Peter Shankman is the founder of a service called Help a Reporter Out (HARO), which a daily e-newsletter that is delivered three times a day to help journalist on a deadline find sources. Yesterday, I discovered a query on HARO from a source asking other PR professionals to share successful pitch examples for a new series called “Pitches that worked”. The question is, do we share the secret sauce and submit a response?

Bland, watered down and downright gross is what ends up on Richard Laermer’s Bad Pitch Blog. We like to spice it up a bit at BLASTmedia–throwing in a dash of creativity and consistency mixed with plenty of time and research. We work together as a team to beef up the communication, which is only the beginning of a sometimes lengthy process. Let me break down some of the ingredients:

Creativity: New angles and new markets every week.
• How can the product, service, or even the company be shown in a different light?
• Identify the constraints of your company or product so you can be prepared to counter
• Let your colleagues take a look at the pitch and throw in a dash of their own creativity

Consistency: Be yourself and show you have an understanding of the client and product being pitched
• Offer experts and facts
• Relate the pitch appropriately
• Ensure you are pitching every week and establishing new leads

Time: Do you want to end up on the Bad Pitch Blog?
• Take the time to know and understand what and who you are pitching
• Talk to your client to ensure you are sending the right message
• Find the best niche and fit for your client before you make the pitch

We like to eat at BLASTmedia. Once the sauce (pitch) is just right, we focus on the meal (coverage). Check out what we have been eating lately:
Ryan Grieves- The New York Times (Scale Computing)
Hillary Money- TV Guide Magazine (iPopperz)
Chantal Brenton- Chicago Tribune (Eco Smart Fire)

Patrick Tarpey — CBS’s The Early Show (Sleeptracker and Good Nite Lite)
Lindsey Groepper – BusinessWeek.com (Cyberhomes)

Hungry? Contact us to get something cooking.