CRAP Holiday Tie-Ins Don’t Come with Receipts

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”…for bad pitches. Our email boxes have been stuffed with a few politically correct holiday cards and a metric ton of bad pitches desperately trying to tie-in to the KwanzmasHann season (yeah, I skipped Festivus, save it for the airing of the grievances).

Seriously though, lawn chairs in December? OK, nothing that blatantly off season. But there’s a good way and a bad way to tie your client to the most over commercialized season with the slowest news cycle known to modern civilization. Here are three tips:

1) Christmas in July: Retailers figure out what they’re doing for the holidays six months in advance. The earlier the planning process, the better your odds in finding the best, most original and on-brand tie-in. Pick something you can own.

2) Be Inspired, But NEVER Copy: There are more holiday campaigns than consumers it seems. But which ones really stand out? Why do they stand out? There are core elements that make a story, or even an annual gimmick, resonate with a crowd. Consider this as inspiration. Just don't try to Elf Yourself or Talk to the Moose. It's been done.

3) Don’t Force It: If your tie-in doesn’t feel right, don’t force it. This may be a sign you should focus on a different holiday where you can do something that has a bigger impact for less effort.

There may or may not be an opportunity during the holidays for your client to shine like the North Star on Christmas Eve. The key is directing their efforts to a spot on the calendar that makes more sense.

Bad Pitch's Shortest Post Ever: Why We Love PR!

We Love The PR Biz...

 
...Simply, because of all it can do for you!
  
 
1.
Get people nationwide clamoring for your wares, turning your local father and son shop into a national, never neglected, constantly referenced, known everywhere, mega brand.
  
2.
Make you famous for whatever it is you do, no matter what it is.
  
3.
Send your stock price through the roof. Pass the Cohibas, please.
  
4.
Get your social concerns in front of your neighbors and your House representatives alike.
  
5.
Set the record straight.
  
6.
Make a gold album shoot up the charts or get you one “win.” Hollywood types call this a “break.”
  
7.
Incapacitate the competition and just cannibalize the bastids.
  
For more like this, hear the brand new audio version of "Full Frontal PR" - from Audible.com.

Twitter @badpitch - and Happy Hanukkah!

Turn Off the Cloaked Reporter in this Transparent World

The word cloaked means “to cover or conceal.” For those of us who subscribe to reporter/expert lead services ProfNet, HARO, or competitors, we’ve come to know cloaked to mean “I’m a reporter that doesn’t think you’re worthy of knowing who I am until you are been vetted or sniffed at.” These reporter queries look like this:

• Faintly Veiled: A reporter reveals his/her name, but only provides a vague description - not the name - of the media outlet (often times, they are freelance reporters still pitching said story).
• Moderately Veiled: A reporter doesn’t reveal his/her name, or the name of the media outlet, but provides their email address.
• Ludicrously Hidden: A reporter conceals his/her name, along with name of outlet, and has pitches filtered through a blind [ProfNet/HARO/other] email.

Years ago there was a certain cachet associated with anonymous queries, as reporters and producers were often from top-tier (big shot) publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or national broadcast outlets like, ah, Nightline. We would send our careful pitches and then anxiously sit in nail-biting hope … waiting to see if we’d piqued the reporter’s interest and get that response we deftly deserved.

In today’s transparent and ever-flattening media landscape, cloaked/anonymous queries are as outdated as faxing the press release! Not only are these secret queries demeaning to PR professionals, but they are also counter intuitive to client initiatives. We take great care to ensure our pitches are on target and are consistent with our own goals. And each time we deliver a valuable solution – whether positive outcome to a client crisis or a reliable source to a reporter on deadline – we elevate ourselves higher on the ladder of invincible credibility.

I recently saw a faintly veiled query that said “This is for a major business Web site; will disclose publication in response to on-target pitches." A search of her name and some keywords revealed in a second that she was a freelancer who had been covering the financial crisis for Portfolio.com (the new one). Not only does this type of query discount our ability to be resourceful (Hello, Google?!), but it is egocentric and self-serving.

