Doreen McGettigan

WritingWednesday

Wednesday is the day I share what I have learned on my journey to publication, marketing and publishing again. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them. If you have any tips please share them with us…

PR Part 3 Writing TV and RadioPitches

To read part 1 and part 2:

Part 2- PR Writing Press Releases –https://doreenmcgettigan.com/?p=5566

Part 1- PR for books/authors –https://doreenmcgettigan.com/?p=5554

Like I said in part 1 and part 2, if you can hire a PR professional they are well worth the investment. If the funds are not in your budget it is possible to write your own media pitches. I will confess, writing media pitches ranks right up there with writing the query and the synopsis but the process does make us better writers.

If you have been following along you are aware that as an author your goal is to write and sell books but when pitching the media you will need to switch gears and pitch your expertise and an idea that will be of interest to the entire viewing/listening audience. You are all about you and selling your book but the media is all about their target audience. The host will mention your book and if you were an interesting guest the audience will be interested in looking up your book. Commercials are for selling products.

Before you write your pitch you will want to research the show or shows you intend to pitch. Is the audience the right one for your message? Pitching a show that would have no interest is your message is a waste of time.

There is no doubt that the media landscape is changing as quickly and as drastically as the publishing industry. Staff is limited and producers are under a lot of pressure to fill airtime with guests that will be of interest to their audiences. The opportunity is there for you if you can develop the skill of pitching.

Once you have crafted your elevator speech and have figured out what your specific area of expertise is writing your pitch letter will be easier.

TV/Radio Pitch Writing Tips:

Do not pitch on social media. Social media is a great place to connect with producers, not a good place to pitch them. Send an e-mail. On most station websites you can find the information you need to submit a pitch. It isn’t always easy to find but it is there.

Start with local programs to gain confidence and experience.

Your pitch should be custom targeted to each producer. Get to know the shows you are pitching. Watch and listen, often.

Come up with a great headline, no more than 8 words.

Next is the tagline. It should be 2 or 3 sentences. Think hook and elevator pitch. Chances are if you don’t hook them here they won’t read any further.

Next you want to answer these questions. Why you are the best person to speak on this topic, why your subject will interest their audience and why their audience needs the information you have and why they need it now.

You want to be as clear and concise as possible. Don’t add fluff.

Next you want to suggest a segment.TV producers will need to be able to visualize what you are pitching and radio producers will need to visualize what the segment will sound like. Describe the segments to them.

Create a media kit. I will write about media kits in Part 4.

Have you written a pitch letter? Do you have any tips to add?

Happy writing,

Doreen