Liz Nable 0:00
Ever wondered what the perfect pitch looks like? How long should your pitch be? What should it say? How much detail should it include? What's a good story hook look like? What about my email subject line? Is that important? Why don't journalists respond? Is there a magic formula to guarantee a yes from journalists every single time. Welcome to this special throwback episode of the podcast with smart companies news editor Eloise Keating, we're recapping this one from 2023 to celebrate a very special event, something I've never done before, but I know you will all love in just a few short weeks, I'm launching an exclusive series of one off live pitch sessions with some of the top media outlets in the country. It's called pitch this, not that, and it's open to anyone who wants to sign up. Normally, you'd only get special access to these guest experts inside my program, the media masters Academy, but the overwhelming feedback from those who missed out on the last round of the MMA course was that you wanted a taste of what's inside the course first. You wanted to get a feel for what this exclusive access looks like. And you wanted to get some one on one time with journos and get feedback on your pitches first. And so your media wish is my command introducing the pitch. This not that live media training series with me. Liz nable media and PR expert and coach and highly esteemed journalist and smart company news editor, Eloise Keating, we're teaming up to review your media pitches live in this exclusive webinar designed specifically for business owners, personal brands, founders, startups and side hustlers, we're going to answer, answer all your pitching questions, share our screens and evaluate your real life pitches, live, line by line, transforming your content into winning story ideas no journalist will ever say no to, and getting you featured in the media now. So book your spot and clear your diary for Wednesday the 16th of October, 2024 12:30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, and for just $297 you'll get exclusive access to the best journos in the country. In the meantime, sit back, relax and listen carefully to this special recap episode, as Eloise shares all her top tips and tricks for getting your brand or business featured in Smart Company Magazine. It's the perfect way to prepare for our live event on October 16. See you there. Hello and welcome to medium magnet, the podcast for female founders and women owned businesses, startups and side hustlers who want to learn how to grow their business leveraging the media and free PR, I'm Liz nable, and I'm your host, personal publicist. PR, strategist and dedicated hype woman. My goal with this show is to give you a behind the scenes tour of how the media works, to break down the barriers between your business and the big mastheads, so you can see how easy it is to get featured simply by giving journalists what they want. At media magnet, you'll also get access to the top journals, editors, writers and PR people in your industry and beyond, sharing their secrets and expertise on the how, why, what and when of pitching and getting featured in the media consistently, I will share with you how to build your reputation as an industry expert so successfully, the media will be knocking down your door. When I first started in small business, 12 years ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. I had spent 15 years as a television news reporter working at several major networks in Australia, and then as a freelancer in the US and around the world. I spent years dividing my time between working long shifts on a news desk and traveling the world, chasing stories it was unpredictable and exciting until it wasn't anymore. I decided I wanted a life where I was in charge of what happened next and where I was working to build my own empire, not someone else's. There was a lot I had to learn about running my own business, but getting media and great free PR was not one of them. I already knew what the media wanted. I knew the secret formula for what made news, and I knew how to leverage those media outlets to build my business, get more exposure and ultimately make more sales. I was featured in every major media outlet in the country, and I never spent a single cent on PR. I took that knowledge for granted until it dawned on me one day that I could teach what I knew to other businesses, let them in on the secret, and they too could build their brands with organic media and PR. Let me help you take your brand from Best Kept Secret to household name. This is media magnet, the podcast, and I'm pretty pumped to have you. You.
Eloise Keating 5:07
Hi, Liz, thanks for having me. Oh, it's
Liz Nable 5:09
an absolute pleasure. You are one of our coveted guests. We've been wanting to have on the show for a while, and we're very excited to have you in the next round of the media masters Academy. Now you're the news editor of smart co Australia, which is covers Inc Australia and Smart Company, is that correct?
Eloise Keating 5:27
Yeah, that's right. And so I've been with smart company now for around nine years, and towards the end of last year we actually it was very exciting. We almost doubled our footprint by taking on the license for ink Australia. So we have two, two websites now, two publications that we look at, and they're both really focused on small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs. So
Liz Nable 5:51
you're the perfect media outlet or media organization for our listeners who are women led businesses, female entrepreneurs, co founders, founders, that sort of thing. You're one of the coveted kind of publications that our founders want to pitch. Tell me a bit about your role as news editor in, I guess, under the umbrella of who we would be pitching to and how that kind of works.
