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10 communication things every entrepreneur must know

by at 8:16 pm 1 Comment

guitar in bar in CCIt’s been 4,745 days of being self-employed.  In April, 2001, I started my PR and communications company.   

A few years ago, my accountant, who is also self-employed, shared his definition of an entrepreneur:

“I am a self-employed individual working for a lunatic.”

As I mark this proud milestone, I have taken time to reflect on the entrepreneurial roller coaster I have ridden.

Here are 10 communication tactics every small business owner must know:

1. You must know how to sell. Too many people decide to hang their shingle out only to learn they don’t know bubkus about sales. Entrepreneurs must be diligent at developing the self-confidence, attitude,   discipline, and perseverance to ask people to hand over their hard-earned money.

 2. You must live the ‘publish or perish’ mentality. In my pre-blogging days, I wrote bylined articles for trade publications and membership newsletters. Early on, I landed a spot as a columnist for the Princeton (NJ) Business Journal. I generated content and built my credibility. My volunteer gig lasted more than two years, and ended when the paper merged with another publication.   

 3. You must be willing to speak in public. You were brave enough to launch a small business. There’s no time for being shy or nervous. Partner with a networking group to be the guest expert at a meeting, conference, or webinar. You’ll be front and center with dozens of potential prospects interested in your topic. Beats cold-calling.  

 4. You must be able to validate others.  Validation is an acknowledgement that the other person (your prospect or client) is being heard. Validation is proof that you are listening. For example:  “I can imagine that the loss of your vendor has been difficult.”  

 5. You must know how to ask for what you need.  No one expects you to know everything. That’s why there are contact lists, databases, and rolodexes filled with names of people who can provide products and services to you. Get rid of this self-induced pressure and be willing to speak up. Asking for help is a sign of a true leader.

 6. You must be able to identify your ideal customers. This is accomplished by self-communication. Ask yourself: Who do I enjoy working with? What niche am I passionate about? Who needs my expertise? Do these people have the budget or resources to pay me?

 7. You must have thick skin. People can be awfully mean. They say crap that’s not helpful or positive. Entrepreneurs are so fully vested in their own businesses that it’s hard not to take things personally. Don’t take the BS to heart.

8. You must communicate patience when educating people. Clients do business with you because you offer a valuable product or service that they want or need.  You, on the other hand, are entrenched in your niche or business and will have to slow down to educate those who don’t know all the ins and outs like you do.

 9. You must develop charisma. Charisma is that special charm or personality trait that draws people to you. Self-confidence, along with a friendly and easy demeanor, will take you a long way in business.

 10. You must be willing to reinvent yourself. Chances are you are planning to be self-employed for a long time. Businesses and people change. It’s a given. How can you effectively communicate changes in your messages and direction, without alienating people?

Cheers to the brave small business owners around the world! What have you learned along the journey?

Filed Under: Business, Communication, customer service, Marketing, Public Relations, sales, Success Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Entrepreneurs: 4 ways to use press releases for publicity

by at 9:52 pm 3 Comments

car 003One of the most confusing parts of a small business owner’s marketing plan is the press release. While virtually all entrepreneurs understand that marketing and publicity are essential to business success, how and when to write a press release is baffling.

In the social media landscape, many wonder if press releases are still relevant. As a former radio news reporter and news director, I say, yes they are relevant. But ONLY when used to announce something that’s newsworthy. 

Therein lies the confusion. How do you know what’s newsworthy? What do reporters and bloggers look for and cover?

Here are four press release strategies for small business owners:

1.      Avoid self-promotion. Remember that in the word “newsworthy” is the word “new.” When writing a press release or a pitch, be sure you have a fresh angle on a story, trend, or issue. Your announcement must be timely, relevant, and compelling to the public. It must fit with the reporter’s niche or demographic. Sales pitches are for the advertising department, not the newsroom. Hire a PR coach or read books on how to write and frame your story. Many of my blog posts cover this topic. Discover how you can help reporters and editors. The key is to build relationships and become a trusted resource. Before you begin writing a press release, ask yourself, “Who cares?” If your announcement doesn’t impact the public, you’re on the wrong path.

 2.      Keep your news antennae up. News is about people. People love great stories. You have great stories right under your nose but you’re busy running your graphic design company, staffing firm, or retail shop. And of course you’re consumed with learning social media. Take your ear buds out and pay attention to what’s happening around you.  What trends can you comment on? Is your company celebrating an anniversary? Have you recently expanded or gotten a small business grant? How have you helped a client to succeed? Do you have an interesting hobby or talent that’s out of the ordinary?

