Well, hello there. Lola, can it be good? Uh, hi, welcome.
I need my little latte. Fix this dog right here. Can you come here? I know no one's on yet, but if you're watching the replay, this puppy is right here. Camera. Should I look? Hi. Hi. Anyway. Hello. How's it going? Welcome to my weekly Facebook live show. I'm Jen person. I'm the founder of generation PR and the creator of this profitable PR pros community. We have thousands of PR pros. Hi Christina, um, PR pros from around the world. Lola Christina says hi. Hi, Gail, uh, that are members of this community. And it's so cool if you are in our free Facebook group, you know, by now that any quest questions you have about pitching the media, running your business, dealing with difficult clients, which we've all been there. Maybe we're all still there in some way, shape or form. Um, this group has your back.
They are gonna take care of you. Answer questions, give you 15 different, um, bits of site from seasoned pros that have experienced they're willing to share. So I am extremely grateful because I always envisioned a place like this for publicists to go that would help everybody improve their businesses. And I knew would be other people like me who wanted to have a community that was collaborative. And it's so cool, cuz it's like, it's taken a little while. It's not like build it and they will come. But um, now we have this group, that's just, I mean, give, gimme a thumbs up or a heart. If you're in the profitable PR pros community and you have felt like the giving and the generosity there is. Okay, good. Um, is, you know, just beyond anything else for our community online, at least that's how I feel. So look at that.
Okay. Awesome. Love it. Love it. Let me know who's here. Um, cuz obviously I can see your names and the comments, um, knew there were a lot of people interested in joining this one and it's not just professionals. Yay Chelsea, how's it going? You guys should follow Chelsea on, um, Instagram because she's super inspiring with her commitment to fitness and you know, just super, uh, super focused. And um, to me, a commitment to fitness is, uh, commitment to your self integrity, promising yourself. You're going to do something and actually following, following through with it, which I struggle with sometimes, cuz I commit to everyone else and my clients, my business, my family, blah, blah, blah. Um, and then sometimes it's hard for me to follow through on the things I'm telling myself I'm gonna do. So something I'm always working on, always looking to improve.
Oh and she's getting married. That's the motivation. Well you look amazing and congrats on your engagement. Hi Elaine. Um, and Latrice. Nice to see you guys. All right. So there's gonna be other people on here that are not just PR pros because we posted this on. Um, where did it go? We posted this on my Instagram and a lot of people were like, I'm going and they're not just PR professionals. So I have talked on a lot of podcasts about pitching the media. Um, we wanna talk about writing, winning pitches, help you create compelling killer pitches because we know as PR professionals, the, the, uh, measure of our success always comes down. You want more food always comes down to, um, getting results. You know, if you get results for clients, they'll stick around and if you don't, then they're, you know, you might be offering other services, but if your co core services are media and they want you to secure press, it's hard to get them to stick around if they're not converting.
So it's really essential that we figure these things out and make subtle tweaks so that you can land incredible media features for your clients. Um, you know, we're gonna hone those pitching skills. And like I said, it might just be subtle to tweaks, but we're gonna cover some of the best ways that we can, you know, tweak a little bit. So you can write, uh, killer pitches that have simple strategies that have helped me and my team convert to land epic features. What can I help you? Can I help you? Um, okay. You might have to throw this across the room. Here you go. Don't harass the cat. Okay. Go. Okay. Uh, so I actually have seven tips for you today. I'm probably just gonna keep throwing food at the dog. So she leaves me alone. She was great all morning and I just knew the second eye went online.
She would be busy. Um, okay. We love a low LA cameo moment. Well thank you. Uh, you guys always know I don't, I'm not, I mean, you know, we're professional around here. We do what we say we're gonna do in the sense that we deliver on content. Everything we put together is aimed to be the absolute very best that you can get. Um, it's really important to me, but we're also like we're, we're real people here. Um, oh, thanks. Talk Tiana. How are you? I'm thinking about you. Um, you're amazing. You are amazing. Um, you guys give Tatiana a little love a little heart because she is so wonderful, inspiring, strong, um, and resilient. And I just, I'm very grateful for you and my life Tatiana. Um, anyway. Okay. Uh, and I'm wearing green obviously seeing Patrick's day. Um, okay, here we go. So, you know, we're like my first appear is infuse personality into your pitches.
Listen, we're PR pros. We have personalities is half of the reason and why I'm here talking to my dog, I'm a cat and throwing things. It's like, I don't care. This is who I am. So if you don't like it, then find somebody else to look at. But, um, I think that one of the things that really helps me and my team connect with the media is infusing personality. You're talking to a person on the other end, it's an actual human and being, um, you know, you have to connect with them and respectfully, but carefully tailor your pitches to sound like you are talking to that specific person and to a friend, if you can do that without being too casual, uh, oh no, no problem. Nelson haven't missed much. Um, so we love that. It's like looking at, um, journalists, social media content, um, and this is number two.
