2. A Concise Value-Driven Message: - The first lesson of the day is about crafting a clear, - concise and value driven message about what your startup does. - I talked to a lot of entrepreneurs who can explain what they're sort of does, - Um, - and actually make me feel a little bit interested. - So I always recommend that startups be able to fill in the blank to this sentence. - My startup is blink. - It's seems very simple, - but in the end, - entrepreneurs tend to babble on and on and on about what they're doing. - And by the end of it all, - you have no idea exactly what's going on. - So if you want to answer this question, - we'll take a look at some really great examples as well as a super bad example. - Before we get started, - though, - to tips for you one. - Cut out the jargon. - If your grandmother doesn't understand the word, - don't use it. - Secondly, - use this sentence everywhere. - There's nothing worse than having about 20 or 30 different sentences to explain your - startup. - Pick one and go with it. - Put on your website, - send it out in your pitches. - Tell everybody when you're in the elevator or when you're eating lunch or where every more - . - Use the same exact sentence. - Get people Teoh. - Understand what you're doing with just one thing. - The first example is skill. - Share their pitches. - Skill share is a community marketplace toe. - Learn anything from anyone. - Super clear, - you understand right away. - Anyone can teach anyone to learn. - Here are two more examples 1st 1 Airbnb Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for - people Toe list. - Discover and book unique spaces around the world Online or from an iPhone again, - super simple. - And I understand right away what they're doing next. - One from Lot 18 Lot 18 is a membership by invitation website for wine and epicurean - products from coveted producers at attractive discounts. - So we understand once again they're selling wines at low prices. - Who doesn't love that? - Now let's take a look at one of the worst pitches I've ever received. - Let's read. - Companies are now adopting the same level of attention to data driven design, - optimization, - engagement and monetization that their Social game counterparts are, - and many of them are winning Big Company X, - a user analytics firm based in San Francisco, - helps them to do so. - Would you be interested in learning more? - No, - I would not be interested. - This is one of the most jargon ridden pitches I've discovered in my inbox, - so I'm not interested. - In fact, - I'm just plain tired I don't want to read anymore. - I just want to delete it right away. - Make sure you don't get yourself in this category. - Try to once again cut out any drug in monetization data driven design. - What is that? - Nobody knows what you're talking about. - Cut it down. - Just answer this simple, - simple question. - My start up is a blank. - There's actually an even better formula for helping you craft your once in its pitch, - which was created by the Founder Institute. - Let's take a look. - My company insert company name is developing a defined offering to help a target audience - solve a problem with secret sauce. - For all of these blanks, - you basically need to fill in what exactly you're doing. - Let's take a look at a pitch that was created by flat Club. - My company, - Flat Club is developing an online marketplace to help students and alumni of top - universities find short term a combination by leveraging existing social networks to create - trust. - Flat Club actually won the Founder Institute's most recent pitch contest with this one - sentence pitch, - I recommend after you watch this lesson, - take 5 to 10 minutes. - Create your very own one said. - It's pitch and use it everywhere. - You'll find that you are a little clearer on what you're doing, - and when you get in front of a journalist or anyone else is trying to understand your - company, - you'll have a very clear message to deliver. 3. Know What Is Newsworthy: - As you're kicking off your PR strategies, - it's important to know what exactly is newsworthy. - Journalists get a lot of emails in their in box, - and the last thing you want to do is overwhelm them with things that are not interesting, - that they're not going to cover it anyway. - So make sure you're only pitching people when they're something interesting to say. - Some examples of newsworthy events are, - of course, - the launch of your start up the release of a new product. - Perhaps you've developed a study or you have some data to share. - Or maybe you've entered into a partnership with a well known company that could even - bolster your name. - Let's take a look at some pitches that I've received in my inbox that were successful. - The 1st 1 is a startup launch from Busy. - Let's read Busy is going to change local search by launching a busy recommendation engine - and local business census at the end of the month, - and the founder and president of Busy got a show. - Mia would like to sit down with you prior to the announcement to show you how the engine - will work. - The local business census will ask users 20 questions about the local businesses in their - area in order to gauge their preferences. - Once complete, - busy will have what it needs to provide you with the recommendation the way a friend would - in a fun and interactive way. - So far, - there have really been to tears of online local search, - yellow Pages and yelp. - In Zagat reviews, - we're moving into the third tier of predictive technology, - creating the ability to provide users and consumers with recommendations based on their - preferences. - Busies recommendations won't just be based on what your friends like a recommend, - because we don't necessarily always agree with what our friends and family like. - But Busy is unique and proprietary. - Algorithm will match your data with the best fit for you anywhere you go. - Some pieces that were particularly interesting about this pitch one. - They've offered up their CEO to come speak with me. - It's always great when you can get the entrepreneur right in the room with you to answer - all your questions in particular instead of just having a press release sent to your inbox - . - Two. - They've explained that they have a proprietary algorithm, - which makes me interested proprietary whom, - like, - let's see what this is all about. - Of course. - I want to get Gotti in the room and and drilling down on how exactly this was created. - And third big given me insight into the current local search arena and shown me where - exactly they fit into it. - So this is a great way to explain what's going on. - And it's been It's a very informative pitch. - It is a little lengthy. - I use the recommend that pitches stay within a paragraph or any less as small as you can - get it. - But in this case, - it's very informative. - Every sentence actually conveys something new, - and it cut me engaged all the way through the end. - This is a really good example. - Let's take a look at another example I saw on Twitter that you had downloaded our new APS - Northwind probe. - Hope you're enjoying it or will enjoy it on your trip to Napa and