Public Relations 101: Pitch Your Brand and Get Noticed!

1. Introduction: Hi, I'm Liz Fleming, personal branding and digital marketing strategist, and I'm so excited that you're here to learn all about public relations and how to make it work for your business. I'm going to be teaching you technical techniques inside this course to help you get your brand featured locally and nationally, whether it's in print, broadcast or beyond digital. I've spent 10 years working with clients, big and small, and in that time have gotten my clients featured by the likes of The New York Times, the Huffington Post, the Today Show and many more. And inside this course, I'm gonna teach you how you can do the same. You'll learn how to write a pitch. You'll learn how to prepare your business for press. You'll learn how to find the right people to get your message in front of and how to track your progress along the way. Now this is a really thorough process. There is a lot going on inside this course, but I promise you it is also so valuable. I am teaching you the strategies that I know work that I've employed for years, and I'm so excited to teach them to you as well. We'll go over case studies. Examples. You'll get a ton of templates, help you write an awesome pitch of your own and build your own media tlhis so you'll find all of those right in the resource is have a soon as you enroll. And of course, I'll be available to answer any questions that you may have throughout the course. So please don't be shy. I cannot wait to see you inside this course. It's so, so much fun. I had a great time putting it together, and I'm really excited to share it with you so that you can take your business to the next level. I'll see you inside. 2. Key Terms and Concepts: welcome to Module one, and you're still share training all about how to obtain press coverage for your business. This is great for entrepreneurs and small business owners who feel like they are ready to take that leap in terms of their growth and capitalize on an untapped market that they maybe haven't even tried before. And this module we're gonna be talking all about the why which includes key terms, concepts and the overall essentials of public relations and why they're mission critical. For business owners like you. There's so many opportunities if you have the proper tools right in front of you to take advantage of so first off key terms and concepts, there's three I want to cover public relations, advertising and marketing. And that's because oftentimes each of these terms gets confused for one another, or there some misleading information out there. So I want to make sure that we are on the exact same page Now. Public relations is all about earned media coverage. Now there's a lot more that goes into public relations, but in terms of press outreach and media coverage, we're talking earned so free, free, free, developing relationships organically with press writers producers as a means to earn exposure. Advertising on the flip side is paid coverage. So your investing actual dollars in exchange for a desired placement, you have a bit more control there and then finally, marketing that could be free or paid. But it's essentially how a messages communicated strategically over time. And what's great about public relations is that when you know what to dio and how to make it work for your business, that pairs perfectly with your marketing strategies. So in this training, we're going to learn all about public relations, outreach, press outreach, earned media coverage and, again, how you can make it work for you and your business. So what is media coverage now? You've probably heard these terms before, but I want to run through them and make sure that you have a clear idea of each. So the different mediums in terms of media, our print digital in broadcast, so your print newspapers, your print magazines, your digital blog's and new sites and then broadcast TV and radio. The list pretty much goes on from there, and then each one of these mediums operates on water called lead times. So how quickly. It takes them to produce content and turn it around in terms of how their schedule works out. We'll cover that more and the leader module, so stay tuned. And then again, each one of these mediums has different production styles. So with print newspapers and magazines, you'll see feature articles, highlights, profiles, editorials, how twos informative pieces. And then in terms of broadcast and digital production, you may see flogs and podcasts. So the list really goes on, Which is great for you because there are so many opportunities for you to grasp and pitch yourself and your products and services so you have more chances of getting featured than you even thought possible. So why PR? Why is this important for you and your business? Why should you start thinking about it in the first place? While it is an extremely cost effective way to attract customers, gain credibility and profit at scale. Think about it. If your product gets featured in a national magazine like glamour or shape our everyday with Rachel right, and that publication has millions of readers monthly, and on top of that, they have millions of subscribers and followers on social media That's a lot of people that your products could potentially be exposed to, which, for you means making more money in the long run. So that is why PR is essential and why you should start thinking about it for your business . And I'm gonna show you exactly how so. Are you ready for this? We're going to dive even deeper. And the remaining modules, you're gonna learn all about how to pitch, what a pitch even is who to pitch and how to get your message out there and how to prepare your business overall. And once you know these techniques, you'll see how well they can complement your marketing strategies and your other promotional efforts. But I'll warn you, while good things take time, great things take work. This is not a quick fix for your business to get featured nationally or even the locally. It takes time. We're talking about developing relationships as a means to produce a desired result. So stick with me and the next module we're gonna be talking about the art of the pitch, what it is and how you can write one that sticks out 3. The Anatomy of the Media Pitch: welcome to module to and this module we're learning all about the what? So what is a strong pitch and how you can write one that rocks The anatomy of a pitch starts with a few sentences. Now, when I say pitch here, I am referring to email pitching, so we're not picking up the phone and fold, calling people to try and sell our products and get them featured. There is an authentic and responsible and appropriate friendly way to get your stuff featured by the press by developing relationships with them via email. So a strong pitch is 3 to 5 sentence personalized message. Think about it as you're writing to a friend and you're providing them with helpful information that you think they should know about. And the core goal of a pitch is that it presents one appropriate topic theme or angle for them to consider, and it has a timely focus, and it provides essential details. But you don't want to write a story book of content. You just want to give them high level, hard hitting items, so bullets are a great way to go in terms of email pitching. Give them the most important stuff right off the bat and get them something to click on and read and scroll through, so they're more inclined to reply now. A strong pitch includes an enticing subject line. This is really important. Make sure that you give them something to click on in the first place. You are going to be one message of thousands that come