While reporters might think cloaked queries shield them from the onslaught of pitches (deal with it) or somehow feel they might get “scooped” by someone competing – as if - they should take into account that PR pros like me will not respond to their anonymous queries. They then miss out on that expert they’re looking for!

Skeptics might proffer that I shrug and pitch my client and then if it’s not right for everyone, simply move on. Logical, but flawed, reasoning.

1. Our time is valuable. Who has the hour to develop an on target pitch for an off-target publication? I have no idea what I’m reaching out to. The time spent writing, sending and waiting could be better spent focusing on reporters, producers, bloggers and the like whom we know matter already. Throwing darts blindly and hoping to hit a target is not a good use of anyone's time, not to mention disappointing (and, again, patronizing).

2. Our clients expect more from us. Strategic decisions require careful thought and execution--period. Our clients trust us to position them and their companies in the right publications to reach an intended audience. You can’t say you’ve been pitching them to a reporter but as it turns out, they would not have been interested in it anyway. The obvious question is, “Didn’t you know before you sent the pitch what it was for?” May I remind you: Results without a purpose just don’t matter!

3. Our credibility hinges on relationships. While that cloaked-and-daggered publication might not be the right fit for the client today, it might be a publication suitable for another customer tomorrow. If I throw the rod into the water and the bait is taken, I can’t throw the fish back in. This wastes my time—wait a minute, it wastes everyone’s time! How will that reporter feel if I find out what she’s all about and then go: “Oh, I’m sorry, he’s, er, unavailable” because I don’t want it anymore? You can bet next time I pitch with another idea, they won’t be too interested in taking the offer.

4. The client’s reputation is at stake. You’ve positioned hun as an expert source and provided salient points of their expertise, so the reporter might disregard the fact that your client is no longer available and call them directly. Yep, that would be bad. Client will be taken off guard, will be unprepared-- and darn unhappy you’ve sent his information to a reporter about a story that doesn’t fit anyone’s model. The trust you worked hard to build has been chipped away because of one blindfolded move you could have avoided by just saying no.

5. Elevated egos have missed the boat. The right comment on the right blog can have a bigger impact on the bottom line than an uninteresting quote in some shrunken newspaper! We no longer need to pander to “cloaked” reporters when our clients are more into the advocates and ambassadors on Twitter and in the mega-important, blogosphere. Reporters who haven't come around to recognizing their non-traditional media brethren - who continue to operate as if the media landscape was still embedded in 2004 - might be looking for a new job any minute now. Their appeal must be all encompassing, not stuck in a suction-less vacuum.

No matter the situation, audience or relationship, trust has to be earned every day. We work to engender it from all our constituents. PR folks who send off-target pitches learn quicker-than-ever when the email stops pinging. So, as more journalists jump into the world of PR and even news organizations along the lines of Dow Jones bring PR into their fold, I can’t help but wonder what it will be like when everyone starts to see the error of their antiquated ways. A turned table is one that goes, “We’re all in this together.” Welcome to the uncloaked world.

By Susan E Jacobsen, Luv2XLPR Chief [@susanejacobsen]
Thanks to RLMpr CEO and 2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade author Richard Laermer for his witty and astute additions to this post.
...BadPitchBlog tweets: @badpitch

Landing the Interview Vs. Getting the Job

After years in your PR dream job you may now be among the unemployed, checking out job boards, receiving alerts from Indeed, scanning craigslist. You’ve sent your resume to anything in the neighborhood of your capabilities; then you stare at your PDA and wait. While you might be in shock, halfheartedly going through motions of what you think you should be doing to “look for a job,” this lackadaisical and noncommittal approach will get you precisely nowhere.

When you were in your last job in PR, did you sit back and kick your heels up to wait for reporters to call you? Did you send the same pitch to everyone? Did you tell your clients not to be prepared for interviews? But, alas, if you did that might be why you’re looking for a job.

