Ep. 12 Perfecting Your Pitch to the Media

10/27/20 • 8 min

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content, and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In this episode, I'm going to be talking about perfecting your pitch to the media. I love talking about this, and it's something that a lot of people feel a bit scared about when they first start doing it, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. So perhaps you're trying to market your business or share a charity event or something that's happening in your world, here are 10 tips to help you pitch to the media, take a risk.

{1.26} Pitching stories is really about taking risks because you don't know what the outcome will be. If you're worried about putting yourself out there, think, what is the worst thing that can happen? Literally, the worst thing that can happen is that you get ignored or someone says no, in which case, you can just move on and try something different and just think, well, that one didn't land, I'm going to try another one.

{2.56} You need to approach journalists effectively. I can't tell you how many press releases I've been sent, where they got the wrong publication and the wrong name. Now, this might sound a bit ego led, but people don't tend to read emails that aren't addressed to them.

{4.38} Provide extra content. Journalists are super busy and have many deadlines to meet. So they want someone who's prepared and ready. Providing extra content to your pitch will definitely give you an advantage.

{6.59} You can give an exclusive to one publication, and then a different angle to the others. That way, you can still release your full story to other places too. If you're going to offer exclusivity, make sure it's for that dream publication that your ideal client loves to read.

{7.26} Don't be rude. It's not personal. It will be down to their news agenda, their editor, what other news stories are breaking that week. Sometimes you even land a story and then a bigger news event will happen and all of the stories that have been scheduled to go that day will be knocked off by a breaking news event. So, it's never ever guaranteed that your story will make the press.

If you want to learn more - Join my webinar - Learn how to get your first (or next story) featured in the press on the 5 November at 8pm (DST). You can sign up here https://clairewinter.info/register/

Connect with Claire:

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Web: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Connect with Claire:

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Web: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Previous Episode

Ep. 011 How Listening Is A Vital Part Of The Inclusivity Conversation

Welcome to the Cracking Content Podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content and PR so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

How listening is vital to the inclusivity conversation.

In this episode Claire talks to international leadership and inclusion coach Aduke Onafowokan. She is also the Founder of The Sister Sister Global Network and Lead Associate at Inclusivitii.

[1:02] The Sister Sister Network is a social enterprise. We are pretty much a drop-in centre for leadership and personal development training for women.

[01:53] What we do at Inclusivitii is helping organisations get better at diversity and inclusion, whether that's from developing the target operating model for inclusion, thinking in practice, to even doing diversity and inclusion audits, to know where they are in that journey and what changes they need to make

[3.07] We always listen, that's the first value, to really understand what people need right now. Part of that listening is also trying to understand where the needs are different and trying to find out what we can then do to support different levels

[4.45] So we attract that community through making sure that the things we're talking about is very relevant.

[6:11] But I think at its very core, networking is really about human-to-human connection, so it's really personal. And it's all about knowing what you bring to the table, but also how you show up.

[9.39] My second TedX talk three ways to be more inclusive. So I thought I'd do three ways to be more inclusive. Inclusive in everything you do, whether it's your marketing, your thinking, even how you write your content or just the products that you design, but how to be more inclusive.

[11.32] Sometimes it's okay to just step up and say, "Hey, I would like to do a TED Talk. This is my idea. I would like to do a TEDx Talk, and I would love to understand how to do it." So just take that leap of faith. Don't wait and just do it. I wish I had done that earlier.

[13.57] To be more inclusive in your content marketing. The first thing is to listen. Listening is such a powerful skill. As children, we're taught how to read and write, but there's nobody that really teaches us to listen. We are taught to keep quiet, but we're not necessarily taught to listen. So a lot of us grow up without listening skills.

Aduke travels the world, speaking to audiences about developing a learning mindset on effective leadership practice, inclusion, equity, race, gender, and other aspects of diversity and intersectionality (when multiple aspects of identity overlap).

With a clear focus on recruiting, developing, and retaining diverse talent, as well as extensive experience in global organisations and expertise from Yale and University of Oxford, Aduke helps organisations to understand and manage the complex challenges of diversity and unlock opportunities to create inclusive and equitable organisations.

Through her social enterprise The Sister Sister Global Network, Aduke supports thousands of women to access leadership and personal development and connect with leaders through networking opportunities. The Network runs in partnership with organisations including The UN Foundation Girl Up, University of Oxford, NatWest, UK Parliament and UNICEF on Campus to empower women and future female leaders at work and in business.

Featured in international media such as BBC and Medium, Aduke’s second TEDx Talk – Inclusion in an Era of Polarisation offers leaders salient points on redefining leadership and responding to the moment.

Through her body of work and in her personal life, she continues to contribute to the advancement of women, leadership, and diversity.

You find Auduke at: https://www.adukeonafowokan.com/

Listen to her TedX talk here: Three ways to be more inclusive. https://www.adukeonafowokan.com/the-tedx-talk

Connect with Claire:

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info.

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Web: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/

Next Episode

Ep. 013 How To Create Engaging Content

Welcome to the Cracking Content podcast, helping entrepreneurs to amplify their expertise through storytelling, content and PR, so they can get more sales and make a bigger impact. Every business has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to tell it.

In this episode, I'm going to talk about how to make your content more engaging and how to find your real voice. So often, when we're creating content, it might feel like you're shouting into the void and you're thinking, "Oh my gosh, I can't maintain my audience's attention." Or you're worried that you're not getting enough views. As humans we are naturally drawn to quality content. It's much better to concentrate on creating those core bits of quality content and using social media to amplify it than just churning out content every day without purpose.

{1.19} What you need to think about is the end result of the content you're creating and the key business messages that you're sharing with the world. Why is it important? What value are you bringing and how are you sharing?

{2.51} People have a short attention span when it comes to content. People are often scanning content that they read on the web. Make sure you don't write a ridiculously long paragraph, create a snappy, but intriguing title to draw your readers in and then make your content easy to read with short paragraphs, subheadings and lists.

{3.57} Creating, engaging content is just not about you. It's about connecting with your audience. Readers are drawn to relatable experiences. Tell a story. I've done an episode about this already. There is a unique truth and honesty to stories that gains instant trust. Let yourself be a little bit open and don't forget to use things like social media widgets at the bottom of your page or blog post, so readers can share your story and pass on the word.

{4.49} How often have you clicked on an article to find that it doesn't answer the question that it sets out in the title? Make sure that you deliver on the content that you create. Your content should be consistent with keywords throughout it, so it can be found through organic search.

Connect with Claire:

To find out about 1:1 content coaching go www.clairewinter.info

Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/

Web: https://clairewinter.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk

Join the Cracking Content Club Membership: https://clairewinter.info/cracking-content-club/