Pitching 101

Posted on 22. Feb, 2012 by

I had the privilege of lecturing at Champlain College today in Nancy Kerr’s Writing for Public Relations class. Below are my slides from the discussion. We talked about how to write pitches – and over all how to pitch your story to the media. Thanks to all the students who attended. I had a great time!

Elements of a Pitch

View more presentations from PMG Public Relations.

 

Send Me Your Resume.

Posted on 19. Jan, 2012 by

Um. I don’t have one.

This was my recent response to a colleague yesterday when I was asked to send my resume for a teaching position I hope to have this fall at Champlain College. When I started PMG with Ken, I thought two things:

  1. I would never have to manage anyone again. After all, how big would our firm ever be?! We all know how that turned out, eight associates and growing later…
  2. I can ditch my resume. Never again will I have to apply for a job – assuming PMG survives (it was the beginning of the recession, so that always lingered in the back of my head). To ensure that I did not have an easy escape I trashed every digital file of my resume. Every. Last. One.

And then came the email: Please send me a current copy of your CV.

Crap.

I sent the other items that were asked for and then asked for more time to send my resume. I was honest. I don’t have a resume. I would need the weekend to write it.

And then, it hit me. I DO have a resume. A social resume. LinkedIn to the rescue. I keep my profile there up to date. I have used the site to network with others, research potential candidates for open positions at PMG, and research companies that we want to work with. I have always overlooked the “print” and the “pdf” buttons. Until now.

Here’s a snippet of my resume. Clearly, if I am to use this to actually find a job (which I am not – don’t worry, Ken!), I would need to edit it slightly. The best feature is the recommendations section. This actually prints to the bottom of your LinkedIn resume.

With that realized, when was the last time that you asked past employers, employees, vendors, etc for a recommendation via LinkedIn? This is a great way to build your social resume. When was the last time you wrote a recommendation for a super-star unasked? That is also a great way to market your personal brand and that of your company.

Is your LinkedIn resume up to date?

Meet Our Summer Interns: Brittany Kirvan

Posted on 11. Aug, 2011 by

This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!

Editors note: This is the last profile in our series of intern profiles.

 

PMGer: Brittany Kirvan

On Twitter: @brittanykirv

Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Elizabeth Hagwood 

Background?  I graduated from Champlain College in May with a B.S. in Mass Communications.  Shortly before graduation I decided that I was going to continue to live in Burlington; it is beautiful up here and Vermont is such a unique place.

I am a huge foodie—and so is Vermont.  One of my goals is to own a restaurant and a bakery.  I have so many ideas surrounding my dream: menus, décor, names, events, mental images, etc.  This venture is far down the road but I have not given up.

Why are you doing this internship? As a recent graduate I need to continue to expand my experiences outside of the classroom.  Studying communications gives you a broad understanding of all of the fields within communications itself.  But that’s just it: a broad understanding.  The best way to learn what any career is like is to dive in headfirst.  That is how I ended up at PMG—I wanted to learn more about public relations and what it is actually like to work in it.

What do you expect to gain from this internship? I have been experiencing what it really means to work in public relations.  There is so much you can learn about from a textbook but it is a whole different story when applying the techniques you read about to real life situations.

What have you learned so far? Oh, the Things I Have Learned:

  • How to create killer media lists
  • Writing pitches that are short, sweet, and attention grabbing
  • Follow-ups are just as (and usually more) important than the initial pitch
  • And much more of course…

Interning at PMG has also taught me that not every “nine-to-five” job is so conventional.  I used to imagine that working a job, Monday to Friday, at the same time every day would drive me insane.  This has proven to be a complete misconception.  Everyone at PMG seems to really enjoy the work they are doing, and, while they are very serious about what they do, they have a lot of fun doing it.

What’s it like working with your mentor? Working with Elizabeth is great!  Among many other things, she has given me some very great tips on how to improve pitches and follow ups to be more eye-catching.  Luckily Elizabeth is a foodie, too; often we are exchanging recipe ideas and helpful tips for the kitchen.

Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.? Pitches need to be short, sweet, and catchy, but they need to answer the essential questions before they are asked (think who, what, where, when, why!). Also, reread your pitches over and over before sending them out—don’t be afraid to read them out loud to make sure you’re not missing anything.

