What Do These PR Pros Know About Pitching That You Don’t?
⇢ Andy’s pitch led to a half-page article (with a photo) on USA Today and front page coverage (with a photo) on the New York Times
⇢ Erin’s pitch landed her beauty client on the Today Show
⇢ Paul’s pitch led to positive coverage on the CBS Evening News and Fox & Friends
⇢ Nancy’s pitch landed her client a full-page USAT Story
⇢ Devin’s pitch landed coverage in every major media outlet you know: AP, CNN, USAT, WSJ
⇢ Mercy's pitch to Business Insider that went live on their site two hours later without even doing any interviews.
Now You Can Get Access to the Same Pitching Strategies and Techniques So You Can Get More Media Placements Sooner!
Based on the feedback I’ve been getting, my pitching approach is extremely effective.
Here’s a comment from my recent training at General Motors:
Here’s a comment from my recent training at General Motors:
“We're committed to being one of the best corporate communications teams in the world, and Michael Smart's workshop was a great resource for that pursuit. He was a wonderful addition to our meeting and his session hit just the right spot for us. I've received great feedback across the board.”
SVP Global Communications
General Motors
Here I am training GM's North American comms team
Stop "Climbing the Ladder of Success" and Just Jump to the Top
We were all taught that success takes work. And of course, that’s true. But what kind of work? That’s the question. There’s hard work and there’s smart work.
While hard work might build character, it’s often not the most effective long term solution. There are ways to work less and achieve more.
When it comes to pitching, the “work less, get more” route is really the only route I can confidently recommend. You want to get to the point where you invest X amount of effort and get 10X that in result.
So please, before you read further, start severing the connection in your mind between hard work and success. There IS no connection unless you’re working in a factory.
Alexandra was exposed to some of what I teach about pitching and used it THAT SAME DAY to get results.
“During our lunch break […], I applied what he’d taught us that morning and pitched a New York City TV affiliate. By the end of the workshop that day the producer let me know the story would work!”
Alexandra Sirota
Director of External Communications
HELP USA
Now I’m not guaranteeing you same day results here. Instead, I’m trying to open your mind to stop thinking that pitching is always hard.
Pitching the Way Most PR Pros Do It IS Hard, Pitching the Way You’re About to Discover Is Not
What could happen to your job, your salary, and the respect you receive from industry players if the number of media placements you receive doubles, triples or even multiplies by a factor of eight?
Just take a moment and imagine your future if that happened to you. There’s a good chance you might think that’s not possible. I know that years ago, when I was just getting started, I would have written-off an idea like that as little more than fantasy.
The biggest challenge is that most PR pros are flying by the seat of their pants and making things up as they go. One day it works, the next day it doesn’t. When this is your approach to pitching, it’s easy to get really frustrated. And it’s very difficult to build up momentum and confidence in your ability to produce results.
Understand that there’s a better way. And today, I’m making that available to you in a way that’s never been offered before.
— INTRODUCING —Crafting the Perfect Pitch:
A Playbook For Earning Positive Coverage
In 2006, I began offering a daylong pitching seminar to PR pros. I was 32 years old and I was terrified. Since that day, I've taught my pitching seminar 75+ times. It takes you on a step-by-step approach from creating compelling angles all the way through getting paid more for your work.
Even today, it is the ONLY pitching workshop for PR pros offered on the market.
Here I am presenting at a pitching seminar in NYC. Some of these PR pros flew from as far as LA, SF, Jakarta and Mexico City for this… but you can have access to what we covered (and more!) in about five minutes from now.
To be blunt, the approach to pitching I teach in that workshop leads to some pretty amazing results. Here are just a few of the comments I’ve received over the years:
“Michael's pitching training provided me with an arsenal of tools to use going forward. I feel like a true PR pro walking away. And I applied what I learned to land positive coverage on CBS Evening News and Fox & Friends.”
Wounded Warrior Project
“I took all of the tips you mentioned to heart and used them, and of course they work! I sent an email pitch to Business Insider and they covered us, and our web traffic went up 10X!”
