Posts Tagged ‘Pitch Tips’

Who is Your Press Release Audience?

Friday, May 28th, 2010

In this changing media landscape, it’s more important than ever to know your audience.  So it make sense to verify your audience before sending a release through the wire and to establish your goals and what you want the release to accomplish before, well, releasing it.

Check out the below audience identifiers, compliments of eReleases:

  • Traditional Media — The original press release audience. In this new era of press release distribution too many companies write off the power of traditional media.  Instead of targeting newspapers, TV, and radio, they target blogs, podcast, and searchers.  There’s nothing wrong with those audiences, but you can’t overlook the buzz that can be created if your story gets picked up by a major media outlet.
  • New Media — Reaching out to bloggers, podcasters, and other online influencers is a cost-effective way to increase brand awareness and get more sales.  To be successful when targeting new media you have to figure out which outlets cover your topic of interest, get to know the bloggers and their audience, and have a clear, strong story that catches their attention.  Like other types of press release distribution and outreach, you have to be persistent and consistent.  Distribute high quality press releases on a regular basis to build familiarity and trust.
  • Consumers — Online press releases can be used to target your customers directly.  You can create your own online news room with the latest news that appeals to your customers.  To get these press releases maximum exposure to buyers, you need to use the same keywords they’re using when searching online.  Write press releases that focus on your buyers’ problems and common pain points.  Note: This isn’t an excuse to turn your press release into an advertisement. It still needs to be newsworthy.
  • Investors — Press releases can be used as a tool to attract new investors and to inform current investors of the success and growth of your company.  Keeping investors happy is always important, so make sure you highlight the topics your investors care about most.
  • Affiliates — Do affiliates help sell your products?  Whenever there are changes to your products or you release new products, you can write press releases aimed at these affiliates to keep them informed and excited about selling your products.
  • Search Engines — The search release has risen to prominence as a growing number of companies are distributing press releases solely for the sake of improving search rankings. Don’t get me wrong, SEO plays an important part in today’s press releases. However, my biggest problem with the search release is that too many companies are cranking out low-quality, uninteresting releases and publishing them on low authority “free” press release websites where they just sit there and do nothing. SEO is important, but never sacrifice quality for the sake of a few links.

Who are you writing your releases for?

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Media 360 - Get the Scoop From Kurt Eisele-Dyrli, Products Editor at District Administration Magazine

Monday, May 17th, 2010

This month, check out our interview with Kurt Eisele-Dyrli, products editor at District Administration magazine.

Q:  What types of articles/sources do you look for?kurt
We cover K-12 education administration, so sources that are administrators, as opposed to industry people, are who we’re most interested in.  Many PR people suggest CEO’s or founders of companies for writing something or as a source, but that rarely interests us or our readers.  It would have to be unusual.  I also often explain to PR reps pitching something that if their idea is for us to focus on one product or company, that also rarely interests us and would also have to be unusual.  It has to be something with a broader takeaway for our readers, as one example of a broader trend or topic.  We’re not going to write a feature article about Acme and their new X2000 − no matter how wonderful you think the product is!

Q:  What is the best way to contribute to District Administration?
Besides what I said above about having a broader topic or takeaway information, I’d say be familiar with the type of content our publication typically includes, aware of our editorial calendar and future topics, and aware of the broader industry and issues in education.  Many people think their client is on the cutting edge (but they really aren’t) or suggest a topic or idea that we just covered last month/three months ago/last year, etc.

Q:  What is the number one thing PR pros do that drives you nuts?
That is a tie between being tough to get a hold of and not having information ready.

It amazes me how many times I answer a press release or e-mail that says “Please contact me for more information or if you have any questions” at the bottom  with a basic question, but it takes a long time to be answered − or sometimes I never hear back.

How much will this product cost?  Do you have a quality image I can use in print?  When will it officially be released?  Seems to me these should be simple to answer, but such questions seem to really befuddle people who have to contact a product manager, who doesn’t know and talks it over with the VP of product development, who has a meeting with the CEO, who signs off on an answer to send back to the PR person, who gets back to me, sometimes a week or two later.  Meanwhile I have an editor pressuring me to finish, which is her job because there’s a deadline looming.  That makes it tough to include even products that I want to.  I’ve had times when I e-mail, call, and leave voicemail over and over again to get answers.  Sometimes I have to grudgingly not cover something as a result, but I really don’t have a choice at a certain point.