Don’t be discouraged if you do not get immediate responses from your pitches—you are going to need to send out a round (or four) of follow-ups.  Depending on the timeliness of your pitch you may need to do multiple follow-ups over a few weeks or even over a few months to stay on top of the radar.

Don’t forget to have fun but take your internship seriously!

Meet Our Summer Interns: Brittany Southwick

Posted on 10. Aug, 2011 by

This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!

PMGer: Brittany Southwick

On Twitter: @brittsouth

Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Tom Kupfer

Background? My name is Brittany.  I am a Public Relations Major with one semester left at Champlain College.

Why are you doing this internship? After completing three years of my education with Champlain College I was anxious to put my knowledge to the test. I enjoy a professional work environment and felt that I was ready to step into the industry. I want to build my resume and strengthen my portfolio. A textbook can only take you so far; working in the field is a great opportunity.

What do you expect to gain from this internship? I have expected to strengthen my writing and organizational skills. I also think I am going to get a pretty good idea of what it is like to work for a firm and focus solely on Public Relations, without Marketing or Advertising thrown in the mix.

What are your views on PMG? I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with PMG. I am proud to represent a company that represents socially responsible businesses.  My one concern for working in the PR field is having to represent clients with view points that are different from my own. PMG makes that dilemma easy by eliminating the challenge and providing a variety of clients that stand for great causes.

What’s it like working with your mentor? I thoroughly enjoy working for Tom because he provides great direction and has a wide array of knowledge to share. He has helped me strengthen my pitching skills and has a great sense of humor to make the experience more enjoyable.

Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.? My advice would be to just dive in. Take advantage of every opportunity; get to know your co-workers and the people that you work with. Everyone you meet is a potential contact and Public Relations is about establishing and maintaining good relationships.  As far as writing press releases and pitches: edit, edit, edit. Explore your creativity and all of the different ways you can tell a story. My greatest challenge has been to come up with numerous ways to pitch one story. With the help of my mentor, towards the end of my internship I have definitely seen a growth in my ability to push my pitching further creatively.

Meet Our Summer Interns: Hilary Greene

Posted on 29. Jul, 2011 by

This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!

PMGer: Hilary Greene

On Twitter: @hilaryfay

Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Iza Socha

Background? My name is Hilary Greene and I am entering my last semester at Champlain College to attain a business/marketing degree. I am a transfer student and have spent most of my college years in Colorado and Utah enjoying the outdoors.

Why are you doing this internship? I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do my internship at PMG this summer to gain first-hand experience that will compliment my current marketing program at Champlain College, which I will complete in December of this year!

What do you expect to gain from this internship? This internship has already provided me with a better understanding of the public relations world; I have little PR background since I am a marketing major. In addition, this internship has allowed me to witness the power of using social media tools as marketing and PR techniques and the outstanding benefits that they can provide for many different types of companies.

What are your views on PMG? PMG, People Making Good, is a great company and I could not be happier about doing my internship here. Their name, PMG, tells all…they truly are, good people – making good. (They might as well change their name to G-PMG!) As a Vermonter, I appreciate the work that they contribute to the community and genuine support of their clients that are socially responsible.

What have you learned so far? Thus far, I have learned a lot of new things and have been able to apply my education from Champlain in a professional environment. Some exciting projects that I have been involved with at PMG include;

  • Organizing a Tweet-Up
  • Drafting Twitter messaging
  • Writing editorial calendars
  • Editing video footage
  • Writing a variety of blog posts using WordPress
  • And; researching different brands, markets and trends

What’s it like working with your mentor? My mentor, Iza Socha, is fantastic and is the Social Media Manager at PMG. She is very talented and open to sharing new concepts with me; she knows all the new trends! It is really fun working with her and she guides me in the right direction to complete finished work that both of us are proud of.

Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.? My advice for any intern would be to be fully appreciative of the opportunity and learn as much as you can! It helps to stay knowledgeable about new trends because these days, it seems like techniques and applications change and improve constantly.

Meet Our Summer Interns: Heather Barrett

Posted on 15. Jul, 2011 by

This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!

