This document provides 7 new rules for pitching higher education stories to the media. The rules are: 1) customize pitches to stand out, 2) find better angles, 3) take advantage of new media outlets, 4) keep pitches short, 5) do legwork for journalists, 6) persist diplomatically, and 7) build relationships through useful information rather than complaining about lack of access. The document includes examples and tips for implementing each rule to improve media placements.

1. 7 New Rules of Higher Ed Media
Relations
Boost Your Credibility and Placements
Despite Shrinking Coverage
@michaelsmartpr
© Copyright 2012 MichaelSMARTPR, LLC
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2. Thank you for this investment
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3. Listen for. . .
• The two-step pitch formula to grab any
journalist’s or blogger’s attention
• Surprising ways to frame boring facts into a
catchy story
• The unconscious test every journalist/blogger
applies to every pitch
• Specific pattern for getting on media/bloggers’
radar screen
Tweet along
• @michaelsmartpr
• #prsache
Drastic changes in media
• What have you observed?
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4. Drastic changes in media
• Lay-offs
• Multiple beats
• Multiple platforms
• Bigger premium on speed
• More pressure, more stress, less time
• Journalists’ and bloggers’ complaints about PR
• But the reality is . . .
This is good news for us
• Bigger payoff for working smarter
• There has never been a better time to be a
media-savvy higher ed PR pro
7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
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5. So what DO you say?
• What is journalists’ favorite topic?
• Familiarize yourself with their previous stories
• Reference their earlier work, and tell how
your pitch relates
Subject line: checklist saves lives story
Hi [USAT reporter],
I was fascinated that in this world of expensive medical
interventions that a simple checklist could be that effective. The bit
about Gawande’s own patient was a nice touch.
I thought you might be interested in proof that another public
health intervention is having a dramatic impact. A professor at my
university is publishing a study in NEJM that shows decreases in
air pollution in American cities have added five months to the
average Americans’ life.
Would you like me to send more info so you can decide whether
you’d like to interview the author?
Thanks for your consideration,
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6. From: [reporter]
Sent: Thursday, January 15 1:35 PM
To: Michael Smart
Subject: Out of Office: checklist saves lives
I'm out of the office. Back tomorrow.
From:
Sent: Thursday, January 15 2:00 PM
To: Michael Smart
Subject: RE: checklist saves lives
Sure, please send it.
From: Michael Smart [mailto:michael_smart@byu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, January 15 1:34 PM
To:
Subject: RE: checklist saves lives
Hi [name],
I was fascinated that in this world of expensive medical
interventions that a simple checklist could be that effective. The bit
about Gawande’s own patient was a nice touch.
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7. 10-second pitch formula
I saw your stories on (subject), and I thought you
might be interested in (story).
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8. 7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
2. Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
One tip for angles: Process
• Result or event isn’t that interesting, how
about the process?
• Great for boring new products or routine
events
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9. Pitch
• “A BYU researcher developed a ‘bird
breathalyzer’ to determine whether sparrows
and warblers are migrating under the
influence of berries or bugs so we can help
protect their habitats.”
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10. 2nd tip for angles: pop culture
13-year-old honors class
• Students run the class and do all the research;
professor merely observes
• Premise is the students are marooned on an
island and must build an airplane to get off
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11. © Copyright 2012 MichaelSMARTPR, LLC
Pitch
• Study: Hire a Dwight Schrute for a better
performing team
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13. 3rd tip for angles: media agenda
• Tie your news to a current event
Promoting English research?
• In the fall, English professor. . .
• Writing a book about a pirate. . .
• Who was a woman. . .
• Who was IRISH!
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14. 7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
2. Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
3. Take advantage of new media outlets
New outlets and opportunities
• Student intern built targeted list of blogs, sites
• Found and pitched 12 sites in one hour
• 8 ran the story with no follow-up
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16. © Copyright 2012 MichaelSMARTPR, LLC
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17. © Copyright 2012 MichaelSMARTPR, LLC
© Copyright 2012 MichaelSMARTPR, LLC
7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
2. Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
3. Take advantage of new media outlets
4. Keep pitches brutally short
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18. Anatomy of a perfect pitch email
• One-paragraph intro
• One-paragraph description of the angle
• Call to action and offers to help
• The most important thing a journalist can see
in your email pitch is the . . .