Q:  When pitching to your publications, what should PR people keep in mind?
See answers one and two, but I would also say clarity of language is important.  There’s a fine line between using the hot keywords in the industry and writing incoherent gibberish.  There are often times when I’ve read the release and all the marketing materials, or even met with the PR rep and people from the company, and I’m putting a lot of time and effort into it, but I just can’t tell what on Earth they’re talking about or what this product/company does.  If the hot keywords are truly relevant then fire away, but in general, be stingy.  Be aware that there are thousands of other people using the same keywords.

Q:  What is the best/worst pitch you’ve ever received?
Hmm… the worst tend to be when it’s a real stretch.  I think I recall a pitch about new technology that will save schools money and help raise student achievement − and it was for a new type of lawn mower.  I know they’re doing their job, but… that’s really pushing the limits of what’s relevant to school executives.

Best pitches for coverage are clear, provide the meaty information about what it is, what it does, and why it’s important without a lot of meaningless filler, and have all the relevant information either in the press release, accessible online, or at the ready when I call or e-mail.  That will make journalists love you.

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The Key to Catching a Reporter’s Eye? Pitch Like One

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Once a reporter, always a reporter.

That’s the adage Danielle Cass subscribes to as the communications manager at Kaiser Permanente.   With a writing background in newspapers and magazines, she still thinks like a reporter—even though she crossed over to the “dark side” 15 years ago, she says.

“When you pitch a reporter, think to yourself, ‘What do they need to make this a story? What can they say to their editor to make this compelling?’”

To achieve this, Cass advises hospital communicators to pay attention to details and grammar and to write pithy leads when pitching reporters. Write your pitch like a news story—make it flawless.

Start researching

Before you write, do your research.

Ideally, Cass says she’d like to spend two months researching a given topic or material before pitching the media. A few weeks before she starts pitching, she goes through the editing process with her medical experts and bosses. She takes the time to make sure everything is correct.  Next, she’ll start planning corollary materials to go along with the pitch.  This includes making a Flip video, finding research links and prepping physicians with interview questions.

For example, after she finished writing a press release about severe childhood obesity, she knew she had to find the right spokesperson to bring the study to life.  She reached out within her staff and network to find Dr. Amy Porter at Kaiser.  Cass spent time practicing interview questions with her to make sure she was camera-ready.

Think about context

Your press release needs to be written in the proper context. Simply put – how big of a deal is it? For example, if it’s the first study that’s done of its kind, a hospital communicator could add a line:  “More research needs to be done…” or “This follows a series of supporting research…”

Cass says she’s developed a “bucket system.” She puts stories into three categories.  One category is for urgent, critical studies that need to be out there; another is for studies that can be put on hold; and the last one is for studies that need more data or with raw evidence.  This bucket system helps her plan what to pitch and when to do it.

Act like a story machine

Start generating story ideas by getting around your hospital, Cass says.

“Walk around the floor,” Cass says. “Attend team meetings, make phone calls, and interact with doctors, physicians, lawyers and nurses.”

Ask people at your hospital: What does success look like to you?  Where do you want to be a year from now?

Another way to generate story ideas is to conduct a yearly internal communications road show within the hospital.  This is where you gather executive leadership and researchers in the same room and explain what your job is and how you collect story ideas.

Tailor your pitch to your audience

Cass pitches to print media, social media and bloggers—each with a distinct approach.

Newspapers are short-staffed.  Very few have dedicated medical reporters. That means you might be working with someone who doesn’t know the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Bring the language down and make sure the language you use is simple and accessible.

For bloggers, the news cycle is more immediate.  Plus, you can send bloggers images, links, graphics and photos for a robust package in your pitch.  Cass says it’s important to reach out directly to influential bloggers and to know what they like to write about.

Cass recommends that hospital communicators set up a Twitter account.

Relevance, relevance, relevance

When you’re ready to write, ask yourself:  Why should this reporter care? Write your press release as though they should.

Start with a pithy e-mail subject line to pull the reporter in, Cass says.  Ideally, a reporter will walk into the editor’s office, holding up her press release, and say, “Look, here’s our story.”

How can you make this happen? Keep it short.