into their inbox, So a surefire way to stick out is by giving them an authentic fun. Subjects live to click on and then you want. Like I said, 3 to 57 says of relevant content. So you're pitching your product or a service or a new event, something that's a bit timely so that again they are inclined to want to write about it. It has to be relevant to them and their readership. And then, lastly, a call to action. Ask them. Would you be interested in learning more? Can I provide you with samples for consideration? And we'll go more into that here in the next slide? I'm gonna give you guys a few examples, so if you are sitting at your desk right now and you're thinking, Gosh, there's so many things that I could pitch, but I don't know where to start. Nothing is timely, a great way to start developing relationships with the media. It's to just say hello and send them an introductory pitch. So here we have an example, and this is one that I have sent before for myself and on behalf of clients, and it works. So the subject line here is hoping to connect possible resource and then in the pitch content itself. You always have a greeting, and you address them by their first name. You have to know them, and you have to go out of your way to find that information if you want it to be meaningful . And if you want to get your message across, it's respectful. So I typically would say good morning name and then leading into the pitch itself. I hope this message finds you well. My name is Liz, and I own a company called Elizabeth Fleming dot com. We are X, so you provide a brief business description. Now that first sentence provides so much information right off the bat, right? Who you are, what you dio and why it's kind of important. And then next sentence as the title for Blank. So you're addressing them by their title and their media outlet name. I thought you may be interested in learning more about what we have in store or you congest se X product or service, especially as you begin planning out your content four and then address the time of year. So this is a great way for putting seasonality into your pitch and timeliness. Okay, make it sound like it's current and often times it should be. You don't want to pitch a product that launched like 10 years ago. Unless, there's, say, an anniversary special addition of it. That's more timely. So you really want to think about products and services that are current and relevant to this person and their viewers and the readers. And then, if you wrap all of that up with I, we recently launched Blank. Like I said, You you keep it timely, which I think your audience would be excited to hear about again keeping their audience top of mind. And then, finally, the call to action. Is there any chance we can touch base for a few minutes? Sometimes soon I'd love to share more info about what we have to offer here at your business name and learn more about how you can possibly team up to support one another and then always a send off, Thank you and signing your name lists. So this is a great example of an introductory pitch. Um, I've included both of the example pitches that I'm sharing in this module as a handout for you linked below. Now another example. This is a more advanced pitch style, so this is if you know absolutely for sure what you're pitching and you have a goal and you're ready to get started by sending it off. So this is a pitch that I wrote when I represented a tea company many years ago. This pitch resulted in placements all across the board. It appeared in Shape magazine. It appeared in the Huffington Post. It appeared, and a lot of gift guides okay, which are typically seen in print magazines towards the end of the year. They tell you what you should think about buying for the holidays, so my subject line was falling for tea. So right there, that's an enticing subject line. It doesn't say. Read my email by my T. It doesn't say you may like this if consider using plays on words that will work for some some writers and some producers, but not all of them. A lot of them just want to cut right to the point. But I like to have fun with my subject lines because it shows that I put the effort in to write my pitch, and I care about getting this message in front of them. So that's something that you really want to consider. Now I'll read this one to you and again refer to it in your hand out section Links below so high name As fall approaches, Blank is delighted to announce the return of its seasonal fall blends pumpkin, spice and apple tea, which just became available. There's the timeliness. Each T offers a comforting aroma and taste, which pairs perfectly with the crisp atmosphere of the new season. Pumpkin spice tea, a blend of riel, pumpkin flavor and of terminal spices, is a cozy choice for false sipping. Apple Tia caffeine free blend of cinnamon apple include will warm you up on a cool fall night. Thes limited edition seasonal blends are helpful and delightful ways. Toe Welcome fall. We've loved to send you some samples to enjoy. As you begin planning your fall editorial any interest in giving them a try? Thanks, Lis. So you can see how a pitch of this style while its advanced it is specific. It's to the point that presents one topic one steam. It has seasonality and timeliness and a sense of urgency. I'm offering up samples, and if they want to give them a try and they're on a deadline, they'll reply back now, in the next module, we're gonna learn all about the who so relationship building who didn't even send these pitches to and hopes that they get red and they move forward and transform into stories and media coverage, so stay tuned more soon. 4. Developing Relationships with the Press: Hey, welcome to Module three. You're doing great in this module. We're gonna be learning about the who who you should be sending those awesome pitches to and selecting the best connections for that pitch that you worked so hard to write. So remember, selecting the who is about how well you know each of your mediums. So your print your digital, your broadcast and later module we're gonna be talking about list building. So exactly how to create a wish list of these media contacts and wearing how to find them. But in terms of who to even look for in the first place, you want to consider your medium. So with print, you want to think about the different types and titles. There's an editor in chief. Typically, there's a creative or art director designers, photo editor, proofreaders, copy editors, production managers and then, of course, department editors and writers. This is just a summary of the ones that I've come across most frequently. I'm sure there's more in terms of print, you're gonna want to look out for those department editors and writers. So with Prince specifically newspapers and magazines both short and long, lead time again which will cover in a bit. They have different departments, so their sports. Typically there's food, lifestyle, current events, features The list again goes on. So you're really gonna want to look out for those specific writers as it pertains to the material that you're pitching. You wouldn't want to pitch a sports writer something about food unless there was a connection there. So that is how you're going to know exactly who to look out for. And what's tricky is finding these folks. It's not always easy. You're gonna have to dig, and I'll give you some key techniques for that and the next module. But in terms of the who, you want to consider what's relevant, finding the people who are most likely to open up that email. And that doesn't mean it's the highest person on the food chain like the editor in chief, because they're probably not working on the stories right there, working on the higher strategies you're gonna want to again. Look at those department writers, those who are working to create the specific stories to keep that publication alive and well. So think of it as a case by case basis. Your pitching individuals that media outlets that are relevant to your offer and what you're providing them. And that is across the spectrum, not just with print. So that's journalist producers, freelance writers and bloggers. So with broadcast, you're typically going to be pitching producers again. Associate producers are who I typically look out for, and then freelance writers. Usually they'll have their own websites, which you can look on and again. We'll cover that in a bit. And bloggers, usually that's themselves creating the contents of. So there are different ways to find all of these folks, and I'm gonna show you how, over in the next module, get ready. 