While toiling in that PR gig I’m sure you put effort into honing your capabilities, sharpening your communications skills and impressing the boss. Today, you are turning all that diligent effort into mush! You're forgetting the basics. At least that’s what I witnessed as I interviewed candidates for clients recently — that the pool of job seekers was replete with stuttering, ill-prepared, nervous-seeming and pretty wimpy responses with no obvious discerning interest in the company.

They just want a job.

If you can’t understand why you still haven’t gotten one, I think you need to take a step back and reassess what’s happening. Have you committed to your search with the same chutzpah you devoted to your last successful job? As a PR pro there is no excuse for being unprepared for anything, so take advice offered to clients and make it work for you. Here is how….

How: You wrote up an agenda for clients to know what to expect in a media interview; do the same to prepare for a job interview. Being unprepared for the media interview guarantees your client won’t be asked back, and could result in damage to a client’s rep. The same goes for your own moment-in-the-sun where you need to identify your communication objectives—making a good first impression, demonstrating your knowledge (“I understand that in…”) and showing value so that you get the offer because you went head-first into the situation!

Look at your agenda for the interview. Are you prepared?

Company Research: Demonstrate understanding of its core business. You wouldn’t show up at a new client’s office without due diligence (I hope) so don’t neglect the value in researching this prospective employer.
...Annual Reports/S&P
...Media Placements
...Google/Blogs/Twitter
...Corporate site/Executive Bios
...Linked-In Research

Don’t forget they are searching the ether for you too! BadPitch’s own @laermer reminded those participating in a #prstudchat for young pros: “Companies search candidates' histories everywhere. It's too easy to do it.” So, dudes, clean up the Facebook page — nix the beach week Jell-O-shot-apalooza photos and think before you post. [Don’t roll your eyes…it’s a hard-won lesson.]

Job Description/Experience: Use examples to demonstrate why you’re the fit they're seeking. Clearly articulate what you have accomplished and how you understand what the role is. Refer to the job description a few times so they know you actually read it and aren’t responding like a robotic!
 “Seeking experience with crisis management…”
→ I organized a crisis management strategy for senior executives and prepared our CEO to respond to inquiries during a [vaguely named] crisis situation, which resulted in favorable coverage and praise from shareholders…
 “Has successfully secured media placements…”
→ I have secured placements and features for clients with national and international broadcast media that includes CNN, Bloomberg News, New York Times, Hustler (kidding) and Wall Street Journal…
 “Has integrated nascent types of media into PR campaigns”
→ I am fully engaged on Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and Flickr, and I have my own blog that I updated regularly; I use my knowledge to help my clients leverage exposure through nascent social media platforms ….. [Don’t lie about it.]

Strengths/Weaknesses: Think Socrates. “Know thyself!” Show confidence by recognizing your actual high points and admit those areas that aren’t your strong suits. If you’ve done your research you know what they are looking to hear.
 Reference praise you’ve received for a bit of fantastic work (something unique and not necessarily requested from an employer).
 Point out awards/achievements. Make sure these are on your resume!
 Note classes, symposiums, seminars or weekend college classes you’ve attended since you graduated to increase knowledge and strengthen skills.
 Align job qualifications with who you are.

Anticipate Questions: Think about the easy, tough and unavoidable queries—you know, like you told your clients once. Keep responses short and concise (two minutes max, said the attorney PR person in me) and don’t veer off topic, ramble, or get too familiar — no matter how warm your interviewer seems. Complicated responses during a TV interview bore audiences and make them click off; rambling, off-topic responses will lose interest and will make them wonder how quickly they can get you out of there and back to their own Jell-O shots! Think sound bites, think takeaways. Rid yourself of clichés forever. (“I am a people person” is one phrase that makes me run.) Think about what they really mean when they ask these expected questions:
 Why do you want this job?
 What do you know about our firm?
 How do you deal with tough-as-nails situations?
 What was a problem you encountered that you solved yourself?
 Where do you see yourself in five years? 10 years? 15? Old age?
 Why should we hire you? Why exactly...
 What professional organizations do you belong to?