So I'm gonna merge the two it's like infusing personality, connecting with someone in the, um, sense that you're making it friendly. You wanna have them not feel like they're talking to like a computer generated pitch or some kind of robot. You're a human being. Let's get your pitches to convey your personality so you can make a connection with the person reading it. And um, the second tip is you're gonna highly, highly tailor your pitches. So you wanna make it clear that your is for that specific person, that you're sending an email to that journalist to that editor or freelancer on the other end of the pitch. It's just for them. So you wanna make it clear that you know, that this story or the idea, the angle that you're sharing is perfect for them, they're specialty, what they write about their, um, media outlet, their audience, all of that is important.
Um, because you want to make sure they know that, you know what they're up to because if it's not clear, they're not gonna read what you have. And they're also not gonna look at it from the lens of this person knows what I'm up to. They're, you know, on top of my column, they're on top of my articles and my features. So I'm willing to read this because they're probably giving me something that it's gonna be relevant. So the more specific and tailored you are, the more likely it is that you'll land the perfect press feature or that you'll connect specifically with a journalist. And maybe they'll say not right now, or I covered this recently, but I'll keep it in mind for the future. If we an update, whatever you just want them to know, this is not a ass pitch. This is not, um, something that everybody's getting and they're just gonna delete it and be like, you know, spray and pray doesn't work with me.
So we always approach it with going deep and making those deep connections versus just going broad and doing a numbers game because that doesn't work. And, um, I've seen pitches, I've been on the receiving end of some of those frame parade pitches and they're lazy and it's just not a, it's not a good approach. It doesn't work. And it's also a waste of your time and your client's money. So you wanna mention specifically who you're pitching to even like personalizing it in some way that shows, you know, if you're following them on social, you know, they just went on a vacation, referenced that, oh my gosh, your pictures from, um, the MALDI looked incredible. No, one's going to the MALDI right now, but road trip, let's say like your, your trip up the coast was so firing. Um, I love it. It reminds me of when, you know, I did a similar trip, although we didn't make it as far north as Mendocino.
Wow. Your pictures are gorgeous. Now they know you're sort of checked into them. I don't think that sounds soccer. I think it sounds like, um, you know, you're inspired by their cool content and you are dialed into who they are. So that's one and two, one infuse infuse personality into your pitches and two highly tailor your pitches. So it's aligning your idea with the right person at that outlet, the right timing, the right story angle that will really connect with that Pacific writer or the content that they typically cover. Lola Lola. Um, anyway, I'm just throwing a beef jerk at her. There's worse things I could throw at her, I suppose. Um, so that's one and two, three specifically mention affiliate relationships. Okay. So if you have a client with a product we know now many outlets will only feature brands that are available on, um, national retailers with, uh, affiliate commission available, Amazon being the number one.
Um, typically they will specify too, if they're doing a query and they want certain information and they're putting it out into the world, they'll say, um, if it's on Amazon, it has to have a minimum of 500 reviews and they have to be four and five star reviews. Okay, I'll explain why in a second, but this is something that you want to work into your pitch and it's subtle, but it's not so subtle. It's something like, oh, by the way, this is available on Amazon. Um, because they know that that is a commissionable possible and they are getting directives from their publishers that any products that are featured have to have the ability for trackable affiliate commission. The reason for four and five star reviews and a minimum of 500 reviews is that is kind of the tipping point. They see as what will convert when they talk about a product.
And, um, they, uh, see that their readers will actually click through and convert, put it in their cart. So anything that's sort of new or just has like 70 reviews. And they're kind of like three stars, not gonna get it done because cuz they know that their readers will click through and not be convinced that they absolutely must have that. So there are other ways to generate affiliate revenue through other major retailers like target Walmart, um, you know, the beauty stores, Ulta, Sephora, all the major department stores, um, you know, every site is having their own affiliate opportunities. Um, Amazon self-contained, are we coming on the site now? Hi, how can I help you? My friend, um, Amazon is self-contained but the other sites, you can also have your clients' site. Oh good. I'm glad. Um, the other sites go get, it are, uh, like let's say your client has a website.
They can build in an affiliate program through like share a sale or other outlets or other platforms. But if their product is not a high ticket product, the commission's gonna be too low. The value of Amazon is they drop it in their cart and they get the full cart transaction. So if they buy tons of other items, like organizing things for their house and then they get a computer or whatever stuff they transact within the cart, if you originated that link, you get the value of the full cart. So it's very appeal to have a great Amazon, um, product. So mention it because we are finding more and more. That's what my agency focuses on is our, our brands, um, brands and baby and kids, BD and cosmetics and sort of lifestyle brands. We will not get press anymore. It is like less than 10% of the features will get secured on just the product alone.
It has to have an affiliate link. So, um, we also did an affiliate marketing mass, not affiliate marketing, but how affiliate at marketing relates to PR and how it kind of coincides with your pitches and how to use it to be successful. We did a masterclass inside my program, the pitch lab, um, it was a paid masterclass, but we offered it free to our members and it sits in there. It's still there. Um, okay, good. Good girl. Good girl. Good leaf and low lab job. Sorry. I'm training her to not attack the cat and she just acted very, very good. Good girl. Um, okay. Sorry.