3.      Think multimedia. Reporters expect to see more than words; they want images, action, and video. They want to hear something. Have you considered using a flip cam to record your press release or pitch? These tools allow the reporter to get to know you by hearing you explain your story and watching your body language. Think about how a Pinterest board can visually tell your story. We live in a creative space. Stand out by inviting news decision makers to connect with you on an exciting and deeper level.

4.      Write tip-sheet style releases. To build your credibility, help people solve their problems. Position yourself as the expert in your industry. People have a pain and you have the medicine that will ease their discomfort. The tip-sheet format (like this list) is effective because it’s reader-friendly in our crazy, busy world.  The bullet points allow readers to skim the content and glean nuggets of information. Our cognitive bandwidth is more limited than ever. Brief tips are usually appreciated. 

Once you have a few press releases, think about how you can repurpose them into blog posts, short video clips, and content for e-zines. Minor tweaks to the format can easily create new content and marketing pieces.    

The bottom line: Your presence affects your prosperity. Don’t be the best-kept secret!

PS: If you want lots of tips like the ones above, you’ll want to see this! Hot off the Press: My new Kindle book, The Badass Book of Social Media and Business Communication.  It’s packed with hundreds of pointers and strategies on PR, news interviews, pitches, writing, blogging, and social media.

Filed Under: Business trends, media, PR, Press releases, Public Relations, publicity, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

10 PR stars reveal secrets for social media success in 2013

by at 4:25 pm 13 Comments

Seats at a tableWant to kick-start your social media optimization in 2013? Of course you do. 

I asked 10 distinguished PR and social media pros to share their views on how it can be done. 

Here are their responses, with my appreciation for their insights!

Margo Mateas, Founder, The PR Trainer:  “PR pros need to remember to take time to become part of the communities they want to reach, and not just engage in ‘driveby’ social media. It only takes a second to ‘Like’ someone else’s post or to leave a supportive comment. This strengthens trust and makes it more likely for them reciprocate the next time you’re promoting something.”

Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO, Pure Performance Communications:  “Take the best of your communications past into 2013; your ethics, accountability, critical thinking and great communications skills. At the same time, be open to different types of engagement through social media, by experimenting and embracing new technology to build stronger relationships with stakeholders. You need to be 10 steps ahead to counsel senior executives about the changing media landscape, and on the same page with savvy, wired consumers to understand their preferences and to better serve their needs.”  

Brad Phillips, Mr. Media Training, author, The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview: “Few public relations professionals can keep up with all of the new social networking sites that seem to pop up on a monthly basis. So as a New Year’s resolution, PR pros should try to familiarize themselves with each of the platforms—and then commit to participating in the one that is most likely to help them reach their audiences and accomplish their goals.” 

Amy D. Howell, CEO, Howell Marketing Strategies, LLC:  “Our firm will be measuring how the social posts are driving more traffic to client websites and how that is helping their SEO. We have completed upgrades to client websites to include integration of social platforms.”  

Jeff Domansky, The PR Coach & Principal, Peak Communications: ”I’m excited about 2013. It will be the year of the ‘visual.’ Whether you’re storytelling, blogging, content marketing, doing media relations or social PR, great pics and video will drive your success. And everything you do better work on mobile, too.”

Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs: “Focus less on what you think you ‘have’ to do to maintain a social presence. Focus more on what is meaningful for your brand.”

Stacey Acevero, Social Media Manager, Vocus/PRWeb: “Think about social media as a book, or a timeline of the story of your business. But it’s not storytelling, it’s telling a true story well–so write social media posts that inspire conversation, share thoughts and real outcomes that resonate with your audience. Be less ‘braggy’ and involve the insights of others in your PR story.”

Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound: ”Recycle your content, create it in multiple formats, and share it on the social media sites. Example: Take a how-to blog post and turn it into an MP3, and then a video (record yourself offering 3 tips from the article), and then a slideshow for LinkedIn, and then a series of photos for a Pinterest board. Note to self: Do this in 2013 and stop creating content from scratch!”   

Michael Cherenson,  APR, Executive VP, Success Communications Group; 2009, Chair and CEO, PRSA: “Social media is public relations and today’s professionals, to better serve their clients and help advance their own careers, need to invest in training and learn how to re-learn the art of communications. Every public relations professional must become an active participant, native to various social media platforms. And PR pros need to recognize Google’s algorithm is now one of our most important publics; your content needs to entice your audience and Google’s search engine.”