During the interview, listen and stop nodding before you start. Do not correct the interviewer. It's amazing how many people do that. If your client corrected a reporter you'd try to kick him under the table! Even though you may have anticipated the question, the way it is asked determines how you respond. Misinterpreting a question and not thinking clearly what was said will lead to a misfired response - think of those fools who hit the Jeopardy buzzer before the end of the sentence! You’ve coached your client to ask for clarification politely; ask your interviewer to restate if you need to.

Just as you would stress the importance of coming across as being comfortable and real to your paying customers, you'd better do the same: “Answer every question the best you can,” noted @laermer during #prstudchat. “Be yourself. So many phonies out there. You will stand out - believe me. BS meters are set on high now.”

Two Way Talkers: Show real interest; ask questions and engage that interviewer like no tomorrow. The correct strategic questions will not only impress and show you are a human worthy of consideration but can also demo your preparedness, assertiveness and intelligence. (Plus, you are evaluating them as much as they are determining if you fit!) Think about why you want the job and whether it's your gig. Really, ask:
 Is this a newly-created position? Am I replacing someone?
 What qualities are you looking for that would make a candidate stand out?
 How are teams structured?
 What systems are in place to evaluate performance?
 Is the company contracting or growing?

You cautioned clients about not coming across as a windbag of hype so remember to avoid meandering nonsense such as “What about this weather, huh!” It’s wasteful and shows you don’t respect someone’s time — even your own.

Practice: You would never want a client to wing it so why should you? Practice and speak aloud in front of a mirror. If a friend or family member is around, have them read anticipated queries and respond as if it’s The Real Deal. Ask your faux interviewer to provide genuine feedback:
 Message Delivery - Are you concise and on-message, or are you rambling and losing them to thoughts of naughtiness?
 Posture - Are you sitting straight and leaning in or are you slouched with shoulders hunched with a look of doe-eyed sullenness?
 Facial Expressions - Are you making eye contact and acknowledging the question and/or smiling gracefully? Or are you frowning, staring into never-never-land or looking up/down? Worse, are you nodding involuntarily or staring as if hit on the head?
 Hand Gestures - Are your gesticulations natural as if to emphasize a point or do you fidget nervously so the seat gets sanded-down?

Appearance: On this day you don’t, as a client might, need to think about how your clothes will appear on camera; however, you do need to show you fit in with a corporate culture so try to learn what the dress code is beforehand. Many companies have gone to corporate casual, but even if they wear jeans best to go with business casual (“The only people who find you too dressed up aren’t dressed well enough,” said @laermer) since you are the professional looking for a position where appearance matters!
 Demeanor - Smile and say hello to everyone — every person you encounter. People form opinions within seconds since your first impression has to be positive especially in passing. (Prospective hires can easily be burned by speaking down to administrative assistants and secretaries who later say, “That guy was a dumb ass.”)
 Punctuality – Arrive early—but not more than :15. Being late shows a lack of respect for time, and too early is desperate. (Factor in traffic, parking, coffee, bathroom, comb-overs, et al.)
 Enthusiasm – Show the interested, always-on, passionate You; get yourself in a positive groove. Think about pre-fire hydrant Tiger Woods when he makes a great shot – not only is he elated but his fans are too. Enthusiasm is contagious, damn it.
 Familiarity – Break the ice quickly to make the next 30 minutes breeze by. The strand of commonality helps to thread a very thin needle!
 Arrogance – Oh boy is there ever a fine line between confidence and aggression. Don’t show up the guy or gal with your own self-assuredness. Keep your ego in check. Better yet, park it at the door.
 Negativity – Badmouthing anyone is, like Bruno said, a “nicht nicht!” If you’re going to be crappy to others, what’s to stop you from doing the same with them? There’s no room for that.

Follow Up: When you, that is, not if. Write a note by email, follow up by hand-written letter, and send something for them to read that you wrote, or is about you or maybe even placed by you! Stay away from form letters – write each letter yourself! Be Specific, Be Considerate, Be Assertive. Show you really — truly, no BS — want the job, you are the right person, and have proof.