Sonoma. - I've sent some information to your counterparts that mashable in hopes of receiving some - mashable love in the form of coverage and haven't heard anything just yet. - I had luck pitching back in 2008 when I was still in college and had my own streaming music - engine streams. - E. - But this time seems a bit more challenging. - This is my first big project since I've arrived a snooze, - and I'd be forever grateful if you could consider covering the new app. - It's the first of its kind, - and we're extremely proud of it. - I've included our press release below. - In a link to find Screenshots and contest info. - Let me know if you'd like some promo codes to gift your readers again. - I appreciate your consideration. - The first thing I notice about this pitch is that he kind of knows a little bit about me. - He's done some research he's seen on Twitter that I've downloaded his app. - In fact, - I tweeted it because I was really excited about it and he knew that I was about to go test - it out in Napa and Sonoma. - This is This can come off as creepy, - but no, - it actually comes out is exciting, - and I'm really glad that he's paying attention. - I'm thinking that what he did was probably set up a search on Twitter, - potentially through a nap like hoot suite or tweet deck to stay on top of anyone who was - talking about his company. - Secondly, - he mentions his relationship to mashable and that he's sent on some information about his - company to my counterpart at Mashable. - In fact, - that's that message was actually forded onto me, - making a total of two emails in my inbox about this company that perked up my ears, - and I was already paying attention to what they were doing, - and, - in fact, - I had downloaded. - So that showed that I was interested, - and lastly, - he offered up promo codes to mashable readers. - The APP actually costs a few bucks, - maybe 99 cents at the time of its launch, - and these were promo codes for a free app. - Of course, - we would be interested in offering that up to our readers. - In the end, - I did write about this app, - and I heard from the publicist that the promo code was highly used thousands of downloads - within the first week. - So it was a success on my side and a success on their side. - Another news worthy of it is the release of a study or any data that you might have. - This is something you can get really creative about, - because in those times when you don't have AH product release or a new feature that you're - launching. - Think about other ways you can get in the press. - Maybe you have been gathering data for the past year on your users, - and you have some really interesting insights into your industry. - So here's an example of a pitch I received that was just that it's from Cuba. - It says My client, - Cubitt, - has done some research into retail websites and has come up with a list of top reasons that - people don't convert into paying customers. - We'd be more than happy to do a top ways to improve website conversion style. - Piece off the back of this if you'd be interested. - While they had initially pitched this as a guest post, - actually instead interviewed the team about the data and wrote a piece called The Top 10 - Reasons. - Your website is losing sales. - Final takeaways. - Journalists are very busy. - Don't clog their inboxes. - They don't like that. - They'll start deleting you immediately. - Make sure that you know it's newsworthy. - You already have your launch, - so I have to get past the launch. - Think about new product releases if you can come up with some data even offer up your - employees as experts. - This is These are all ways that you can find yourself interacting with journalists. - But finally remember your human and they're a human. - So just keep it real in your emails, - and we'll discuss that a little later about how toe make your pitch like actually - compelling to another human being. 4. Offer Up Unique Data: - let me emphasize just how powerful data compete. - I get a lot of pictures from startups who the product doesn't super interesting, - but they have a lot of cold data behind them, - so these actually work out really well in favor of startups. - Let's look at three examples of pieces I've written based on data from startups. - The 1st 1 is an infographic that was pissed by posting a social media management told I - wrote a piece called How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media and the Peace Did Really - Well, - with about 13,000 shares within the first week. - The next one was a study called The Social Break Up, - which was pushed to me by exact Target and email marketing services company. - I ended up writing a piece called Top Reasons Why Consumers Unsubscribe via email, - Facebook and Twitter. - And thirdly, - the company constant contact that's based out of Boston pitched me on a study they did on - Facebook user data. - I wrote a piece called How Consumers Interact With Brands on Facebook, - which also did really well when you're pitching journalists data, - try to make it as appealing as possible. - Of course, - you could always come across is dry and boring because it's date its numbers and stats. - But actually, - it's some of the most interesting stuff you can come up with. - And it's also some of the most shared content on the Web. - Think about adding a little move to it with images, - infographics pie charts, - graphs, - these air. - All great. - This is a graphic that came along with the Social Breakup study done by exact target. - It's got candy hearts. - It's got percentages. - It's colorful. - It's one of my favorite graphics that have been pushed me as of recently. - So remember, - data is super powerful. - Use it to your advantage, - and I think you'll be on your way to success. 5. Under the Journalist's Coverage Area: - before you pitch anyone, - make sure you understand who you're talking to. - Journalists are human, - too. - They are not just on email address. - They're not just the name, - the actual bona fide Homo SAPIENs. - They have feelings. - Treat them kindly for starters. - Try to avoid this sentence. - I read your recent post called X Y Z, - and I think you'd be interested in my startup. - Well, - that sounds interesting, - and it sounds like you maybe did some research on them. - At least you've read one post. - It's actually a sentence that occurs all the time, - because I think someone somewhere out there said, - Hey, - always make this your first Senate PR people. - But actually it's usually something I read like 10 to 20 times per day. - So it's not super interesting. - Mix it up and try to avoid this. - That being said, - take a look at this pitch. - That sort of sounds like that, - but comes off as a little more genuine loved your piece. - A few days ago, - I sent it around to all of my colleagues to read, - Is this a preview of your class? - I've been meaning to reach out to you because our CEO, - Ron Torossian just published his first book for immediate release, - which addresses a lot of the points you made as well as. - And the author continues to go on telling me exactly why this book is something I should - read. - So this actually came