Shonali Burke, Principal, Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc.:  “I see far too many PR pros functioning in a bubble. Offline, they live and work in the bubble of the agency world, and online they don’t interact with people from different industries and walks of life. One of the best things about social media is the way it can connect you with just about anyone else in the world who is using that platform. It’s amazing what we can learn from people so very different from us. So as we embark on 2013, let’s rediscover what makes social media so wonderful-the ability to converse with literally just about anyone.”

Which piece of advice will you be focusing on in 2013?

Filed Under: Branding, Business, Online Marketing, PR, Public Relations, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

11 news and PR memories from 9/11

by at 12:03 pm 2 Comments

On September 11, 2001, my PR company had just marked its first anniversary. 

I had been working on client accounts from my home office in central New Jersey, just 45 minutes from the World Trade Center. 

The Towers were amazing; I had worked in Tower No. 2 after graduating from college.  

And then the unthinkable. 

These are 11 news and PR-related events that happened on or after that clear, sunny morning that I reflect on today:  

1.  TV and radio broadcast antennae on top of the towers knocked major NY/NJ stations off the air. People were asking what happened to the damn Emergency Broadcast System warnings. 

2. One of my clients was scheduled to host their annual networking party on the rooftop of the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick. Close to 1,000 people were expected that night. The organizer called me at 11 a.m. wondering if we should postpone the party until the following evening. My thought: There’s no way in hell I’ll be on any rooftop tonight. As we began to grasp the enormity of the events, the networking party was rescheduled for October. 

3. Another client, a commuter ferry service that runs between the Jersey Shore and New York City, had several boats in the water when the planes hit. They were among the first on the scene to bring people out of lower Manhattan to NJ. Later that day, the ferries were transporting volunteers and emergency responders from New Jersey to New York.  They also brought medical supplies, water, food, and other items that businesses had donated. 

4. Novice PR reps were trying to call news outlets in the tristate area to pitch stories. Any clues this was not a routine day and the phone lines would be better served with emergency calls?

5. When the WTC towers fell, a WCBS radio news reporter covering the carnage at Ground Zero was running down the street with her tape recorder. She was unsure if she was working a story or trying to save her own life. In the pandemonium, she was thrown under a parked car and briefly lost consciousness. When she came to, she remembers clutching her black, Marantz tape recorder. 

6. For days and weeks after 9/11, the only pitches and stories reporters listened to had to be related to the terrorist attacks. There was no other news. Period.

7. I was doing PR for a local United Way chapter. Months after the attacks, one of the most difficult stories that transpired was that of experienced social workers, therapists, and religious leaders who were so emotionally consumed with counseling and supporting survivors and their families, that they too, needed professional help. But who could they turn to? No one had been trained for this.  

8. When I picked up my kids at their elementary school on 9/11, they were puzzled because they didn’t have any doctor appointments or advance notice that we had to go somewhere. At the time, they didn’t know that I simply needed them home with me. They watched goofy videos for most of the day. When they wanted to switch to the TV, I panicked. No mother wants her children to see this.  

9. When the cell phone lines allowed, my husband Andrew was able to randomly call me. His office in midtown Manhattan had been evacuated, and because he worked in IT and disaster recovery, offsite backups were the priority. After the tech part was complete, Andrew went to donate blood. He was shell-shocked after watching the planes fly into the World Trade Center. When he arrived at a midtown hospital to give blood, a TV reporter told him there were no injured people inside. No need for blood donations. There weren’t any survivors being brought in to the triage. Andrew finally got home from the City at 10 p.m.

10. The night of 9/11, one of my neighbors was standing on his front porch smoking a cigarette. He had worked at the World Trade Center and had gone downstairs for a smoke. He was interviewed by the media who reported how a cigarette saved a man’s life. 

11. A guy I knew from high school and later reconnected with in our new community of East Brunswick, worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He was killed on 9/11. Two of his three children went to school with my kids. His wife would go on to be one of the four “Jersey Girls” who demanded that government officials in Washington, D.C. investigate how the terrorist attacks may have been prevented. 

On September 11, 2001, so many reporters and news professionals I had worked with and knew were covering chaos.  There was no Twitter or citizen journalism.

Today, we remember the innocent people who were killed on 9/11.  

Their faces and lives are the stories. Never forget.

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, PR, Public Relations Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

7 ways to communicate like an Olympic star

by at 4:40 pm Leave a Comment

Opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics take place in London this week.

