PRfect Pitch focuses on interviewing media and key event managers who PR agencies pitch regularly on behalf of clients. As the name implies, successful pitching is a key ingredient in achieving results as a public relations professional.
The podcast discusses how and when to pitch a story to editors and producers who in turn learn which PR sources can be trusted to bring them interesting stories that resonate with their audience.
Our fifth guest was Jenny Melrose, host of the Influencer Entrepreneurs podcast, business coach, and author.
In this episode, you’ll hear about tips and tricks to position yourself to find the right audience, how Influencer Entrepreneurs podcast can help maximize online growth and your potential as a business owner, and more. Here are a few takeaways:
Market Yourself
Marketing yourself is important to move up in your career. For Melrose, this was especially imperative because she pivoted her career from full-time teacher to blogger and podcaster.
While it was a natural transition for her, no one knew Melrose as anything other than a teacher at the time. This compelled her to market herself more to drive traffic to her website and podcast. One way she was able to do this is by learning her niche and putting her focus on that specific subject.
Being in the coaching space was a passion for Melrose and her podcast gave her a platform to coach people and give a peek into what one-on-one coaching sessions look like. Through networking, she ultimately got to a place where she’s been able to produce her podcast for four years without missing an episode.
Networking is an important aspect of marketing yourself. A new way that people are networking is through Clubhouse. You may remember we discussed how Clubhouse is changing the media relations game in the PRfect Pitch interview with Dean Takahashi.
Believe it or not, using Clubhouse to help grow your Instagram and make yourself known is becoming more common. One thing that Melrose always does is look at the Instagram accounts of everyone who is in her Clubhouse room and send them a thank you note on Instagram afterwards. By doing this, she builds relationships and grows her brand simultaneously.
Show Personality In Your Pitch
Pitching can be mundane at times, but it doesn’t have to be. One thing that Melrose constantly looks for in the pitches she receives is if someone’s personality comes through.
Part of being able to show the right personality in a pitch is by doing your research. As a former teacher, doing your homework is extremely important for Melrose, and if she feels you’ve done this prior to pitching her, she’s more likely to interview your client.
Doing your homework in this case can mean listening to a past episode of a podcast, so that you’ll get a feel for what the host is expecting. If you’re able to make a connection between a past guest and the client you’re pitching, that’s a great way to show that you’ve done the necessary research.
Coach Clients On Making Clear and User-Friendly Websites
Clear website messaging not only helps journalists understand the work you do, but is also important for business. We’ve discussed the importance of PR professionals doing their homework, but it’s equally as important for the journalist to do their homework as well, and know that they will.
Especially for a podcast host, they want to make sure someone is the best fit for their show as possible. Melrose says the worst thing she encounters is when someone’s website doesn’t make sense and is hard to navigate. In cases like this, it can be a deal breaker on whether or not someone will interview you.
Website messaging should be concise and clear and as a PR professional, you can coach your clients on the best messaging to use for their company.
Subject Lines are Key
For Melrose, she wants to look at a subject line and automatically know why you’re unique. Have you been podcasting for awhile? Include that you’re a podcasting veteran. Are you a mom of five? Write that too!
This goes hand-in-hand with doing your homework. If you listen to Jenny Melrose’s podcast, you may notice that everyone she interviews has a podcast of their own. This is why indicating you’re a veteran podcaster would be important in a pitch for her.
Your subject line should say in a few words why your client would be a good guest and this will help increase the odds of receiving a response.
Whether it be subject lines, doing your homework, marketing, networking or more, a lot goes into relationship building with the media and understanding the appropriate time to pitch someone. Melrose provided a great perspective on these topics and we loved having her on the show.
Do you have tips and tricks for PR professionals that you want to share? Whether it be about pitching, media relations, podcasting or more, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Drop a comment on this interview with Jenny on YouTube, which can be found here!
You can also listen to this season of PRfect Pitch via Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast platform.