Last term in my J440 class we had a guest speaker come in and talk about pitching. After his lecture, I went home and did some research of my own. I stumbled across this great article by Liz Sanders. I have referenced back to it many times in the past few months with my internship and various class assignments.
10 strategies to get you noticed-
- Offer information of value – I feel that this is an important strategy because you need to be able to show the media/public that you have something to offer. You need to stand out, or as we are learning, be STICKY!
- Do your research first – Pitching to the wrong person or the wrong media outlet in my opinion is time wasted. You can avoid that by researching first.
- Be professional and establish credibility – There are others out there competing for media attention, be professional and maintain credibility to show them why they should choose you.
- Use their preferred method of communication – Ask them what works best for them, you need to work around them and their schedule.
- Tie your news into a trend or community issue – This isn’t something we hear everyday, but I feel that it is so important. Journalists want to report on things that are happening now, trending and “in”.
- Be subtle – Don’t pitch and advertisement. The media is for producing news not ads.
- Don’t be sloppy – NO TYPOS or GRAMMAR ERRORS!
- Make it easy for reporters to cover you – Before approaching journalists, it is important to have everything ready to go. They could ask for press kits right then and there. Have it all together!
- Follow-up, but don’t be pushy – You want reporters to see you as a solution to the problem, not a hinderance.
- View the relationship as long-term, not as a one hit wonder – One of the biggest mistakes I see is that PR people only talk to journalists when they want something, keep the dialogue flowing at all times. Don’t be a pest, but let them know you value them and don’t just want them around when you want something. Make it your goal to become a valuable source of information and a trusted, well-liked and respected business person. You want to be on the top of their mind when they need stories.
I love these 10 strategies and use them all the time. I hope they are helpful to anyone else who reads them.
-Shawna Haynes
Strategically Communicating 
As I read these, I realized how important it really is to know a lot about who you are pitching to, and not just what you are pitching. That may sound very rudimentary, but it is something that I never really thought about. Maybe you are pitching the same thing to a wide variety of potential clients but sending out the same email to everyone isn’t the best way to go about it, it may be time efficient but it is not productive in the long-run. This is a very very helpful article!
By: lalthreepeat on January 20, 2011
at 10:28 pm
Lists like this are literally what has gotten me through the last year. Fall term junior year I was unemployed, uninvolved and uninteresting to the job market. I was too afraid to go into an interview because, honestly, at the time I wouldn’t have even hired me. However after a little bit of talking and a LOT of reading and listening I found that I was in the same boat as every other student in the J school. I love the list that you posted, even though it’s a little bittersweet considering I feel like whoever wrote that article sat in with me on my first interview and just wrote a piece about everything I did wrong. But the list is accurate and helpful to say the least. This is another list that our very own Kelli Matthews posted about how, if you’re a student and nothing else at the time, to make yourself more marketable.
by Vincent Paventa on January 14, 2011
How PR Students Can Improve Marketability
You want to get a job after school, right? Well you need work experience, which often comes in the form of internships. In case you haven’t figured this out yet, it’s not easy for undergrads to find the right internship – or any internship for that matter.
For those of you lucky enough to find internships, you’ll often find yourself working for little or no pay. Since most of us need money during and after college, that can be pretty tricky. It’s a catch 22 that plagues undergrads and recent grads – you need work experience to get a job, but that experience is hard to come by.
Regardless of your level of success finding and landing internships or that first PR job, there are always ways to add to your resume and portfolio and make yourself a more marketable public relations professional. Here are a few suggestions I have found helpful so far:
1. Network. This is probably the most cliché piece of advice you will hear. I’m frankly tired of hearing it. Then again, it’s hard to deny it is probably the most important thing to keep in mind through everything you do. Each person you meet in your travels can ultimately help you in the future. There are few connections that are not worth having, and building connections and relationships is a vital part of the PR industry. Talk to professors, fellow PR majors, club advisors, and company representatives at career fairs. With online professional networks like LinkedIn, you can develop a simple way to keep in touch.
