Welcome to day one of Pitch, Publicity, Profit!
You can do two things:
1. Watch the video below by clicking on it.
2. Read the text below.
Whatever you choose, please make sure to check out the pitch example written below. This is a real example from one of my media mentoring clients that ended in TV coverage in a top 30 market.
Now, let’s get to it!
If you want to get media coverage without paying for it, make sure your pitch stands out and makes a journalist, editor, booker, or podcast host jump at the chance to feature you.
There is a lot under the PR umbrella. One of my favorites and in my opinion the most important is media relations – this is EARNING coverage in the media. Not paying for it.
When you watch the news or pick up a newspaper to read what’s in it, a lot of that coverage is earned. Now, there are many things that look earned but are actually advertisements. That’s because people are not paying attention to traditional ads like they used to, but it’s still possible to earn plenty of media coverage without spending a dime.
Here’s an example from one of my media mentoring clients, a dietitian with a food blog named Crystal. Two days after sending a pitch to a local TV station in San Diego, she was on live TV for a five-minute segment promoting her expertise – reaching tens of thousands of moms in her market.
Before we even started pitching, we talked about her big goal. It was to get more moms in her area to turn into clients. So, we knew we were going to stay in the San Diego area and target outlets that moms were watching, reading, or listening to.
Before you pitch, it’s important to zero in on your goal because you don’t want to waste a lot of time trying to get in front of people who will not help you achieve those goals. While media coverage is very exciting, you want to be sure you’re not getting it for the sake of getting it, but you’re pitching, then getting the publicity to profit.
Not only will being clear on this goal help your pitch land with more success, but it also helps you write your pitch.
Now, let’s go back to Crystal as an example. She is in my media mentoring program with includes me working with her on pitches and revising pitches as well. I’m going to share the pitch and touch on the specifics of it, so you can see what your pitch needs.
Here it is:
As we approach our back-to-school season, I’d love to come in and share visual tips and tricks for parents who may be preparing lunches for their picky eaters, including:
1. Nutritious Foods Kids will like to eat: How to get creative with packing lunches and types of nutritious foods to include that kids will actually eat at school.
2. Become adventurous: How to help picky eaters branch out from the few foods they like to eat
3. Maximize meals at home: How to optimize nutrition before and after school when kids return home with a full-lunch box
Because over 20% of school-aged children can be classified as picky, or selective, eaters, this can cause considerable stress for parents, especially when sending their picky eaters back to school.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that picky eating can cause social anxiety and is a burdensome problem that many kids will carry into adulthood if not properly treated.
I am a local Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Crystal Karges Nutrition, specializing in child feeding with a local private practice dedicated to making eating easier for parents and enjoyable for kids.
Would you like to schedule an interview in time for the back-to-school season? I can be reached at *her phone number* or by email at *her email*.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
This pitch:
- is timely and gives the media a reason to do the story NOW
- is targeted to an audience the media outlet serves
- gives the producer an idea of what it will look like at air time and mentions making it visual which is great for TV
- has a proven newsworthy element that shows there is a problem and you have a solution
- shows you are an expert in your industry and the perfect person to work
- has contact information in a phone number and an email address
You have your goal and you’ve developed your pitch. Now, it’s time to turn that pitch into publicity. We will go over all of that in video two.
So now, I want you to do three things:
- Set your goal on why you want this publicity
- Find ONE local journalist who serves the audience you want to reach
- Write a pitch just like the one outlined in this video that includes all the newsworthy elements we discussed.
Yes, I’d like for you to do all of this by tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will get into the second P – PUBLICITY!