across a superhuman, - and I wanted to respond because regular human is talking to regular human. - That gets me excited. - So how do you research journalists? - You should check out a service called Mo Crack on My Mark Rock profile page. - You'll see my most recent tweets, - what publications I write for and some more details about my coverage area. - Ma Crack is actually really cool database of journalists that PR pros can use for research - . - You can actually search by publication or beat to find journalists who are a match for your - startups area. - And on the other hand, - journalists are using the service to keep in touch with others in their field and to also - get their name out there. - While you're researching a journalist, - it's also important to read some of their clips, - get an idea of what they've written about in the past what they're currently writing about - . - One service that helps you do that is content, - Lee. - Where I work, - we enable journalists to create portfolios that pull in their clips from across the Web and - which also showcased their social links and their bio. - So you can learn a lot just in these portfolios. - Once you've done all this. - Also check out their personal website. - Any blog's they may write for definitely read through their clips. - And while it's important to get on overarching grasp of what they've covered throughout - their career, - make sure you're focusing on their recent clips because journalists every now and then - changes interest areas. - There's nothing more annoying than getting an email about a piece I wrote three years ago - that the and the start up thinks that I would be super interested in their startup because - I wrote that. - But that was three years ago, - so it may not apply anymore. - So if you do find a piece like that from three years ago, - go look at their most recent archives and make sure they're still writing about that area. - Now here's a pitch I don't ever want to see. - This actually showed up in my inbox like five times within a week, - and I was like Go away. - Don't ever do this. - Let's read it. - Arch port footwear began offering the first sandals with flashlights that fit inside the - soul. - There are 20 days remaining to take advantage of this offer. - Each pair of arch port sandals arrived with a flashlight that fits into the chamber. - Located in the arch of the soul. - The flashlight is ideal for night outings during the summer, - and they continue and they continue this So this pitch sounds sales E. - It does not sound like they're trying to inform me of anything, - and I don't write about gadgets or shoes. - So this was pretty much the most off pitch that could have landed in my inbox. - Definitely. - Don't find yourself in this position. - I pretty much just deleted instantly unless you send me five and then I put you on my block - list. - Bottom line. - Understand? - The journalist that you're pitching approached them as if they were humans. - And you are human, - too. - A little interaction between the two of you is a great thing. - No need to make it complicated, - and lastly, - make sure you understand what their coverage areas you don't want to be pitching sandals to - someone who writes about social media 6. Know the Lingo: - this'll be a quick lesson about journalism lingo. - There are two words you're gonna need to know here. - Exclusive. - An embargo. - Let's take a look at the 1st 1 Exclusive and exclusive is when an author gives a - publication the right to be the 1st 1 to report on a given story. - So why would you given exclusive you give exclusives to a publication when you think that - they're the best one to be writing about this story? - Maybe it's that particular author. - Maybe it's their audience. - Maybe it's the content that really is something that fits somehow. - That's why you were given exclusive publications. - Get really excited about exclusives because it means you care. - You took a lot of time to figure out that their the right match for you. - So go ahead and throw it out there. - It may not be a win for the first time or two, - but in the end it made. - You might catch yourself, - Ah, - big publication writing about you because you've offered it up. - Let's take a look at the second word. - Embargo and embargo is a request by a source that the information or news provided by that - source not be published until a certain date or certain conditions have been met. - Embargoes air usually doled out When there's a lot of research to be done for a certain - piece, - so you, - as the source might ask of the journalist that you're talking to. - Please don't publish this until next Friday at 5 p.m. Or usually these happen in the - morning. - So please don't publish this until next Friday at 9 a.m. or midnight. - Essentially, - the embargo gives all of the reporters involved the opportunity to interview any sources at - the company that need to be interviewed or to do any backup background research that might - make the peace more interesting. - So with an exclusive you're offering the information up to one publication within a bar Go - , - you can actually offer the information to everyone. - Take note, - though, - that embargoes can be broken by journalists. - There are some publications out there who insists that they don't accept embargoes. - So do your research before you pitch a publication to make sure that cool with embargoes - and that they're trustworthy journalist that aren't gonna stab in the back that wraps that - up. - Exclusives and embargoes. - That's pretty much all the crazy lingo, - you hear if you do have any more questions as they come up, - definitely tweet me at Erica Swallow. 7. Send Awesome Emails: - a lot of pitching occurs via email, - so you're gonna have to become an email pro, - essentially to get this down. - Whatever you do, - don't send out the same message to like 200 journalists. - It comes across as lazy as if you don't care. - And it's kind of obvious if you've ever received a mass email or even text from it. - Friends. - It's very obvious when someone is sending you a massive email that is not for you. - It's just for anybody who will listen. - So don't do that. - I've actually received thousands of pitches that don't even have my name. - I've even received some that have somebody else's name. - They're like, - Hi, - Rebecca, - want us read about our start up and, - like, - I don't because you don't even know my name. - You're crazy. - Um, - I've also received pitches that say the wrong publication. - They say, - Hey, - I would like to I like you to cover us in TechCrunch. - Well, - I've never written for TechCrunch, - so that doesn't make any sense. - This is probably just a copy and pasting error, - but it doesn't look too good. - So try to minimize those. - Furthermore, - though, - some freelance writers and actually most freelance writers, - right for a number of publications. - So if you can make sure you're identifying which particular one that they write for, - you're interested in being comforted the most important lesson here today. - If you don't take away anything else, - though, - remember this subject lines are gold. - It's the first