Eloise Keating 6:17
Sure. I guess there's a variety of ways that business owners would pitch to Smart Company, and really we're happy to listen and take any pictures, but really the most important thing to note is that we are essentially a business to business publication. So we're in the SME community, and we're talking to other business owners who are coming to us for news and advice and inspiration about running, how to run their business, how to grow their business. So that's the first thing to keep in mind that the audience that are reading Smart Company are also running businesses. So we get pictures for news stories. It might be, for example, a startup has secured some funding, or maybe a business has got this great distribution deal with a major retailer. Or, you know, we also would cover news in the sense of what the ATO is doing, what the Fair Work Ombudsman is doing, what the government's going to have in the budget to help business owners understand what it means for them. So we do get businesses coming to us and pitching about, you know, things that they're doing within their own business, or milestones that they've met. That's the new side of things. We would also get pictures for more in depth profiles, and that would be a longer interview based story where we go into the background of how someone started their business, how they grew it, what they've learnt along the way, and they are usually some of our most popular stories, because, like I said, people are looking for that inspiration. They want to know how others have done it and and what leads to success in business. And then the other part, and I think this would be particularly relevant to people listening to this podcast episode is that we're often taking articles from experts in their small business community too, or in the broader business community, where it's then lending their expertise to help other business owners understand a particular issue or analyze something that's in the news or often an opinion, that kind of thing. So I'll get a lot of pictures on that side of the fence, as well as the more newsy based profile pictures. So open to all of those. But the first point of call is to understand that it's for a business audience.
Liz Nable 8:37
So when you when you are thinking about what you're filling the publication with, is it female focus specifically, or is it more what? What's your readership and what kind of demographic Are you looking forward to? You know, feature and that sort of thing. Sure,
Eloise Keating 8:53
it's a source of pride. I guess for me, that smart companies readership has always really been 5050, male, female, and that's quite unusual in the Business Media. Generally, it does due to male readership, so we work very hard to make sure that we reflect that in the stories that we cover. But we do, we would cover both male founded and female founded businesses. I would say, of late, we have tried to definitely improve and increase our coverage of women run businesses, because we feel there is a real gap of that kind of coverage in the Australian media landscape, and we want to play a role in rectifying that and really showcasing the wonderful women entrepreneurs out there who, you know, we've all read the stats that not enough funding goes to women led businesses and and, you know, there's still a lot of business events that are dominated by men, that kind of thing. So we really feel smart company has an important role to to do what we can to elevate those stories. So I would be encouraging, you know, any women who are running businesses to get in touch. And it might not be. You. Um, you might your business might be at a stage where we're not, where we wouldn't do a profile just yet, like maybe you've only just started, or something like that. But usually, when someone starts an own business, their own business, it's because they're an expert in a particular field, and they have, you know, knowledge that they can share with other people who are running businesses. So that's a great way to to start getting some coverage in a in a different way that they might lead, over time, to a profile about your business
Liz Nable 10:30
inside the media masters course. Week one, we teach founders about building sorry. Week two, we teach founders about building their brand story and why that's such an important asset to the business. From your perspective, if how important is that, that someone's kind of got that brand story together when they pitch you, because obviously, like you said, you're interested in the person behind the business more so than a product or service. Is that right?
Eloise Keating 10:55
Definitely. And I often think back to when I joined Smart Company, and my editor at the time said, when it all boils down to it, small business is about people, and it's incredibly personal to run your own business and and the reasons why people you know go into business for themselves, whether it's to support their family or it's that they're incredibly passionate about a particular issue that they want To address or solve. So yeah, it really is about that story. And from a media point of view, from a journalist point of view, they're the stories that cut through. And we, we see that all the time, that human interest element. So yes, it's important to have that brand story, but I, I wouldn't necessarily want anyone to put pressure on themselves that they have to have it all figured out, because sometimes it's in the process of talking to a journalist and explaining how you came up with your business idea that that you know, they can help pick out what that narrative is for you. So don't be put off if you haven't figured it all out just yet, because you know you might think that you have it, and you might pitch it to a journalist and they say, Well, have you actually considered that you've got this really great story hidden underneath that? So be open minded. But yeah, if you can read some of the profiles on Smart Company or in the business press and see how other entrepreneurs are talking about their business journey, that it often starts with what was the problem that they wanted to solve? Or what was that light bulb moment when they realized that there was a business opportunity, and from there, you can start building out, you know, what happened next? What what were the steps that you, that you took, and who were the people along the way that helped you?