What traits do athletes competing in the 2012 games need to bring home the gold? 

Determination, focus, drive, motivation, and a competitive will to win are the qualities that come to mind.  

Successful professionals have developed these same attributes as well.

Here are quotes from seven Olympic medalists about their experiences. Their insights apply to each of us.  

 1. “When I race my mind is full of doubts: Who will finish second, who will finish third?”-  Noureddine Morceli, Algerian athlete, 1996 Summer Olympics

 Communications tip: Self-talk is the most important communication you will ever have. It determines your success or your mediocrity.

 2. “It was my favorite memory of all competitive events, because it was brand new and it was exciting.” – Scott Hamilton, American figure skater, 1984 Winter Olympics

 Communications tip: Develop your creativity. Notice that Hamilton didn’t say the games were notable because they were boring and stale. Instead, he goes for thrilling.  

 3.  “When we stage the Olympics it will inspire kids all over the country. A kid in Scotland or Ireland will be encouraged to take up sport.”- Daley Thompson, British decathlete, 2-time winner at the Olympics

 Communications tip: Set the stage for success and inspiration. The ‘stage’ is your website, blog, videos, pins, e-mail marketing and news pitches.  

 4. “A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.” Jesse Owens, 1936 Summer Olympics

 Communications tip: Clear your mind of idle chatter and be in the moment.

 5. “I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.”- Mia Hamm, American soccer player, 2004 Summer Olympics

 Communications tip: In your PR and marketing campaigns, be sure you know the precise time to light the match. This applies to public speaking and blogging, too.  

 6.  ”Never put an age limit on your dreams.” –Dara Torres, Olympic swimming champion

Communications tip: You can reinvent yourself and your brand. You can learn new technology and ways to do things. Don’t believe me? Get out of your own way and see what happens.  

7. “Nobody needs to prove to anybody what they’re worthy of, just the person that they look at in the mirror. That’s the only person you need to answer to.”- Picabo Street, former Olympic alpine skiing champion

Communications tip: If you’re communicating weakness instead of worthiness, it’s time to make changes.  

Olympians are committed to going the extra mile.  Are you?

Filed Under: Branding, Communication, Public Relations, Self-Confidence, Social Media, Success Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Crisis communications from the grave: The Joe Paterno debacle

by at 11:45 am Leave a Comment

Managing a crisis, especially in a high-profile story, is no easy task for PR and branding experts. It’s challenging, visible, and often causes heads to roll. 

I bet you haven’t done damage control for a dead person.  

There are telltale signs the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno’s brand has gone to hell in a hand basket, even from the grave.

Here are five reasons branding and PR pros would run from this one…and fast. 

1. The scathing report from an independent investigation led by Judge Louis Freeh reveals Paterno and other Penn State leaders ”repeatedly concealed critical facts” about the cover-up of child sex abuse allegations made by former Assistant Football Coach Jerry Sandusky. 

2. Debate continues if a bronze statue of the now disgraced and deceased coach should go. 

3. A huge mural titled “Inspiration” near the Penn State campus features ‘JoePa’ with a halo painted above his head. Many want Paterno’s face painted over, but the artist maintains he has no intention of doing that (he did paint over the halo).  The artist says Paterno will always be a part of Penn State’s story.    

4. Months before the story explodes, the coach nails a $5.5 million contract, including the forgiveness of loans, the use of hydrotherapy equipment for his wife (really??!!), and access to a stadium box for his family for the next 25 years. Use of a private plane had been part of previous contracts, so that remained unchanged. 

5.   Nike has announced it will remove Joe Paterno’s name from the company’s child care center in Beaverton, Ore. 

 Is Joe Paterno better off dead? 

 

Filed Under: Crisis Communication, media, News, Public Relations Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Not good with numbers? PR pros need to figure it out!

by at 2:02 pm 3 Comments

This is a guest post written by Gini Dietrich.

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago when a junior member of the client’s marketing team was asked to tell us the company’s goals, as they relate to the things we’re trying to accomplish.

Her response? 

I have to look at my notes. I’m not good with numbers.

This is something I hear a lot: I went into PR/marketing/communications because I don’t like numbers. 

And it’s no wonder. We’ve always gotten away with “measuring” our results in terms of media impressions, reach, and advertising equivalencies. After all, it’s hard to quantify brand awareness and credibility and reputation and thought leadership. You know whether or not you have it, but you can’t really put it in terms of numbers.

