Hiring The Internet

PR expert Benjamin Lewis has a new book entitled Perfecting the Pitch. He says, “Roll up your sleeves and earn the journalists’ trust. The easier you can make their job, the better it will be for you.”

Lewis offers 10 secrets & pointers:

1. Be persistent, not a pest.

2. Make an exclusive offer they can’t refuse.

3. Reposition a story to eliminate waiting.

4. Know a publication’s audience.

5. Compose emails with care.

6. Don’t send attachments in emails.

7. Don’t get carried away with promotional materials.

8. Choose an alternative to printed press kits.

9. Create the perfect five-paragraph pitch.

10. Build your relationship with journalists.

Lewis also offers 10 tips on how to build rapport:

1. Offer available sources and fact-based data.

2. Be at the right place before it’s the right time.

3. Show why the publication’s readers might be interested in your pitch.

4. Build your message using anecdotes, local aspect, variations on a general theme or expert report.

5. Don’t make overly negative or humorous remarks; assume that everything is “on the record.”

6. Read some of a reporter’s stories before pitching.

7. Give reporters sufficient time to do research; respond to emails promptly.

8. Suggest stories with unusual subject matter that has the potential to be widely adopted.

9. Avoid fishing — sending multiple stories to the same journalist in a short period of time.

10. Make sure your co-workers aren’t contacting the journalist you’re pitching at the same time.

Source: MarketingSherpa.com

According to MarketingSherpa, viral marketing is getting hotter all the time - but those who are new to viral marketing are less likely to conduct a viral campaign in 2007 than their more experienced competitors. MarketingSherpa states, “There’s a chasm in viral marketing — an experience chasm. It gives anyone with viral experience a significant edge over the competition.”

They report that experienced viral marketers are more likely to:

- “Pick the right goal — 13% of newbies hope to make direct sales from a viral campaign. Experienced marketers use viral as step one in a relationship or brand-building campaign that ultimately leads to a sale.”

- “Use multiple tactics — experienced marketers are more likely to pour it on, using video, audio, microsites, games and email. Newbies may test one tactic.”

- “Budget realistically — the numbers that newbies gave for videos, ecards and microsites were often laughably smaller than those from experienced marketers.”

If you’re interested in viral marketing, you can read more about it by clicking on the source link below, or you can contact us to find out how to effectively use this for your company.

Source: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?ident=29946