more scannable.
Images: Don鈥檛 forget to align your images with SEO best practices by creating optimized ALT text descriptions. And double-check that your images are of high enough quality to engage readers but not too large where they slow down a blog鈥檚 load time.
6.) Metrics are your blog鈥檚 best friend
As you begin to publish, keep a close eye on your metrics to continually refine your strategy. Most mainstream blogging platforms offer robust analytics to provide valuable insights. This data is invaluable for those wanting to know the ideal time to post, where their audience is coming from, and which articles are resonating.
It鈥檚 blogging time!
In a world where marketing trends are always changing, blogging continues to be a great tool for businesses wanting a low-cost way to connect with customers and build a positive brand reputation. However, like any marketing effort, your blog needs a solid strategy to succeed. From setting your initial goal to keeping a close eye on metrics, getting a blog up and running requires several steps. Once you implement these steps, the rewards will be well worth the effort.
This is the marketing guide you鈥檝e been waiting for.
Marketing your title agency can sometimes feel like a beast. And if you鈥檙e trying to market while also managing your day-to-day operations, that beast can become a full-on monster鈥攍ike the legendary Hydra. If you remember your Greek mythology, the hero Hercules struggled greatly when fighting that creature. Every time he cut off one head, two more would appear. Without a clear marketing strategy, it鈥檚 easy for challenges to start piling up, and campaigns may not achieve the intended results, such as a strong ROI or high client engagement.
海角吃瓜黑料 has created The Ultimate Marketing Checklist for Title Agencies to help you navigate these challenges efficiently. With this comprehensive guide, you鈥檒l ensure your marketing efforts are effective and well-targeted.
1. Define your target audience:
To be effective, any marketing effort should start with a careful analysis of your target audiences by following the steps below:
鈽� Identify key audiences: Determine who your primary stakeholders are, including real estate agents, homebuyers, sellers and lenders.
鈽� Research pain points: Work to understand each of these audiences on a deeper level by parsing their specific needs and challenges.
鈽� Build customer personas: Take this initial research and expand it into a comprehensive profile of each stakeholder group. If you need help getting started, check out our full blog on the subject.
鈽� Segment messaging: The last step is to customize your messages for each audience segment.
2. Develop a strong brand identity:
Proper branding is a must for agencies seeking to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Ensure you have taken the following steps:
鈽� Create a brand style guide: Establish your agency鈥檚 colors, fonts, logos, tone, and brand voice to ensure consistency across all marketing materials. This consistency helps to build recognition and trust with your audience. If you want to dig into the details of branding, review our blog here.
鈽� Establish unique value propositions (UVPs): Communicate why your agency stands out. We recently authored a blog on how you can develop your UVPs by crafting a strategic messaging framework.
鈽� Design professional materials: Finally, deploy your branding across collateral, including business cards, social media and email signatures. Don鈥檛 have a designer? We have tips for how you can master graphic design basics and produce high quality materials at a low cost.
3. Optimize your website:
Your website is your agency鈥檚 digital front door and is often the first impression potential clients have of your business. In the title industry, an informative, easy-to-use website is crucial for establishing trust. Follow these best practices to connect and convert visitors.
鈽� Ensure mobile responsiveness: People need to be able to view your site easily across devices 鈥� including desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Use our blog to begin optimizing your content for mobile and multi-device audiences.
鈽� Implement SEO basics: Add relevant keywords, page hierarchies, ALT text and meta descriptions across your website. Refer to our blog for instructions on getting started with the basics of SEO.
鈽� Add lead capture forms: Use forms to capture new leads and drive additional business.
鈽� Provide valuable resources: Developing title-centric FAQs, blog posts, white papers and guides can help increase your website traffic. And even if you don鈥檛 have a lot of time, you can still try things like micro-blogging!
鈽� Integrate analytics tools: Verify whether you have analytics set up to track traffic and user behavior.
4. Build your social media presence:
Social media is vital for growing brand awareness and engagement. Take the following actions to get the best results:
鈽� Choose platforms: Select platforms where your audience is, which probably includes some mix of LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
鈽� Develop a content strategy: Post educational, promotional and interactive content. This could encompass everything from industry insights, to case studies, to client testimonials. Use a content calendar to stay focused, and find further guidance on developing a content strategy on our blog.
鈽� Get social: Remember – social media is not meant to be a bullhorn. Engage with followers by liking their posts and resharing their content. That鈥檚 the best way to build mutually beneficial relationships.
5. Establish content and email marketing programs:
Through the power of content and email marketing, you can increase your website traffic and achieve better marketing ROI. Here is how to get started.
鈽� Create valuable and educational content: Write blogs and other educational content assets that your audience will find interesting, including title insurance best practices, trends and closing optimization tips.
鈽� Track with a content calendar: As with social media, carefully track the development, creation and dissemination of each asset. Include dates, deadlines and communication channels.
鈽� Use visuals: Make your content more visual to get higher engagement. Infographics and videos are just two examples of how to do this. For tips on building great video content, refer to our blog.
鈽� Optimize for SEO: Don鈥檛 skimp out on SEO for your assets hosted on your website. That鈥檚 the best way to ensure that people who are not on your email list can find your content.
鈽� Send a regular newsletter: A newsletter is a fantastic way to build long-lasting connections with your audience. Our blog can help get you started.
