There is an art to pitching. One must have different pitches for every audience & it needs to be customized every time. Pitching press, customers & boutiques are all different. Just like a baseball pitcher has developed a craft for when he throws a ball to the hitter, no pitch is alike for them either. The curve, fastball, breaking ball, change up are all thrown differently depending on the opponent. This is the same for business pitches.
As a small business owner, my pitches are focused on my customers & publications that can bring Imperfect Concepts new customers. But, as of late, people continuously pitch me (the owner of a boutique) things that have NOTHING to do with me! The pitches range from product review, write ups on their business and much more.
For instance yesterday I received an email from a jewelry designer. They stated they seen a feature on Imperfect Concepts on an online publication. Keep in mind that if they read that piece, they would know what kind of boutique Shop ICB is and that we are not their target market. This particular jewelry designer went on to pitch me the duty of getting someone to wear more of THEIR jewelry. What does that have to do with me? It’s very nice that someone is wearing their pieces, but there is nothing I can do to make them wear it more.
My friend Katrice once pointed out to me that publications don’t care where you have been featured before, but only how you will be interacting with them specifically. I keep that in mind now whenever I decide to pitch to someone, especially a publication. I just wish that other companies could do the same.
Always keep this question in mind: who are you pitching to? A better question is do you know your target market, your niche market, or your customers? Do you have a vision for where you want your business to go in the next year or five years? Trust me, as a small business owner, I would love for Ebony, Essence, Lucky, Refinery 29 and Huffington Post Style to feature Imperfect Concepts, but if I don’t fit their target audience it wont matter the pitch I throw at them–they wont take me. Know your business and your target market. This will save you so much time, rejection and heart ache.