So that's something that's there for you. And we went really in depth. It was a really good lesson plus discussion that we had where other people weighed in on things that are working with with them and their clients. So is inside the pitch lab, um, which is our monthly membership. Um, I'll tell you about that at the end if you're interested, but um, so you're gonna specifically, uh, mention any affiliate or relationships or opportunities, um, subtly, you know, available at target Walmart, Amazon, um, you know, can also reach out through, uh, your platform on share sale or one of those other outlets. We just use share sale a lot and see who the publishers are on there. And some of the media main, uh, traditional media outlets that have online versions will be listed as publishers. You can pitch them directly. They usually wanna higher cut of the commission.
So be open to that because it will come up because the typical like five, 10% is not enough. They want like 25%. Um, it's kind of a shakedown, but you know, if your clients are able to do it okay, what, what you want more? I mean, um, I dunno what to do with her anyway. Okay. So that's three affiliates will make or break you if you have products. I'm sorry to tell you, but that's a reality now. And if you're not telling your clients that you're missing out on the opportunity to really guide them, to understand how to play by the rules, how to navigate this world right now. Um, okay. This dog. Okay. I don't know what to do. I'm a first time dog owner and I mean, I did all the things I fed her. I know Lola has opinions too, and like look at her, oh, here we are.
Her tail just like blossomed one night. It just was like a normal tail. And then one night it became like a feathery. So cute. Okay. Um, number four, write compelling subject lines. So a great subject line will make a huge difference. And it'll give you this chance to build credibility right off the bat. Um, because we know that journalists inboxes are totally flooded. They get hundreds, I've heard 75 as a minimum up to like hundreds of emails every single day. And it's something that'll sort of get you to stand out. It could be a make it or break it. So, um, we, uh, we at a minimum, the headline should just get them to open the email. Like that's your goal? Open my email and read it. Okay. Um, so, uh, you wanna use searchable keywords to make your pitch easy to find Lola? So if you, you are answering a query where they're asking about a certain topic or an expert, um, mention that in your subject line, because if they're asking for five different types of, um, resources for five articles, they're writing, you wanna make sure that when they go to write your topic, that they can search and find it and see it in their inbox.
Um, so searchable keywords will make your pitch easy to find. And then if you have some kind of notable observation, a statistic or something that really stands out about your pitch, something newsworthy, something now notable. Now you can include that, but keep it short no more than 10 words, an average character count, um, which is the letters itself between 41 and 64 characters. Um, my team found that just based on research. Okay. So it's not like I have a specific thing that says, oh, you know, data, blah, blah, blah. But this is just, um, based on, um, email, open statistics that we have seen. So no more than 10 words. And then between 41 and 64 characters, otherwise the whole thing kind of gets cut off and it's like dot, dot, dot. And they might not see the main point of it, um, because it's, there's the ellipses and then it cuts off and they might not click through.
So, um, we also inside the pitch lab, we have a, a little mini lesson on headlines and we have a headlight headline hacks resource inside the program. Um, and we're updating it now, so that it's a little bit more focused on, on pitching and uh, more refined, cuz it's been a couple years, we just wanna tailor it a little bit better, but that's inside there too. A lot of people ask about subject lines. I think at a minimum, the best advice I could say is, do not overthink it. Don't overthink it. You know, don't put so much pressure on yourself to create this really witty, Hey Natasha, this really witty everyone. I don't know if you guys all know Natasha just got engaged. So her wonderful fiance, Erin, and we're so happy for them.
Yay, Natasha. Um, so don't put pressure on yourself to write this incredible subject line. The goal is get them to open it. That's it. So whatever that takes, um, but don't be like super, don't be super like cutey or try to be witty to the point. Hi Naisha hi Kelly. Um, ha Aaron called you out. Good job on that ring bling bling. Um, or I should say rock it's pretty big. Um, good job, Aaron. So yeah, we want to make sure they just open it. They're enticed to open it. That's it don't overthink it. Don't be stuck in perfection para assist because of your headline. Just hit, send, get it out, you know, cuz a pitch that isn't sent. Um, you know, some people say yes, some people say, no, I lean towards the camp. That's no, because I think it's pretty obvious. Um, okay, good.
Hi Ricky. I saw you missed our call the other day and I was like wrapping up and then I saw you log in and I was like, eh, um, but of course you'll have the replay for the agents, uh, the, uh, agency accelerator. Um, yeah, so, uh, I don't love saying pitch. I think it's kind of like, yes. Um, I have given the advice before to say pitch in a subject line. I probably wouldn't do it now. Personally. Never put pitch in the subject line. Nelson explained that. Yeah, I wouldn't now I think it seems like unprofessional. It's kind of like show, it seems like you're like, Hey I, are you interested? It's a pitch. Are you interested other than like, you're a journalist, you learn about news, here's a headline, you know, a subject line, open this to learn about more news that may be relevant for you to share pitch is like, hi, I'm over here.