Liz Nable 12:37
Great advice, um, talk to me about the pictures that you receive, like on a daily basis. Are we talking 1020, like, dozens, hundreds? You know, what kind of influx of pitches do you get? And do you open all the emails from business?
Eloise Keating 12:53
I'd say I would like to think I could open all the emails, but it's it's near impossible, and I've had to come to accept that over my time as an editor, look, I would get a couple of 100 emails a day, but not all of them would be, would be straight pictures, some of them aren't press releases, industry news, that kind of thing. So within that, I would get direct emails from business owners or business owners who are working with publicists, that kind of thing. We probably get a bit more of that than hearing directly from business owners. But yeah, unfortunately, I can't open every email each day, but I do have a habit of keeping every email that I'm sent. I'm not sure if that's a smart strategy, because my inbox can get out of control, but I find it incredibly useful, because in my role as news editor, I'm also helping my journalists find people that they might want to talk to as well, and and commissioning freelancers. So I might receive the email. I might read it. You might not necessarily get a personal response from me, but you might hear from Tegan or David on my team or one of my freelancers, or it might be that we don't get to your story this week, but next month, something's interesting is happening in the news, and we're looking for someone who runs a beauty business, for example, to comment on something in the news. And if I've saved your email and got your details, there's a good chance that we might resurface that. So I do try and get back to people. It just might take me a little bit of time.
Liz Nable 14:25
Is there a formula for what you're looking for? Like, what kinds of stories are you looking for? And you know, how relevant is the news of the day in the pictures that you you know that you're receiving from people? Obviously, we teach a lot of this inside the course, generally, but for Smart Company. Is there a formula to what you're looking for, something specific that never dates, that you always love? You know that style of story?
Eloise Keating 14:47
Yeah, I think for that sort of timeless smartco story, and I used to call say to my journals, it's the classic smartco story. It's the growth of a business, and it's usually going. Back to that idea of a brand story. It's sort of the couple of elements I'm looking for are growth, and even better, if you can put some numbers to that growth. And I you know, some people are comfortable sharing revenue, but it might also be a percentage growth, or it might be the number of stockists that you've got your product in, or something like that. Some numbers will always put your pitch in front of ahead of others, you know, picking up on something personal in that story. So to give an example, we recently published a profile of a woman who had her name Suzanne, and she created a product called mukmat, and it's a piece of astroturf that you can you can clean your feet on when you've for her, it was after surfing with her kids. But it's really taken off in the caravaning industry because people put it at the step of their caravan, and they can clean their shoes or their feet before they go in. But for Suzanne, it was really just, it solved a personal problem. It solved a problem with, you know, all the sand that was coming into her house, and she just happened to have this piece of astroturf in the garage. And then people started asking, Where do you get that? Like, how could you get me one of those? And that's turned into this incredibly successful business that's now stocked in Anaconda stores. And, wow. So for her story, you know, she's got that. She can articulate the personal problem that she sold. She could tell us about the growth, of how of how quickly it grew, and some numbers there, but also some insights into getting into a major retailer. So for me, that ticks all the boxes for Smart Company, because there's inspiration there, there's insight for other business owners, and where, you know, we're showing how amazing Australian business owners are. So that's the kind of timeless story. If I see something like that, absolutely we want to jump on it. I think for more newsy type things that are tied to the news cycle, those ones for us tend to be a bit more commentary based or or opinion articles, that kind of thing. And we do have a lot of people who successfully pitch us those kind of stories, and we pick them up. And for those ones, time is of the essence. Really, it's sort of, if something's in the news today, you probably want to email us tomorrow kind of thing. You know, next week might be too late, that kind of thing. So I think in the first instance, it's being clear about what is the story that you're pitching, is it for a profile, or is it for a newsy type thing? And then that will govern how sort of how you frame it, and when you might expect a response from us, that kind of thing.
Liz Nable 17:39
So if someone is successful in pitching you, and they do deliver you a story on a platter, like the muckrack story, how likely are you to then go back to them when you have something else that might be relevant to them, or you need someone who's an expert in that story? How important is that relationship when someone makes a good impression?
