Don't Let Your Pitch End Up in a Ditch

Pitch letters serve one purpose -- to get the journalist interested in your story. Think of it as a tasty appetizer before a great meal.  
    Here are a couple of pitch tips....

1. Read the publication you are pitching.

2. Know what the journalist's topic is and how the journalist writes. Humorous stories about personal exploits may be right for a features writer but not the business editor.

3. Comment positively on some aspect of their story so they know you’re familiar with their topics and formats.  One of the top complaints from journalists is being pitched stories by people who haven’t done any research on what they cover.  “I read your piece on ______” or “I enjoyed your show on ____” is a great way to start a media pitch.  Do that, and your pitch will stand out from the pack.

4. Focus your pitch and keep it concise. Go A to B.  Stay on track; Delete the unnecessary adjectives, adverbs and over-blown hype.

5.  In a written pitch, make sure your facts, grammar and punctuation are correct.  Remember --  spell check is not necessarily your friend. These mistakes distract the reader and make them question your credibility.

6.  Personalize the salutation in your communication.  "To Whom It May Concern" or "Hey, Buddy" not so good.  Dear Bill or Mr. Smith is okay. Best not to be overly friendly. 

7.  Make sure your client - or you if you are doing the DIY PR thing - is available for comment. If the journalist calls, answer! If you don't they will move on to the next person or story.

8.  Be confident. Know your pitch inside out. You don’t want to get caught "flat-footed."

Hope this helps. Feel free to add any other Dos and Don'ts.

MEDIA RELEASE: Triangle Ladies Power Lunch Taps Award-winning Business Woman Olalah Njenga To Speak At February Event

An inspiring message called “The Power of One” is the focus of Olalah Njenga’s talk at the February 15^th  Triangle Ladies Power Lunch. Njenga will share how the scenes of your life offer clues to inspiring others.

Raleigh, NC (February 13, 2012): After leaving a violent marriage to raise two kids with no money, no job and no plan, Njenga knows that the power of one person can inspire and uplift the human spirit. Today, Njenga runs a successful marketing consulting firm in Raleigh, but shares that when the scenes from your life change the trajectory of your life path; you need someone to help you discover the truth of who you were really meant to be.

Triangle Ladies Power Lunch founder Carrie Peele outlines the reason for selecting Njenga to speak, [we] “select a woman in the area who has blazed her own trail and found great success along the way. By offering wisdom, insights, and a bit of humor, all of our keynote speakers ensure that our attendees leave feeling inspired and uplifted!”

Njenga, referred to as “a 5’ 3” powerhouse in a pair of pumps”, has broken a fire code or two with record attendance and is expected to draw a crowd with her inspiring keynote theme.  The February 15^th event is at North Ridge Country Club and begins at 11:30am with shopping at vendor displays. Lunch is included with registration.  The event is open to the public. Tickets ($35 per person) are available at: http://www.TriangleLadiesPowerLunch.org.  Peele donates a portion of the proceeds to Raleigh-based non-profit, Pretty In Pink Foundation.

“People need to know that they matter. As long as we share this journey of the human experience, each of us has a responsibility to illuminate the best in one other.” Njenga remarks about her keynote message.

About Olalah Njenga:

The author of “37 What Were They Thinking Moments in Marketing”, Olalah has been spotlighted on Forbes.com, Fox News and Small Business Trends.  She’s a passionate small business champion who writes a column for Carolina Business Connection and is a featured expert in the 2012 Woman’s Advantage calendar.  Olalah serves on several business advisory boards and is a three-time Top 50 Catalyst Entrepreneur award winner, a two-time International Stevie® Women In Business award finalist and was recently honored with a Women Extraordinaire award for seeing her company to record revenue growth. For Olalah’s upcoming events and speaking engagements, visit www.Olalah.com. For information about her firm’s marketing consulting solutions, visit. www.YellowWoodGroup.com.

Media Contact

Eileen Batson

Batson Group Marketing and PR

919.413.2318

Eileen@BGMPR.com

Sites To Make Your Life Easier and More Fun

At our monthly Women’s Power Networking Women Executives Roundtable here in Raleigh, North Carolina,     Dr. Barnsley Brown of Spirited Solutions, and attendees shared some sites they found useful.  Thought I’d share them with you! 