5. Lead Times and Pitching: welcome to module for where we're gonna learn all about the when I want to dive into this before we go deeper into the house. So you have a full scope understanding of how all of this comes together. And the wen plays a huge role in who you look for and what your pitch content should even be about. So we're gonna be learning about lead times and how to plan for them. Now. I mentioned this and module one. This is where I'm giving you more details. So lead times. It's the time between the initiation and completion of a production process, and these vary by media type. So there are short and long lead times now. Shortly time could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days to a few weeks that it takes for outlets to turn content around. And typically, this includes daily newspapers, online radio and television. Depending on the subject matter and the urgency of it and then Longley time. It can be anywhere from 2 to 6 plus months for outlets to turn a story around, and typically, this is print magazines and other monthly publications because it takes longer for them to produce the content and get it ready for print at scale. So if you think about a print magazine, it's a bit thicker than your daily newspaper, and it's a bit more glamorous and glossy. And there's color, right? So there are so many other design elements that go into planning for that style of medium than it does for something that's on a short lead time production rate. Now lead times will help you determine when to best pitch your content, so going back to the tea if you offer a line of tease. The whole collection of teas and some of your teas are floral, and some of them are really good cozy ones for fall. Then you're gonna want to pitch those types of teas at different times of year. So the floral lighter tease you're gonna want a pitch in the spring and the darker, cozier teas that, or maybe incorporating some spices and herbs. You'd want a pitch in the winter months, and depending on the lead time of the outlet that you're seeking to pitch, you want to make sure that you're sending your pitch far enough in advance to meet their deadlines so that it has a chance of your pitch getting opened and the content and the relationship moving forward. So, for example, if I am pitching a faulty, I would want a pitch. Send that pitch probably six plus months in advance, knowing that it's right about the time where they're going to start looking for end of year content and products. So you really have to think long term, even if you're thinking of pitching shortly Time outlets. You have to see which products come into play where, as you work to craft your pitch and see if you are even prepared enough with enough product to pitch it out. If it were to get featured now, there are a bunch of different lead times for different styles of mediums. Well, there's two types of lead times that I know, but for a different collection of mediums, so monthly newspapers work on the long lead time, typically 4 to 8 weeks to turn stories around, and this is just a knave ridge. Based on my experience, it could be shorter. It could be longer, probably a bit longer, but 4 to 8 weeks is right around that sweet spot. Daily newspapers are shortly time you're working anywhere from one day to a few days or a couple weeks in advance. So you really want to be mindful that what you're pitching two daily newspapers is relevant . You don't want to pitch them when there's a breaking news day. You want to try and pitch them on slower news days, your content so that you have to be really strategic about and then weekly newspapers typically or short lead time. They work anywhere from 1 to 3 plus weeks to turn content around. Magazines like I mentioned are long lead time, long, long, long lead time now, usually 3 to 6 plus months. Some are even nine and upwards of 12 plus, so they're accounting for foreseeable trends in the future. And they're trying to plan out their designs and all of their content structure and get their staff on the right stories, and they're looking for relevant content. So this is something to be really mindful of. Like I said, I know what you're pitching is being pitches far enough in advance. If you're pitching toe long lead, time out. Let's at least 3 to 6 months television. Super Shortly time, depending on the style, so a morning shows lead Time may be a bit longer than a nightly news shows. Lead time is because 90 nightly News typically shares more of the current breaking news morning shows due to a degree. But if you think about the Today show, for example, they have a ton of different segments. Kathie Lee and Hoda. That segment might have a bit of a longer lead time than the first story that appears first thing in the morning on the Today show, so you can see how the stories are on the subject matter are segmented out based on the level of urgency and importance. Online news sites are definitely shortly time again. This differentiates from bloggers, and I'll get into that in a second. But your online news sites can be. For example, magazines may have online websites right and newspapers may have websites, and they may publish quicker news to their websites instead of waiting to rent it in the paper. If it's more urgent, and that can fluctuate, too, if they get a really awesome pitch on a subject that they don't have time to print, then it's probably likely that they're going to put it on their website. So they work shortly 10 anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks in advance to turn a story around again . That's an average. And then we get into blocks, which are longer lead time, because this is due to the amount of content that usually one blogger is working on. And that may involve collaborations, getting interviews, taking photos, designing and writing the content all themselves. And it's dependent on the frequency. Some bloggers published 10 posted day because that is their lifestyle that they've chosen right. It brings them their business, and that's what they like to do. Other bloggers may publish a little less so depending on that frequency is what's going to determine their lead times. And that's usually 2 to 6 plus months in advance to plan coverage and then, lastly, podcasts and radio. Those air, usually short lead time radio more so work anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks in advance to 2 to 3 days in advance, depending on the urgency of the subject matter. Radio shows are sometimes segmented like morning shows, so the most urgent content on the front end and Then, as the day progresses or the program progresses, it gets a little more intense. So podcast. So I did want to mention because they are on the up and up and there are so many new styles of that because of how popular their