Like I have a, I have something to tell you a yeah, yeah. I think it feels yucky. Um, Hmm. You'll have to DM me. What is that workshop? Hopefully it was on a mine. I don't know. Anyway. Um, and then number five is really, really obvious and I just, it's a good reminder, but be short and sweet because we know announcement or mission with a juicy tagline. That's way more engaging than pitch. Um, you know, uh, uh, not one. Okay. Not one of mine. Cool. Um, yeah. So, uh, I like that Natasha a lot. Um, and how, how do you find your, your, um, conversions on or open rates? Let us know that. So be short and sweet. We know that winning pitches, they're engaging, they're timely, but they're also succinct, right? Journalists are busy. Um, they get tons to read. They're gonna skim it. So if you can't frame a media approach with an interesting story in less than 180 words, it's probably a good time to pause, Review it with fresh eyes, reflect 94% open rate. Hear it. You heard it here first. That's in incredible. Um, so she'll say announcement in all caps or submission and then a juicy headline to follow stellar. Natasha love it. That's so good. Um, so if you are not being able to say succinctly, you have to rework the body of the pitch and really reflect on what you're trying to convey and see what's there that you can trim out. See if there's extra words that are superfluous. Um, okay. She's gonna give an example,
See this community, you guys. And that's why Natasha is a queen queen is right. Um, so anything super superfluous has to go. You wanna start the basics of a winning pitch to start with an interesting intro paragraph. I like again, to connect with that journalist so that they know To me and you only, there's nobody else getting this email and then about two sentences to three that are gonna highlight the main purpose of the pitch. And then, um, something simple here that just lays the foundation that makes the word count. We're going for, for a subject. Okay. This is I'll do both Elaine. Um, Um, and, and uh, so you guys know Natasha gave a subject announcement, DJ E rock celebrity, DJ, and on personality announces new home. Um, so This client, um, is so happy he is coming on board for another, uh, renewal. So this obviously got attention got opened and converted because the client is very pleased. Um, sorry. Interesting story. Okay. And this is winning pitches
Pitch.
Okay. This may be super short aim for as low as you can get. Okay. I mean, maybe that's real, really short. Um, it is really short. I mean, you can probably go over this, but not by a lot. Um, you wanna write two to three sentences and include details there that support the main purpose. Um, oh, and this was all over Las Vegas news. That's awesome. Um, yeah, that's awesome. So we also like bullet points, full page feature in Las Vegas, weekly and broadcast also helped with the deal. I can't talk about yet. Secret love the secrets, say news. So this is going to, um, keep it succinct where they can quickly scan what your idea is. Maybe there's two or three bullet points that just summarize, like if you're pitching your client as an expert, what can they talk about bullet bullet bullet? And it could be three different top.
It doesn't have to be one fully fleshed out. Maybe the journalist can say, oh, I really like number two. Can you, um, expand on that for me? And then you have permission to go back and give something a little bit more in depth and with more detail, but you want to give something quick? Sweet. I put the word count here 180 200 fine. The shorter, the better. And then, um, yeah, I'll tell you my last little thing here, but, um, number six is you wanna make sure that you review them before you send them. So you wanna look with fresh eyes and look for areas to improve readable. So, like I said, you can use bullet points. If you're trying to break up heavy text, um, you can, um, use bold words or make, or, or, you know, bold something or bold a sentence. If you wanna make something a really interesting nugget and have it stand out more and you really wanna focus on scanability and skim ability so that when they are quickly scanning your pitch, they'll be able to fully comprehend it. They want this type of pitch, um, submission, Kara Duffy, multi, uh, dynamic, multi and international, the business coach.
Um, hope they inspire. Yes. So, um, so when you say submission, this was for an existing article or some topic where you're throwing that person's hat in the ring. This isn't a blind pitch, Kara, because there's no actual idea here, but you're throwing her in as a business coach and preneur with an international audience for a submission or for a call out. Okay. Got it. Got it, got it. Okay, great. Um, and you can see it's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. If you count the upper sand nine words. Um, yeah. Anyway, we are gonna review pitches, check for spelling errors, check for typos. Uh,
Oh my God. This is funny Nelson. Last summer I used the subject line. COVID bunions for a pod, a podiatrist, my eyes, oh my God. I'm like podcast put down. I client of mine who had seen a huge increase in business because of the pandemic. And it was because the public was sitting around at home with nothing to do during lockdown. So they decided to get their, their bunions fixed because of this headline. I got a national TV story from the health reporter at CTV, which is a national TV network in Canada on. Awesome. Um, uh, does style matter AP or Chicago? Um, I would love for one of the journalists here, uh, Natasha or anyone else who, um, is a former journalist Kelly, do you guys adhere to a specific style guide? We typically are not obviously, um, proper grammar, proper punctuation, spelling, um, AP. Okay. Um, we probably adhere to AP more than anything, but I don't think it's intentional. I think it's just how I learned to write. Um, and then also, how do we feel guys about that? The post period space? Is it one space or two spaces? And I think your answer depends on your age and I'm trying to shift short sweet info, uh, informative and only AP to hyperlink out text
Of, okay, there you go. Um, and we also want to ensure one space. This is the thing now. So I learned two spaces and I, my husband does two spaces and every time I correct his one space, I had to break the two space habit. Me two, same, same. It is totally your age. Now everyone's saying one space. Okay. So I think if you're over 40 it's two, and if you are under 40 it's one, but this is what it is now. So, uh, Kelly says one space, especially if you are, if you'll have a media organization that might just copy and past, and I'm old and learn two spaces. Yeah. We all learn two spaces. Um, my mom, Claudia, did you know that it's now one space? My fiance also does two spaces. 1, 1, 1, 1, 1. It is now one. So go back, break the habit.
