Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The Best Pitch I've Received

You've probably heard me rant over some bad pitches from time to time. As a matter of fact, they inspired me to create the section in my sidebar titled "Before You Pitch Me," which contains posts from a number of PR, marketing and social media colleagues, as well as from me.

So it was with great relief that I opened a pitch email this morning and was greeted with a comparative ray of sunshine. The message, from Julie Szabo, was simple:

Subject: We made this 2-minute video for you

Okay, good. I know I'm dealing with a video, and I know it'll only eat up 2 minutes of my time.

And then the body of the email:

Hi Scott,
Our video says it all. It's on this page that we made just for you.
[Link to the video]

That was it. Plain & simple. Naturally, curiosity got the better of me and I clicked through to the video to see this:

You'll note that in the video, Julie & Darren:

Addressed me by name
Made a note of where I'm from
Acknowledged that they read the section of my blog about how I like to be pitched

The rest of their message was a broader one about their new ebook, Getting to First Base, a social media marketing playbook, and who it's for. I'll be reviewing it in a future post, but I can tell you that if the authors are following their own advice as they reach out to busy people, then it's going to be a very positive review.

Labels: books, outreach, social media, Video

Posted by Scott Monty at 11:03 PM

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Comments:

At 12/20/2007 2:20 AM, Joe C said...: Video is just about the best way ever to reach out to someone with a personal touch. The message of the video medium is personal connection. Now, after watching this, you feel like you know these two authors as people. That they have a sense of humor, where they're from, how they talk, gesture, etc. It's all part of what we call "knowing" someone. So, yes, good job Darren and Julie. They even have a 1 sec video on their website! :)
At 12/20/2007 5:48 AM, Julie Szabo said...: Thanks for the nice words about our video pitch. I hope you'll find the ebook equally entertaining.
At 12/20/2007 11:21 AM, Jordan said...: I'm guessing that you're going to like it, Scott. I sure did.

Darren and Julie really know their stuff; it's well written and even funny at times.
At 12/21/2007 12:43 AM, Scott said...: @joe c I agree. It's a wonder more people haven't done it - although I'm guessing that because it's extremely labor-intensive, it won't scale. But when done right, it's extremely effective.

@julie, @jordan I'm looking forward to it!

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About Scott

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The best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career spans a number of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, and includes a wide range of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.

Books in which Scott's work is featured:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Twitterville
Six Pixels of Separation
Monkeys with Typewriters
Read This First
World Wide Rave
Get Seen

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the Advisory board of SavvyAuntie
Scott is on the Advisory board of Business Smart Tools
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards
Scott is on the Advisory board of The Hive Awards
Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators
This blog's content is also syndicated on Social Media Today
Plaid occasionally does web work for me and designed this site
No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please send an email to speaking [AT] scottmonty [DOT] com. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Some previous engagements include:

BlogWell - How Big Companies Use Social Media - Minneapolis - August 13

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views.