becoming. So some people run their podcast where it's just them talking, talking about a topic. Whereas others may go out of their way to do interviews every other day or every week. They need more content, which means they're lead times are a bit longer. Okay, So again, you really want to know your outlets in order to determine how to plan to communicate with them. And we're gonna dive way deeper now into the next module. The how I'm going to show you how to do all of this stuff that we've learned about so far. 6. Develop Your Ideal Media List: welcome to Module five, where we're finally gonna learn about the how so how to create your media list and how to find all of those people that you would love to get your pitch in front of and how to expand the relationships so that their fruitful long term it all comes down to what I've dean with the three R's research read and reach out. So the first step here is researching to find the right people to even put on your media list what makes sense for your business. And then you need to read and explore their work in order to pitch them appropriately. You have to be familiar with the content that they curate and then finally reach out and connect. That's when you finally get to send your pitch. Now earning media coverage comes down to your ability. Teoh Develop and nurture relationships. You're not a robot. Remember that there are two people behind the screen, you and the person that you're sending your message to your pitch and the most respectful, appropriate. An authentic way to get your message scene is to go out of your way to do the research in advance if you go in pitching in the blind and what you're writing is not at all applicable to the person on the receiving end. Well, a lot of red flags, we're going to go up and you could get blacklisted, which is terrifying. All of these folks in the press, in the media Ah, lot of them have, Ah, really tight network. A lot of them know one another, and it would really sink if you didn't get opportunities to be in other publications because you didn't do your research on that one. So you don't wanna be generating a bad reputation for yourself with the media. So going out of your way to do your research in advance before you prepare anything is really going to pay off. So the first step in finding those folks that you would love to pitch you were appropriate for you and your business is to start small by creating a media wish list. So if you were to think about where you would love your business or your products and your services or yourself to be featured, what would that look like? Is it on the television? Is it in a print magazine or newspaper, is it? National isn't local? Those are the things you want to think about. Maybe there's a publication that you love to read. Like for me. I love Success magazine, Entrepreneur and Forbes. I would love to be featured in those publications someday, so they are on my media wish list, and I read them, and I'm familiar with them because it's a natural interest. So for you, you're gonna have to go out of your way for those media wish list items to get to know them a bit better get to know their staff and the writers who worked so hard to curate content and create content. So visit the publication's website. Pick up copies of the publication if it's in print. If its broadcast listen to the radio shows, watched the TV segment. You can go to your local bookstore and or a library to pick up a lot of past issues of magazines and newspapers. You can listen to sound bites. A recent episodes of podcasts or vlogs again watch video clips of read blog's, follow the outlets, social media profiles and follow the writers on social media, too. I'll have to say that when it comes to media coverage and where the press love to hang out online, it's gotta be Twitter, and I'll get into that. But that is an ideal way to get to know your media before you pitch them. Step two, it goes in line with us. The research phase. But reading material from the publications and from the appropriate Kurt curator is to determine their styles. What did they write on most frequently? What beats what themes and taking know of who you could potentially pitch to. So, for example, with magazines and those department writers that I mentioned, there could be multiple writers per department. But each writer does something differently. So you want to make sure that you're targeting the right folks based on the content that you're pitching. And then finally, Step three is reaching out to connects. So you're going to be looking for email addresses and social media handles for the appropriate writers, bloggers and producers. This again is where Twitter becomes your best friend because a lot of news sites, magazines, newspapers, radio shows, broadcasts they don't list specific staff emails on their websites. Some of them do. Some of them don't. So instead of feeling like you have to pitch a general email address, go the next step further. If you know the name of the staff writer who is perfect for your pitch, see if they're on Twitter and I guarantee you that in their profile they'll have a way for you to connect with them one on one. That doesn't necessarily mean direct messaging them, but often times A lot of these writers and curators have website portfolios of their own that have personal email addresses and to them. If you find that email address, it shows that you did your research. You went the extra mile to read their content and get to know where they are, what they like and how they do their jobs. Definitely put in the research When you start creating your media list. Read as much material. Watch listen to as much material as you can as it makes sense for your media wish lists and then reach out and connect. And doing it in this way will help you really tailor your pitches so that there's more specificity. It will help you with your timeliness. It will help you with your themes. All of that really comes into play. So in terms of list formats, the simplest way to create a media list is going to be an excel. Or in Google sheets, you can make columns that have the outlet, the type, the contact, email address, phone number, website, social media links, all of that, a note section I love to have. So I know where I've left off. I even color code mine because I'm a super nerd and it helps me understand where I'm at in my process of pitching. Red on my list means I've pitched and they're not interested. So I've taken them off my list. But I know maybe there's someone else at that outlet who would be interested. That lets me know how it can continue my search. Yellow on my media list tells me that I have sent the pitch and there is some interest. I at least got a response, which is huge again. I make notes a color code, and then green on my list means that a story has come to fruition. It's been printed. It's been Link Teoh. I have that as proof again in my notes section, so I've created I've given you actually, my immediate list format. I've linked it here below with skill share. You can use it for yourself. Modify it, however you would like. But this is a really straightforward format, and it's helped me stay so organized when it comes to media pitching, even for myself. So give it a try. And if you have any questions, definitely let me know in the comments. This is the trickiest part of this lesson. Is taking the time to research, read and reach out. But the more time that you put into it, the bigger the payoff will be. You just have to be patient and take your time and getting to know these other humans that are out there who want to get to know you, too. 7. Expand Relationships: Welcome to Module six. We're going to talk a bit more about