It's also annoying because I believe word documents. If you do the space bar twice, it'll put a period at the end of your sentence. At least it used to, I don't know if it still does because of that, but it used to be the type type space space. And you get your period. Um, Christy says same here. I learned on a typewriter in use two. Now I use one, my husband still won't convert and neither will mine, but I go back and I correct all of his, like if he's got a newsletter or an article, he is writing, I go back and fix it. I don't tell him I fix it. Uh, he doesn't care, but he won't do it himself. I am intentionally doing one space. Now it's a hard habit to break, but this is the new direction. Um, and Allison's asking you to clarify Natasha only AP to hyperlink out text.
What does that mean? Okay. Um, and then of course you wanna go back and ensure that you are not using jargon or too much technical language. You wanna keep it simple and compelling. Elena is saying as a journalist, two spaces is super annoying because a copy editor will have to fix it or do a find and replace great tip. Um, that's a style choice, Natasha. You're choosing to have those crazy talents, but they look, they look hot, um, especially with the, so we're gonna hear what she has to say. Um, yeah. So try to aim for, I didn't even have that in here, but it is a big deal. Now it's one space and then also review it, say it out loud. Um, and anything that you can break up heavy text and keep it succinct, go back through, review it before you send it.
I don't know what it is if it's my eyes or that I skim things really quickly, but I will review something. I will send it out. And then the next day I'll look at it because the email will come back from whoever I, whomever I sent it to. And I'll see like three mistakes and I'm of course mortified, but I don't know how I'm not seeing them. So I realize I have to put on my glasses and read it. I have to take a break. I have to refocus my eyes and then read it again because I'm missing very simple. I don't know if it's like auto correct is changing it or what? So be sure when you send something to a journal journalist, there are some that will literally delete your message. They don't care how good it is. If you have typos, cuz they'll assume you're not professional.
Um, you know, they, it's a journalist writers are very focused on proper grammar, proper spelling, um, proper, uh, punctuation. So you gotta focus on that. Or if that's not what you're good at, go to our community, um, inside the pitch lab, um, there is a community of people when you join the pitch lab, it's all members of our program that are super focused on, on writing, winning pitches. So they will, if you post it in the Facebook group, we get people, that'll read it, weigh in and you'll get a second pair of eyes, which is always nice. And you can always do it in, in, uh, profitable PR pros too. But you never know if who you know who is answering there. Allison says, I use Grammarly, print it out, read it, then read it out loud. Beautiful advice. I love that. Um, really great advice.
Um, so let me read that again. So she has Grammarly as a plugin on her editing. Um, they have free, but they also have a paid, um, you know, a paid subscription that gives you more, more benefits. Um, and then she will print it out. She will read it in her head and then read it out loud. And I'm sure any mistakes are caught when you go through that process. And I love that. That's excellent. Okay. Natasha clarified, sorry. AP style pitches. Shouldn't be super formal, short, sweet and skimmable. So for linking, if you say my client has been featured in entrepreneur, New York, times, us weekly, I will hyperlink each of those with the article. It's like the AP works cited. LOL. Yes. Always proof with a hard copy, says Gale grammar. Lee is lifesaver says Ricky. Um, Suzanne says anyone who works in non oh nonprofits, grammar Lee is free for nonprofits.
Oh, that's so good to know. I had no idea. I don't work with nonprofits, but I know a lot of our members do. That's excellent. Um, yes, I will clarify here. So Natasha's work cited, AP um, explanation for all of the places a client's been featured and then linking to those articles. If they'd like to see them great use of hyperlinks and probably has that anchor text, right? Like New York times will be highlighted. And that's anchor text to go to the article, do not use anchor text when you are pitching your client's products. So they probably wouldn't copy and paste this unless there's a, um, byline or something. Um, if you're including a byline for your client, don't have any hyper text in there. Okay. Because you cannot have anchor text linked out to something else that is a big no-no, um, hyperlink their name to their website.
