Organizing your pitch. On the left is how we typically tell stories, I'll use a simple joke to illustrate. Why did the chicken cross the road to get to the other side. On the right is how the media tells stories. It's called the inverted pyramid. The format is how information should be prioritized and structured.

The most important information is at the top. Most news articles and broadcast segments follow this format, who, what, when, where, why and how are typically addressed in the first paragraph to use the joke I just used, but from the media's perspective, they might tell it this way, a chicken cross the road today, he wanted to get to the other side. Here's why this is important. You should use the same format the media uses for your pitch. You should use an eye catching subject which is basically the same as a headline that encourages the reporter to open the email. Include the five W's and H in the first place.

Paragraph who, what, when, where, why and how. They should match up with the what makes news elements we discussed before. timeliness, significance, proximity, prominence conflict and human interest. Supporting points should be included in the second paragraph. And you should close with a call to action, set up an interview, attend an event meet at a trade show review our product. Most pitches fall in one of these categories.

The first is a sequitur pitch. I saw your story annex thought you might be interested in why. The second is problem solution. Here's the issue. Here's how we solve it. The third is a trend this is happening are going to happen.

And here's how we fit in. And finally a new mouse trap. This is how it's been and it's not working. We created something new. Here are some tips from reporters on how they like to receive their information. The first lesson is more keep it concise.

Here's another example five lines hard facts. hard facts is the key takeaway here. No need to embellish or dress up the information. Avoid non sequiturs. As I just mentioned, sequitur pitches are I saw your article on X. But you might be interested in why that makes logical sense.

Non sequiturs don't make sense and therefore, don't work. Don't get cute. Again, the goal is to generate interest and make it clear and concise why the reporter should be interested in your company product or service. Adding fluff or getting cute doesn't help. We don't care about the customer's journey. What we do care about is the customer's problem and how you solve it.

If they already know it, you probably don't have to reiterate it. Get to the meat. Double check your emails before sending them. If you're going to refer to a reporter's article and give them an ego check. Make sure to include the article. Double check the subject, don't paste the entire pitch in the subject.

Taylor pitches include the reporter's name if you plan on using it, reporters are people too. So when they open an email address to them as dear editor or high xx, they're less likely to cover your company. Conversely, here's an example of where researching reporters and what they like can provide you with an advantage. first pitch and cling on nice. Another reason why you should follow reporters on Twitter. Let's talk about jargon.

Tech companies in particular love to talk about their revolutionary new game changing paradigm shifting product or service. Here's my recommendation. Instead of using the marketing terminology focus on the benefits. We want to know how specifically the new product or service helps people or companies, save time, money or improve efficiency. benefit will carry more weight than the superlatives because we're more interested in the facts than the fluff. Here's another tip, try explaining your product or service to an eight year old or your grandmother.

If they don't understand it, you're not doing a good job of communicating what your product or service does, and why people should care. Here are some subject line Tips to Increase open rates from a Fast Company article. These are more guidelines than hard and fast rules. So I'll share these with you and then tell you to break them. I'd also encourage you to review the newsletters you subscribe to and focus on which ones you open based on their headline, which ones catch your eye and invite you to read further. Just know stay away from click Beatty type headlines.

They won't work with reporters.