. . . end.
Short email pitches
• Save background, proper names for later
• DON’T paste release or background below
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19. From: Michael Smart
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 3:21 PM
To: Rachel Ensign
Subject: fan mail: good time to refinance
Rachel,
I LOVED that story because it caused the opposite of buyer’s remorse for me. I
refinanced in February, and now thanks to you I can crow to myself about getting
lucky and hitting the record low rate!
I’m also writing because I thought you as a personal finance writer might be
interested in new academic research that found that setting a budget for a specific
purpose actually backfires.
The study found consumers who set a budget increase their spending by up to 50
percent more than consumers who don’t set a price target.
It’s being published in an academic journal and was authored by marketing profs at
BYU and Emory. We’re releasing it to the public now.
Would you like me to send more info?
Best,
Michael Smart
WSJ reporter on email pitches
• Gets 60 email pitches a day (more go to spam)
• “You can tell in the first sentence or two . . .”
“Write in a concise way that highlights what’s
really interesting. I get pitches and I bet these
people are really interesting, but the email is,
like, eight paragraphs.”
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20. 7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
2. Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
3. Take advantage of new media outlets
4. Keep pitches brutally short
5. Do the leg work for journalists and bloggers
Secret test
• All journalists and bloggers do this without
realizing it
• They subconsciously evaluate every pitch
• They ask themselves:
“How much time will this take?”
What do they need?
• Sources: real people
• Sources: outside experts
• Visuals
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21. Birth-order study
• Real people
– Professor’s siblings
– Professor’s kids
– Families in DC area
• Third parties:
– Well known UCLA birth order researcher
– Expert at U. of Maryland
Today show
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22. 7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
2. Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
3. Take advantage of new media outlets
4. Keep pitches brutally short
5. Do the leg work for journalists and bloggers
6. Diplomatically but tenaciously persist
China research
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23. Follow-up sequence
• First email
• Second email – same as the first
• Then phone call
– Call ‘til they answer
– Never reference your email, just dive into the
pitch
WSJ reporter
• (I had sent her 4 follow-up emails)
• “Follow-up is okay as long as you’re not a pest,
you handled that well.”
• “Same-day follow-up is too soon”
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24. 7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
2. Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
3. Take advantage of new media outlets
4. Keep pitches brutally short
5. Do the leg work for journalists and bloggers
6. Diplomatically but tenaciously persist
7. Don’t whine about lacking media
relationships – use pitches to build them
Building relationships with media
• How do I get them on the phone? How can I
visit them?
• The strength of your relationships with
media/bloggers is determined by the
usefulness of the information you share with
them
7 New rules of higher ed pitching
1. Customize your pitches to stand out
2. Find the better angle even if it’s not obvious
3. Take advantage of new media outlets
4. Keep pitches brutally short
5. Do the leg work for journalists and bloggers
6. Diplomatically but tenaciously persist
7. Don’t whine about lacking media
relationships – use pitches to build them
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25. Pulling it all together
• Q&A coming up
Pulling it all together
• BYU’s competition math team
• In the top 25
• Landed top HS math student in nation
• No one cared
• How do you get people to care about math?
• It’s obvious:
Mathletes
• Shoot a rap video!
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26. Mathletes rap video
• Shot in one 3-hour session
• Cost $500
• All “talent” from within department
Hey Jenna,
March Madness and Pi Day collide in this
Mathlete rap music video:
http://youtu.be/0AGT4M3Z1OM
I can send you more details if you decide this
fits.
Joe Hadfield
BYU Media Relations Manager
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27. Before we conclude
• Additional resources
• Q+A
• Parting words
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28. Additional resources
• For a copy of the presentation, sign up for my
email pitching tips
• www.michaelsmartpr.com
Additional resources
• You’ll also receive tips on winning subject lines
• www.michaelsmartpr.com
Q&A
michael@MichaelSmartPR.com
Twitter: @MichaelSmartPR
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29. Your university
name here
Please stay in touch
michael@MichaelSmartPR.com
Twitter: @MichaelSmartPR
www.michaelsmartpr.com
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