Media has the power to create conversations, establish trends, and sway consumer opinions and you need in ASAP. The problem is, every time you reach out to a media publication for coverage, you're met with unanswered emails and cold shoulders. While you may feel like this lack of communication is a reflection of your product, it's actually a reflection of your packaging.
If you're an entrepreneur who feels like pitching is a pain in the ass, the truth is you're just not doing it right, sis. Luckily, Forbes Senior Contributor Pauleanna Reid slid through this year's ElevateHER Crawl and dropped gems that had our tribe dripping in entrepreneurial expertise. According to this Canadian-girl boss, although she gets several brand pitches on a regular basis, the majority are wrong AF.
"On a weekly basis, I receive at least a minimum of 50 pitches. 47 of those pitches are incorrectly done. Your goal is to not get your email deleted. So I'm going to tell you how to run your race."
Forbes Writer Pauleanna Reid's Expert Tips On How To Pitch To Mediayoutu.be
Read on to learn how to effectively R.A.C.E. when you pitch yourself to media brands and increase your chances of getting your story heard:
R is for Readiness
Photo by Carol Lee Rose for xoNecole
Stay ready so you don't have to get ready. The opportunity of a lifetime could show up on your doorstep at any time, and Pauleanna says that this is a major key that entrepreneurs often overlook when pitching their stories:
"You want to make sure that you have creative collateral ready at all times. Press kit, media kit, you'd be surprised how many people do not even have a headshot. I can't write my article without creative collateral."
The writer also noted the importance of having a clear vision. Your brand story is the backbone of your business and Pauleanna says it's important that we tell it right:
"Make sure that you can articulate your story. How are you contributing to a conversation on a community level, on an industry level and the world at large?"
A is for Audience
I hate to break this to you girl, but you can't sell to everyone. While you may want to believe that your consumer is every consumer, that's just not facts.
Everything ain't for everybody and this is also true when it comes to your business.
"Your company addresses a need for a specific type of person. You need to figure out where this person lives. Not geographically, [but] what publications are they reading?"
The writer/entrepreneur shared that it's important to target your audience so that you can pitch to the appropriate publications.
"At 'Forbes', we have a millennial audience that's very entrepreneurial. They value solutions. So you're not going to pitch me an inspirational story, I need action steps. I need to know what problem you are solving. The worst thing you can do is pitch me and your first line is 'I want to share my story in 'Forbes'.' No, you don't. You're not ready."
C is for Contact
It's not about what you know, it's about who you know and Pauleanna gave us some valuable tools to make sure you're in touch with the right people:
"You need a contact to get a contract. So how are you going to find these contacts? You're going to your Twitter advanced search, and you're gonna look for the words 'editor', 'deputy editor', 'writer', [and] 'journalist'."
Sites like Hunter.io and HARO can give you the Rolodex of your dreams and even potentially double your income.
E is For Execution
Photo by Carol Lee Rose for xoNecole
Let's be clear. Pauleanna and every other editor in the world is tired of you sending those long-ass emails once a week. Less is more, and this especially applies when it comes to pitching your brand to a journalist. Contrary to popular belief, we don't need your life story, sis. Condense your brand's narrative into no more than 600 words the next time you send an email. Pauleanna explained:
"Organize your emails. People are not putting paragraphs. People are sending me pitches that are 1000 words. Edit your email, and I guarantee you can get your pitch in less than 500-600 words."
Pauleanna made it abundantly clear that editors are not one of your little friends. Make sure to come correct:
"Another thing is, I am not your sweetie. I am not your love. I'm not your honey. My name is not Paula... Spell my name right and give me that respect. I guarantee you will not be able to enter another inbox if you misspell the editor's name."
The author also offered some yasss-worthy software to help us keep up with our emails after they're sent:
"You can use YesWare, you can use Toot. You can use MailTracker. Girl, I'm giving you all the gems. Track your email because it will help with your follow up."
Watch the full video of Pauleanna's inspired rendition of a TedTalk by clicking here.
- The Only 10 Slides You Need in Your Pitch - Guy Kawasaki ›
- Pitch Perfect: Your Guide to Writing the Perfect Pitch – Express Media ›
- How To Perfect Your Media Pitch ›
- Perfect Your Pitch — Media Darling ›
- How to Create the Perfect Media Pitch ›
- 78 \\ How to Get Featured on the Media & Perfect Your Pitch with ... ›
- Perfect Your TV & Film Pitch Panel | BRIC ›
- How to Perfect Your Elevator Pitch - Visiting Media ›
- BRIC Media Talks: Perfect Your Pitch | BRIC ›
RELATED
Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak