Man, I'm having a really hard time trying to decide on a direction for my podcast...and I have to pitch on wednesday! Yikes! Maybe if I research some pitching tips online I'll find some inspiration.

So I found this podcast called The Podcast Report, which apparently updates and reports news on an event  held in Las Vegas for bloggers and podcasters called the New Media Expo, or NMX as they refer to it. I guess that's where people go to network and create business opportunities for each other. It looks to be a pretty trustworthy source. These guys have over 30 episodes posted and links to everything they're associated with. Anyway, podcast episode number 24 is titled Tips on Improving Your Elevator Pitch.  In it, the authors Cliff Ravenscraft and Erik Fisher explore 5 tips they found in a Microsoft Business article discussing techniques on perfecting an elevator pitch.

The first tip states ""Figure out what's unique about you. The whole idea about a great elevator pitch is to intrigue someone." Ravenscraft and Fisher elaborate on this and warn not to sound like "you aren't interested yourself in what you yourself do...it's not boasting, it's just more of your story that's interesting." I think this means to really sell your idea, don't avoid elaborating out of modesty. You're not trying to impress people, you're trying to intrigue people. Focus on what's interesting and make sure they know about it.

The next tip is "Make it exciting. A superior elevator pitch increases your heart rate." Ravenscraft and Fisher discuss this further, explaining that not only should your audience know who you are, but also what you're passionate about and what you do. Answer the "so what?" question.

While writing your pitch down and memorizing it is important, Ravenscraft also warns his audience: "never repeat it word for word. You do want to memorize your pitch, you do want to have a very clear vision of exactly what it is you want to communicate. But know it so well that it's just an outline, it's a springboard for you to say something creative and unique."

After I listened to this podcast I checked out a site called radioguestlist.com, which posted an article titled
"How to Pitch Radio, TV, and Podcast Bookers to Get Publicity Interviews." Radio Guest List is an large online booking agent which connects producers to show bookers in order to create TV and radio content. Although I'm not looking for a publicity interview specifically, this piece gave me a good tip on creating a captivating headline: "Mimic the 'teasers' you hear for your evening TV newscast and you’ll be on the right track. Try 'The 7 Secrets about X that They Don’t Want You to Know', 'The Hidden Dangers of X', 'The Surprising Truth about X'" I'll try to incorporate that into my pitch to build a little suspense and interest. 

The third site I visited was a CBC article called "CBC Radio Program Development Group Pitch Guide". Although these tips are specifically for pitching a radio show I think they apply to podcasts as well. The CBC is, at least in my opinion, a fairly reliable source and their pitching guidelines seem legitimate.  In this article they stated: "Once you’ve worked through your idea, here’s a quick checklist of other things you should include in your proposal:

1. Who You Are: Tell us why you’re the best person to do this show. If you’ve hosted, produced or written for radio before, let us know. Also, what led you to your idea? Give us a sense of your background, your passions.
2. Who is Who: If you’ve got people you want to work with, tell us who they are. Who’s producing? Who’s hosting? Assume we don’t know these people. Give us an idea why they’re the best people for those roles. Let us know if you’ve approached these people, and what they've said.
3. Reaching Out: What plans do you have for using social media or other tools to attract audiences to your show?
4. Support: What kind of support do you need? Mentoring? Coaching on your performance? In-studio training? Digital audio editing, etc."

While I'm sure I'll be incorporating all of these techniques into my pitch, I failed to find a topic or a story. I'm stumped! My biggest challenge this week will be finding something I feel passionate enough about to deliver a really compelling pitch. 

 Works Cited:

"CBC Radio Pitch - Index." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. <http://www.cbc.ca/pitch/radiopitchguide.html>.

"Radio Guest List.com - How to Get Radio Interviews, Talk Show Expert Publicity and Podcast Guests!" 'Radio Guest List.com - How to Get Radio Interviews, Talk Show Expert Publicity and Podcast Guests! ' N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. <http://www.radioguestlist.com/how-to-pitch-radio-tv-and-podcast-bookers-to-get-publicity-interviews.html>.

Ravenscraft, Cliff, and Erik Fisher. "024 The Podcast Report – Tips On Improving Your Elevator Pitch." New Media Expo Blog. New Media Expo, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. <http://www.blogworld.com/2013/09/16/024-the-podcast-report-tips-on-improving-your-elevator-pitch/>.

Strauss, Steve. "Elevator Pitch: 5 Tips for Creating a Strong Sales Message." Elevator Pitch: 5 Tips for Creating a Strong Sales Message. Microsoft, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. <http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/marketing/advertising-branding/5-tips-for-creating-an-elevator-pitch.aspx?fbid=WyU73rPPHcY>.