Yeah. Um, but if you are gonna write a byline and include it, don't have hyperlinks in there because, um, outlets don't we talked about this last week or somewhere. I can't remember where, but we, they don't like hyperlinks. Okay. Um, okay. We got it. So pitches are skimmable, no jargon, no words like innovative and you know, meaningless sort of like, uh, revolutionary, you know, keep it straight to the facts. If you have a technical product. Okay. She's passed out in the hall mission accomplished. If you have a, a technical type product, summarize it, like you're talking to your mom, summarize it. Like you're talking to your grandma, like simple language, nothing too technical. Um, you know, you want them to like read it and understand it. Okay. So we've got, um, we have Allison's wonderful suggestion at this point to use Grammarly, which is a plugin to ensure your proper grammar, then take your pitch, print it out, read it and then read it out loud.
So you can hear what it sounds like. Um, and Natasha says no attachments unless they ask for it. Automatic delete, uh, writers, hate it for fear of spam and uh, or a virus. So yeah. Um, unless they ask for an attachment, they will, a lot of journalists will, um, have something that will automatically delete anything with an attachment. Um, you can also have like a Dropbox, but you know, uh, you wanna just be sure you're not clogging their inbox with attachments, big attachments also they're reading on the go and you know, it takes forever to, um, load, you know, so don't include that. Okay. So, uh, the last thing is you're gonna wrap up with a really clear call to action or CTA. If you hear any once say CTA, it's a call to action. So add a clear call to action at, um, no attachments. I totally agree. Everything should go in the body of the email.
So you wanna Avi avoid burying the call to action or make it really difficult for the reader to find they should be able to quickly review and understand the takeaway from your pitch. So you wanna a call to action is essentially what is the next step they can take to engage to move this along, um, to make it simple for them. So, uh, for example, a clear call to action could be, um, let me know if you would like for me to set up an interview with, um, you know, Kara Duffy, um, or maybe sharing a byline article for consideration. Let me know if you'd like for me to have my client write that up for your consideration. So you're pitching a bullet and they can, or three by, and they can choose one of the three and say, that's really interesting to me. Um, your call to action will say, if any of these topics are compelling, let me know, and I can share a byline article for your consideration.
So it's really clear what their next step is. Um, or you can all offer an expert as a guest for a podcast or whatever, um, topic they can weigh in on. You can offer to send samples, you can offer to send images, um, you can offer to send additional, um, you know, um, information about a product. Um, we like offering samples in a way where we are asking for the address. So instead of saying, let me know if you want samples, we'll say, please provide your address. Or if we have one for them, most people, um, during the pandemic, they were working from home. We didn't have home addresses, but we were able to get them prior to that, we would include the, uh, address that we had from a freelancer. We were, we have worked with or in our database for a media outlet when they were in the office.
And we would include the address and say, is this a good address for us to send your or your media kit too? And that is more of like, they'll say yes, and that's them accepting the press kit and the samples knowing it's on the way with the pandemic editors working from home. Um, a lot of them are in New York in like walkups with no doorman or whatever. They don't want packages. They have small places and their boxes everywhere. Um, so don't include a package unless they want it. Don't do, you know, blind sample send outs, but do include something. That's a call to action about offering samples and to be even more pushy without being obviously pushy, just have like a confirm your address, or please provide me the best address. So instead of them saying, yes, I want samples. They're saying, here's my address.
It's easy cuz they know that means they're getting their samples. Um, and uh, let's see. So, um, we want to, um, really just kind of summarize what the next step would be so that editor knows whether they should take action on the pitch now or save it for future reference. So this is a, a source we can use in the future. That's why having good keywords in their matters because they'll file it away. And when they go to write an article, they're gonna look for certain experts and search a, a keyword and they'll find your client, they'll find your original pitch. Um, or is it something that's like immediate take action now, uh, you know, what should they do? And when like, if this is timely and relevant right now, what is the immediate next action they should take in order to catch on catch this opportunity while it's still fresh.
Um, and we also like the idea of identifying and offering an expert source, um, where you're really adding value to, um, uh, sorry, where you're adding value to the journalist, uh, um, and PR pro dynamic. You know, you're essentially like I have, I know what you write about. I have someone great that I want you to keep on your radar. Maybe not for anything now, but here are some things they can speak about like, um, Natasha pitching, Kara Duffy, I'm sure that pitch had some bullet points about her expertise and what she could speak about. So offering and identifying an expert source from the, that onset like this first pitch is a key to adding value in this dynamic, this relationship you have with the journalist. So that they're like, oh, I remember that PR pro gave me like this really great source. Maybe I'll go back to them. Um,
Uh, maybe I'll come back to them and uh, see if they have any other experts. And we like it because it'll build lasting relationships, which is obviously one of your main goals. You wanna obvious we niche down. So you don't have to build relationships with literally everyone and you just go for, um, in depth, key relationships with the right journalists, the right, um, writers and know their style. And speaking of which, um, the backstory here. So Natasha says a writer I be rendered at LA times, said he has three, um, filing techniques, AAP follow up upcoming story ideas and delete LOL. He said novel pitches make him crazy novel, not meaning new novel meaning long. Okay. And backstory on that is she basically read his, an article that he, that was super fluff ball. Um, Not hard hitting. It was about PR pros and the pandemic. And, um, it was not
Well researched or some, you know, it was just an article that didn't have any guts to it. And she called him out on it and she was like, this is, this is lazy or something. I mean, she probably said it in a really nice way. And they connected and she got one of her clients like a full page feature in the New York times. Um, and they're like buddies now. So I'm telling you having a personality. My tip number one was, which is, um, infusing your personality. I mean, she wasn't even pitching him, but he liked her personality. He liked her candor. She was really blunt. And I was kind of like, dude, um, what the F is this about? Like, this is not like you're missing this. Isn't a, you know, poor me story. There are PR pros out there that are thriving that aren't complaining.
