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Writing a great pitch

Guest post by: Bonnie Harris

Article Overview: Here are some tips to consider the next time you write a pitch.

Writing a great pitch

Getting to the point isn’t as easy as it sounds. So here’s a quick primer for the next time you write a pitch.

Before you write your pitch, answer these questions:

1. What do you want? Is it a guest post for their blog, a feature in the magazine, a column…most of the time people do not say what they actually want – they just talk about themselves. For the sake of this exercise, let’s say I want a book review.

2. What is one interesting thing about your product or service that will GET you what you want? In this case, I’m going to say that I have the only book about marketing written by a dog. (Okay, extreme example but it would get MY attention)

3. What gives you the credentials to get what you want? For my example, my dog has been involved in many marketing campaigns as a spokesdog. In your case, you have spent the last 10 years finetuning your product…you have 20 years experience in your field…you’re extremely attractive (this will work for TV and especially if you’re pitching Fox) You get the idea.

4. What is the next step? For our sample pitch, I would like to send a book for review consideration. In your case, perhaps you’d like to send the writer some story ideas. Or a video of yourself talking about your product or service…especially if you’re extremely attractive and pitching Fox

Now, write your pitch. Forget the flowery “I’m the best in the world” stuff. Forget the long paragraph that explains how the planetary alignments, economy over the last 10 years and Oprah Winfrey have all come together to create this moment where your book, product or service is the cosmic lightning that will change the universe. No one believes you, sorry!

For our example, my pitch would look like this:

Hello, I’m Rufus the Dog and I’m the first dog to write a book about marketing. Seriously, I’ve been the spokesdog for XXX brand for the past 10 years, and if you think marketing is a crazy business, you should try seeing it through the eyes of a dog! Plus, my owner (who helped me write it) has been a marketing specialist for the past 20 years, and has worked on major national brands such as XXX and XXX.

I would love to have you consider my book for review. May I send you a copy? Thanks so much for your consideration!

Seriously, that’s all there is to it. You can offer more background information, video clips, a book or project case study, but don’t send it with the first email. Get the media’s attention by getting to the point and knowing what you want. Once you have their attention, you can hit them with both barrels!

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Article Tags: pitching the media, small business public relations, writing a pitch



Related Forum Posts
Men and women working together - Go for the mix Julie. The guy will be able to bring a different perspective and can help connect with your customers in a different way. I would often tag team with my female partner and if it's a male customer she does the pitch, if it's a female I do the pitch and it's worked out well for us.
Pitch Like A Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succ - Pitch Like A Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succeed Ronna Lichtenberg 2005 From the inside cover: "As a woman, you probably feel uncomfortable when it comes to promoting yourself and asking for what you want." WHAT IN THE HECK IS THIS, I asked myself when I read that. Women are the fastest growing business owners in the US and Canada, there are t housands of women executives and CEOs - though not as many as might be expected, admittedly, yet the book opens with this surely out of date stereotype. However, as she continued to give examples of women who had high paying jobs but were routinely not paid as much as men because it hadn't occurred to them to ask for raises, etc., I decided it was probably true for a majority of businesswomen... Anyway, more of the info from the jacket: "Other books have told you how to get what you want by being more like a guy. Pitch Like A Girl tells you why its an advantage to be who you are and how to do better by bringing more of yourself to work." The TOC: 1. Pink and Blue 2. The Quck-dry Chapter 3. What's In your head that's not in his 4. The Me, Inc Mindset 5. Visioning: Discover What You Really Want 6. Identifying Prospects 7. Pre-pitch homework and heartwork 8. Crafting the pitch 9. Pricing the pitch 10. Packaging the pitch 11. Delivering the pitch 12. Closing Conclusion A Word to the guys The Empathy Quotient The Systemizing Quotient Bibliography And on a side note - non-fiction books without indexes - of which this is one, annoy me.
Re: What Do You Outsource Mostly? - Writing, Article Spinning, Backlinking.
Re: Will 2009 be the year you write your book? - Writing a book takes time but its sure rewarding! Thanks for the info.
Re: help wanted in u.k. - My guess is that a lot of inventors do not start with a clean slate and begin with a sales focus. I imagine many inventions sort of emerge from the problems or situations that they grapple with in their own lives. Experienced problem - invented solution - product development - demonstration and sales pitch. If the problem is common enough then I suppose that a completely satisfactory invention would have plenty of money-earning potential if it is pitched right, which is where your advice would come in. I take your point about money, but maybe passion should come first... With Brendan's boxer balls, for example, the money could follow if the demonstration and sales pitch can be perfected, but the invention itself was not FOR money per se, but developed out of a passion for boxing training - I believe!


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