2. Become a PR chair for student organization. This is another piece of advice that may seem obvious for a PR major, but many neglect it in student organizations because there is not always a pre-established position in place. If your organization doesn’t have a PR chair, then create the position yourself. Nearly every type of organization can benefit from solid PR initiatives. Pitch articles about what your group is doing to the local area and student newspapers, and help organize and manage any events your org holds. Pitching, interaction with the media, and event planning will stand out in terms of experience.
3. Consider writing for a student newspaper. Learn how things work from a journalist point-of-view. You will get an idea of how journalists conduct interviews and face deadlines and how a writer crafts a story. As a PR professional you will have a better idea of what type of information and ideas journalists find useful. You will be able to gain an understanding of how to reach journalists more effectively and craft a smarter pitch. Writing also gives you the opportunity to do what else but flex your writing muscles and get valuable practice. Your work will be open to critique and on display for everyone to see, just like writing on the PR side.
4. Stay up-to-date by reading. Read every day, if only for a few min, to stay up to date on what’s going on the in the world and what’s going on the PR industry. Reading news sites isn’t particularly exciting for a lot of college students but it will enhance your writing prowess and allow you to see how organizations use PR in real life situations. Keep up on industry trends by reading sites like PR Daily or AdAge (and of course Journalistics!). Next to professional experience, this is probably the best way to learn about the industry, and it will speak volumes in an interview when you are able to discuss PR intelligently.
5. Learn Microsoft Excel. Every college student graduates with the ability to use Word and PowerPoint, but almost no one I know really knows how to use Excel. This is general advice because no, excel is not a huge part of PR, but it can be very helpful to know when you’re spending hours creating and re-organizing media contact lists. At the very least, it’s a skill that will be useful in many other jobs and you won’t ever be lying when “Proficient in Microsoft Excel” is written on your resume.
6. Develop an online social media presence. Although displaying the trophy for winning the beer funnel chug contest is an awesome accomplishment, this is not what I’m trying to recommend. Be active in social websites (and vigilant with your privacy settings) so employers take note of your social media prowess when they look you up. If you are feeling ambitious, start your own blog or website. Companies need fresh young minds that understand social networks and how they can be used for PR and marketing. Make sure to create a LinkedIn account, so you can directly control what people read about your experience and accomplishments.
7. Seek out opportunity. Take part and be active in campus and community events. Ask about opportunity. Talk to teachers and other mentors about different chances to branch out (performing research, becoming a TA, etc). Help others with opportunity. Share leads and look out for others; you’ll be helping a friend and maybe set yourself up for a reward one day.
Most importantly- be open to opportunity. Always be open to trying something different and always try to say yes more often than you say no. Experience in different areas can you help you more than you may ever realize. Sometimes you won’t expect an opportunity to present itself. Don’t hesitate to go after these chances. PR incorporates skills from a variety of fields, so there’s a good bet that most opportunities can be applied in a PR role.
I know it’s a little far-fetched to assume all of those responsibilities at once but as far as marketability goes, one is better than none.
By: SorryCantHaveThat on January 21, 2011
at 8:29 am
Along the lines of the above comment, I never really realized how important it is to know your audience. Of course knowing the client is always important, but knowing what type of pitch to send them is key as well. Just because you are applying for a similar position at multiple firms does not mean they all want to hear the same thing. Just like in class yesterday when we were making a pitch for Tillamook cheese, we had to look at the client we were pitching to, as well as the product we were pitching. A fun cheese tour takes on a completely different form than say a new product to the market. And, pitching to a food critic sounds a lot different than a prestigious company. However, each pitch is equally important. The points provided in the original blog post are very helpful in demonstrating this and will be very useful to me when thinking about pitching to a client.
By: sscheide on January 21, 2011
at 6:44 pm
Glad you enjoyed it, it has helped me a lot!
By: Technology is changing us on January 22, 2011
at 7:16 am