Write the first paragraph just as you want to see it in the publication, Cass says.  That means cutting out the PR jargon.  Don’t editorialize; make it crisp.

For your second paragraph, put it in context.  Tell the reporter why it’s newsworthy.  Consider writing several bullet points.

Check out the full interview on Ragan’s PR Daily — click here.

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Media 360: Words to the Wise From David Pogue, New York Times Technology Columnist

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times, recently participated in a Ragan PR Daily Webinar where he offered tips, tricks, do’s, and don’ts to PR pros.

His beginning advice?  “Pitching a journalist is a lot like auditioning for Broadway.”

What does this mean?  Pogue, a former Broadway conductor,  recounted the plight of a short, stout woman with a beautiful voice, complaining about how she spent so much money on dancing, costumes and acting classes — but kept getting turned down.  She told Pogue she auditioned for “My One and Only.” Directors were looking for someone who looked like Twiggy.

The bottom line?  “In the end, you’re not going to get coverage unless you’re a match for what the outlet is looking for,” Pogue says.

But there are some things you can do to make your pitch stand out:

  • Tailor your pitch to the journalist
  • Make your pitch should be concise —
    “Make the whole thing a half screen,” Pogue says. “Make it human—not artificial.  Get to the point.  Tell me what you’ve got, the price and when it’s coming out.”
  • Don’t talk like aliens —
    Consider using English, Pogue says.  Skip over corporate jargon.  “It makes you look insecure,” he says.
  • Don’t paste a press release into the e-mail —
    At least include a salutation, Pogue advises

For more of David Pogue’s tips and tricks, click here (will redirect to Ragan’s PR Daily).

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Ace Your Next Presentation With Tips From the Pros

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Last week PRSourceCode hosted a complimentary Webinar featuring Susan Tomai and Bill Connor of Oratorio Media and Presentation Training and Jason Oxman of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).  The Webinar, “PR Open Forum:  From Pitching to the Podium – Presentation Tips for PR Pros,” focused on ways to strengthen presentations, make messages more compelling and clear, and how to deliver presentations with impact.

Weren’t able to make the Webinar?  Check out this Q&A with panelists Bill Connor and Susan Tomai of Oratorio Media and Presentation Training:

What advice can you give on how to tighten up a presentation or pitch?

Susan: You have to really know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and to whom you are talking.  What are their needs?  This will help to get your focus across.

You have to decide, “What kind of impression do you want to leave with the audience?  What kind of impression do you want to leave with that journalist or reporter on the telephone?”  You really need to do your homework ahead of time – and make it easy for that reporter.

What are some tips you can offer to someone looking to overcome stage fright - or to at least present more smoothly despite it?

Bill: There are many ways to deal w/ butterflies, but one of my favorite quotes came from one of my former colleagues - he said, “everyone gets butterflies – the trick is to make them fly in formation.”

I use breathing techniques and visualization.  There are many techniques out there, but these are the two that work best for me.  Try inhaling to the count of four, then exhaling to the count of eight – try doing 15 reps.  It calms you.  For visualization, essentially roll a little movie of yourself achieving.  See yourself in your mind’s eye – visualize yourself walking up to the stage to applause.

Susan: The key point is to know what you’re going to say.   Be prepared with your opening line – have them memorized so that you come out and you know what you’re going to say.  Practice your pitch outloud – not in your head.

Do you have any advice for reading the audience?  How can you regain their attention if you start to lose it?

Susan: When you start noticing that you’re losing your audience, you’ve pretty much lost them.  You’re going to lose your audience if you don’t have your timing, blocking, and pacing.  Another good tip is to move in closer to your audience.

Also, now that you’ve been in the hot seat, do a favor for the next speaker – give them your attention – be a good audience.  It’s a good thing to do and it benefits everybody.

Do you recommend embedding videos into presentation, and if so, what’s the maximum length they should be?

Bill: People love videos and entertainment.  That said, clips in presentations shouldn’t be more than a minute to minute and a half.  Looking at the nightly news - the average story length is about a minute and 10 seconds.

Susan: The video has to have purpose.  It has to mean something - there has to be a reason for it to be there.  In a longer presentation, inserting a video will make the longer presentation seem like it flew by.

Bill: It’s not just videos – it’s stories and other elements of a presentation.  Sometimes we see people start a presentation with a joke – who doesn’t love a joke?  But if it really doesn’t lead into the thread of the presentation, it usually falls flat.

