I am pleased to announce my new partnership with PitchRate.com, to benefit small business owners and members of the Indie Beauty Network in particular! Here's a photo of me and Michelle Tennant, one of PitchRate.com's partners. We're smiling because we are very excited to seal this deal to help my members enjoy new opportunities and be even more successful!
If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead
I don't recall where I first read that, but it stuck with me because it's true. And it's the reason why I offer my exclusive The Media Is You coaching and in-depth strategy sessions.
A critical part of conducting your own media outreach is positioning yourself to take advantage of mainstream media opportunities when they arise. My new partnership with PitchRate will help my members do just that through employment of monthly IBN members only media training webinars.
I've worked with PitchRate's founders Michelle Tennant, Drew Gerber and Shannon Nicholson for years. In fact, Drew shared some great PR tips as a guest on Indie Business Radio a few years ago. (You can enjoy that show here.) Their team offers great one-on-one publicity services, but they also offer PitchRate, which empowers smaller business owners to pitch themselves to the media.
How PitchRate Works
PitchRate is free, and if you haven't signed up, you can do so at this link. Once you sign up, you'll get daily updates containing queries from journalists and editors from around the nation. You can then click through for details and to send your pitch. (If you don't like emails, you can just log in when it's convenient for you to grab the latest queries.)
I'm a PitchRate user and have had great success. But for many Indies, while getting the queries is great, we could use a little help figuring out how to make the best pitches. Through our new partnership, Indie and PitchRate will show Indie Beauty Network members how to do that!
Exclusive Monthly Media Training Webinars For IBN Members
In addition to the queries everyone else receives through PitchRate, our team will provide monthly training to help Indie Beauty Network members make their best pitches.
Each month, PitchRate and I will host a telephone conference call and webinar for Indie Beauty Network members.
Here's what my members will enjoy:
- Guidance on how to know whether your company is well suited for a particular query
- How to write the most succinct and to-the-point pitch
- What turns the media on and what turns the media off
- How to craft punchy, attention grabbing headlines
- Whether and how to follow up after you've sent your pitch
- Mistakes to avoid
- How to create the best pitch in the least amount of time
- The things every effective pitch must contain
- …And so much more!
PitchRate.com Is As Excited As I Am!
“Our partnership with Indie will focus on independent business owners who can offer their expertise to the media in areas such as natural products, organics, green living, small business tips, makeup, skincare and bath and body,” said Shannon Nicholson, PitchRate's vice president of sales.
I know that these monthly webinars are going to put my members in the best position to take advantage of media opportunities that will spread the word about their products and services and create new opportunities for them to grow both personally and professionally. The monthly media training will take place on the first Tuesday of the month and will be hosted by me and one of PitchRate.com's partners.
First Training Is September 1!
The first one is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2009, at 1:00pm EST and my co-host will be Drew Gerber. You can get the details here! The training seminars will be recorded for members of the Indie Beauty Network who cannot attend in person. You must be signed up for PitchRate.com to participate and you must be a member of the Indie Beauty Network.
You can join PitchRate.com here.
You can join Indie Beauty here.
I look forward to seeing you on September 1!