thing a journalist sees when your email pops up into their inbox, - so make sure it's compelling. - Make sure they want to click on it and read the rest of your email. - Let's look at some great subject lines that have wound up in my inbox. - The 1st 1 story building landing pages that convert. - The great thing about this subject line is that it actually sounds like a headline. - The more you can make your subject lines sound like headlines, - the easier it is for the journalists to visualize this particular story on the site that - they write for. - So do that 2nd 1 Snooze launches show Zamfir wine. - This subject line takes advantage of the fact that I probably know what Sha Zam is the - iPhone app for music discovery, - and then they compare their product to shoes. - Um, - so if it's music, - discovery is what she Sam is This one is about wine discovery. - So I'm, - you know, - easily. - I'm like, - Oh, - that's interesting Shams A great product. - This might be a great product, - but for a different area. - Third subject Headline Top tips for e Commerce Websites The reason this subject line works - is because I was working for mashable, - which is sort of known for its top 10 lists. - So this was an almost automatic fit as long as the content within the email made sense. - And here's the fourth subject line. - Exclusive performance reviews go social Infographic. - This one has a number of things working for it. - First, - it's an exclusive. - Secondly, - it's an infographic. - Those get shared like crazy on the Internet. - And third, - once again, - the subject line sounds like it could be the start to a great headline. - So obviously I click. - I read when I write. - Now let's take a look at some horrible subject lines. - 1st 1 press release for mashable dot com. - This is the least informative subject line you could ever send anyone. - It's a press release, - its for mashable. - Okay, - maybe not as bad as it could be. - The at least, - said Mash, - born there but I don't want to get press releases. - I want to get once again e mails from humans. - So ixnay on this one second press release. - Arch port sandals with flashlights in the soul Don't use all caps. - I know you're just trying to get attention, - but you don't need to do that. - And secondly, - we've already discussed this in a previous lesson. - I don't write about sandals. - This is not a fit for me. - Third Plex Toward Debuts Superfast Limited Edition SSDI This may sound Go to the person who - understands what Plex tour is and limited Edition SST But I have no idea what either of - those things are. - So I immediately just move along with my day and don't think about this one anymore. - It's gotten to me and the last one Intelligent announces social community software at W. - P. - C. - Once again, - this is way too jargon e I've never heard of this company. - I don't know what this type of product is, - and I don't know what WP C is. - So this is a definite losing situation. - Next, - make sure you have all of the assets ready that the journalist may want, - such as photos company logo's company. - Descriptions product descriptions. - Screenshots of the product in action videos. - Even if you have that, - make sure you have all of these available. - You can either attach those directly to the email, - or you can put host them on your website. - For example, - if you have the logos and screenshots and descriptions on a press page, - that always looks really nice, - just make sure whatever you're doing, - you have them around somewhere. - And secondly, - um, - when you're sending them, - don't overwhelm the journalist. - Keep it simple. - If you have a few attachments, - that's cool. - Don't give them 50 things. - Just give him the most important stuff and suggest if they're interested that you have all - the other things available for their consumption as well. - For example, - here some assets that were provided to me by snooze the wind up. - As you can see here, - they have their screenshots available for easy download. - I didn't need to create these myself, - although I did go in and play around with the app, - and they were all hosted on their website. - The publicist just linked me straight to it. - I downloaded what I needed. - It was as easy as that and lastly, - the press release. - Everybody talks about the press release. - Should I use it? - Should I not use it? - How long? - Should be? - What should I include? - Ah, - it's crazy. - Um, - my personal preference is I try to avoid press releases as much as possible, - both from the journalist side. - I don't like to see them, - and from the from the start upside, - I don't like to use them. - I like to keep my emails as friendly and informative. - It's possible I don't like to use them, - but there are cases that where they can be used, - So let's talk about a little bit. - If you are going to use a press release, - make sure it's informative. - Every sentence needs to count, - and you have to legitimately care about telling a piece of information. - Don't be sells. - E. - You're not pitching the journalists to try to make them buy your product. - You want them to cover the product, - so you are just giving them information that they can put into their reigns and decide if - they want to write about you or not. - Secondly, - keep it short. - Don't include lengthy quotes from the founder, - for example. - Good publications don't tend to use quotes directly from press releases. - On the other hand, - you can offer up your founder for an interview. - You know that that's when you get the real good quotes. - And lastly, - don't make the press release the first thing of your email. - Don't say hi, - Erica Presser loose. - Usually I recommend having 2 to 3 sentences of you know human contact and then say, - simply attached is a press release if you're interested in checking it out, - or you can copy and paste it below your email after your signature. - So it's there on hand. - You've taken the time to put it together. - Maybe you feel good inside about it and you want and you want to share with with the - journalists. - On the other hand, - if you are using it, - you don't have to always sitting along you can maybe, - you know, - say, - Hey, - I want I think you might be interested in this. - Ah, - if you would like to press release, - Here you go. - I mean, - I'll send it along. - That's another option. - If you don't use the press release, - which is my preferred mode of communication, - make sure you use that one Senate's pitch that we created early on. - That's gonna be your first sentence. - What you're or potentially your first sentence. - You could also start it off with Just saying Hello are talking about the weather. - Who knows? - Um, - make sure you include the Senate's about what your company is, - and then 2 to 3 sentences about why they should cover your company or why it makes sense - for them in particular or their publication to cover it. - So it's really simple, - really short. - Simple emails really do the job. - You don't have to give them. - You know, - 50 paragraphs about what you're doing, - all of this information altogether. - That's how you create awesome email to