Eloise Keating 17:59
Yeah, I think it's, I think it's really important. And you know, I've had formed some really great relationships with business owners over the years that we know that, you know, I could drop them an email or give them a call and say, can you tell me what's happening in this industry, or what do you think about the government doing this or that? Or do you have any thoughts about the budget? So that's always really good. And I also have people who will just sort of email and say, Look, if you're ever looking for someone in the hospitality industry, here's my my details, give me a call, that kind of thing. So yeah, I think, I think it's great. And you know, LinkedIn, it has become a really good source of those kind of connections for for me and for my team and we, we often will do call outs on there too. We might say we're looking for a Victorian based business to comment on this or that, or we're looking for a business owner who is happy to talk about their experience with hybrid work or something like that, get in touch with us by this time. Or I'm looking for answers today, that kind of thing. So I would recommend for anyone listening in like, jump on LinkedIn, go and follow some of the journalists that you like their work, or you like their publications, and start almost just kind of observing what they're looking for and who they're talking to.
Liz Nable 19:19
Now important is it for you to get a really good first impression on a pitch in terms of you can tell right away, in the first few sentences that the person pitching you has read Smart Company. I mean, I know that's like a bugbear for so many editors and and journalists out there. How important is it to know where you're who you're pitching to?
Eloise Keating 19:40
Yeah, I would say it's almost like the number one thing on the list is being familiar with where you're pitching to I do fairly regularly get pictures that have the wrong name or the wrong publication in the email, or, you know, that kind of thing, or it's very obvious that it's just. Of a copy and paste that have gone to a lot of different places, and they haven't really thought about Smart Company, and that's okay. I you know, everyone does it differently, but I think the more you can demonstrate that you understand what we're doing, the bit you're better placed, really. And that could be as simple as just reading it fairly regularly, just jumping on the site, having a look. And that would apply to other publications too, because you'll start to get a feel of the stories that they don't ever do as well, and that will give you clues about, you know, if that's the story you're pitching, but you can see that Smart Company, or, you know, one of the bigger publications, never does stories like that. There's probably a reason, yeah, for that. And I remember, you know, hearing from a television journalist one time, worked on one of their sort of current affair type shows, and she said, we just have a blanket rule, nothing to do with toilets. Don't ever pitch us any even, anything to do with toilets. And she said, the reason is very simple, because we broadcast at a time when a lot of people are eating their dinner. So even if you've got the most amazing story, I'm sorry, it's just not for us. So you know, that's just it. That's a bit of a strange example, but there are, there will be things that you can pick up just from reading a publication, from following them on LinkedIn, from looking at their social media, you will get a feel of what they like and what they won't ever touch.
Liz Nable 21:27
Do you have, like, a mission statement or, like a something that sort of surmises in a couple of sentences what you're trying to achieve at Smart company that would give people a good idea of whether it's the right place for them to pitch?
Eloise Keating 21:41
Yeah, I think what it boils down to for us is that where we exist really to champion small and medium sized businesses in Australia, we, we have very clear mission that we want to see more small businesses succeed. And we, we feel that it's a it's an underrepresented sector of the business community in terms of the media, but we know 97% of Australian businesses are small businesses, and they employ more than 4 million people across our country. They're an incredibly important part of the economy, but a very diverse part as well. So we want to see more success there. We want to see less obstacles in their path. And, you know, we feel it's a it's a really important part of the community for us to talk about the issues that are affecting them, but also to celebrate the success stories. So
Liz Nable 22:39
it's the perfect first place for someone to get their feet wet if they're pitching for the first time. Now, you're our guest expert, like I mentioned in one of the print weeks of our media masters Academy. So you'll be obviously, you'll have your little, small group of people who are pitching to your business owners, who are pitching to you. What What could they expect to sort of get from you, what sort of insight, tips and tricks like could they get? I guess an advantage of having a private audience with you.