鈽� Segment and personalize emails: Set up your email marketing software and start building out your lists. Segment your contacts to make your mailings personalized and relevant. Also, never spam people. We鈥檝e prepared an article on why gaining consent for your email marketing is always a good idea.
6. Take advantage of events:
Industry events are an exceptional way to network, showcase your services and form valuable connections with customers or other stakeholders. Here鈥檚 how to approach events strategically.
鈽� Find industry events: ALTA and state-specific title associations often host events. Industry calendars and social media groups are other great resources.
鈽� Prepare marketing collateral: Bring branded materials to help fully highlight your agency. Bring along business cards, brochures, newsletter sign-up sheets and more.
鈽� Create a promotional plan: Take steps to promote how you are participating in an event. Read our blog for a step-by-step guide.
7. Nurture your customer relationships:
Marketing to clients you have is just as important as marketing to those you鈥檙e trying to win. Don鈥檛 miss these opportunities by taking advantage of these steps.
鈽� Establish a client communication plan: Develop a mechanism to ensure a consistentstream of client communications. These touch points can be added to your content calendar as well.
鈽� Celebrate milestones: Sendingpersonalized communications aroundanniversaries, birthdays or transactions is a wonderful way to reinforce relationships.
鈽� Seek feedback: Offer clients the chance to share their feedback through a digital channel like an online survey.
8. Monitor and track your performance:
Finally, tracking metrics is the only way to determine marketing ROI and refine future campaigns. Here鈥檚 how to do that.
鈽� Track website metrics: Become familiar with Google Analytics. Some top metrics to track include traffic, bounce rates and conversions.
鈽� Assess social media engagement: Just as important as your website are your social media metrics. Here are some tips to help you learn about the most important analytics to monitor.
鈽� Review email campaign data: Track every email campaign as well by looking at numbers like email open rates, click-throughs and bounce percentages.
鈽� Adjust based on results: Lastly, carve out time to discuss the performance of your various marketing campaigns and adjust accordingly.
Slay the marketing monster once and for all
We hope you find this checklist helpful as you build stronger, more strategic marketing campaigns. By following these steps and referencing our blog, you鈥檒l be well-equipped to slay the marketing monster once and for all. With the right strategy, you can take your marketing to the next level and drive real growth for your agency.
Your agency won鈥檛 always stay the same, and neither should your messaging.
Last month, we talked about how you can use tools like a SWOT analysis to build a strategic messaging framework for your business. Taking this step can be enormously important for your agency, as it allows you to unify your communications and build lasting relationships with your customer base. But what happens to that messaging framework when something about your business changes? After all, the contours of your agency won鈥檛 stay exactly the same over time, and neither should how you communicate your business鈥檚 value, services and brand. Let鈥檚 examine how you can adapt your messaging framework over time so you can ensure that it remains as current and effective as possible.
Why adapt your messaging framework?
There are many reasons why you would want to update your strategic messaging framework. New business goals, adapting to market trends, or aligning with evolving customer needs and preferences are just a few examples.
Essentially, any change in the internal or external circumstances of your organization may merit a reevaluation or full-scale rewrite of the messaging you鈥檝e developed around your company鈥檚 strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT).
First thing鈥檚 first
Once you recognize a significant change in your business and prospects, start shifting your communications by developing a clear understanding of that change. The specifics of what this entails depend on the unique circumstances you are facing.
For instance, if something has changed with your business鈥檚 goals and objectives, you should meet with key stakeholders to understand the potential implications. Documenting these changes can help ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Of course, if the change is broader or more systemic, such as a shift in the market or in consumer behavior, you would obviously need to take a different approach. Conducting market analysis, reviewing industry reports, and assessing competitor messaging are critical to understanding shifts in your industry鈥檚 landscape.
Conduct a content audit
After you fully understand the change your business or industry is grappling with, you can begin aligning your messaging with your company鈥檚 new reality. The first thing to do here is to conduct a content audit. Review the platforms you use to communicate your products and services. Catalog which messages need updates and determine if new messages should be created.
Refine your value propositions
The next step is to revisit the different messages you created when you were building your initial strategic framework. If you remember from our previous blog on the subject, that means reviewing each of the messages you created from your company鈥檚 SWOT analysis. Rewrite anything that no longer fits with your business鈥檚 circumstances, while adhering to the same formula. Always emphasize your strengths and reframe your weaknesses. And be sure to show how you are prepared to seize opportunities and overcome threats.
Test and test again
As with your original messaging, don鈥檛 simply write out your messaging framework and leave it at that. Instead, test out your messages with stakeholders that you respect and trust. Consider also running A/B testing to determine which messages resonate best. By taking those steps, you will gain valuable insights into whether your new messaging is ready to go and whether it speaks effectively to the changes that have occurred within your business environment.
Finalize and deploy
Armed with your newly vetted messaging, the last step is to deploy it across your various distribution channels. This is where that initial content audit will come in handy, as you will know exactly where you need to upload your new content and where you don鈥檛. While you don鈥檛 want to rush this process, remember that time is, to some degree, of the essence. The last thing you want is to have public-facing content that is no longer accurate to your business鈥檚 current reality. Taking these steps, though, will help you move through this process with speed and efficiency. This will set you up for success and ensure your messaging remains as powerful and positive as ever.
