Fast Pitch

I recently pitched and landed a cover story in a local publication for a client. The cover picture is beautiful, and the article is well-written, and it will likely garner additional attention and business for this client.

So the big question: what can this client do to really maximize all the terrific publicity from this one article?

My advice to clients who have landed the publicity they’ve been seeking is to make sure their coverage gets into the hands of everyone you want to see it – not just the folks who happen to pick up the paper that week!

· Send a copy of the article, along with a cover letter, to your mailing list of your best customers, potential customers, business associations, alumnae magazines, mentors – pretty much everyone on your list (you’ll need to get reprint permission from the publication before making copies of the article. Some publications charge a nominal fee for this, and if you’ll just be mailing a few you can always purchase extra copies. )

· Post the article on your web site

· Create an e-mail signature with a link to the coverage

· Take a color copy of the article and adhere it to a fiberboard stand (you can buy these inexpensively at office supply stores) and place it wherever your customers will most likely see it, or frame it and hang it in a well-exposed spot

· Create small labels with the web site address to adhere to the back of 30 to 40 business cards

If you are wondering how I landed this article, stay tuned. I’ll post the pitch I wrote to the editor and point out a few key items, so if you are planning to pitch a story to your local paper, follow my tips and you’ll increase your chances of success!