Um, we are definitely buddies and he's awesome. Yeah. So, um, you know, it's about connecting, realizing there's a person on the other end. So, um, these tips are going to help you start crafting more compelling winning pitches. Um, obviously the depth of what, what type of pitches you're writing the content of your pitches. This is just assuming you have these ideas and you wanna get them to the media in a way where they're gonna read 'em open them and wanna engage with you and what are, what are those? Um, what's the word it's like, uh, customs or, um, best PR best practices. So these are the best practices, but in, um, we have an upcoming free master class that is called crickets to how to go from crickets, to crushing it and double your media placements for your clients. And that's on March 31st at 1:00 PM.
Totally free. Um, here's just the explanation. And then I'm gonna give you a link, um, to just register. It's really good. Um, so it's crickets to crushing it. So it, what I'm sharing here and it goes way more in depth and, um, you know, we are here to ensure you get the best results for your clients so that they stick around. That's the goal consistent, predictable, recurring retainer revenue means your clients stay in the door and they're happy. So we're hoping to give you best practices. And, um, Kelly, look, I have my lock alone. Uh, we're giving you best practices so that you can just nail it for your clients or just subtle tweaks. You know, maybe there's one or two Jen's classes are the best. Well, thank you. And this one's totally free. Um, crickets to crushing it and people like it. I mean, been running it for a little while.
This is, uh, I haven't done it live in a, a while, probably a year. So, um, I'm excited for this one to go live. Um, yeah. So anybody have any other questions for me? Anything they wanna share? 1:00 PM Pacific. Yes, that's right, Suzanne. Um, are you guys wearing green? Do I have to pinch you happy St. Patrick's day, right? Um, yeah. Any other like tactics that you have employed to win over journalists? Like something that's been like unexpected, you know, like Natasha kind of rooming, this guy for weak reporting and woe is me reporting and being blunt. Like she said, won her a great relationship with him because he appreciated her candor and she's smart. And she had other follow up ideas for him and he obviously listened. Um, he was also like a sports writer that was kind of writing in a different, um, niche and different column. It was very odd, but they're pals now. So anything else that you guys wanna share?
I've got the dog passed out, just reach out and comment on articles, then we talk, shop and get on the phone. That's great. Yeah. Um, sometimes it's, uh, an Instagram connection and you're kind of commiserating over favorite shows even, and you know, DMing like, oh my God, could you believe the finale? You know, can you believe that happened? Um, and then you start to get just like a fun, casual relationship. And, and then you're like offering them value on what they write about and that's always appreciated, but now you have a more, um, open, friendly, easy going dynamic, which we always love. I just, for anyone who's new to PR or new on your own, you have to remember that journalists are people. Um, Ricky saying Instagram engagement has been really helpful for me, me too. I've connected with some awesome, awesome people. And I'm just like, okay, time to pitch them because we have really good rapport in DMS.
Um, Natasha says, yeah, I have a lot of editors and con contributors. I'm BFF with on IG. They come to me for short pitches all the time. That's so great, super easy. And it's just, it's a fun, easy way to connect. And you know what? You can even have your team do this for you. If they have access to your account and you wanna have them engage. I mean, I do it myself. It's not, uh, clubhouse. Oh my God. We had some good results on club. Ricky saying clubhouse work too. Once upon a time, there are still certain segments that are using club ha clubhouse. I hear a lot of authors are engaged over there are engaging. I should say over there. Oh my God, my son went to school without his glasses on. Look how cute these little tiny glasses. My God, they almost fit me, but I can't see, oh my God, these are kids glasses.
