Dream of being featured in a top national media news site? Want to see your name online at Forbes or Huffington Post? Even better, want to see your name in print in in a top magazine or newspaper?

Well…you are in luck because today we are sharing what NOT to do so you can improve your chances in getting the feature you dream of.

These fatal flaws were presented at Infusionsoft’s user conference, ICON, by Mikal E. Belicove, contributing author at Entrepreneur magazine. He’s writes for many sites and shared a total of 14 flatal flaws. I picked out the ones that I think are the most common and that I have made myself in hopes to help you not make the same ones!

5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid When Pitching to the Media

1. Not Doing Your Research.

According to Mikal, you have to do your research. If you don’t know what topics the author writes about and you pitch a topic that doesn’t fit, you will be doing more harm than good. Do some research so that when you pitch your idea, it’s something that is clearly on topic with what they normally write about.

Mikal also mentioned not to lead by sharing that someone else already covered the story, so he should write about it too! Think about this. Why would he want to write the same story as someone else? He doesn’t. He wants something unique so think of a way that you can provide him something unique and different from the rest.

2. Pitching Without Cover.

Don’t tweet them publicly. Who knew! I know I am guilty of making this mistake and when Mikal explained it, it made so much sense.  When people share a story idea with the media, they want it to be an exclusive piece. When all know that social media is not secret so if you tweet them an idea, everyone will know what the author is writing about. Mikal said that if you do this, he will actually request that you delete the tweet. Wow!

Do no tweeting and no pitches out in the open. Lesson learned!

3. Gorilla Distribution Of Your Press Release.

Sites like PRNewsire is a top place to submit a press release. I know I have submitted a press release here before and thought nothing of it. But, according to Mikal, this is not a good strategy and once again, it made so much sense when he explained it. If you submit to a site like this, everyone gets the press release and he isn’t able to create a piece that is exclusive. The better strategy is to submit a press release individually to the author you want to write about it and give him exclusive rights to the story. He shared that sites like PR Newsire really are known for pumping out press releases so that they can get some great SEO.

4. Refusing to Help Curate and Socialize Writer’s Content.

It’s helpful to know the behind the scenes world of writers in today’s online world. Mikal said that there are more writers now than there were five years ago and a lot of different sites to compete against. It’s actually hard to make money as a writer because these days writers get paid by word or by unique views of their articles.

That means you have a big opportunity to promote as much as you can for the writer. Share the article anywhere and everywhere to support him or her and show that you appreciate them writing about your story.

5. Leading With Rhetoric and Hyperbole.

Whatever you do, don’t say you are a guru or a leading expert. It just sounds skeptical. Remember, you will be held in contempt if any information you provide is not accurate. The writer wants to know the facts. Give him or her the who, what, where, when and why and don’t exaggerate. Provide supporting data and third party data if possible. Don’t make things up and say that it is best selling or #1 if it’s just you that thinks so.

Hope these tips help you improve your chances to be seen in that top media site you dream of! You can do it!