how to expand on those relationships that you're creating. Once you start pitching now, I'll be honest. Once you send your pitch to all those folks on your list, you're probably gonna hear crickets because the likelihood that someone is going to read your first pitch is very low. That is why the follow up is so important, and there's a very unique way to go about doing this. So in your original email that you sent your pitch with it should have been sent to one person. So you're not sending your pitch to 500 people in one. Email your Nazi seeing them all, we're sending our pitches one by one because that's the right way to do it. It's the respectful way to do it. So when you send one pitch and you don't hear back after a week, I usually say between 7 to 10 days you're gonna want to send your first follow up, and instead of sending a new email, you're gonna want to hit, reply all and then paste in your follow up message. This increases the likelihood that someone will finally click and open your email. And the reason is because in your subject line, your email will automatically populate the Are the in the colon before your subject line. So in someone's inbox, if they see this, they'll think to themselves. Oh, I haven't seen that email come through. Maybe I already have a conversation going on with them versus if you were to just send Ah, follow up or the pitch again in a new email. You just be shooting yourself in the foot. So this method really helps you move this process along a bit further. Now I found that often times it takes anywhere from 2 to 3 follow ups on top of your original pitch to get a response. That's just how it iss thes people. Like I said, get thousands of emails from people like you and me and other big businesses across the world every single second of the day. Really stick to these techniques if you want to do this right and remember, when you send your follow ups even after the 1st 1 you want to do the reply all method again. For every follow up again, it will keep showing that R E colon before your subject line, and that's a trigger for those who see it in their in box. If you follow up and you never hear a response, it's safe to say that either the email address didn't work. It bounced or they're just not interested. And oftentimes, if press is not interested in what you have to offer, they don't always respond. Sometimes they dio most times they don't. So at that point, if you've pitched and you've sent 2 to 3 follow ups and haven't heard anything, I'd probably go ahead and take that person off your list and find someone new to replace them with and start again. And then what if you send your pitching your follow ups and someone responds, Glory be celebrate, because if that response is positive and they want to move forward, this is huge. This rarely happens. Okay, so I know it feels like the pressure is on, and you've spent all this time writing a pitch, writing your follow ups and sending the content on Lee to get a couple responses. That's totally normal. So what happens now? It's dependent on the deadline's they're working with oftentimes that's pretty darn quick. Turnaround things that people will typically ask for if you're pitching them products is a sample of the product. So if you want to get your products featured in a magazine or a print publication or even on television, you should send a sample, so you have to make sure that your capacity for this before you even pitch, said product. And we'll get into that in the later module. Now, sometimes, actually, most times when a media individual replies to an email with interest, they're working on such a quick turnaround that they'll just ask for high resolution photos of said product and, you know, a blurb. Er additional information about it. They may even want to hop on the phone. They may request an interview with you. So these are all things that you're gonna want to keep in mind as you work to prepare your business for pitching. And if there's anything that I can recommend when you hear yes is to act fast, that shows them that you care that you're on it. But make sure that you're thoughtful about it because you don't want to seem like you're all over the place in your rec. So really be mindful of how you respond and when do you respond if you get that initial response from the media individual. So once you start pitching, you're gonna have to start tracking your progress as well. And that's like I said in my media wish list, I color code, but that can kind of get a little confusing. So I provided here in the projects and resource is section what's called a pipeline spreadsheet, and that's a great way to track your progress with media again, that's color coded as well in the same way red, yellow and green. Um, I may have changed them around a little bit, but it gives you an idea of where you're at in the pitching process for each of those outlets that you may have heard from, and then in terms of staying connected. If someone writes about you or the interview you on television, it's just common courtesy to send the thank you card or a thank you email, and it's also really meaningful if you connect to them on linked in, I would say follow them wherever you can, but lengthen primarily is where you should connect with them. And when you do, send them a personalized note to thank them and remind them of the relationship because that goes a long way there. Maybe another time in the future, whether a year to from that point that you'd want to reach out to them again and keep them updated. This is how you foster long term, meaningful relationships with the media. Remember, it is a relationship that you're developing its not just a picture Sunday, so keep that in mind as you move forward. And when we go into the next module, I'll be covering all of those preparation techniques because there are a whole bunch that you have to keep in mind. I'll see you over there. 8. Preparation Techniques: Welcome to Module seven. You're almost through. We're going to cover some preparation techniques in this lesson. If you're wondering if it's time for you to even start pitching, this will be the most helpful lesson for you. So if you can answer yes to these questions, then you are more than ready to go. Let's see him. So, first, do I know what I want coverage for and why, as it pertains to my business, you have to have a goal. Setting a goal will help you determine if you're ready, and it will help you prepare further. Next, Can my inventory handle a story or product mention in a major publication? That is definitely something you have to be mindful of. I can't tell you how many times I've worked with clients who wanted to be featured by The New York Times and National Geographic and all of these major magazines, but didn't have enough product to sell even if they were featured. Can you imagine being featured by a publication that big and being inundated with sales requests that you weren't able to fulfill? You really have to be mindful of this before you start pitching because if you do pitch and you do get that response I talked about and they do want a future you. There's no turning back after that. So be absolutely sure that you have the inventory if you sell a product, that that is what you are prepared for. Now, if you have a digital product, this isn't really a big sweat. Actually, it's better for you because the inventory is endless, right? So if you sell an online service like an online course, this is ideal for you. Okay, third, do I have a business school that allows me to narrow my focus? So I know exactly how to talk to a writer about what I do and what I have to offer. This is similar to number one. You have to have a goal and maybe a goal