Pitch Perfect

It's Becky again. A little early for Sunday, because earlier is always better!

Because there was no requirement to find scholarly sources for this blog, I did a simple Google search, trusting my own common sense to determine which sites were reliable. I did manage to find a few, from each of which I gleaned some potentially useful advice on pitching for podcasts and radio.

For the first, AIR Media, I took a look at its highly-detailed "About Us" page in order to assure myself that the site was reliable. The page itself constitutes a Q and A with an expert on pitching. I learned:

• Always make the pitch before the "story," so the editors can have a sense of contributing to the final product
• The pitch needs to be focused, and specific enough to set it apart

The second site I found, Last Word, didn't have a very descriptive "About" page, but it did have a list of some of its clients, which included a number of respected institutions in the UK: I was satisfied. From here, I learned:

• Know the show you're pitching to: the types of programs they usually run, their audience, etc.
• Introduce any "characters" who will be in the program

My third site required no verification beyond the url; CBC Radio looks reliable enough for me, considering how established the CBC is. Although the page is designed as guidelines specifically for pitching a show to CBC Radio, it had a lot of information that I find useful in a more general way-- such as:

• Consider what excites people most when I talk about my topic-- start with that
• Tell them who I am and why they should want me doing the show for them
• Have someone else read my pitch and tell back to me what the show's about

Based on what I've been reading, I think the most important thing for me to do before next week is get talking to friends and family about my podcast topic-- that way, I can refine my topic while seeing what others think, and what gets them enthusiastic.