Outline of my presentation at the 2012 Spring Conference of PRSA and IABC in Utah.

1. 7 New Rules of Media Pitching Superstars
Boost Your Credibility and Placements Despite Shrinking Coverage
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Listen for. . .
The two-step pitch formula to grab any journalist’s or blogger’s attention
Surprising ways to frame boring facts into a catchy story
The unconscious test every journalist/blogger applies to every pitch
Foolproof way to establish relationships with the media
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@michaelsmartpr
Drastic changes in media
What have you observed?
Drastic changes in media
Lay-offs
Multiple beats
Multiple platforms
Bigger premium on speed
More pressure, more stress, less time
Journalists’ and bloggers’ complaints about PR
But the reality is . . .
This is good news for us
Bigger payoff for working smarter
There has never been a better time to be a media-savvy PR pro
7 new rules of pitching superstars
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
So what DO you say?
What is journalists’ favorite topic?
Familiarize yourself with their previous stories
Reference their earlier work, and tell how your pitch relates

2. Devin
Reference earlier work:
“Walt, I’ve been using Webroot to protect myself from spyware since you recommended it. . . Thought
your readers might want your take on Mozy, which provides free online back-up.”
10-second pitch formula
I saw your stories on (subject), and I thought you might be interested in (story).
7 new rules of pitching superstars
Customize your pitches to stand out
Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
Promoting corporate philanthropy
Annual donation to pediatric cancer
How to make it new again?
Contest for pediatric cancer patients
“Color Carl’s Car”
Kids design Carl Edwards’ NASCAR racer
He’d drive it that way in the upcoming race
Trend
To journalists, three examples make a trend
Be an example for an existing trend
Even better, suggest a new trend and find two other examples
Ken Li
Pitch
Many biotech start-ups founded by Searle “refugees” are now thriving. One has grown enough to move
into the old Searle facility where its CEO worked before he was laid off.
Take advantage of new media outlets
New outlets and opportunities
Student intern built targeted list of blogs, sites
Found 12 sites in one hour
8 ran the story with no follow-up

3. 7 new rules pitching superstars
Customize your pitches to stand out
Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
Take advantage of new media outlets
Keep pitches brutally short
Anatomy of a perfect pitch email
One-paragraph intro
One-paragraph description of the angle
Call to action and offers to help
The most important thing a journalist can see in your email pitch is the . . .
. . . end.
Short email pitches
Save background, proper names for later
DON’T paste release or background below
WSJ reporter on email pitches
Gets 60 email pitches a day (more go to spam)
“You can tell in the first sentence or two . . .”
“Write in a concise way that highlights what’s really interesting. I get pitches and I bet these people are
really interesting, but the email is eight paragraphs.”
7 new rules of pitching superstars
Customize your pitches to stand out
Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
Take advantage of new media outlets
Keep pitches brutally short
Do the leg work for journalists and bloggers
Secret test
All journalists and bloggers do this without realizing it
They subconsciously evaluate every pitch
They ask themselves:

4. “How much time will this take?”
What do they need?
Sources: real people
Sources: outside experts
Visuals
Birth-order study
Real people
Professor’s siblings
Professor’s kids
Families in DC area
Third parties:
Well known UCLA birth order researcher
Expert at U. of Maryland
Today show
7 new rules of pitching superstars
Customize your pitches to stand out
Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
Take advantage of new media outlets
Keep pitches brutally short
Do the leg work for journalists and bloggers
Diplomatically but tenaciously persist
China research
Follow-up sequence
First email
Second email – same as the first
Then phone call
Call ‘til they answer
Never reference your email, just dive into the pitch
WSJ reporter
(I had sent her 4 follow-up emails)
“Follow-up is okay as long as you’re not a pest, you handled that well.”
“Same-day follow-up is too soon”
7 new rules of pitching superstars
Customize your pitches to stand out
Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
Take advantage of new media outlets
Keep pitches brutally short
Do the leg work for journalists and bloggers
Diplomatically but tenaciously persist

5. Don’t lament lack of media relationships – use pitches to build them
Building relationships with media
How do I get them on the phone? How can I visit them?
The strength of your relationships with media/bloggers is determined by the usefulness of the
information you share with them
Pulling it all together
BYU’s competition math team
In the top 25
Landed top HS math student in nation
No one cared
How do you get people to care about math?
It’s obvious:
Mathletes
Shoot a rap video!
Mathletes rap video
Shot in one 3-hour session
Cost $500
All “talent” from within department
Additional resources
Free email with pitching and PR writing tips
No more than once a week; less than 500 words
Also receive tips on winning subject lines
Additional resources
One-on-one coaching
Group coaching – MSPR “Inner Circle”
Other results from climbing your pitching “mountain”
Better knowledge of your organization
Better relationships with coworkers and execs
More respect from journalists/bloggers
More unsolicited contacts and coverage
Better qualified in your career
More confidence and job satisfaction
It works and it’s worth it
Please stay in touch
michael@MichaelSmartPR.com
Twitter: @MichaelSmartPR
www.michaelsmartpr.com