within a goal so that you know exactly what you want a pitch and why. So what is pitching X product going to return for you? Is it part of getting you to that goal that you set for yourself? Got to keep that in mind. Fourth, do I have a process set in place in case the writer does show interest in what I have to offer, For example, that asked for a sample of the product that asked for high resolution photos, more information on your product or your service or about you as the owner early maker. This is where media kits come in super handy. So immediate kit is a several page pdf that offers up more information about you about your business, about your key products. If you have a lot of products, it will offer AH, highlight of your best sellers or the newest products that you have in your lineup. It has contact information and links to any high resolution photos that these individuals can use to write their stories. So it's a one stop shop for the press, your going out of your way to make their lives easier so they don't have to keep asking for all of this stuff. Now, what would really stink is if you got a response from the press contact and they wanted high resolution photos, but you didn't have any. Where do you turn to then, if especially if they're on a deadline, right, So all the preparatory things that you can do in advance to get ahead of that if and when it happens is going to set you up for success. And then, lastly, am I ready for rejection but also prepared? If a writer comes to me out of the blue with a super short deadline, wanting to write a story about my business, rejection stinks. So it's gonna happen. You're going to get some nasty replies every now and then. You're gonna get no replies now and then. But every once in a while, with these techniques, you are going to get a writer or a producer where a blogger who is interested and wants to move forward with you. And sometimes if you've worked with them before and they know what you do and what you provide, and you can be a resource for a story they're working on, they may very well come to you first, looking for information, and they'll probably need it pretty quick if they're on a short deadline. Usually they are, so you want to make sure that you're prepared for those incidences. If a reporter calls you last minute and asked for an interview, you better know the ins and the outs of your entire business, all of your products and how to talk about yourself and what you do and what you offer. So those air key key elements to know if you're ready for pitching. So if you're answered yes to all of them, you're ready to go. If not, that's fine. You're still in the research phase. So you're still figuring out all of those elements getting your ducks in a row, doing your research and preparing. Take your time. This is definitely not something that you want to rush. So that being said, I've created a preparation timeline for you so you can walk through this preparation timeline and see if the pitching process comes together the way you envision it. This is how it should come together, is how have laid it out. So it will help you plan out everything from beginning to end. So first is you have to evaluate. Is your business ready for that? Press attention like I just went through with you. If so, what's your goal? And what are your focal points for media coverage? You can't pitch everything under the sun that's in your shop. You can't pitch everything that's available in your online store. You have to pick and choose based on what your goals are, what availability is and the timeliness, the seasonality and the importance of the subject matter as it pertains to the individual that you're pressing it to or pitching it to. Excuse me. Next up is the research read and the reach out phases. So research. You're creating that media, which wish list for your business and researching those outlets and the affiliated writers . And then you're reading the material you're downloading and digesting as much material as you can from those writers there. Beast, their things, their styles of writing and producing what they typically like to write about, who they typically interview. And on what? So definitely keep those items in mind and make notes in your media list. Next is preparing. So do you have photos, samples and immediate kit or ready to go? What is your inventory look like? And this actually something that, like I said, should probably happen very first thing. So definitely make sure that you're prepared. You don't want to put the cart before the horse next up is drafting your pitch. So, using the templates I provided to draft your own Siris of media pitches for your business. What I found to be really helpful is to carve out an hour 23 hours, even and write a series of pitches. See how it feels right? Your introductory pitch, right? A more specific pitch for one product or service, right, a pitch that pitches yourself for an interview or a profile. Definitely play around with it and get a feel for it. See what the lengths air like, what do your calls to action like and practice because it's so important. There are a 1,000,000 different ways you can write a pitch, so see what works for you after you draft your pitch. You also want to draft your follow ups. So I create a folder in Google Drive for my pitches and for each pitch I opened up a Google doc. I put in the pitch, and then I put in also the subsequent follow up. So they're all kind of nicely packaged into one file. That's the best way to do it, and then, as you send them, maybe change their color or cross them out, something that lets you know that they've already been sent so draft your follow ups based on that information that I share and draft 2 to 3 in advance that you could send out after your initial pitch goes out Now, timing wise with follow ups. Like I said, you send your pitch 7 to 10 days later. If you don't hear anything, send your first follow up five days later. After that, if you don't hear anything, send your next follow up three days after that. If you don't hear anything from your second follow up, send your third and final follow up. That's the best timing right there. Finally, you're going to reach out in pitch, so you're gonna send your personalized pitches out one by one. Like I said, you're not mass emailing. All of the people on your media wish list, you are sending personalized pitches one by one, as if you're emailing a friend or a colleague. This is respectful. It is the responsible way to pitch. Otherwise, you'll come across a spammy and remember, you don't want to get blacklisted. Next is the follow up, so distributing your personalized follow ups one by one based on the time sequence that I just mentioned and then finally tracking your progress as you move forward as you get responses. As you don't get responses, refer to those pipeline templates and color code. It's okay. You can be a super nerd, too, and see how it helps you visualize your process from beginning to end. So did anyone said yes, say yes. Did anyone say they'll consider who said no? So just keep careful notes, because this is really, really important. Now what happens if a contact wants to feature you and confirms coverage? Well, that's awesome. And I already kind of mentioned this, but just make sure that you're prepared and you can offer up whatever is there asking for an interview, photos, maybe even a video appropriate link. Sometimes they'll need additional product information. And, you know, samples never hurt. What happens if a contact doesn't want a free True, you are never replies. Don't sweat it. There will be other opportunities that you can take advantage of. So don't let that one setback hold you back. Okay, so now moving forward, we are going to reach the final modules. In this course. We're gonna be talking about a case study, and I think it will really help you visualize this process from beginning to end and how it can work in real life, so stick around. 