Job hunting is the same as the fantastic advice we give clients. Know what you want, set your sights on a message you want to leave them with and go in for the kill! @GLHoffman of JobDig said with verve: “Get out there and work your ass off!”

Susan E. Jacobsen, LUV2XLPR’s Drill Sergeant
@susanejacobsen
@badpitch

Three To Do’s Before 2010

As we head into Thanksgiving, the last few weeks of the year are all but gone. And a couple of truths will present themselves during our final hurtle to 09’s finish line.

1) SELF-COMBUSTING CALENDAR: The end of the year represents the mother of all self-imposed deadlines. This can be a good thing. But if every. last. item. on the books with our clients is not completed? The world will NOT explode. Our job is to figure out which projects must truly get done before the calendar flips and focus on them diligently.

2) HOLIDAY HOURS: Despite the above urgency, the paradox of these final weeks is that there will be down time – people will be out of the office, parties will slow people down. This is time where we can be productive, but we probably can’t get too far on the above list.

So here are three things you should do before the end of the year. These are not resolutions. Resolutions are for health clubs and tobacco cessation products. These three things you can actually accomplish -- quickly.

1) SURPRISE & DELIGHT: Break the established brainstorm mold and mix it up with an unconventional idea fest. The goal is to start the year with one unexpected, unrequested idea for a client. Your competition may already be doing this (just sayin).

2) POP YOURSELF THE QUESTION: Ask yourself if you still love PR. Well, do you? This is a period of forced change. If you don’t like what you do, now is the time to change careers. (we’re NOT saying quit now, we’re saying FIND the job now). There are plenty of other folks who really do love this industry and will happily take your seat. This stuff is hard enough without dissenters in the ranks.

3) GET REAL. FEEDBACK: This is not your annual review. This is not a kumbaya-filled retreat. This is a suggestion box asking for anonymous feedback from everyone on how you can be even better in 2010. If you really love PR, this should be a constructive exercise.

We’re thankful for our careers and we’re hopeful you are too. Have a simply magnificent Thanksgiving.

Day 092/366 - To Do List uploaded by Great Beyond

The Blind? Deaf? Or Just Dumb Pitch

Bloggers send more than a few emails asking to be removed from a media list, we also send emails to PR people to tell them why a pitch doesn’t work for their blog – and perhaps what might work in the future.

I rarely receive a response from these notes – which is unfortunate and yet telling. But music blogger Olivia Giovetti brings us an experience with a PR firm representing high-end hospitality clients that serves as a clear, and very frustrating, example of what not to do.

Chinese water torture via email? A steady stream of news releases
“I'm a writer who somehow wound up on a PR firm's mailing list receiving releases that were way outside of my beat. I first sent polite yet firm responses to the (frankly terrible) releases asking to be removed from their list to no response and no action.

“After averaging a release a week for about three months (each one followed up with a "Please remove me from your list" and a reminder that it had been requested numerous times before), I sent an e-mail to the firm's CEO and president, beseeching both of them to help. When I STILL got releases from their firm, I wrote a much more terse e-mail back asking if I'd have to ask their clients for help in getting off their lists.

“When that resulted in nothing but more press releases, I broke down last night and e-mailed their clients, who couldn't have been nicer or quicker to get my complaints passed along to the appropriate contacts at their PR firm. I kept it to a mainly just-the-facts e-mail with an emotional plea at the end noting that they may want to reconsider their PR teams if this was how unresponsive they were being to journos.”

Denial – not a river in Egypt
"Today I received an e-mail from the firm's president stating:
'We have learned that you are emailing our clients with negative and incorrect comments about our company refusing to remove you from our media lists. Point of fact is that we don't know you nor have we never heard directly from you about this matter. You are also obviously someone we would not want to work with. If you have issues with our agency please contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX to discuss. Otherwise we will take steps to report your harassment to us and to our clients.'