Want more tips?  Click here to check out the archived audio and slides.

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Media 360 – Get the Scoop from Freelance Writer Charlene O’Hanlon

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Q:  What types of articles/sources do you look for on a regular basis?dscn03511

A: I look for story ideas and sources that fill a need. I’m always on the lookout for something – or someone – different to write about. If the idea or source can catch my attention, then chances are it will be a good fit for whatever publication I’m writing for.

 

Q:  What is the best way to contribute to each of your publications?

A: As a freelancer, I have little say in what actually makes it into the publications I write for, but overall, I would say to PR folks, the editorial calendar is your best friend. Pitch any ideas or sources well in advance, but not too far in advance – I normally work four months out from publication date.

 

Q:  When pitching to your publications, what should PR people keep in mind?

A: I love to hear your pitches, but please vary them – if it didn’t elicit a response the first time around, chances are it won’t in the future, either.

 

Q:  What is your favorite part of being a freelancer?

A: Discovering new subjects and new sources – I love speaking with people who can teach me something.

 

Q:  What is the best/worst pitch you’ve ever received?

A: I get a lot of pitches for story ideas that have a short shelf life or have already been done. Most of those never get opened. There needs to be a value-add to the pitch, otherwise it just clogs my inbox.

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Lessons from Bad Pitch Night School

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

OK, OK – we know – usually blogs talk about controversial items… but after sitting in on this afternoon’s Bad Pitch Night School teleseminar featuring Richard Laermer and Kevin Dugan, there was so much good info, we can’t find anything to argue – and rather feel the need to share.

 

Now, naturally, we aren’t going to give you the full notes (you’ll have to attend the next one for those), BUT, there were some points so back to basics and brilliant that they simply must be repeated.  Read on for the cliff notes version…

 

Some bad pitches are good pitches – just sent to the wrong people.

As we’re always saying, half the battle is doing your homework.  Don’t pitch without knowing the outlets you’re pitching to – or the people you’re contacting.  Would you walk into McDonalds and order fois gras?  Don’t pitch unrelated items to mis-matched publications.  By pitching more on-target outlets and journalists, you’ll actually get more ink with fewer pitches.

 

Blogs vs. Journalists

Blogs are one of those mediums that we all try to understand and nail into a science, but they’re still new to many PR pros.  Richard and Kevin put it best – it comes down to “passion vs. paid”.  Journalists are getting paid to write, while bloggers often have other jobs and are writing out of passion.  Remember this – bloggers are people.  They have lives, they have jobs.  This said, Kevin and Richard recommend treating bloggers like trade journalists – in other words, use longer lead times than you would for traditional publications.  On the flip side of this, often times, time is of the essence in blogging – we can debate this one later, but the “passion vs. paid” statement does make sense in differentiating the two.

 

PR is getting people what they need to get their jobs done

“PR is sales – in essence, you’re selling an article.  Just like sales, you need passion; you need to be into what you’re selling; and you need an angle.” 

 

Think about it – in sales, you wouldn’t sign a client, and then leave them until you needed something.  The same principal should apply for PR – it’s about building relationships with the journalists and truly working to help them get their jobs done.  This point was illustrated in this year’s Top Tech Communicators Awards – one of the leading factors participating journalists cited as making certain PR agencies/professionals stand out was “putting the editor’s agenda in front of their own”.  Be a resource – get journalists what they need to get their job done – they likely won’t forget it.

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Lauren and Whitney’s PR 411 – Lessons Learned from The Bloggess (No really…)

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

In our daily PR blog surfing, we came across an article from The Bloggess (who, in her opinion, is like Mother Teresa, only better)…

Basically, The Bloggess received a pitch from an unnamed PR practitioner, trying to get coverage on and sell a new, magical, makes your pores tiny and your skin glisten like Snow White, shield cream on her blog (note:  maybe try to sell us at The Decoder, we will gladly try your cream - assuming, of course, that The Bloggess’s comments aren’t true ;) ).  He even included a link to a video showing how it shields from rock-dissolving acid!