9. Example Pitch Scenario: So I've given you the why the what the who, the when the where and the how. And now I want to give you an example scenario specifically a pitch scenario so you can see how all of this training comes together harmoniously and seamlessly to produce a product that you're happy with. Which, hopefully is that magazine spread or that TV interview that you've been dreaming about. So this is my girl Cindy. Cindy is a small business owner and a sweet treats connoisseur. She's owned her own candy shop on Boss for two years now and is at a point where she feels like she could level up like her business is ready for increased exposure. Her brand assumes a strong social media presence, It's active and her website in store. Both received consistent visits from local customers. However, she longs to have her sweet treats shared with customers on a wider scale, then with just her loyal locals. So she knows she has something wonderful and valuable to share, but she's not sure if she's ready or if she can do PR herself. Despite her hesitation, Cindy decides it's time to toughen up and get serious about her public relations efforts. To narrow her focus, She sets a goal to expand her overall revenue by 20% for her business in six months by attaining at least five press placements through regular pitching efforts that she will conduct each month, if not each week. She then begins the research and development face by crafting her media wish list, doing her research and reading and not yet reaching out. But she'll get there. So she crashed her media wish list. All of those love to work with. She researches them. She figures out who the writers are, what the lead times are, how to best contact them, where each of these media outlets are online. She includes contact information and important notes. She knows that her favorites, like Bon, a petite food and wine save or cooking light woman, se rial, Simple Taste of Home, Oprah magazine and Better Homes and Gardens are all known to write about specialty foods and recipes like her sweet treats. So she also comes to find that while all of these magazines air a long lead, 10 publications that work anywhere from 3 to 6 plus months in advance to sought their coverage. They also have websites where they publish food related content daily. She makes a note of both online writers and print writers who cover food and beverage and gift giving and product reviews. So following that, she comes up with a few pitch angles. Based on that information that revolve around her best selling products. She considers best sellers favorites and notes what makes each unique from her brainstorm. She produces three strong angles that could have staggered distribution throughout the year . Here they are, her red velvet macron's are cozy sweet treat for Valentine's Day. Her bestselling Maple bourbon chocolate fudge is an ideal Father's Day gift, and her bite size ache pops are a simple, savory dessert for any holiday party. Next she takes inventory, so she's really starting the preparatory phase, so she's ensuring for business can handle an increased frequency of enquiries and sales. If she wants to make money, she needs to make sure that she has enough product that sheikhoun cell. Next up, she starts assembling her supporting materials, any product photography in the form of a beautiful visual media kit to send along to writers looking for more information about her business and offerings. This is something that she could do in Google Drive, and it's also something that she can create in Can Va. Finally, she perhaps her samples because as a foodie, she's going to have to get those samples out the door to writers so they can try them. So should any media contacts reply wanting to give her products a try before they consider inclusion in their print or online coverage? She's gonna have to be ready for that. Next. She enters the crafting and creation phase and compiles and brings all of her materials together. So she already overcame the preparatory phase. She's in a really great spot. She's got the inventory. She's got the media kit. She has her media wish list. She's done her research. She's written. Now her pitch is ready to draft her pitches, along with a couple of brief follow up emails for her first and most time sensitive angles . So it's November in her life. So while cutting it close, she knows she has some time to try and get her products featured in any one of her listless wish list. Food magazines for Valentine's Day. So see how far in advance. She's starting to pitch. She's pitching in November so that she can have a placement, hopefully by February for Valentine's Day because her wish list media are print magazines. So she uses this angle to develop a pitch about her hand made red Velvet Macron's, which I mentioned earlier. Now I have this whole case study linked in the project section for you guys here so you can use it as a reference point. Inside, you'll see Cindy's pitch and where she takes her journey from beginning to end with the PR outreach process. So you you'll see her pitch now. Finally, once you draft her pitch, Cindy is ready to distribute her pitch. She sits down at her computer, opens up her business email, gets her pitch properly formatted in the form of a new email with her awesome subject line , and separately, sends her pitch one by one, each contact on her media list. She's ecstatic. Finally, she's doing something different that could really have a positive impact on her business business growth, and she's doing it all by herself. But a few weeks go by. Cindy has heard from none of the contacts she pitched. She's feeling bums defeated. She wants to give up. She went through all that effort and she hasn't heard a thing. But while she feels a bit defeated, she decides that it's an ideal time to get her follow up. Email distributed, she drafts a 3 to 5 sevens, follow up email and separately sends it to each contact on her media wish list by replying all using that method that I mentioned, you'll also in the print out, get to see Cindy's follow up email example. Now, after sending her follow up email, Cindy hears back from two of the writers on her list goes Cindy, both of which are interested in receiving samples and including her Macron's and their Valentine's Day gift guys. That is huge. She works alongside each writer to obtain the appropriate mailing information and ships the samples. In the meantime, the Raiders have also asked for high resolution imagery of her Macron's, along with pricing info and product availability. So where their readers confined these products, is it online? Is it in store? Instead of sending along her entire media kit, she decides to send writers only what they requested in order to simplify the process for them. So this you'll have to gauge based on the relationship you're developing. So Cindy sends her best 2 to 3 photos from her media kit. She sends her logo just in case and corresponding product information with a link to her website, social media channels and the address to her brick and mortar location in Vermont. Then another few weeks go by. Cindy receives an editorial draft for review from her to writers and confirmation that her products will be mentioned in their February issues. She is thrilled. Now, remember, just because you get a response from a journalist doesn't automatically mean that you're for sure going to be mentioned in their medium publication, Britain or