 

PMGer: Heather Barrett

On Twitter: @hbarrettsays

Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Tom Kupfer

Background? My name is Heather.  I am a Mass Communications major entering my last semester at Champlain College.

Why are you doing this internship? As a Mass Communication student, I have taken a variety of courses in marketing, advertising, and public relations.  These courses have provided me with the base knowledge in each section, but I found myself wanting a hands-on experience.  With an internship, I knew that I would learn more than I ever could in a classroom, and that the knowledge would be invaluable.

What do you expect to gain from this internship? From this experience, I expect to learn more about working for a public relations agency.  Working for more than one client, I expect to learn a variety of tools to better fine tune public relations to work for each individual company.  In addition, I expect to improve my writing skills.

What are your views on PMG? I was first attracted to PMG because they are devoted to working with socially responsible clients.  I also read the Q&A with Nicole and Ken before I applied, and I thought that my personal interests would connect with PMG.  After starting my internship in June, my impressions of PMG proved to be true.  PMGer’s are all extremely hard-working people who have a passion for public relations. I also really like having an office dog ☺.

What’s it like working with your mentor? At PMG part of the internship experience is to work hands on.  So, instead of fetching coffee for Tom, I have been able to create media lists, write pitches, and follow up directly with media outlets.  Tom always has a clear vision as to what needs to be completed, and is willing to provide valuable feedback.

Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.?

  • Always work hard and do your best.
  • Remember that writing is a skill that takes a lot of practice.  A first draft will need to be edited, so be open to feedback!
  • Your mentors are busy, so it may seem intimidating to ask them for help, but don’t be afraid.  That’s what they’re here for! Pester away.

Meet Our Summer Interns: Brittany Blondin

Posted on 01. Jul, 2011 by

This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!

PMGer: Brittany Blondin
On Twitter: @brittblondin
Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Alicia DeMartini

Background? I’m Brittany B. (one of three Brittany’s this summer at PMG) and I’m entering into my senior year (this fall!) at Champlain College for my B.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication. I love connecting with new people – I always find that almost everyone has an interesting story. Some other interests include outdoor activities, shopping and trying new things (food, activities, and clothes!).

I love to plan ahead, but I’ve found that sometimes things just happen and can change your whole life. In the future, I’d love to be working in Public Relations – I haven’t decided exactly what aspect or agency/firm vs. in-house, but I’m leaning towards agency/firm (I love the thought of working with different clients). I would really love to stay in the New England area, but at this point, I’m not ruling anything out!

Why are you doing this internship? I need the experience and before I started, I was yearning the validation that I chose the correct path to follow. Thank goodness, so far, I’ve proven my choice to be the right one.

What do expect to gain from this internship? I expect to gain hands-on experience to carry with me for future jobs.

What are your views on PMG? I was extremely nervous before my first day and did not expect to learn as much as I have thus far. Looking at PMG from the outside, I only knew what they told me, that they represented socially responsible clients. Reading through the Q & A with Ken and Nicole provided some insight to their personalities and how PMG is run. After I started working here I found that they were true to their words. The environment at PMG is a well-balanced concoction of light-hearted attitudes and hard workers.

What’s it like working with your mentor? I first met my mentor, Alicia De Martini, when she came to my Principles of Public Relations class in the early spring (this year) and was immediately impressed. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that she would be my mentor for this summer internship. So far, it’s been a blast. She’s always helpful and great at giving me feedback in order to do a better job. I’m always busy, thanks to her, which has made the days I’m working fly by!

Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.?

  • First and foremost, do your best, don’t just try. Use your time at your internship to ask questions and receive feedback from your mentor (and others). Being able to accept feedback is critical at this point because they’re trying to help you to grow into it.
  • When it comes to writing pitches, be concise, but don’t offer up too much information! Keep the pitch to the point and make sure that your subject line is amazing in order to get journalists to read it!
  • When it comes writing press releases, make sure you offer up the most important information in the beginning. Try to be creative in how you choose your words and including a quote from your client can add a lot to it.
  • With any writing (pitches, press releases, follow-up emails), revise, revise, revise! It’s ok to go through several drafts in order to reveal the perfect pitch, press release or follow-up. It’s also good to take into consideration the feedback you receive from your mentor to apply to future writings.