pitch journalists. - Good luck. 8. Tweet It Up: - If you're not already get on Twitter, - you gotta tweet it up. - All the journalists were there, - all the cool kids there, - too. - So you want to be doing it. - I have talked to a number of publicists throughout my career about they're pitching - techniques where they go to find journalists and what's worked best. - And I consistently hear Twitter, - Twitter, - Twitter. - Take a look at this quote. - This is from Nicole didn, - ah, - publicist at Pixel, - she told May in an interview a few years ago. - It's amazing to me that I get a much higher response rate when pitching reporters via - Twitter than email. - I would actually go ast's faras to say that every time I've pitched a reporter via Twitter - , - I have gotten some sort of response, - often resulting in a story for my client via email. - I have maybe a 50% response rate. - The phone car response rate would be my lowest. - So there you have it. - Twitter's awesome, - Um, - and when she says that she gets a response every time, - this is because, - actually, - with email, - most journalists don't respond to everything they usually either delete automatically. - If they're not interested, - they usually don't come back and tell you, - Hey, - this is not a fit for me because of X y Z. - They're busy. - They just get on with it. - The only time they respond typically is if they are interested in writing about you. - With Twitter, - though, - it's super short. - I mean, - it's 100 40 characters. - It's a sentence. - It doesn't hurt somebody to respond quickly back and say, - Oh, - this isn't a really good fit But thanks for talking to me. - The other thing to consider is that you don't get as many tweet. - You don't get as many at mentions from people on Twitter as you get emails. - Most of the time, - most journalists don't so they're not getting inundated on Twitter as they are in their in - box, - so you have a lot less noise to compete with. - We talked about muck rack previously, - but Mullah Crack is a great tool for finding different journalists on Twitter. - It actually started out as a list just pure lists of journalists working for particular - publications, - and now it's this huge database. - If that's not your flavor, - though, - you can always just use a simple Twitter search to find the journalist that you're - interested in. - Follow this. - Keep up with what they're saying tweet back and forth of them. - It's actually more about building relationships with these people than it is about pitching - . - So if you're consistently talking with and engaging with these journalists, - they'll remember your face when the time comes that you want to pitch them something and - you'll probably be more likely to make a connection when you do that. - And, - oh, - by the way, - added bonus, - there is the off chance that a journalist will follow you, - and maybe some random thing that you tweet will peak their interest and they'll actually - get in contact with you instead of the reverse way around. - And there you have it, - so tweet up. - Have fun. 9. Behold the Power of Reverse Pitching: - behold the power of reverse pitchy. - Wouldn't it be awesome if instead of you going out to pitch journalists, - journalists actually came to you? - Well, - there is actually a product out there that does exactly this. - It's called Herro, - and the website is help importer out dot com Journalists go to this site to pitch their - story ideas and to request certain types of interviewees. - Maybe they're looking for dog sitting experts or email marketing startups. - You name it there. - You find everything on this site as a publicist or an entrepreneur. - You can sign up for Herro and be receipt and receive all of these pitches on the other end - . - Heros sends out three newsletters every day, - email newsletters With all of these pitches in them, - you can read them and respond directly to the reporter. - Let's take a look at some stories I've written with Hero. - Most of these are lists, - as you can see, - 13 Brandon iPhone naps that enhance their company's products. - Seven unique ICO friendly company transportation alternatives. - Um, - seven Twitter marketing campaigns to learn from and how the iPad is helping businesses go - green. - Essentially, - I used heroin particular because I knew a lot of small businesses and startups are using it - . - A lot of shoestring budget companies are using and taking advantage of hero because they're - actually big publications. - Such as when I was there, - I was working for Matt Mashable, - um, - that are actually all over Herro looking for people like you. - So take advantage of reverse pitching. - You don't have to always to be the one out there pitching their they're actually - journalists looking for potentially exactly what you do. - So go check out hero and let me know how it goes. - Once again, - Twitter at Erica Swallow. - So let me tell me your success stories. 10. Final Tips for Success: final tips today, guys, we've talked a lot about PR for startups, and here are some my final pieces of advice for you as you go out on your journey towards getting coverage. One beacon sites. Journalists don't have a lot of time, and they get pitched all of the time, so make sure you're giving it to them short, sweet and to the point to have a very clear message. We talked about the one sent its pitch. It's crucial that you have that down and that you are not babbling when you send email pitches. Teoh writers and three always think like the reader. As a writer, I keep this in mind when I'm writing posts, and as someone who's pitching writers, you should think about who is on the other end of that email or phone call or tweet. Think like them. What do they want? What are they looking for? How could you make their life easier or better? Give them that in the email and you should be just fine. Bonus. Tip its conventional wisdom in the journalism world that you should always be able to convey what's the story and why should they care whether that's the reader on the other end of the article or whether that's the writer at the other end of the email box. Make sure you're getting the point across what exactly the story is, and why do I care. So after this final video, you can check out my post about the top Start a PR tips You can always find me on Twitter. If you have more questions at Erica, swallow good luck and let me know how it goes. 11. Wrap-up and Feedback Session: - Hi, - everyone. - Erica, - swallow here for the skill. - Share us rapid class wrap up in Q and A, - um so I'm gonna wait for some viewers to log on, - but I'm gonna send out a quick message. - Um, - so, - yes, - I'm just gonna put on pause for a second. - - All - right? - Hey, - they were first year. - Are yea America Justin on email so that everyone knows we're here. - I'm excited to share some of my favorite projects from the class. - We had 31 projects submitted. - I just finished them. - Actually, - one came in about 10 minutes ago. - Didn't get to that one, - but I will check it out later. - Um what? - Samer for the church. - Who is here, - by the way? - There's one of you here wondering who's a lucky student is was