Many of my coaching clients have the same gripe – how do I come up with pitch ideas?

Here is my surefire way to always have a stack of pitch ideas ready to go for the media:

• Start a pitch idea folder. Mine is a manila folder that I use to hold magazine tear-outs, random notes scribbled on paper, or anything that sparks my interest that might be a future pitch.
• Read Google News to stay abreast of what’s happening in your industry. Set Google Alerts for relevant keywords (example: organic skincare if you’re an organic skincare company) and set Google Alerts for your direct competitors to see who is covering them.
• Use Chase’s Calendar of Events to look for any holidays your business may tie into.
• If you’re a product company, think of “tips” you can give audiences surrounding your product. If you’re a dog product company, maybe you can do a pitch on “How to Travel Safely with Your Dog in Summer” or “How to Buy Gifts for Pets when you’re not an Owner.”
• If you’re an author, use themes within your book and pitch as excerpts or as talking points/tips.
• Pay attention to seasons – August/September is great for back to school, November/December is great for holidays, March/April is great for spring cleaning your life, summer is great for beating the heat topics, January is great for resolutions and weight loss, February is perfect for love, relationships. May is all about Mother’s Day. April is great for finance/tax pitches.
• Stay on top of “breaking” news and pitch right away. Often when something happens (example: Tiger Woods and Jesse James’ affairs) the media is hungry for panelists and commentators to weigh in on the issues. This is great for authors and industry experts.
• Make a calendar for all 12 months of the year (don’t add dates specifically, just list out months with about 5-10 lines under each month). Then think about media lead times (magazines work 4-6 months ahead, TV works 4-6 weeks ahead, newspapers 1-2 weeks, radio 1-2 weeks, online 3-4 weeks (depends on outlet). Using this calendar, fill in your possible pitch topics, and get working on crafting those pitches!