Communications Manager
Washington Area Women's Foundation
AirWatch
“Michael's pitching training has changed my career. I’ll never forget when the Wall Street Journal columnist called me after I sent a pitch using Michael's tactics. He said, “I get 300 e-mails a day, but yours caught my attention.” By following Michael's advice, I landed a feature story about our company’s product in Journal, on the national AP wire, and in our industry's top trade publication. The result is that our startup's sales jumped 6x and stayed there until a successful acquisition. If PR pros want national coverage and are willing to put in the work it takes, they should listen and follow what Michael Smart has to say.”
PR Manager
Instructure
“I immediately used Michael’s techniques to place our clients in the Washington Post and on the AP national wire, and my national media experience has elevated me within the firm. I’m now PR Director, and I continue to use his formula for national media results weekly to help my team develop new angles and hooks. He provides savvy tips, backed up with a wide range of examples from his own experience, so you can tell the knowledge is there. His teaching style breaks it down to a step-by-step process, all specifics. Michael’s workshop has certainly enhanced my career.”
Director of Public Relations
Adams & Knight
“I can’t say enough good things about Michael Smart’s workshop. Before the workshop, I was under performing at my agency and felt like a salesperson regularly pestering journalists. In the workshop, Michael elegantly explained how to reach top-tier journalists using casual, authentic communications and a targeted strategy. Soon after the workshop, I secured placements with American Way, Conde Naste Traveler, The Huffington Post, and I got my foot in the door with The TODAY Show. I continue to follow Michael’s pitching strategies to this day, and the placements have continued to roll in.”
i.d.e.a., San Diego
“Quick check in to share another success story, thanks to your pitching workshop – we landed on the WashPost's front page with a nice big photo of our huge job fair, this past Fri! I took your advice and pitched a reporter off our normal beat, he was way into the topic and worked on his story with us for two weeks. So, thanks again for all the great tips!”
Our Public Service
“Michael Smart couples current media insights with industry trends and pitching fundamentals that empower your team with the tools and techniques to maximize story placements. His workshop is engaging and not only resonates with staff but more importantly has a tremendous impact on the results we are able to secure for our clients. Michael’s trainings are one of the best investments we make as an agency.”
President
Intrepid Agency
Unfortunately, the mechanics of that seminar kept it out of reach of most PR pros and limited it to major metropolitan areas or select private clients.
And that’s why I decided to create an expanded, far more detailed version of my workshop and make it available for everyone, online.
This is the first and only pitching course for PR pros available online. (There are lots of “info-products” about publicity, but they are all aimed at small biz/consultants/marketing people, not PR pros like you.)
In fact, you can start benefiting from what I’ve discovered about “crafting the perfect pitch” just moments from now.
But first, let me explain a little bit about what you’re going to discover inside the course.
The Pitching Playbook
That Can Systematically Boost Your Pitching Results
The course is split into 4 core modules containing a total of 29 lessons.
Each lessons is about 10 minutes long.
Plus you can expect about 20 minutes or so of practical application (per lesson) in the form of various types of exercises.
Each module is presented in a series of clear and concise lessons designed to help new PR pros and experienced veterans at the same time.
Work through each lesson at your own pace — as fast or as slow as you'd like!
Regular video updates from Michael throughout the course will keep you focused and moving forward.
You'll discover a more strategic approach to pitching coupled with practical “do this” tactics.
This is not something you’re going to blow through in 20 minutes. In fact, all put together, this course would take me about two full days to deliver in a live setting!
Crafting the Perfect Pitch is designed to be a long-term resource you’ll come back to often.
While it’s packed with a long list of individual strategies and tactics, they are organized in a way that will teach you a pitching framework you can use over and over again.
This means you can expect your results to get better over time. And eventually, you can expect a “pitching advantage” that will put you (and keep you!) well out in front of the industry.
So, here’s what you'll get:
Module A:
Setting Your Pitch Apart from the Noise
Lessons:
- The Anatomy of Newsworthy – Core components that journalists and bloggers look for in every pitch
- How to Kill a Pitch in Record Time – What Not to Do and Why
- The “Mind Reading” Method
- Look into Your Crystal Ball
- Beyond Your Crystal Ball
- Pulse of the People
- Perfect Pitch Playbook Addendum
- The Path to Innovation Station – Manufacture Creativity to Enliven Boring Pitches
Most PR pros send pitches that are destined to fail from the start. If your pitch shows up like everyone else’s, your pitch will be treated like everyone else’s. Usually that means it will be ignored. In this module, you’ll discover how to craft a pitch that gets NOTICED.