And those great big impression numbers? They feel good to a CEO who is looking for some way to show a return on your efforts.

But when the Web disrupted our industry we slowly began to see new and interesting ways to measure our efforts. Early on we looked at using unique URLs in our news releases and different 800 numbers at our events, but that wasn’t enough.

Running away from numbers

The Web has provided us a huge opportunity to measure our results directly to business goals, yet most of us still shy away.

Why? Because we don’t like numbers.

We’d like you to think about it differently. Call it data or information or goodies or, heck, call it chocolate. Just don’t call it numbers.

It’s fun to see results from your efforts…and now you have the opportunity to see them every day.

Start small. One of the things we discuss in Marketing in the Round is using a benchmark of zero as your first step. Find something — one campaign, one event, one project — and create the benchmarks, the dashboard, and the data points you’ll measure. Think beyond traffic and pageviews and bounce rate. Really think about what the goals are of the business and how you can affect change in those areas.

Three things to look for

For instance, in a for-profit business, you’ll want to look for ways to increase revenues, shorten the sales cycle, or improve margins. If you don’t know what all three of those things mean, go make friends with someone in the accounting department and learn it. Quickly.

Let’s use Pinterest as an example. It’s really easy to set up some boards and direct people back to your website or blog that way. Arment Dietrich has a client - Frank and Eileen - that makes high-end men’s and women’s shirts. The team created a Pinterest board for them, just to test and see what kinds of results could be achieved by pinning images of some of their shirts.

After only one month, Pinterest is the number eight referral source of traffic to the Frank and Eileen site. But remember we said to worry less about traffic and more on business results. So dig further. Pinterest sent three percent new visitors in April. Of that three percent, 83 percent bought a shirt. That represents $2,670 in new revenue for the business.

Other than the 83 percent who bought the shirt, all of the data for that particular test came from Google analytics (which are free!). The client also provides access to the e-commerce site, which shares the information needed to find out how many of the visitors from Pinterest bought a shirt.

This is a very simple way to look at measurement, but it gives you a starting point. Once you get this down, you can begin to advance and become more sophisticated in your measurement.

Companies that fully understand how they are being talked about and what levers work online can use this data to make informed future marketing decisions.  Also, strategic intelligence gleaned from measurement can help uncover new opportunities for products and services.

Your clients or executive team will be ecstatic to finally have a real ROI on your efforts.

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communication firm. She also is the founder of the professional development site for PR and marketing pros, Spin Sucks Pro, blogger at Spin Sucks, and co-author of Marketing in the Round.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Business, Metrics, Public Relations, sales Tagged With: , , , , ,

3 reasons real PR pros won’t be pitching news stories today

by at 4:52 am 2 Comments

All eyes are on Washington, D.C.  today, and the media will be running around in circles. More so than usual.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rules on President Obama’s controversial healthcare reform. And Attorney General Eric Holder could be held in contempt of Congress. Both issues have politicians crossing party lines. Emotions and accusations are flying.

Then factor in the Colorado fires and Tropical Storm Debby. Oh, and Ann Curry is reportedly leaving her post at NBC today. To boot, Robbie from “My Three Sons”  has died. And it’s only Thursday.

Any PR rep worth their salt knows that unless they can clearly connect their client to any of these big stories (minus Robbie), with a NEW and fresh angle that’s not self-serving, they must step aside.

Don’t even bother trying to get someone’s attention in a newsroom. Why? 

  1. Your reputation will be shot to hell and reporters will remember you for a long, long time. And not in a good way. Pitching a routine story that’s not linked to any of the breaking news we expect today makes you more than a newsroom pest.
  2.  Most reporters routinely consider PR people “interruptions” as they try to get their work done and meet deadlines.  When pitching a self-serving story that fails to connect with today’s bigger picture, you are cementing the fact that you’re clueless about newsroom culture and the unpredictable cycles of breaking and developing news.
  3.  There are live and taped feeds, freshening up new details, video, sound bites, press conferences, rumors and major deadlines. Stand clear and allow the reporters to deal with the dog-and-pony shows on Capitol Hill.

And who knows what else can happen in the midst of the healthcare ruling and the horrific fires? A crazed shooter in a shopping mall, a plane crash, a deranged kidnapping. Greece wins the lottery? Maybe even a nice story will surface.

Allow the dust to settle, reactions to come in, and post-interviews to be conducted. Your turn will come.

In the aftermath, you may discover one of your clients does indeed have a direct link to a new development and would be a strong source for a follow-up. The fall-out from these stories will linger for many days and months to come.  This is your time to get creative. Watch closely and know when to act.

