Look At Me: Effectively Pitching The Blogosphere

Written by Dana Oshiro / October 9, 2009 4:13 PM / 8 Comments

This post is part of our ReadWriteStart channel, which is a resource and guide for first-time entrepreneurs and startups. The channel is sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark. To sign up for BizSpark, click here.

When you're bootstrapping your startup from your basement suite, media relations is often the default responsibility of the non-tech cofounder. For those who haven't already navigated the emotional peaks and valleys of a PR job, the effort can be daunting. Nevertheless, when you finally get through to someone, you forge a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship. In the past few weeks a number of startup companies have asked for feedback on their pitches. Rather than getting into the gritty details, we thought we'd offer a couple of helpful tips:

1. Know Your Audience: We're not asking you to know our kid's names or stalk us on Facebook, we're asking you to know the ReadWriteWeb audience. Our readers come to us for web-related product reviews, features and trends. We generally don't write on gadgets or events, and we certainly don't cover feline toilet solutions. Figure out what the writer wants and deliver on it. If you don't hit the nail on the head the first time, then try a different angle in a couple of months.

2. Message Delivery: Try to research the best methods to send your pitches. As per our past article, ReadWriteWeb prefers to receive pitches via tips[at]readwriteweb.com. You can also send us your RSS feed and we'll keep tabs on your regular updates.

3. Embargoes: An embargo gives reporters a head start on writing an article before news is publicly released. ReadWriteWeb does everything in its power to honor embargoes; however, many bloggers openly oppose them. As a rule of thumb, get a verbal agreement to the embargo before forwarding any sensitive documents.

4. The Difference a Day Makes: Slow days are great days to offer demos and pitch company features. The ReadWriteWeb team still works on Friday mornings and Sunday nights despite the fact that few PR pros pitch us on those days. Rather than pitching at the same time as a mid-week Apple release or major acquisition, consider pitching us when you know we're looking for stories.

5. Don't Use a Template: We don't care how your pitch is formatted as long as it's interesting. You could string together a thousand buzzwords and get lumped in with your competitors or you could stand apart with a simple paragraph explanation and a link. If you pitch in a voice and style that's true to you, your passion will come through.

Photo Credit: Lead - Plastic Revolver, Inset of Chris Messina - Roland Tanglao

Microsoft BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. Click here to apply.

Comments

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Dana,

Well put.

This post would make a good leave behind in the folder with the term sheet.

Lou Hoffman, www.Hoffman.com

P.S. Hopefully, the staff rotates those Sunday night shifts.

Posted by: Lou Hoffman | October 9, 2009 5:32 PM

"within the blogging community, a community that bristles at the thought of others commercializing its work."

And what about Technorati's work? Or tracking 12 million blogs is not "a work"?

If somebody wants to stay anonymous on the web, he can. A nickname, a password.
Hey, to be in Technorati you must CLAIM YOUR BLOG!! You don't do it if you want to stay chatting with a few chaps.

Posted by: iPod Accessories | October 9, 2009 9:11 PM

ya it's very nice and It was really great i appreciate and i also like other articles of this site.

Posted by: greece holidays | October 9, 2009 9:57 PM

Since when does "a couple" mean more than two?

Posted by: Emir | October 10, 2009 6:41 AM

Yaaay! Good post, Dana.

I actually went through the trouble of writing a SERIES of posts with startups in mind.

http://jolieodell.wordpress.com/category/word-to-my-pr-homies/

There are posts about how to pitch competing blogs, how to deal with embargoes, how to write a good subject line/lede... you name it.

But for a one-off, one-post shout-out to startups, this post is an EXCELLENT place to start. =)

Posted by: Jolie O'Dell | October 11, 2009 1:47 AM

As a 2 person start up it is really difficult to handle PR effectively and sometimes we make mistakes. I really appreciate these tips and Jolie, I will be checking yours out as well. Thanks for posting.

Catherine Wood Hill
http://www.lagrandedame.com
"Making Skinny Women Jealous"

Posted by: Catherine Wood Hill | October 11, 2009 6:07 PM

Can we actually pitch you?
Up till now we:
- Published blog post (every 2 days)
- Regular comments on RWW, VB and TC
- Press Releases (mainly using free PR services)
- Presntations on www.Slideshare.com, www.Scribd.com and www.authorstream.com
Good enough for 3,000 to 5,000 visitors / month

So then next we need to pitch you ReadWriteWeb.

Posted by: Engago Team | October 12, 2009 3:09 AM

Good tips. It is offensive to be sent a form letter. That is a bit like slinging mud at the wall to see what sticks.

Posted by: Jack | October 13, 2009 8:39 PM