Eloise Keating 23:09
Um, I, you know, I would love to be able to offer them some personal feedback on their pitches, whether it's well suited to Smart Company. If it's not, I think I'd be able to offer them also some suggestions of perhaps other publications they might like to get in touch with, or potentially different angles that they might think about might not have thought about yet. So they might be going into it thinking, I'm pitching a story about my business or my product, but really I might be more interested in hearing from them as an expert in their particular industry, whether it's manufacturing or hospitality or consulting, that kind of thing. So I think be open to suggestions that I might offer as to where it might fit. And yeah, my other big thing to say, I guess, is don't be nervous, because really, at the end of the day, journalists are just regular people, too, and I've never run my own business. I don't know what that takes. So for me, a business owner is really the expert, and I'm trying to learn from you. And I think every business owner has an a really special story to tell, because owning your own business, running your own business is a very personal thing, so I usually love to approach it from that point of view. Tell me about yourself, about why you started your business, and then get into what you think might be the pitch for a particular story. I also find it really helpful for pitching to for the person the business owner pitching to almost think about it in terms of the headline, because that's often how I'm thinking about if I can imagine the story in smart companies, I'm thinking of the headline as I'm listening to someone speak. So have a go write down a few headlines that you think could suit your business if it's for a profile or a news story. Be and include that in your pitch, because straight away, that helps me start to form the picture of of what the story might look like. Yeah, and it is a really safe
Liz Nable 25:09
space to be in. In this small group environment, everybody's small business owners, everybody's having a go, and it's not like they're pitching to a room for 5000 people, and they get you all to themselves. So it's very exciting. How often does So say, for example, smart company does a feature. I see it a lot in other media publications, and I'm interested to know if it happens with you guys too, that then sparks like a rolling story that might get picked up by other publications. Does that happen a lot? Because I'm trying to explain to the students inside the course as we go along, that things can get syndicated and or picked up and spark a story that continues for days or possibly weeks.
Eloise Keating 25:47
Yeah, it does happen a bit. Um, I'd say it's probably Yeah, more on those newsy type stories that something's very topical in the news cycle. Um, from time to time, you can see, you know, a few of the business publications will seem to have a profile on the same business around the same time. For those listening at home, that's usually because it's being it's come through a PR kind of effort or or push um, and they, you know, we know that we would be pitched at the same time as other other publications, so that might be a reason why. But, you know, we do have arrangements where other outlets will republish Smart Company stories, so you might see it get more traction in that way. I think in terms of turning it into a role in story, it's usually that might happen when someone, you know, we publish a story about a topical issue, and then other people get in touch with us and say, I've got this different perspective. Or I can share a bit shed more, a bit bit more light on why that happened, or I worked for the company, and this is what really happened, that kind of thing. So probably more on the news side of things. But that being said, if you see something in Smart Company, or even in another publication that you know it's about your industry, or you know a lot about it, or you know, feel very strongly about it, that's a great time. That's a great prompt to email an editor or a journalist and say, I could offer, you know, I could help you move this story along. I
Liz Nable 27:15
could offer something else there. Yeah, and like you say, like these days, it's not just your online audience, because you would then take those stories, put them on your socials, might feature it on LinkedIn. There's so many places where that gets repurposed these days. It's not just this one channel that sees the story and then that it's done.
Eloise Keating 27:33
Yeah, and I've heard from quite a few people who have been featured in Smart Company, that then it leads to, you know, someone that they haven't chatted to for five years getting in touch saying, Oh, I saw the profile of your business. Great to see you doing really well, and opens up some networks that might not have been there before, or then they might get approached to speak at a conference. Or I had one example of a motorcycle tour company that we profiled in Smart Company, and the very next day, the owner got an email from someone who had been thinking about booking one of their tours, but wasn't sure, but read the profile and said, Yes, we're going to do it. And that was a $50,000 Wow for this business, this regional business, and she just said, I it just blew her mind that an article could lead to that. So my advice would be, if you are featured in a publication, like smart company or another business publication is like, then you need to share it. Put it on your LinkedIn, put it on your Facebook, put it out there. Refer to it again. You see businesses will have on the bottom of their website as featured in they'll put the logos there, so make the most of it. Put it Yeah, put it all over your socials, and bring it up again in a few weeks. And yeah, keep it going.
Liz Nable 28:49
Leverage it as much as you can. Um Eloise, it's been an absolute pleasure to talk to you've got so much golden nuggets of information there. We will see you inside the media masters Academy. And until then, thank you. Thanks. Liz, I'm
Eloise Keating 29:02
really looking forward to it. This episode
Liz Nable 29:04
of media magnet was brought to you by my signature group coaching program, the media masters Academy. The media masters Academy is a live, online, six week course taught by me and designed to teach you how to become your own publicist and gives you exclusive access to pitch the country's top journalists and editors. Doors open just three times a year. Check it out at Liz nable.com along with a ton of free resources to help you get started taking your business from Best Kept Secret to household name right now. If you love this episode of media magnet, please share it with your business buddies or on social media and tag me at at Liz underscore navel. And if there's a specific guest you want to hear from on the show, or a topic or question you want to know more about, please tell me so I can make sure the show stays dedicated, especially for you.
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