How to Present a Professional Pitch

Monday, July 7, 2014

Some Marketing and PR gurus from Rite Aid, Hershey Entertainment, and Julie G from Julie G Beauty

At iRetreat 2014 I learned a lot about pitches.   It was great to get PR professional's advice as well as successful bloggers.

As a blogger, pitching companies and brands is an everyday occurance.  But, how do you know if you're pitching them properly? Well here's some advice on how to properly pitch a company.

Find a SPECIFIC Contact
Instead of just emailing a general contact address, search the internet for names of PR people that represent the company.  You're more likely to get a response this way.

Be Genuine
When reaching out to a brand, don't force it.  Be genuine and find common ground with the company. 

Focus on Demographics
A lot of bloggers think they need to explain all of the topics they cover on their blog when pitching, but it's even more important to focus on your demographics.  Companies always want to know their reach through a blogger so make sure you let them know who your audience is and why their brand is a good fit for your audience.

PROOFREAD!
Make sure your grammar is correct in an email and make SURE you check your spelling.  Your pitch email should contain a short introduction to who you are, where you're from, and what your blog is called as well as the audience you have and your site stats.

Have a Clean Blog
When brands visit your blog for the first time, they look for a neat and clean appearance, minimum ads, and a good social reach. 

Impress Them With Photos
Make sure your photo quality is professional so when a brand looks at your past work, they are impressed.  Pictures tell more than words can so make sure your photos pop on your page.

Don't Be A Grifter
Bloggers get a bad reputation for being greedy and a lot of companies assume that the reason you are contacting them is because you going to ask for free stuff.  Instead of immediately asking for a product to review, inform them of how you can benefit each other.  An example would be explaining how you can share promotions with your readers and possibly get a shout out on social media from the brand.

Follow Up
After you work with a PR person from a company, give them a follow up email perhaps showing them a social media share you did of the post.  Also, give them some stats like how many people commented on the post or how many people entered the giveaway.  This gives them great info to report back to THEIR boss.

Know What Companies Look For
According to the panel at iRetreat 2014, companies look for the number of Retweets or Likes a social media post gets, how many hits the post got or how many comments, and if you are being influential.  Did people respond to your tweet about the company and show an interest in learning more about them?  Good! That's an example of being influential.


Hopefully these tips help you write the perfect pitch!



 photo Screenshot2014-01-05at102823PM_zps73241dbc.png




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