For today, do some research, write a blog post, close a sale, network, and clean up outdated computer files.

Translation: This can save your esteemed reputation.

Try explaining that to a client…

Filed Under: Journalism, media, News, Public Relations Tagged With: , , , , , ,

5 media lessons I learned from Penn State

by at 7:03 am 3 Comments

I didn’t graduate from Penn State. In fact, I’ve never even been on the campus.

But in the last few days, that school has provided me with many news, PR, and communication lessons. 

In the wake of the disgusting allegations of an ongoing child-sex scandal and the subsequent firings of football coach Joe Paterno and president Graham Spanier, I offer my own observations. Disclaimer: I am the mother of two children. I’m a former radio news reporter and news director. I’ve covered hundreds of press conferences and many crisis communications trainings.

1. The old adage, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question” clearly did not apply to Wednesday night’s press conference. 

2.  Every Penn State student resorting to violence and protesting the firing of Joe Paterno should be tossed out of the school. In this case, college does not equal smart. This is the stuff that is not contained in textbooks. Anywhere.  

3. Paterno’s arrogant statement on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the season only proves that power often brings an exaggerated sense of self-confidence and a shortage of humility.  

4. Did the PR staff at Penn State help craft this gem or did Joe Paterno wordsmith this on his own?  “Victims or whatever they want to say.” After he was fired, he urged people to “pray for the victims.” 

5.  Board of Trustees’ Vice Chairman John Surma ran the press conference announcing the firings. He may be criticized for his “PR answers” but he gets high marks from me. Surma kept his cool under extreme pressure on live TV and social media channels. He refused to be unwillingly dragged into responses and dialogue that could have turned ugly (and libelous.) He revealed little or no emotion or personal opinions. As one commentator said after the press conference, “This was a business decision.”  Surma refused to speculate on what other people knew or thought (good prep from counsel, I bet). He put an end to the madness with the standard, “Just two more questions, please.”  And he adhered to the crisis media training message, “You are the zookeeper and they (reporters) are the animals.” John Surma controlled the message he was sent to deliver. 

One final observation: Football does not trump the safety of children or any human being. Ever.

Filed Under: Communication, Crisis Communication, Leadership, media, Public Relations, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

10 ways to create your best news pitch ever

by at 2:35 am 8 Comments

Words wield power.

If you’re trying (desperately) to get the attention of news reporters and bloggers, you know the magic lies in your writing. Don’t discount the writing with the excuse that your pitch contains video and multimedia platforms. Remember: You probably have a script or outline when recording a video segment. Infographics, slide shows, and charts require strong copy,  too. 

Here are 10 ways to create your best news pitch by simply focusing on your word choice. 

1. Be sure that every word in every single sentence adds to your pitch and story. There’s no time to waste with irrelevant words and phrases.

2. Be sure that every word and every sentence builds on the one before it. This ensures a logical flow to your writing. There’s no room for confusion. 

3. Be sure that you rewrite and edit several times before hitting send. I’ve been writing news for 26 years. No one is so good that he or she can send a pitch or press release without at least one round of edits.

4. Be sure to use words that connect with emotions.  The psychology of your word choice is intertwined with your intended outcome. What do you want the recipient to do? How do you want that person to feel? Do the emotions behind your words compel the recipient to hit the reply button and ask for more information? Or have you left him or her hanging? Don’t write for the mind; write for the heart.

5. Be sure your visuals, which contain limited words and phrases, are the best combination for your small design space. You’ll likely find yourself searching for synonyms and short words that easily drive your message.  

6. Be sure keywords are included in subject lines and headlines. They will jump off the page or screen to pique the interest of a reporter or blogger. 

7. Be sure to read often. Voracious readers are often skillful writers. 

8. Be sure your language hits on topics and “sweet spots” of the people you are pitching. Show them that you understand what’s relevant to them.

9. Be sure to consider your pitch a work of art. Choose your words with the utmost care and precision. You can’t rush creativity. It will take time. Do you think Michelangelo or Shakespeare were hasty in fashioning their masterpieces?  

10. Be sure to avoid jargon and rhetoric. If your pitch is full of it, go back and review Nos. 1 to 9. 

In the end, you must be proud of the pitch you’ve created. After all, your name is on it. And if you don’t love your pitch, chances are the reporters won’t either.

Filed Under: Communication, media, News, Public Relations, Writing Tagged With: , , , , ,
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