This week's topic is one that every small business owner needs to listen to, and learn more about: pitching to media. Ashley M. Biggers, founder of 'How to Pitch Media' started her company when she realized that so many great stories were not being told because small business owners didn't have the means or the know-how to get themselves covered in the press. A journalist by trade, entrepreneurs hold a special place in Ashley's heart, so she decided to become an educator and help others on the other side of the pitch to grow their businesses and increase their credibility through press coverage.

Discussion Highlights:

The Start

• Caught the writing bug from a young age
• Drawn to Communications field
• Senior year of college still figuring it out, joined AmeriCorps Vista 
  • Domestic peace corp program, fighting the systemic cause of poverty. Helps women and people of color start and grow their businesses 
• Figured out she wanted to do journalism but support small business owners, entrepreneurs and creatives

The Shift

• Turned toward educating small business owners how to do press outreach
• COVID-19 impacted freelancing due to a changed media industry landscape
• Many publications closed, budgets decreased, causing a decrease in content and less opportunities to be featured in the press
• Planned to launch a digital course teaching these skills to small business owners the very week U.S. shutdown, so shifted into a service mindset since covid was so devastating to many small businesses, to share her info

The Strategy

• Leverage press as a vehicle to get the word out and increase your credibility
• Read, listen and watch the media outlets you want to be featured in
• Reach media outlets that your audience accesses
• Media outlets work off of social proof 
• How to leverage social media

 The Action

• How to Pitch 
  1. Identify journalists that consistently report on certain topics 
  2. Send a short and sweet email, 3 sentences long 
     • First sentence - establish the relevancy of your story to that journalist. 
     • Second sentence - Establish the newsworthiness or point of differentiation, what's timely, interesting, about your business 
     • Third sentence - wrap up asking if they would like further information. Leverage one media outlet for another
• Biggest Mistakes 
  • Achieving media coverage with a publication one time and then going radio silent. 
  • Not approaching the right publication or journalist with their message 
  • Stopping after one attempt and never pitching that journalist again 
• When to Pitch
• Follow Up!
• Social Media Etiquette

The Mindset

• Daily Routines - Morning jogs, daily gratitude practice, top 3 biggest tasks that day
• Goals and Vision 
  • As a journalist - always to tell great stories but also to have people feel that they have truly been seen. That is the most fundamental gift to give to another human. 
  • As an educator - teach hundreds of entrepreneurs to do this for themselves so they can grow their businesses via press coverage 

The Wrap-Up

If you could listen to only one music artist for the rest of your life, who would it be? Maggie Rogers

Where can people find you online? 

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook