Listen to the episode here
Mastering the art of pitching is an essential skill for any influencer, entrepreneur, or business owner. And no one knows how to pitch you and your business for media opportunities quite like Jennifer Jaden.
Jennifer is the founder, CEO, and publicist at Gal Media – a PR agency that works with emerging brands, products, and influencers.
She joins Her Life By Design today to share her tips and tricks for getting your name out there, managing PR like a professional (even if you don’t have the budget), and how to manage bad press (if you were ever to find yourself in that situation).
How to Pitch You & Your Business for Media Opportunities with Jennifer Jaden
Prior to founding Gal Media, Jennifer had been in the PR and social media marketing world for over 12 years.
“I realized that I was so passionate about telling people’s stories. I wanted to get people out there in events, podcasts, TV interviews, or just beyond social media.”
That realization sparked Jennifer’s deep dive into the world of PR. So much so that she sought to define the PR business through her company, Gal Media.
She took her social media experience of growing a community of over 100,000 female entrepreneurs and applied it to Gal Media.
Jennifer admitted that she never had to pitch anyone when it came time for her to find her first few clients.
“I think it’s because I’ve been very clear on what I do and I show my work. When you show your work, people will come to you and that’s the beauty of social media. If you are posting about what you’re doing and what you’re working on, then people will naturally see what you’re doing.”
Jennifer landed her first few clients through word of mouth because she’s established a deep-rooted sense of trust with her audience on social media.
But all-in-all, Jennifer acknowledges that building a business is a long-term game, just like PR and social media.
“When you’re starting anything, you have to realize that you’re gonna hit roadblocks. That’s just how it is. And I think once you give yourself room not to throw in the towel when something goes wrong, you figure it out.”
Tips for Pitching You and Your Business for Media Opportunities
Having media opportunities is a great thing no matter where you are in your business. Jennifer’s advice as to when you should start pitching for media opportunities is that it’s never too early.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should head out and hire a PR agency right away. There are tons of great resources online (including this episode) to help you get started on your own PR without the high retainer of a PR agency.
Jennifer’s number one tip for pitching you and your business for media opportunities is always to be a resource.
“Be consistent and be a resource. That’s the number one tip I would give someone.”
Editors get anywhere from 100 to 500 emails daily. In order for your pitch to stand out, you want to come from a place that offers value.
“Make sure your pitch is short, sweet, and the links are there. Maybe throw in a few tips that you have. Maybe they won’t respond right then. But they’ll use their inbox as a search engine.”
Personally speaking, coming from a place of service has been the most helpful thing for me when it comes to landing media opportunities. Plus, I cannot emphasize the importance of relationship building and introducing yourself.
Tactical Tips for Pitching and Managing Your Own PR
Now that you know the importance of providing value in your pitches, you need to be aware of how much work pitching and PR really is.
“It’s a lot of time, and it’s a lot of energy, and it’s a lot of being organized and following up. It’s a lot of work. And that’s why we do it for you.”
But if you were to manage your pitching and PR on your own, Jennifer offers some tactical tips for helping you run it as smoothly as possible.
The first would be to tailor and gear your pitch to the specific person you’re pitching to.
“I think a lot of the time people just throw out pitches. But you want to make sure that it makes sense. So if I’m going to pitch to be on your podcast, and you’re a podcast about fitness, you’d want to give that pitch about why I should be on the podcast. Am I going to be weighing in about fitness? Or am I talking about how to build a fitness brand?”
Next, adding a media kit to your pitch can definitely help, especially if the person you’re pitching to happens to be more visual.
“I think it’s really important when you are pitching yourself to have some kind of deck that tells you all the information that you know they would need about you.”
This will save the person you’re pitching to any time that they’ll spend Googling and researching you.
At the end of the day, you want to make it as easy as possible for the person to work with you.
Finally, you want to keep organized with a spreadsheet list of people and places you’ve pitched to so that you can follow up with them appropriately.
Tips for Managing Bad Press as an Influencer and Public Figure
As great as press and media opportunities are for you and your business, we can’t ignore the fact that there is a downside to it as well. Cancel culture is more prevalent in the age of social media and I had to ask Jennifer about tips for managing these situations.
“I think you have to be really strong if you’re putting yourself online. And you have to have the people that are going to support you if something happens like your team, family, and your friends. So I think one, you just have to be really confident in who you are. And if something does happen, you have to own it and handle it with grace.”
It can be easy for people to want to run and hide in these situations. However, the best way to mitigate the issue is to handle it with grace, take ownership of your wrongdoings, and hold yourself accountable.
But ultimately, having a strong sense of self will go a long way. Especially when you’re putting yourself (and your life) out there for the world to see.
Are You & Your Business Ready for Media Opportunities?
I absolutely loved my conversation with Jennifer. No matter where you currently are in your business, this episode will offer you a lot of insight and practical advice on pitching yourself for media opportunities.
Gaining media coverage of your brand and business can help you establish authority and notoriety. And Jennifer’s advice will help you craft the perfect pitch, keep you organized, and prepare you to take on the world of PR.
A glance at what we discuss:
- Pitching yourself for a podcast [00:54]
- How and when Jennifer founded Gal Media [2:50]
- How Jennifer found her first clients [4:28]
- The most challenging part of growing and scaling Gal Media [6:34]
- Tips for pitching yourself to media outlets [15:20]
- Current trends in social media [18:51]
- How Jennifer manages her time [23:36]
- Tips for managing bad press as a public figure and influencer [25:41]
DROP SOME LOVE IN ITUNES:
If you enjoyed this episode, go ahead and hit SUBSCRIBE. There is a new episode every Wednesday and I would hate for you to miss a thing. Click here to subscribe on iTunes.AND if you are feeling extra generous, take a few seconds to leave Her Life By Design a review on Apple Podcasts. Or post a screenshot on your Stories with some feedback. Hearing what you think about this episode and the podcast as a whole means the WORLD to me. After all, this is all for you. More reviews = more listeners = better guests & content. So all you gotta do is click here to review, click “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” I’ll love you forever!
Resources:
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
add a comment