We’ll cover things like:
- The anatomy of a perfect pitch and the six core components you must have to succeed.
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Key questions to ask yourself to make sure your pitch shows up as a unique and newsworthy item.
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How to use the “Mind Reading Method” to get inside the heads of journalists and craft a pitch that’s a perfect fit for their needs.
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How to use the PR “Crystal Ball” to predict what the media will want to cover before they even know themselves!
- How to manufacture creativity on demand so that your pitches stand out among an endless amount of PR noise.
Module B:Secrets of the Cold Email Pitch
Lessons:
- Bumping the Number – advanced strategies for boosting your response rates
- Conquering the Inbox – secrets of winning subject lines
- Secrets of TV placements – producers spill the beans on how to get their attention
In the second module, I’m going to give you the tools and insights you need to transform yourself into a MASTER of the cold email pitch. To be frank, most PR pros do this very poorly. By the end of this module, you can be sure you’ll have everything you need to never write a bad email pitch again.
We’ll cover things like:
- The 80/20 email pitching secret. You’ll discover how to sharpen your skills for superior results without doing a ton of work.
- How to nail your customized pitch without coming off like a suck-up. Doing this right can mean big results. Doing this wrong will get your pitch an immediate meeting with the delete key!
- How to achieve bigger cold email pitching results by writing less. Believe it or not, most of the editing I do on cold email pitches focuses on REMOVING things, not adding them.
- Secrets of writing email subject lines journalists must open. This truly is the work that can make or break your cold email pitching success.
- “Covert intelligence” (I got it directly from producers!) about how to get TV placements. If you want effective ways to get their attention, here’s where you’ll find them!
Module C:Advanced Pitching Skills Most PR Pros Don’t Use
Lessons:
- Mapping the Mind of Today’s Overstressed Journalist
- How to Be the Low-Hanging Fruit
- The Journalist’s Need that Shall Not Be Named
- What’s Different About Pitching Bloggers & the Contrarian Rule of Social Media Pitching
- The Lost Art of Phone Pitching
- “World’s Most Valuable Pitch” Follow-up System
- Digging for Gold – How to Find Newsworthy Nuggets
- Habits of Media Relations Masters
In this module, I’ll be revealing pitching skills that are, quite frankly, beyond the reach of your average PR pro. All I ask is that you promise to use these only for GOOD!
We’ll cover things like:
- How to map the mind of today’s overstressed journalist and show up as an answer to their prayers!
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How to become “low-hanging fruit” and make it easy for a journalist to choose you.
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Understanding the “journalist’s great need that shall not be named” and leveraging that understanding to boost your pitching results. (It sounds mysterious, and it’s extremely powerful. Please do not abuse it once you learn it.)
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What’s different about pitching bloggers and the Golden Rule of social media pitching. (Ignore this at your own peril!)
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The “world’s most valuable pitch” follow-up system and why using it will put you WAY out in front of other PR pros.
Module D:Make Pitching Pay – Measure Your Results, Communicate Your Value, and Look Like a PR Genius
Lessons:
- The PR Measurement Primer: What You Must Know and Why
- The “Holy Grail” PR Measurement Prototype: The Model For a Perfect World of Measurement
- Duct Tape PR: How to Get Superior PR Measurement in a Less Than Perfect World
- The Halo Effect:Why Every Placement is Worth 4x What You Think It Is and How to Make Sure Your Boss Knows It
- The Mechanics of Media Measurement: How to Measure and Report Your Media Placements
- The Blatant Self-Promoter: Communicating the True Value of Your Work to Leadership
And finally, we’ll make sure you can accurately and effectively connect the dots between what you do and what your client or employer GETS because of what you do. I can’t be held responsible if you end up looking like a PR Genius after this.
We’ll cover things like:
- The PR Measurement Primer: what you must know and why.
- Understanding the Halo Effect. You’ll discover why your placements are actually worth double (or more!) what you think they’re worth.
