Pitching, Partnerships & Purpose | Anne Colette Digital on IG Live
Last month, founder and executive account manager of Anne Colette Management Elisabeth Boniface sat down with fashion and lifestyle publicist Emily Maldonado to share their perspectives and insights on what it means to craft a meaningful pitch, nurture a partnership, and develop a brand with real purpose along the way. In this two-part IG Live series, the women discussed their personal experience as well as their best tips for getting started with your own pitching and partnership strategies.
Episode I: Finding What Fuels You
In episode I, Emily and Elisabeth discussed how they got started on their journey towards pitching meaningful pitching and partnerships. With their shared experience in the fast-paced world of fashion PR in New York City, their journeys through working for different creative agencies and brands lead them to pursue a position with deeper connection and purpose. Coincidentally, both women found a space where they could explore their individual purpose this past March when so many in the events and PR space lost their jobs to the nation-wide pandemic shutdowns.
For Elisabeth, the choice to lean further into Anne Colette Management- barely a year old at that time- was a natural one. Her passion has always led her to pursue purpose over a paycheck, and she found that when all else felt lost, she could get out of bed each day to help support her friends and her professional network. Similarly, Emily leaned into what she knew and pushed herself to pivot her skills into projects that she really believed in. Months later, both women are running client-based and freelance operations.
Throughout this discussion, the women continually touched on this idea of purpose as fuel. For so many of us, finding what fuels you can make the difference between a good job and a great job, whether you’re working for an employer or paving your own way in the business world. For Elisabeth, learning that her fuel largely came from her network, made the difference between fight or flight when leaning into her own business structure. Both women agreed that in any job, finding the fuel and centering on that purpose every day made the difference in some of their favorite jobs throughout their careers- and when a position lacked that element of purpose, the friction was undeniable.
Tune in on IGTV to hear more of their stories and insights on how finding your purpose can help fuel your everyday tasks, whether you’re just getting out of bed, launching a business, or shooting for that promotion you know you deserve.
Episode II: Pitching & Partnerships Mini Masterclass
In episode II, we rejoined Elisabeth and Emily for a mini masterclass on their go-to tips on crafting the perfect pitch and nurturing your existing partnerships.
As a fashion and lifestyle publicist, Emily Maldonado has several years of experience pitching in the creative space, from fashion to beauty to lifestyle brands.
Step 1: Do your research
Right away, when crafting your pitch, she recommends brainstorming and looking to the world around you to find what’s new, what’s unique, and what’s timely. Next, put together your arsenal. If you are pitching to media, you’ll need to get to know who you’re pitching to. She recommends looking to, social media pages, and past articles to get a sense of what this writer likes to work on, and where you can align on a pitch that will be a great fit.
If you’re having trouble finding press contacts, Maldonado recommends looking into recent press releases. More often than not, the release will have a point of contact at the end whom you can reach out to with any follow-up questions.
Step 2: Connect the dots
Pitching is more than just the idea. Your relationship with a brand or a writer goes beyond the project- and these people are human too! Maldonado recommends using your research to forge real connections. Do they have a dog? Did they just land a major byline? Maybe you grew up one town over from each other- find a point of connection that says you’re more than just a means to an end.
Step 3: Hit It Out of the Park
Emily was kind enough to share her go-to pitch template that she’s honed from years of hard-earned pitches and thoughtful relationships with brands and media alike. First, open with something personal or intentional- make sure they know you’re there as a person as well as an opportunity. If you haven’t yet, introduce yourself! One sentence on who you are and why you’re there will do the trick. Next, let them know what you want. Keep it quick, concise, and direct. Once you introduce the what, you can elaborate on the why: give them one to two sentences on the story behind the partnership and why this would make a great fit. Finally, make sure to close with an action item; ask for feedback, thoughts, and interest.
Hot Tip: Don’t be afraid to bold, underline, italicize, and use links. If you have a question or an action item, bold it! If something is timely, mark it so they can easily skim your email for the important facts.
The Do’s and Dont’s of Introductions
As the founder and executive account manager of Anne Colette Management, Elisabeth has done her fair share of pitching for a long-term partnership. When a client wants to reach out to a brand, she has a few rules that she always keeps in mind when making a cold introduction. These tips don’t stop at the PR gates; email etiquette also goes a long way when you’re pitching to a new employer.
Make it personal: keep track of names, titles, and emails. If you’re being introduced to a new contact, let them know where you got their information or who you were speaking to previously. Context helps the person on the other end understand where you’re coming from.
Keep it quick: Forbes reports that an average of 22% of all emails is skimmed, which makes your first and last sentences crucial to getting your point across. Your emails should fall between 150-200 words.
Hot Tip: Download Grammarly for your computer, Gmail, and Chrome browser. It will integrate with your inbox to give you insights on word choice, length, and tone of your emails.
Cut to the chase: Don’t sugarcoat, and get to your point right away. If there’s a campaign you want to be included in or a product you want to review, let them know outright. You can be friendly but direct.
Hot Tip: You can apply these skills to your LinkedIn messages too! The other person receives a preview of your message in their inbox, so keeping things quick and direct will increase the likelihood that they open and respond.
Don’t give away too much: Develop your ideas and don’t give it all away in the first email. Make an introduction of yourself, the project, and the idea while leaving room for the recipient to ask questions.
Hot Tip: Never attach anything to an introductory email unless explicitly requested to do so. If you have to include supplementary materials, you can add them to the body of your email using the “image” button in your email. That way, they can review the materials- from a media card to a resume- directly in the body of the email with no tech hassles.
Check out the rest of the Pitching and Partnerships Mini Masterclass below for more key learnings and background info on crafting your best pitch.
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