Pitching Tips

This is a great blog post I came across today. First off, I love mediabistro ... and they had a post today: "How to pitch: 5 Mistakes to avoid." I think the community just posts and submits topics all the time, but I really liked this one.

In summary, personalize your pitch:
1. Address your pitch to a specific person
2. Acknowledge something said, reference an article, etc.
3. Don't suck up
4. Don't say "awesome"
5. Stick to the point

View the whole blog post here:
http://mediabistro.posterous.com/how-to-pitch-5-mistakes-to-avoid

My Favorite PR Newsfeed

So, sometimes I find it hard to open each and every e-mail from the daily newsletters and newsfeeds I get, but I must say that I do find myself opening Ragan's Daily PR Newsfeed every day. With exerts from other blogs, Job-of-the-day and the top stories, you can get almost everything you need in one stop. Although news and articles are never ending, I usually like to start my day with this feed (and of course, not rely on it as my only source of information).

For example: Since I'm a recent college graduate who in continuously applying to public relations firms, today the newsfeed had a blog post from PR Breakfast Club (another great PR blog): "5 Tips for Interviewing at a PR Firm" - Could not have been more perfect. Obviously I clicked, and each different point brought up different things to be aware of. This one especially caught my eye:

Know Social Media:

"Not every agency knows HOW to use social media successfully, but by now they all know that it’s important. This means that there are many companies who are looking for new, young people to bring in a different perspective and hopefully help them catch up with the future of the industry" [from PR Breakfast Club]

I thought this was very interesting because when you Google or research interview tips and things like that, social media isn't at the top of the list, but in PR these days, it's almost crucial. It's really quite strange how generations can be so different. I think if I said the phrase "social media" to my parents, they would tilt their heads to the side and question my odd statement. "Yes, mom ... something with Facebook," I would reply.

Oh, the changes ...

My life is full of adventures...

Well, I think I start with a new topic every time I create a blog. I posted a discussion on LinkedIn not too long ago about how I can't maintain a blog, it just doesn't seem to work out. I've tried every hosting site and every different angle, but this time will work! (Ha!) I've been encouraged dozens of times to start a blog (which I've done), I just haven't continued to post to it. I'm going to make a solid effort this time though. Hopefully I'll be focusing on my life through the public relations/social media view (how I've gotten to where I am and where I see myself in the future).

Just a brief introduction (to my wonderfully large audience):
My name is Candice, I'm a recent college graduate from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in Communication and a minor in psychology. I've been studying public relations for some time now and really hope to start my career shortly. I've had 3 internships: one at an agency, one in corporate communications and one as a social media enthusiast.
I've been following numerous agencies online and reading your average PR newsletter every day. I'm currently addicted to Twitter (@candicewirth) and I'm phasing out of the "Facebook phenomenon." I'm trying to explore all there is to the world of social media, while maintaining the knowledge and information as it comes along.

Here it goes ....