"I e-mailed and called her back immediately, as polite as I could be. In the e-mail I pointed out that I have dozens of e-mails (both sent and received) in my archives that I would be happy to send. I then forwarded a sample of five or six and called her to be lambasted on the phone with various and sundry threats. I then received an e-mail stating:

'It's been more than 20 minutes and I have not received any of the emails that you supposedly previously sent to me and XXXXXXXXXX asking that you be removed from our mailing lists. Please advise so that we can resolve this matter.'

"I re-sent from my Blackberry (and received delivery confirmations for each e-mail) and then received a phone call from her assistant demanding to know when I would be sending. I told her that they had been sent (a second time) and then also forwarded an e-mail from one of their clients to me, which mentioned that 'They’ve received your previous communication and are committed to honoring your request.'"

"Summing up a back and forth, the PR prez has decided the whole incident was a "fabrication" on my part (because, especially in a recession where I'm going bonkers to make ends meet, I have time to do this stuff). I realize I wasn't going to earn any friends at this firm for jumping on their clients, but it's interesting to see how inept these people were at relating with the public. Now they've not only turned one journo off, they've tapped into that marketing adage that a person with a good experience with a company will tell three people and a person with a bad experience will tell 10. And the only thing that's a fabrication about me is my hair colour. "

The Patience of Job
First let me say that Olivia went above and beyond to try and make this right. The PR firm however took a bad situation, chopped it up into kindling, sprinkled it with gas and light it on fire.

Could we have what Cool Hand Luke would call “failure to communicate?” Nope. I’ve seen screen grabs from Olivia proving that this particular agency was employing what we used to call the rolling thunder strategy: a press release every few weeks regardless of whether or not you have news. Worse still is that the agency paid no attention to their media lists or to their email inboxes for that matter.

According to the agency president, Olivia does not exist on any of their lists; however the agency does use Cision. Having seen screen grabs it does not look like the agency is using email marketing software. In fact, if Olivia was replying to the notes and not getting a bounce back, that proves they probably were not using email marketing to push out the latest in high-end hospitality news.

The PR exec’s arrogant and defensive response is ridiculous. But I’m giving this NYC-based agency an early Christmas gift by not outing them – despite the fact that Olivia asked them more than three times to stop sending her news releases.

Media Relations = Customer Service
If anyone you are pitching ask to be removed from your list? Do it. And make sure you tell them you’re doing it. If you get any communication from these folks that merits a response? Respond. It’s kind of why you send out email in the first place.

Never forget that you’re pitching on behalf of your clients and that’s kind of a big deal. Changing your story, acting arrogant, defensive or just being stupid? It’s eventually going to get back in some form or another to your client.

1983 I'm Surrounded By Idiots uploaded by JD Hancock

Believe In Yourself; But Believe In Trends More

We're all looking for something to take us to a better place-workwise, that is.

How do we do that? Follow trends.

When you’ve got one example, it’s a “noticeable situation.” When you’ve got two examples, it’s a fact. And when you’ve got three examples—welcome to a trend.

A trend is something that is just happening—the way ads are becoming smaller by the second (and disappearing, thank G-d); the use of tiny devices that are almost ear-sized for us to check who wants to reach us; the tendency for movies to be built around consumer products like Ben Stiller’s haircut or a particular type of Mercedes (crap slogans, wicked cars)—and that is happening in a significant enough way to portend real and widespread change.

The trends enjoyed by a few today will be experienced by many tomorrow, and virtually all next week. And a PR person that wants to excel needs to be a great, not good, trendspotter who can separate the wheat from the chaff, distinguish today’s passing fancy or fading passion from tomorrow’s hot new item du jour.

In lots of businesses — media, entertainment, marketing, fashion or stock-market-related professions — knowing the latest trend is a prerequisite for success (or even survival). The message is clear: you miss out on a trend, you’re out on the street.

I asked a friend, a journalist, why she thought we are so fascinated by trends. “Simple,” she said. “The trends happen without fail, and we find ourselves in the middle of them, and we want to identify what is happening.”

The most important rule in spotting trends is the rule of talking to experts.

