I’ve written a fair amount about Help a Reporter Out, ProfNet, and PR Leads. These are media query services that bring media opportunities to your inbox so you can reply and earn attention for your expertise, products, services, perspectives, or cause. I am a big fan of all of these services because a quality pitch very often delivers a quality media result. HARO is a free service. ProfNet and PR Leads are fee services. I am of the mind that the more great opportunities I see, the greater the likelihood that I can earn a bounty of impact for my clients and my own expertise.
Another similar service called PitchRate has been operating for a while, and I have just recently started sifting through those leads to find good opportunities for my clients and my own expertise. Big surprise here, but sifting through all these leads can be a bit overwhelming at times. Though I’ve known about PitchRate for awhile, I haven’t given myself the gift of time to truly investigate it, given all the others leads flowing my way.
The service — like the others noted above — is easy to use. You sign up for free. Then, media queries show up in your inbox. Your task is to scan the leads to find opportunities that are well targeted for how you serve and reply in a compelling way. Just yesterday, I saw a lead that looked good for my expertise. I submitted an article for consideration, and today — Voila! — my article appears on the new Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Business Journal.
Publicity Hound Joan Stewart wrote a good post about PitchRate, and here is the link to make it easy for you to read all about how this service works. The challenge with any of these services is learning to scan the leads quickly and investing time responding only in those opportunities that are a perfect fit for your message. The more clear you are about how you want to be known, the more readily you can identify the perfect leads and use your time wisely to pitch in a winning way to bring your expertise into the spotlight.
DIY Publicity Tips for Today:
- Check out and sign up for PitchRate. You can learn more about it at this link. Then, scan and reply to the right leads to bring your business into the media spotlight.
- Check out the link to learn how to make submissions for your own articles to Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Business Journal.
- If your bio is boring and you’re ready to do something about it, treat yourself to the “Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action eGuide.” If you are pitching yourself as an expert, your bio needs to communicate your expertise in a winning way. It’s just that simple.
- And, if you are planning your professional development activities for the fall, make note to set aside time for one of three Publici-Tea™ Express workshops coming to Seattle Design Center. If you live outside of Seattle, treat yourself to the “Anytime, Anywhere” Publici-Tea™ Digital Download. (The Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action e-Guide in included in this product bundle through August 31!)
I never recommend products or services that I haven’t tested first to make sure they work, nor do I recommend products or workshops that haven’t already met with extraordinary customer and guest satisfaction. That should make it a whole lot easier for you to proceed with confidence as you explore these avenues, knowing that good results will also flow for you, too, once you get into action.