And they fit me subscribe to SubT stacks. Yes. Um, we have training inside our pitch lab program around certain. We did a, a call and Natasha and I and Jane Morehouse clubhouse is dead. I think so too, that, um, Jane, uh, we all shared certain, um, writers that are really generous on SubT stack. They also have, um, paid versions, Bryce grouper, um, Jill Shi house, um, uh, who, um, oh my God. Ally Lansky. Who else was there? Natasha will tell us anyway, go to SubT stack subscribe. Best thing about, um, J school. We all keep in touch. What SubT stack do I find helpful? Natasha, maybe can tell us about a few. Some of them are paid and they're really like, you get free content, but the good stuff is behind. Oh, Lindsay tiger. Yeah. Behind a pay wall. Yep. So just go up stack and you know, look for them and then subscribe. And then they'll offer you their paid version. They go in depth. A lot about affiliates. Bryce will go into a lot about what's happening in the affiliate world. Um, Let's see. What else, what else do you guys wanna know from me? Sign up any good tech journalists on sub stack. There was one, um, Natasha, the new one you added. Was he a tech journalist? The, it was a, a, a man,
I don't know specifically, but I did start subscribing. You must pay for rice. You simply must pay for rice and you should be an affiliate go teller. Um, sign up for this. I'm gonna post it again.
Uh, and that's what I have for you guys to today. If anybody has anything else, um, not been on sub stack, Chrisy says it's, it's, you're gonna hear more and more about it. I was just it's Bryce is worth every penny. It's inexpensive. It's like 60 bucks for the year, maybe a hundred max, but, um, I was listening to the smartless podcast and they were that's with, uh, Jason will, our net and Sean Hayes. It's great. It's my, like one of my favorite podcasts and the pitching powerhouse podcast, which is mine. Um, I listed them out in the pitch lab. Yeah. So inside our paid community, we have like an entire list of the SubT stack people to follow. Um, we had a new episode drop on the pitching powerhouse on, uh, um, about running a successful agency. What are the elements that go into it?
Uh, the 12 elements that go into it, but, um, on smartless they were interviewing Michael Moore, you know, the documentarian, although he doesn't wanna be called a documentarian anyway. And he said he has a subs that he writes once a week. I think it goes out on Fridays, which is his free newsletter where he's sharing more in depth. Um, he's sharing more in depth. Chelsea's asking where inside the pitch lab, let me locate it for you. And I will try to, um, type go into the pitch lab. And there's a search bar and type in the word SubT stack, and you should be able to find it. Okay. And if you can't let me know and I will find it for you, but it was about a month ago or two months ago, one of our coaching calls, um, we listed 'em all out and we gave links inside. So type in the word SubT stack and a will pop up.
I know how to run my own programs. Good. Thanks, Natasha. Uh, anyway, so Michael Moore has a sub stack and he, um, was explaining how that is his best way to stay connected to his audience and to get them excited about the causes that matter most to him. Um, and to explain what he's working on, on in depth. And sometimes he has the most freedom there. It's kind of like, they're, this is mine, and I'm not speaking on behalf of a publication. I'm not speaking on behalf of a project I'm working on that somebody else is paying me for, this is my space to say whatever I wanna say. So if you like it, subscribe, and if you don't like what I have to say, then get outta here. So, um, the journalists are offering really good insider info. A lot of them are offering like little paid classes.
Um, and Tasha saying, all the ones listed in the pitch lab are free, but Bryce is, this is Bryce Gruber, B R Y C E Bryce's paid subscription is, and we got four trophies. So that means winning award winning. Um, yeah. So anyway, that's what I have for you guys today. I hope you are all having a wonderful, the news is it's stressful. It's bleak. It's you know, but, um, I don't know. I'm just focusing on things that I can control and trying to release things that I can't control and, um, doing what I can to contribute. Um, uh, you know, for me, I'm always advocating for my son and today something came up that we have to tackle in our lawsuit against the school district. Um, but anyway, you know, just reach out if you can, to three that, you know, any, any three people, professional family, friends, even somebody that doesn't know you, if you have been inspired by someone, if you have been, um, supported by someone, if you feel love for someone or gratitude, reach out to them, send them a text, send them a voice memo and express your gratitude.
And if you do that every day, I promise you, you will feel uplifted, but there is something magical about sharing how you feel about someone, somebody that may not even know you when I get DMS from people who are like, oh, I found you on a podcast and this was really helpful. Or, um, thanks. Hugs, Jen. Great advice. That's been a heavy week. Yeah. You never know how it'll, how it'll change your day. Cough, cough, Jen this morning. Yeah, I did this for Natasha today. Well, every day because you know, but, um, it's just whatev whatever strike, whatever strikes me, um, and, um, just share your gratitude and it feels good. It makes other people feel good. It's a way to connect. And if you can sit in gratitude every day for your safety, be grateful for waking up in your bed, cozy and warm and feeling safe.
You know, I mean, there are people in this world that don't have that at all right now, and may never have that again. So it's really heavy. Um, and Nelson's asking about our next mixer, which is, um, coming up. It is going be April 7th at 5:00 PM is our quarterly zoom mixer. Um, that's for, I think, members of, of our programs or members. I don't know. It's for members of our programs. Everyone in all our programs is invited to come to our mixer. We connect, I drink anyway. Uh, yeah. So gratitude, share the love. Tell people you love them and appreciate them. And it feels great and it makes them feel good too. All right, guys, have a great rest of your week. Thank you so much for being here and I'll see you next week. Take care.