Here’s how:

1. Pay attention to people you believe in. Get in touch and ask questions.

2. Ask really good (and useful) questions. Have total belief in your sources and make them know this.

3. Find visionaries who can teach you new ideas, and try to tell them one thing they weren’t aware of. People who are true visionaries know they can take a new person’s idea to another level. So they are thankful to respond to your call/e-mail. It’s important to learn to recognize the difference between true visionaries and slick BS.

4. Be aware of where life is going. Pay attention to the signs that something — big change — is on the horizon.

5. Great trendspotters are always evolving, learning, and growing. Remember that Italian class you’re always thinking of taking? Right.

6. Don’t just read the Arts section. Be well-rounded. In marketing, and in life, nothing succeeds (even success) like a person who is knowledgeable and, er, interesting. And stuff.

Since You Weren’t Reading Carefully, I Made Another List

Here is a sum of what you can do today. It has more group action—in case you didn’t feel like reading before:

1. Follow leaders — pay attention.

2. Use the Net for everything (forget privacy concerns—they’re nonexistent and almost funny now, so go, click, and be merry),because at any given time you can follow the thoughts of approximately 1.5 million random, just-as-fascinated people. A nice number—and one I didn’t have to make up.

3. Collect data on areas that interest you. Hey, one thing that everyone
forgets—and I know I said it before, but I can’t stress it enough—get a napkin and write it down. Even if you don’t ever look at thepage again, the brain works in oh-so-mysterious ways. I do this with my always-neglected shopping lists that I don’t bother with before I "dial up" the Chinese Delivery Guy.

4. Get on mailing lists about things that interest you. It’s so easy to do that now. Gosh, in the old days you had to send SASEs (for the confused, that’s self-addressed envelopes with stamps—or snail). Today you just shoot an e-mail to someone or click a link. I mean, jeez, there’s no excuse.

5. Use separate e-mail addresses just to collect separate information. Get a Hotmail or Gmail account for spam. In these cases, e-mail is—dare I say it—worthy.

6. Subscribe to trade publications. Man, you can get so many of them gratis. In trade magazines you read passionate and often interesting articles on things you had heretofore thought were dull. Plus, you get to see others work hard to explain what you found inexplicable.

7. Talk to experts—arrange to meet. I’ve said it before, and that means I mean it.

8. Don’t ignore indicators. In 1929, the only ones who made it through the crash were those who read newspapers. And really read ’em. By the way, myyahoo.com and mywashingtonpost.com—all that stuff you think you want to know—are not good enough. Expand your wings, broaden personal focus, all those other clichés . . .

9. Just do it over and over again. Nike had a point, albeit a repetitive one.

10. It is indubitably a must to be informed. But come on, talking about being interested in order to succeed is so obvious. If you don’t know this, then close the book. Today, it’s more urgent than ever to be interesting since that would put you in a class by yourself—people tend to like you better because you are a hotbed of “hmm, cool fact” in a society where people repeat the same one-liners daily.

It is better to be remembered for who you are than simply nodded at.

11. Stay awake. I like my lattes with lowfat.

*****Twitter @laermer

Know Yourself, Be Yourself for Better Pitches

Last week, I had the blind luck to present right before Artie Isaac at SummitUp. If you don’t know Artie, you should.

Artie Isaac co-founded SpeakerSite and the Young Isaac Agency. He also teaches creativity, consumer behavior, copywriting and the history of advertising at The Ohio State University and the Columbus College of Art & Design. Artie started his career with agencies in New York, including Ogilvy & Mather. He holds an MBA in Marketing from Columbia and a BA in English Literature from Yale.

So what do I mean by blind luck? Well Artie’s presentation rocked the house and I would have hated to follow it. But there was some wonderful synergy between my presentation on storytelling and Artie’s presentation on social media as a vehicle for creativity.

Artie’s inspirational speech on creativity convinced me to interview him for the Bad Pitch Blog. While I ask Artie about tips for more creative pitches, he actually gives us a bigger picture perspective from his own experience. And I think it's even more applicable and can be applied to your media relations approach.