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Pitching Coach 3: How to get invited to Speak without Having to Pitch

This is the 3rd in a 3 part series on getting speaking gigs in interactive industry events. See the rest here.

When I was a kid I remember seeing an interview on TV with the Barbarian Brothers, who were professional bodybuilders and identical twins. They said that their career ambition was to walk onto the stage for the pose down (where 5 guys are on at the same time, and try to out-flex each other, freestyle) at the Mr. Universe competition, and just stand there, without moving, and finish tied for first.

It never happened. But I do know of speakers at Interactive Advertising and Media conferences who are invited to speak without ever having to pitch. Lots of them, in fact. Here are my tips for how to do it, without relying at all on performance-enhancing substances:

1. Get some ink.
The most common place I find great speakers is in the trade pubs, and that includes blogs. I read everything in the industry: MediaPost, AdAge, AdWeek, DMNews, IAB Smartbrief, Micro Persuasion, AdRants, AdJab, MarketingVox, ClickZ, iMedia - everythang. Mostly to see who is doing what, and what hasn't been done before.

2. Start a blog and fill it with original thought.
Even better than being famous is being smart. (OK, that's not always true.) One of my favorite things about the blogosphere is how the cream rises to the top. For example: I read Seth Godin's blog. Seth reads Ernie Mosteller's blog. Ernie has fantastic ideas, and he puts them into his blog. It's a fun and productive read, every time. Seth mentioned Ernie's blog a few months back and I started reading it. Now I subscribe to his feed, link to it, talk about it here, and am keeping an eye open for how to get Ernie into an event I'm working on. Hill Holiday's idea is a good one. It allows me and other event programmers (and clients, of course) to see the quality of the thought over there, and make decisions about who to invite, for what. "S/he works at OMD/Pepsi/BMW so s/he'll be a big draw," just doesn't cut it anymore. "S/he has a really provocative idea about how agencies should be compensated" does cut it.

3. And while we're on the topic of Seth...
Read Seth's blog. Be remarkable, somehow. The entire industry is craving something remarkable. All of advertising and marketing, in fact.

4. Treat Event Programmers like you do the Press
You know every reporter (and blogger) who covers your space by name, IM, email and cell phone number. Figure out who we 'Event Gatekeepers' are, and keep us as informed  about what you're doing as you do the press. Add us to your press lists. Bounce ideas off of us. Engage us in conversations. Invite us to press conferences, client summits, and holiday parties. Build relationships with us, like Steve Stratz at aQuantive. He's the best in the business, and it's no coincidence that there are 5 speakers from Avenue A | Razorfish, Atlas, and DRIVEpm speaking at OMMA Hollywood. Steve calls me before each show, and it's almost like I'm placing an order with my supplier. And when there's no show on the horizon, he keeps me in the loop. Make us think of you first when we're looking at a grid full of sessions to fill.

5. Seek Professional Help
Mine, for example. How's your schedule on Thursday of next week?

Hope this helps. Now get out there and pump you up.

Pitching Coach 2: Perfect Pitch

Here's the 2nd in a 3-part series on construcing better speaker pitch letters. The first is here, if you missed it.

Theory is one thing, but samples are a better way to illustrate some of what works and what doesn't. Below is a fabulous pitch letter from a guy named Nicholas Mendoza, who works for the PR firm Rogers and Cowan in Los Angeles. He had read somewhere that I'm programming the upcoming MediaPost OMMA Hollywood Conference, and thought that his client from ROO might be someone I'd be interested in. Here's his letter:

Hi Mike.

I'm contacting you on behalf of ROO, one of the top 10 online broadcasting networks in the world, regarding available speaking opportunities at OMMA Hollywood.

Greg Verdino, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing for ROO, is speaking at Media Summit New York next week and is also confirmed as a panelist at Digital Hollywood Spring - speaking about Internet Video, Advertising and Marketing.

We'd like for OMMA to consider him for the following panels in order of preference:

Ad track session - 3/28 - 11am - 11:45am
Advertising Track - Online Video: Starring in Advertising's Big Picture

Media track session - 3/27 - 11:30 - 12:15pm
Video in the Media Mix: Toe in, or Plunge?

Online Content Track - 3/27 - 5:30pm - 6pm
WORKSHOP: Selling Video Advertising

Let me know if you're interested in receiving a bio and additional details on his areas of expertise.