Broadcast. Okay, it is just the start of the conversation that was a huge weakness of mine at the beginning with I would get way too excited when I got a response, because I thought that meant I was going to be included or printed. But nothing is a sure thing until it's inked. So remember that now, however, in Cindy's final effort to get her pitch red, she decides to send a second follow up to the other writers and producers. She never heard back from after this. She didn't really hear back from from any other contacts. So she decided to conduct further research and at a few other people from each publication to her list to pitch them. Two months after that, two months more go by. Cindy has heard from two Mawr online writers who would like to include mention of her products in their digital Valentine's Day coverage. She now has a multiple macron mentions that will publish in popular publications at the same time, some of which weren't entirely sold on publishing just the Macron's but more of Cindy's knowledge. What is an ideal D i Y recipe for homemade Macron's? It started this whole wave of ideas for Cindy, so maybe her inventory was a little bit at capacity, so she evolved the conversation to still make it work for her in her business. Maybe it was an ideal down the road for her Macron's to be featured yet again, but it made more sense for her to write a guest bog poster article or be interviewed by a journalist about how she started her business and why it's so popular and give a little freebie like a recipe. So by the time February hits finally, Cindy's Sweet and Savory has been mentioned in four different high volume media outlets. Already, Cindy has received 30 plus new orders for not just her red velvet macaroons but an array of her other delicious hand baked offerings, including gift baskets that she's showcased on her website. Additionally, Cindy now has copies of each magazine and links to the online press placements, which she can further display on her website to build credibility, maintain momentum and drive further sales. Now this is so, so important. Once you get a press mention and you have a link to it, you should definitely put it on your website in like an as seen in portion. This is huge in terms of bird building credibility and leveling up your reputation. You need social proof, and if you are featured in a print article, get that print placement professionally photographed and upload the photos because that is also worth while. Finally, because the relationship Cindy's developed with these writers means so much to her, she decides to follow up with each of the writers who helped her to thank them for their time and doing so, she strengthens those connections and has the opportunity to continue the conversation in the future. It was a lot of work, but after all, a sudden done Cindy knows she made the right move. With that. She will continue her various pitching efforts throughout the year because she learned so much in the process. Now she has her own process for pitching, even though she is almost to her goal and has several months left to spare. She's going to keep going because she feels inspired to do so. So that's the case study that I wanted to share with you guys. I hope it was helpful again. I linked to it below as a resource because I find it really important to have something to reference. To see all of this come together is so important, and I did it so that you could realize that it's possible for you to 10. Next Steps and Conclusion: now. Next up, I before we go want Teoh give you a couple action items? I don't want you to feel overwhelmed. First of all, you're not gonna get anywhere. If you feel overwhelmed to, you need to create natural, healthy habits. If you're going to really move this forward, this whole process of press pitching so all I want you to do is set aside an hour each day to work through your preparation timeline, carve out an hour each day and work through that bad boy and see where it gets you. Now, if you're willing to put aside more than an hour, that's great. But at least you need to set aside one hour at most. It could be whatever you want, as long as it's obviously not interfering with your day to day business activity. And I wanted to leave you with one more gimme because it has helped me so much. It's a free program called Help, a reporter out deemed Herro, and it's totally for you. Like I said, So what it is is reporter sign up for it and then people like you and me can also sign up for it to be sources for reporters. So what happens is you can sign up for hair. Oh, you just make a quick account and you select different topics that you want to be emailed about daily in these emails. It's just a quick run down of bullets of topics that reporters and producers have submitted that they're looking for. Resource is for So I've gotten clients landed in some major publications because I've read Herro every day, and they're going to be some weird wonky ones. And there that won't make sense for you. But every now and then, you're gonna come across a topic that applies directly to you, and your best bet is to pitch it as soon as you see it. Harrow the They'll give you a blurb. Once you see the topic, it will give you a deadline that the writer has set, usually a day or two. So it's super fast and just pitch them. You probably won't use the same methods When I pitch hero, I usually copy and paste the blurb that is applicable to me in the bottom of the email, and then I put in the subject line R E colon Herro quarry number whatever the number of the query waas and then I just provide them with the information. So it's not really a formal pitch. It's a reply. It's a bit more casual. So an example would be Hi, I'm Liz. I'm so and so I do so and so sorry. Your pitch about X y z thought this might help Info, info, info, bullet points. Let me know if you have any questions. If you're interested, please contacted. Contact me. Thanks, Liz. Send up. So simple is that but those are gimmes for you. You know exactly what those press people are looking for and you can give it right back to him and oftentimes they'll But they'll be interested. So give that a go sign up. Maybe don't pitch them just yet. If you're really it's a foreign concept for you, but gets and know the vibe of the emails. You can set different frequencies. I get mine. I think once in the morning and once at night, because they're always changing and evolving. So keep that in mind. And one more thing I will say the more popular publications like Forbes and The New York Times, sometimes they call themselves anonymous in hero, so don't totally by pass, you know the queries that don't seem important because you never know who could be posting them. So keep all of that in mind. Remember, car beside an hour a day, at least toe work through your preparation timeline. And last but not least, I would love for you guys to connect with me. Feel free to leave any comments on this video, if that's possible. Any questions? I'd love to hear what you loved. What helped you most and again, if you have questions, comment them as well, and I will reach out and we'll figure it out on Di would love to stay connected with you on social media. I love the Instagram so you can connect with me there at Miz Liz Fleming as well as on Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest all the places. And if you want more head to my vlog at Elizabeth Fleming dot com. And I would love to have you as part of my community there. I'm so psyched that you guys made your way through this entire course. You're going to do great things. Just remember to be patient. Good things take time but great things take work and you've got this Thanks so much