The Bloggess, known to subtly mess with PR and marketing people, responds that she would love to try this magical shield cream to protect her eyes from rocks in her industrial lawn mowing job…

(Please note… this is a true story…)

Instead of the PR person realizing his mistake (that he didn’t actually read her blog to determine if his magical shield cream was relevant), he responds with this - and this is a direct quote….

“You should keep goggles (just to protect your eyes from rocks), but you can use the lotion prior to wearing goggles to prevent allergic reaction to latex. I will have two bottles sent - one with and one without SPF15, hope to get a collective review from the whole lawn maintenance team!”

Really?!?!

We can all learn from this  mistake.  Let’s bring it back to the basics, fellow PR pros.  Before you send a pitch, stop.  Take a deep breath.  Ask yourself:  Is this pitch/source/product/information relevant to their respective publication/blog/media outlet?

Okay, and before you begin to pull the “But I’m so busy and I have five million other publications to pitch this to, why don’t I just get it over with” excuse (we are too quick for you), remember that reading the blogs and publications are going to actually help you in the long run.

By putting in that extra time up-front, you will not only be able to understand the readership and publication’s focus (thus inevitably getting you more coverage), but you will also waste less time pitching to publications that wouldn’t ever, in a million years, cover it.

So take this pitch disaster from the Bloggess as a lesson learned.  Do your homework.  It’s that simple.  Start reading and understanding the publication.  Tweak your press list so it’s focused.  Tailor your pitch to the readers.  Make the point, “This is relevant to your publication and your readers because…”  Then press send.

And if you are ever pitching magical shield lotion, please feel free to send us samples at The Decoder.  Just please include a fair warning if your product does not protect against flying rocks… (But really - we love free samples)

Lastly, to satisfy your curiosity, click here to read The Bloggess’s full posting.

Each month, we put our two cents in about the stuff that’s just a little controversial, discussing everything from the latest news on the Twitter feed down to innovative and “out-of-the-box” PR strategies. Doing something interesting at your agency? Share it with us. Time to put your thinking caps on folks.

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Media 360 - Get the Skinny on Matt Villano, Freelance Writer

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

matt-villlanoCheck out our interview with Matt Villano, freelance writer for hot publications like Time Magazine and The New York Times.  That’s right, he’s kind of a big deal.

Q. What types of articles/sources do you look for on a regular basis?
A. This depends on which clients I’m working for on a given week.  My outlets are all over the lot - travel, business, education, science, technology, even gambling.  The bottom line is that I’m always looking for the human angle to a story.

Q. What publications do you contribute to most frequently?
A. The whole list is online at www.whalehead.com, but recently my biggies have been Time Magazine (please readers, do not pitch me), The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset, and Coastal Living.  I also have been spending time recently contributing to two blogs - www.thedaddydispatch.com (which is a blog about life as a stay-at-home father) and www.readflyoveramerica.com - a travel blog I’m doing with two other writers.

Q. What information are you normally looking for?  Do you specialize in a specific type of technology?
A. I’m looking for the right sources, and someone who can help me set up phone interviews with those sources on tech stories.  I also like background information, both about the technology and about any pertinent customer experiences.  As for the second part of the question, I don’t specialize in tech, but I do write about security most often.

Q.  What is your favorite part of being a freelancer?
A. What’s not to like?  I’m not one of those guys who does well with established rules and expectations, so being a freelancer enables me to work on my own schedule, with my own rules.  As I write this, it’s 1 a.m. and I’ve only started my work day an hour ago.  Not many jobs enable you to do that.  I also like being able to flex my income.  If I want to take an expensive vacation, I just get more assignments, work harder, and collect more cash.  With a traditional job, you don’t have that luxury.  I guess finally, now that I’m a father, I like freelancing because it enables me to stay at home and look after my daughter.  That is perhaps the best part.

Q.  What is the best/worst pitch you’ve ever received?
A. Pitch from a PR person?  OY.  I get lots of bad ones.  The ones that drive me nuts are the ones that ask me what kind of stuff I cover.  Like dude, go to my Web site!  It also bothers me when PR folks say, “What are you working on these days?”  I write 15-20 stories a week.  It would take me 30 minutes just to tell you what I’m working on.  Besides, you should be pitching me anyway.

Other pitches that irritate me are those that make it clear the person has done no research about my outlet and the kind of stuff I write.  My time is valuable!  I work 80 hours a week.  Respect me and my work ethic; I’ll respect you and yours.

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