Let us know the sites you have found useful for business or personal use.

For your freelance and outsourcing needs

http://www.smart-moms.net/

http://www.freelance.com/en/

https://www.elance.com/

http://fiverr.com/

Online Video

http://www.tubemogul.com/

Video advertising built for branding

Password Manager

https://lastpass.com/

Voice Messaging

http://www.slydial.com/index.php

A voice messaging service which connects you directly to someone's mobile voicemail.

http://www.phone.com/features/after-hours-greetings/

This professional phone greeting prevents customers from getting frustrated when they are unable to reach you, and it provides them with the information they need to get in contact with you during regular business hours.

Info Sharing

https://posterous.com/

Posterous Spaces is your personal online destination for sharing. Spaces were designed with one goal in mind – to help you share smarter. Whether you want to share videos privately with your family, post a vacation photo gallery from their iPhone to their friends on Facebook and Twitter, or write a long from post via email, we help you do it simply and more effectively.

Reminders and More

http://www.evernote.com/

http://teuxdeux.com

and a few of my favorites

www.DelizieDelizie.com - Fabulous and unique recipes

www.BosettiArtTile.com – Incredible artist who uses tile as her “canvas”

http://MidnightWhistler.com/ -  Non-fiction and fiction books and ebooks

www.Playdom.com – When you actually have time to play games online

20 Things PR Clients Should Know

Want to be a good PR client? Here are 20 things every PR client should know.
By Elizabeth Friedland | Posted from PRDaily: December 21, 2011


Refill the cup of coffee, take a deep breath, and know you're not alone.

1. No, we don’t know every journalist everywhere across the universe—not that it matters. Even journalists whose weddings we were in will turn down our pitches occasionally. 

2. A good publicist doesn’t have to be based in New York or Los Angeles to be effective. Ever heard of this crazy thing called email? 

3. Few things actually warrant a press release … 

4. … And a creative PR professional can still brainstorm ways to achieve your goals without one. 

5. Stop insisting we call the media. Most of them hate this and specifically request we contact them exclusively via email. 

6. PR is not free advertising. PR is not free (or cheap), period. 

7. Don’t ask us to pitch an idea and then not be available for an interview. If you want the press, we need you to be ready to talk to the media at a moment’s notice. 

8. What matters most to you may be totally irrelevant to a journalist. Remember that it’s what they—not you—think is important that matters in the end. 

9. Publicists cannot control the end product. It is unethical for us to ask, to see, or to proof a copy of the story beforehand, or to dictate what the reporter can and can’t say. Doing so will backfire—trust me. 

10. Social media is more than Facebook and Twitter. 

11. If you insist on running all tweets and posts past your legal department, don’t expect results from your social media strategy. 

12. If a journalist says he or she is not interested in a story, that person means it. Reaching out again will further annoy the reporter and guarantee you’ll be ignored the next time. 

13. Don’t measure your PR results in ad equivalency rates. Do you want to know you had $500,000 of ad equivalent value in negative press, or would you rather know 80 percent of the press you received was positive in tone and accurate in its messages? 

14. No, we’re not writing any more “…pleased to announce...” ledes. 

15. Ditto for “We’re so excited/thrilled/happy” CEO quotes. Pretend you’re explaining the story to a friend over drinks, and then give us that quote. 

16. There’s no need for a logo and boilerplate for anyone who so much as breathed in a room where the project was discussed. 

17. PR is a process. You know who hits it big overnight with a story on the “Today” show? Criminals, naughty celebrities, and shark-attack victims. Do you want to be one of them? 

18. You can’t “make” something go viral. That’s why it’s called “going viral.” 

19. An ethical PR pro is not a spin doctor. Do not ask us to lie, spin the truth, evade the press, or hide your dirty laundry. 

20. We love you. You’re our favorite client. You’re the only one we work on all day. 

Elizabeth Friedland is a senior public relations manager at Bandy Carroll Hellige in Indianapolis. She also blogs for Talent Zoo Media, where a version of this story first appeared. 

Wishing You a Happy, Healthy and Joyful Holiday Season