joining me. - Does that come on on on the Internet? - Well, - I guess I could, - um I guess I could do a little because it could get started with some of my favorite - pitches. - Basically, - what we're gonna do here is go over some of the best once in its pitches and email pitches - from the class. - So, - um, - I guess I'll start by, - um showcasing some of my favorite one pitch once in his pitches. - Ah, - I have four noted here. - Um, - so I'm gonna share my screen and, - ah, - go over to skilled shares website and we can get started by checking out, - um, - checking out these cool pitches. - So, - um, - the 1st 1 is from me. - We I really like this pitch because it's very easy. - Understand? - Um, - and it's a really cool idea. - Somalis, - once in its pitch, - was merely is the first comparison site that helps purpose driven travelers find, - book and rate their perfect volunteerism package and also enables them to crowd fund their - selected cause. - Really, - the idea of volunteerism. - First of all, - um, - and also very clear what they dio. - I did suggest a little bit of an edit. - Um, - I have right here. - So I would add a little bit to make it a little used or a little more user friendly, - so we would have me. - We is the first travel booking site that helps purpose driven travelers find book and rate - their perfect volunteerism package while also enabling them to crown crowd fund their - selected cause. - So this is Ah. - So hello. - So, - um, - I really like that pitch? - Um, - a very good job to the team over Emilie. - The product hasn't yet launched there, - about six months from actually watching. - But there have a great start If you guys have a chance to check out the mealy press kit, - Um, - it is on the projects tab. - I would recommend checking out their product video, - which I believe was about 30 seconds. - 30 to 40 seconds on. - Also a very good thing, - too, - um, - to attach along with, - uh, - with your with a pitch. - Okay. - Second, - we have urban sake dot com on screen share, - you know? - All right, - it's gonna be interesting finding these. - Uh, - all right, - All right, - here we go. - The one thing it's pitch from urban sake dot com is as follows. - My company, - urban socket dot com offers a full service sucking appreciation program that will help - anyone discover and more fully enjoy Japanese sake. - A using unique and fun in person and online sake tasting seminars. - So not only did I like, - um, - the once in its pitch here, - I asked I felt that the the email pitch was particularly good. - So I'll read through this quickly and read with me. - Um, - it's just will be first. - Dear Erica, - I enrolled in your January 14 to 17 skill share, - not comp Last getting pressed on a tight budget and sincerely enjoyed your presentation. - I really learned a lot during your lecture and you mentioned that you really enjoy wine and - I was wondering if you had ever have you ever had a chance to try premium Japanese? - Suck it. - I am a stock, - a educator living in New York City and my company, - urban sake dot com offers a full service sake appreciation program that will help anyone - discover and more fully enjoy stock a using unique and fun in person and online sake - tasting seminars. - Then he goes on, - Uhm uh, - for another paragraph. - And then, - since you were such a great teacher for me and getting press on a tight budget, - I hope I can welcome you to one of my sock a seminar someday. - If you enjoy, - it may be of interest to your wine loving readers as well. - Thanks and come pie, - which means cheers and Japanese does Timothy Sullivan. - So I really enjoyed this pitch because first of all, - um, - he in the first paragraph establish establishes his relationship in the world to me. - He has taken my class. - So this is good. - If you hadn't taken my class, - you could have done a number of other things. - Such as, - um, - discuss. - Um, - well, - he kind of did that, - actually. - So, - um, - he says during your lecture, - you mentioned you enjoy wine. - Um, - have you ever tried sock A? - But that information would have been easily discoverable on the Internet to because I - talked about that, - um, - and write about wine, - actually quite produce sickly. - So, - um, - he's at that going on for him, - and he puts his one sentence pitch right here. - Um, - after his ah, - after getting started his email and making sure that I understand who he is and, - you know, - kind of worrying me up a little. - He introduces a start up, - um, - and then, - uh, - explains a little more and ends with, - um what he hopes to get out of this. - And he adds a nice little, - um, - like personality by saying camp I and he teaches me something, - so I've automatically gotten something out of his email here. - So wonderful job, - Timothy. - Great job. - Hey, - to anyone who has recently joined us. - We're right now going over the one sentence pitches that were submitted as projects on the - school share class on getting pressed on a tight budget. - I just went over me. - We and urban socket dot com, - which were both great. - You could find them on the projects tab, - but, - um, - I have two more to share on the on the sentences. - Does anyone have any questions? - If you do, - you can type them into the chat, - which, - if you look on, - uh, - detective in a chat. - Or I guess you guys are in YouTube. - So, - um see here. - Oh, - interesting. - So do, - um. - All right, - well, - all right there. - I'm not going out. - If you're in the Google hangouts, - you can type it into the chat. - Um, - which is on the left hand side Chats in the right hands that beefed it enabled chat on the - left hand side. - Let me know if you have questions. - You can also, - um, - ask questions the skill share. - So that's an option as well. - I guess I will just continue onward. - Though We had one submission through from Web economy of music, - and actually the only thing they submitted was a sentence just once in its but it was - actually really good. - Have to find it. - I haven't really zoomed in here three years. - I can hear you are. - Oh, - oh, - he added information. - OK, - okay. - At first. - All right. - Chad has added extra instrument information. - Um, - but at first he only had a sentence, - but I really liked it. - And that's actually pretty unique. - It's along just a one sentence and it be interesting enough for me toe or any writer to - learn more. - So he said right here. - Basically, - this was what a Senate's was. - This Web Academy of Music is a video based online music school that offers private lessons - your video exchange to help busy people learn an instrument. - I haven't read the rest of his pitch yet, - but I thought that that was a really good idea. - And it's very easy, - understand? - And it's one of those ideas where you immediately say, - uh, - you immediately kind of say, - like, - Oh, - wow, - ah ha! - Like that is an obvious idea. - Online music lessons. - So great job to chat and his team on that sentence. - Very good job. - And, - um, - let's see, - my last my last one for the Senate is is from Meet your Makers. - I'm gonna share that one. - All right. - Once