Regards,
Nick

Nick Mendoza
Rogers & Cowan for ROO
8687 Melrose Ave., 7th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90069
310.854.8128
www.roo.com

Here's what's great about his letter:

1. Short paragraphs, and a very brief note altogether
2. Not much marketing puffery. (exception: 'one of the top 10 online broadcasting networks in the world' is hollow - the field is way to nascent for any sort of ranking to matter)
3. Tells me who he represents - what company and what person.
4. Suggests a specific speaker for specific sessions (in order of preference), making it easy for me to gauge availability in the sessions
5. No attachments or any superfluous background on ROO's VC funding, market position, etc.
6. Gentle bandwagon tactic by revealing that his executive got picked up to speak at two well-respected shows (also a proof-of-concept: I respect these shows and am suitably impressed)
7. Promotes his client, not his own PR firm, in his sig file. This makes it easy for me to do a little research on ROO, but is also a deferential nod to his client, which I appreciate.
8. But the best part is the last paragraph: Let me know if you're interested in receiving more info and I'll send it. I don't think Nick is being coy here - he's being respectful.

It's rare when I'll make a decision from an initial pitch letter on a speaker, unless of course I already know the speaker and am delighted to learn of his/her availability and interest. Nick gets this, and doesn't try to close the deal on the first point of contact with me. This tactic, along with his tone, creates an approach that is courteous and respectful, and invites a conversation about his client. Most pitch letters simply invite a 'no thanks.'

So nice job, Nick. I'll call you this week to discuss ROO's involvement at OMMA Hollywood.

Pitching Coach 1: Dos and Donts

Last year, I was responsible for selecting, confirming and managing over 300 speakers for interactive media, marketing, commerce and advertising events. Word has gotten around that I'm a gatekeeper of sorts. As a result, I get a lot of speaker pitches - probably about 5-8 per day if you count each distinct email, and not just each speaker pitched (it's not uncommon for several people in the same company to pitch me their executives, or for me to get a follow-up note every couple of weeks from the persistent ones nudging, 'Anything yet?').

Some pitch letters are truly awful. Some are remarkable. The vast majority are far too easy to ignore. But they shouldn't be, because anyone worth pitching probably is remarkable in some ways. The pitch's (and the pitcher's) job is to capture and communicate what makes a speaker unique.

So I'm going to play Pitching Coach for a few posts, and share with you some tips and some sample pitches. If you like, you may believe that I am doing this for your personal and professional amelioration, motivated by altruism and a sense of community. In truth, if I'm going to read 1000 of these damn things again this year, I want them to be more entertaining.

To start, here's my top 6 lists of Dos and Donts. Throughout I speak of pitches to 'me' but I hope you can generalize these tips and apply them to other program directors. I just don't presume to speak for all of us.

Top 6 Dos for Speaker Pitch Letters

1. Do your homework. Map your pitch either to the conference theme or, even better, a specific session if the agenda is up already. Generic pitches make me do your homework, which I'll never do again after that embarrassing incident in 6th grade.
2. Do write like a person, not a marketing department. I'm a person. People on the advisory boards I work with to make speaker selections are people. Even some of my competitors are people. If your pitch sounds like a press release, go here and fix it.
3. Do more than you think you have to. If you don't see an agenda, propose a topic instead of asking me when the sessions will be listed.
4. Do be realistic. If you're pitching a VP of Sales from vendor that launched 6 months ago with no major clients, you will not get a keynote slot. In fact, you probably won't get anything at all. But if you acknowledge this and give me a real reason why this person is an interesting inclusion (see #2, above), you're at least putting yourself in the game.
5. Do be brief. It's the sole of wit.
6. Do put yourself in my shoes. Remember how many of these are in the inbox along with yours, and that I've got a stock 'Thanks but no thanks' reply in my clipboard when I read through them. Like my English teacher used to tell me, 'Give me a reason to put down my red pen.'

Top 6 Donts for Speaker Pitch Letters

1. Don't send me an attachment with a company overview or fact sheet or anything else. Keep the pitch in the body of the email and make it easy for me to request something further if I want it. What if I'm mobile and reading my email on my phone? Your 1.4mb PDF just clogged me. Gaaarrr...
2. Don't send me a headshot, for crying out loud. This is techically included in #1 above, but it happens often enough that it's worth calling out separately. Headshots are for confirmed speakers. I don't make speaker choices based on what somebody looks like. If it turns out that a confirmed speaker is pleasant looking, that's just my dumb luck.
3. Don't be cryptic or vague. Too often I get emails from PR companies asking what the submission guidelines are for events or what I'm looking for, without telling me who they represent or even which show they are interested in. You're making me write a custom response to you, just for the honor of receiving your pitch. These emails I tag as 'Priority: Mild' pretty quickly.
4. Don't re-use previous pitches and programs. If your executive gave a presentation at an event similar to mine, I may be interested in your executive, but no way do I want him or her to present the same thing. I want unique content.
5. Don't lead with the speaker. This is counter-intuitive, I know. But I'm more likely to choose a speaker based on what interesting work the company is doing, than I am based on where your exec got his or her MBA, and what other startups he or she has run.
6. Don't give up. I get a lot of pitches - too many to reply to right away, though I try my best.

I hope that helps (both you and me).