- How to measure and report your media placements the SMART way. Chances are that, right now, you’re not getting anywhere near the credit you deserve for your work.
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What data and clues to collect (and how to collect them) so you can make a powerful case for understanding the true contribution your work provides.
- How to communicate the true value of your work to leadership. What would happen if your boss or client actually understood (and had proof!) of just how valuable you truly are?
How To Get Access to This Course:
The enrollment fee is $799.
If it's more convenient, I've even made it possible to enroll in one module at a time for just $249 each.
To be clear, the entire course is offered online through a series of videos and teaching sessions. You can work at your own pace and repeat each lesson or module as often as you desire.
Enroll in Crafting the Perfect Pitch, work through the modules, put the strategies and tactics to use in your work.
If you cannot confidently say that this course has taken your pitching results to an entirely new level, simply contact my office within 30 days for a full, no-hassle refund of every penny paid.
Understand that if you put my approach to work for you, you will see results from your pitching that most PR pros don’t know are possible.
I look forward to hearing about those successes!
To your success,
Questions?
Want to inquire about a group discount?
Email courses@michaelsmartpr.com.
P.S. Just to make sure it's clear…
"I’m halfway through and so far I’m really enjoying it. It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to get professional development into my day—even every day, if I budget my time wisely! I especially like how the lessons lead into practical assignments, and I appreciate being tested with the quizzes. I was actually surprised to get a couple wrong—usually the quizzes on online courses are so pro forma that the answer is obvious. You’re making me think! As an Inner Circle member for almost a year, I am finding that everything you talk about in those webinars makes more sense knowing this foundational information. I’m glad to have the opportunity to take the course at my own pace, and at a price point I could get my boss to agree to.”
Nicole Rosenleaf Ritter
Comms Manager
Project WET Foundation
“I attended your half-day workshop in the past, and it was great. But I was looking for more in-depth training, and your recent two-day workshop was out of reach for our budget. The online course was a great option, and I'm looking forward to digging into it and finding new and better ways to land interviews for my expert.”
Media Relations Manager Center for Global Policy Solutions
“For our agency, Michael's course provides unparalleled value. Being based in Montana means providing training like this for our entire team is often cost-prohibitive or logistically difficult. The “Crafting the Perfect Pitch” course is equipping our team with effective techniques and best practices right in the middle of Big Sky Country where we can work together on exercises and talk through what we're learning every week. The team is loving it!”
CEO
Big Sky Public Relations
“I've been to Michael's live workshop in person which was an eye-opening foundation to media relations. Purchasing Michael's online course was just a natural extension of the investment I already made. Media Relations is a game of nuance and strategy and to have Michael's online course available for reference as needed was an obvious choice.”
CEO
Wildstory, Boulder, CO
"I really enjoyed the first module. For me, I loved that each module is broken up into sections. Because I do this training during my work hours, it was really nice to be able to do one or two lessons at a time. I didn't feel overwhelmed or pressured to complete it all in one sitting. I really like the addition of the quizzes and the times when Michael asked us to pause and think of ideas. Being able to apply his lessons in a no-pressure environment helped spark creativity and engage discussion within our team.”
Josh Galassi
Account Coordinator
Big Sky Public Relations via IC member and agency owner Courtenay Sprunger
Partner
Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications
"Coming to one of your boot camps would’ve been on the wish list if we had a bigger budget, so when I saw this it seemed like a great option. I just started working through the first module – content’s great. This course will appeal to a wide audience, from people new to PR to those of us with more experience.”
Media Relations Specialist United Network for Organ Sharing
“I paid for the course out of my own pocket because I know what Michael teaches works. This is what I have been waiting for. So excited. My weekend plans are focused on taking this course and writing pitches. I think I can change the game for my organization. I came close last year. Now I have all the tools.”
University of Alaska
About Michael Smart PR
Michael helps PR professionals boost their positive media coverage. He advises brands such as General Motors and Wounded Warrior Project, as well as PR agencies and smaller companies.
People who have attended his workshops or taken his online courses consistently land coverage in outlets like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessInsider, Mashable, and the top blogs or trade outlets in their industries.
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