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I was a reporter in a former life. I threw away 90% of the press releases people sent me. Why? As a busy reporter, with three stories to put together a day, I had maybe 5 seconds to decide whether reading something someone sent was worth my time. So the secret to sending a story that won’t get thrown away is to include an attention grabbing pitch letter. Here are some tips that will tell you exactly how to create the perfect pitch letter that will set your story apart from the rest and get you published.

1. It should be a brief letter written in conversational business format (i.e. no words like (synergizing the processes” just speak plainly) and if possible, no longer than 1 page.

2. A great way to start off is to say something in the first sentence that will make the editor say, “Gee, I didn’t know that”, or “that’s an interesting angle for a story”. Statistics and facts are great for this.

3. Keep in mind what the reporter actually reports about. Consider what type of style and tone the publication would write the story in.

4. Mention if the publication has covered the subject of your story before and explain what new information or twist you’ll be offering the readers. Bullet point the main ideas/features of your article, such as an exclusive interview. If your article relates to other news events, mention them. Your contact needs to be able to answer the question: “Why should I publish this now?”

5. Lastly, once you have finished composing your letter, be sure to read over it and check your spelling and grammar. This is incredibly important as it will indicate to an editor that you are a proficient writer and thus fortify your story.

Want more great PR and social media ideas? Contact Big Star PR today 801-708-0958 or email sarah at bigstarpublicrelations dot com

Twitpitching Twitpitching is the concept of pitching PR ideas to journalists on Twitter.

Problem is Twitter limits the amount of characters that can be used in an update to 140 characters. Not words, characters. This means you’ve got to really narrow down your pitch to about a sentence. While it may be difficult, it’s not a bad thing. That’s because, according to most news journalists, the shorter the pitch the better.

Here are five do’s and don’ts to help you narrow down your story pitch to 140 characters or less:

1. Do form relationships. Twitter can help you reach journalist with whom you wouldn’t normally have any contact with. Use Twitter to befriend your favorite and most relevant journalists.

2. Do be concise. Richard Laermer, co-founder of the Bad Pitch Blog suggests using just 70 characters instead of 140. “If you get it all done in one short sentence, chances are the other person’s going to say, ‘I want to know more, get in touch with me”. While we can’t say this is true for every journalist, sometimes all you need is one sentence to hook ‘em.

3. Don’t give up after one tweet. If at first you don’t succeed, tweet and tweet again! You should also make sure you’re pitching the right person, you’ve done your research, and the tweet is something they’d actually be interested in (hint, they are not ever interested in the latest grand opening sales event. If this is what you normally pitch the press, time to get a new strategy).

4. Do pitch as subtly as possible. Even @ replies can be invasive to followers if pitches aren’t properly balanced with other tweets. If you’re using Twitter to pitch all the time, you’re not following one of the cardinal rules of business tweeting: Provide content that’s valuable to your followers, such as interesting links and comments that relate to your business.

5. Do find out what the journalist wants. Don’t assume that journalists on Twitter want to be twitpitched. Often, the journalist will have a bio on their publication’s Web site or a note on their LinkedIn or Facebook profile that explains how they like to be pitched. If all else fails, it doesn’t hurt to ask directly.

The explosion of social media use as an advertising, PR and marketing tool, has caused the FTC to react and revise its guidelines on the endorsements and testimonials sections which fall under the unfair competition and false advertising laws (New Guidelines). Bloggers, PR, advertising, and marketing professionals beware, these new regulations are advisory but they will change how communication professionals approach online communications strategies and tactics.

These revised regulations basically apply the institutional principles of the FTC to social media outlets. It might seem like these new rules are confusing and complex but as long as you use a common sense approach the new rules should not disrupt your communication tactics. These rules are at an advisory standing as of now and do not go into effect until Dec. 1. As long as you do not do anything maliciously crazy that would result in an FTC smack-down, your blogs will stay online and be fine.

According to PRSA blog, online public relations could be affected in 3 ways. “First, to position bloggers in the regulatory scheme of things, the FTC dubs them “endorsers” and makes endorsers liable, along with advertisers, for false or unsubstantiated claims or for failing to disclose material connections between the parties. Second, the Guides no longer offer a “safe harbor” for testimonials with a “results may vary” disclaimer. Third, celebrities who give endorsements in non-advertising venues now should disclose their relationship with the advertiser.”
PRSA also list suggestions on how to revised and update your own strategic guidelines to help make sure you play nice with the FTC new regulations.

Bloggers who receive cash or in-kind payment (including free products or services for review) are deemed endorsers and so must disclose material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

Any firm that engages bloggers by paying them outright to create or influence editorial content or by supplying goods or services to them at no cost may be liable if the blogger does not disclose the relationship.

Advertisements or promotions that feature a consumer who conveys his or her experience with a product or service as “typical” should clearly disclose what results consumers can generally expect or specify how the results were unique to the individual circumstances.
If research is cited in an advertisement or promotion, any sponsorship of the research by the client or the marketer should be clearly disclosed.

Celebrities who make endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media, should disclose any relationship with the advertiser or marketer.
So as long as you use common sense and disclose any relationships with advertisers that pay you to help sell their services and or products, the FTC should leave you alone. These new regulations are a good thing and should help weed out the scammers and cut down on the bogus junk that is advertised online, which will leave a lot more room for honest people like you and me to get the word out about great products and services.

This is adapted from Lauren Fernandez post on Ragan’s Daily PR newsletter. So true!

The three types of PR pros:

1)Dude, I can’t put down my Blackberry/iPhone, snazzy smartphone
2)Overused words like “innovative” and “synergy” make you cringe. It’s hard to believe something is “incredible” if everyone else is shouting the same thing. You want your client to be unique.
3)You have writing pet peeves and use your red edit pen at every chance to correct a mistake. We’re writers at heart. Many pros have quirks and like things done a certain way - grammar is always one of them.

Got other tips that show you’re a real PR pro? Share them!