again, - this one was just also a sentence, - but it was actually a nice one. - And so kudos to Valerie. - She says my company, - meet your makers is developing a series of weekly markets and an accompanying website to - help small creative businesses who engaged in sustainable practices to gain mainstream - exposure and increased direct cells. - So this is, - um, - that that particular product sounds like it could be interest of anyone who's into - sustainable products. - Um, - also the idea of meeting your makers, - I think the the name itself is very good at portraying what the company does. - So I think that first of all you Jonah Berger branding. - Secondly, - awesome job on the on the Senate's um congratulations. - So me, - we urban sake dot com Web Academy of Music and meet your makers. - You guys were the most appealing one sentence pitches. - Um, - from the projects. - Um, - so now we're gonna move on to email catches, - and I have three outlined, - uh, - because well, - see that the top of the first to really know how to engage a person there, - right? - Personal and, - uh, - interesting to the reader. - Me, - eso I'm gonna start with Ah, - just because. - Okay, - so the 1st 1 that I thought did a really great job of the email pitch was just because - Syreeta Gates, - um, - she hears her pitch. - Um, - just there's only one thing that I would take out of it, - but here we go. - This is just because first, - excellent day, - Erica. - First and foremost, - I would like to thank you for the work and innovation you are committed to treat creating - in the world. - Because of your dedication, - you continue to inspire me. - And I appreciate you. - Thank you. - I am writing to let you know that I recently completed a brand new book called Just Because - Ah Ha Moments To inspire the Next Generation of Change makers. - It's about social entrepreneurship for millennials. - They want to change the world. - It's written by 33 contributors of the millennial generation and some really cool adults - because there is no text written by us speaking directly to us. - The reason I created just because it's simple it is exactly what I needed when I created my - first social venture, - the S W T life at 17 years old just because has been in the works for the past two years. - And as the market er Seth Godin says it is time for me to finally ship. - This book will be released in February 2013. - The reason I'm writing you is to ask if you'd be interested in either a partnering to - create content geared towards your audience or be allow allowing me or any of the - contributors to write a guest post. - And then she includes a blurb about her book Ends s Here's the website Thank you in advance - . - Ingratitude. - Serena Gates. - So they're only there's tooth. - There are two things I would change about this pitch. - First, - I would take out the Blur because it doesn't really go with the flow of the email. - But ah, - it is. - It could be interesting toe have so I would recommend copying, - pacing it be low, - that email if she was interested in adding a little extra information or obviously this is - probably on the website and she could say, - if you're interested in learning more and click off to the press page or the about page. - Secondly, - the sentence where she discusses what she's interested in, - she says she'd be. - She'd like to partner with me to create content geared towards my audience or allow her or - any of the contributors to write a guest post. - This sounds a little, - uh, - this sounds a little awkward because usually you would only be contacting a writer for one - of these two reasons. - Um, - you either one thing to write about your book or you want them to let you guess Post. - So there two things as a here first, - that's how about guest posting? - Yes. - Forming. - Um, - there. - I'm not sure what the senator of writers actually have guessed writers on their blog's. - It's a personal blogger or or ah, - professional blogged. - But I actually haven't ever had a guest writer on any of my blog's, - so it doesn't make sense to ask me about guess writing. - I would recommend if you're interested in guest writing for a particular blob that you - Onley approach that blood and have a very concrete reason for why you one of the best block - . - But otherwise you should only be contacting. - Uh, - if you're reaching out for press, - you should really only focus on the press part. - Hey, - do you would you be interested in a copy of my book? - Um, - in advance of the release and in order for you to review it and interview me if you have - any, - um, - any questions for the more that kind of stuff. - Um, - so keep that in mind. - You either are picturing make sure you're only preaching one thing. - They your even asking them if they would be interested in writing about you or if they - would be up for having us a guest blogger. - And if you are thinking about guest blogging, - make sure that they have actually, - they actually have guest bloggers on their blood. - And secondly, - make sure that, - um uh, - well, - I lost my train of thought. - They have best blockers. - Oh, - and make sure you include reasoning behind. - Why it is that you want to guess right on their block. - And you would need to prove that you're a good writer, - obviously. - So you might want these in link off to some of your recent posts and, - uh, - link up to your re suppose as well as give a topic a topic. - Um, - basically, - you actually have to pitch your own subject. - So if you want to guess blood with someone, - you have to say, - Hey, - I'd like to guess blood with you. - Here's the topic I'd like to write about and hear some previous post or clips that showcase - it on. - Actually, - good writer. - To keep all of that in mind With that, - we're moving on to our second email pitch that I found really, - really nice. - And interestingly enough, - both of these don't really go with what I had previously what I usually teach, - which is to keep it short between 2 to 5 sentences. - But these air kind of like I think that these are exceptions because they deal really well - with communicating their very good communicators. - And they're very personalized emails. - So that further do let's head over to the leaves of trees. - Um, - pitch. - It's gonna be a second. - Well, - one second. - All right, - here we are. - Um, - I may Yeah. - I'm gonna leave some of this out, - but, - um, - but here we go. - Leaves of trees, - you know, - bitch. - Hey, - Erica, - I follow your block, - and I know that for a while you have been trying to move towards using all natural personal - care products so I thought that you might be interested in the company, - which I recently watched. - My company Leaves of Trees offers a line of luxury personal care products which are - handmade fair trading, - all natural to help people who want to make healthy and socially responsible choices. - But the product which they use but who aren't willing to sacrifice style and find quality. - The packaging is minimally reactive, - you reusable or recyclable and labels air individually, - screen printed by hand. - I make all the products in small batches and screen print all the labels myself by hand. - My background and chemical engineering and medicine are and my interest in craft and design - or what make my products special. - I would describe my line as modern, - a pocket apothecary in craft Wait, - a modern concrete with a pinch of Morocco and other exotic flavors. - Many of my products are actually based on unrefined organic argon oil, - which I get from a woman's rapidity cork cooperative in Morocco. - This oil moisturizes without leaving you feel great, - leaving you feeling greasy, - and it's full of antioxidants to reduce the skin damage caused by free radicals. - A lot of people also find argan oil really helpful in getting rid of characterises pill - arses. - I only use national natural ingredients, - so artificial frequencies, - colors observes. - And I never use any of the following bad actors, - and then she has listed there. - I have attached photos of some of my products. - You can check out my website that leaves the trees that calm. - I would love for you to try my stuff. - Please contact me with your mealy address so that I can send you some complimentary samples - and or if you have any questions or want to find out more about my products, - I'm also happy to provide you with a discount code for your readers to use. - That leaves the trees that come. - And thanks so much. - We still share class Ruhi, - and then she has her contact information and very beautiful photos. - I must say we have one here of lip balm. - Rosen, - part of, - um um, - didn't we have the organ oil? - Um, - shaving well, - And a lavender goat milk. - Uh, - honey, - so all very beautiful and, - uh, - nicely put together, - uh, - some of I think it puts, - um, - I'm gonna scroll down to the comments. - Uh, - so when I said you're Okay, - um, - switching back to video here. - So, - essentially, - I think that was a wonderful pitch for mostly beauty bloggers and, - uh, - like natural product bloggers. - However, - room he did a great job of talking specifically to me because she mentioned, - um, - my ongoing interest in going completely all natural, - which is true. - And actually, - I was like, - Hey, - how did she know that? - And then she mentioned a skin condition that I actually have and wrote about, - um, - it's kind of, - uh it's or that I assume I have, - because I have obviously have these bumps on my arm since birth. - Ah, - number of, - uh, - a sizable percentage of people have them. - So she mentions that the argon oil actually helps out with that. - Um, - so, - yeah, - I was pretty impressed with that. - It is a little lengthier than I would recommend, - but for the right people, - especially those who are really, - really, - really into details with on after a products, - I think it's a perfect, - um, - a perfect pitch. - And lastly, - I want to give feedback. - Um, - there was one more that I thought there was one more pitch they thought was really pretty - good, - but that I wanted to use that as an example of how to strengthen a subject line of your e - mails from this chairman screen. - Uh, - here it is OK. - D r o c d r o c. - So first, - I'm gonna go ahead and read you that once in its pitch because it's pretty good. - Duroc is a youth leadership program in power empowering high school students in West - contract Contra Costa County, - California toe actively change their community by reducing youth access to alcohol and - other drugs. - Today you have it. - And what I wanted to show you here was I really liked how she included her, - um, - the story of the subject line that she would put on her emails because, - like I said in the class is very this subject line is very important. - It is the first thing that a, - um that a reader sees so her several Linus story D r o c. - Youth passed new alcohol ordinance in Richmond. - So it's a good start. - I like that she has the word story, - for example, - or story Idea is actually, - in my opinion, - a better raised to use just in the writer knows. - Oh, - here's a story idea, - etcetera. - Story also works. - Of course. - However, - I'm assuming that D. - R. - O. - C. - Is not a really popular. - Uh, - it's not an acronym that anyone knows. - And I'm assuming for the people listening here. - If I said, - Oh, - do you know about zero? - See, - you probably wouldn't know. - I'm talking about so and And since that's the case, - it's not like a Coca Cola, - for example, - or a wall march like really well known names. - It's not one of those, - so make sure you don't lead with it because you automatically confused People also don't - use words that your average sixth grader, - for example, - wouldn't understand. - Like ordinance. - That is, - not, - um, - something that's like very user friendly and reading. - So I remember. - Let's see, - I had recommended just a quick change. - For example, - This may not be particularly awesome yet, - but it's at least more palatable and understandable. - So I said, - Richmond students seek to change alcohol law. - I could definitely see that printing in a local newspaper. - Um, - um, - you know, - in Richmond, - So that is, - and there are other ways to write this. - But what I'm saying here is that it's much easier to understand go with double lines that - are more more of this nature. - So those are my favorite, - um, - favorite ones. - I'm arm the sense of out I'm on the fence about which I want to, - but feature on my personal blackberry coastal dot com Um, - I mentioned that to incentivize people to create their press kits for the project. - So, - like, - we had discussed at least one, - um, - at least one once in its pitch and one evil pitch will be highlighted on my bog. - I will post that in the coming week. - I'm not quite sure, - but most likely it will be from one of the companies that I, - um, - talked about on this wrap up broad test. - So, - um, - keep your eyes peeled and I'll send out a message once that goes live. - But go ahead and continue to submit your projects because I'm still watching and still - commenting, - giving feedback. - And if something else mawr interesting pops up on my current favorite picks, - then you will still be in the running. - I will probably start, - um, - finalizing and, - uh, - finalizing all my, - uh, - my thoughts of this weekend. - So get your projects in by then. - Um, - but I'll have to say. - I have to say you based a really great job on your projects. - Really proud of you. - Thank you for being a part of the class. - And I look forward to see you guys, - um, - in the classroom on the ah, - the discussion boards and in the projects tab discussing each other's projects have already - seen a lot of that conversation going back and forth and see some really great ideas and - suggestions. - So keep that coming, - and I look forward to hearing from you and seeing all of your final projects completed and - you guys out there getting pressed, - definitely let me know as you start to get press, - um, - thin those my way. - Post him in the cost room, - uh, - in the projects tab update your project loves know how it went and without not further do - that is the wrap up of our class. - So thank you for being a part. - I'll see you guys around on the Internet.