Q&A: Perfecting Your 15-Second Pitch w/ The Pitch Girl (Laura Allen)

Laura Allen is known as The Pitch Girl and she prominently featured in my first book Music Success in 9 Weeks (in fact, shes the entire chapter of Week 2) because she is a genius at perfecting your 15-second pitch. I have seen her do this with entrepreneurs and artists from all possible walks of life and she nails it every time. Worked for a small ad agency that strongly resembled the TV show MadMen in terms of culture and debauchery. Learned how to pitch against the big boys to win stellar projects.

“The secret to creating a compelling 15-second pitch is a “message map.” I’ve been a journalist for 25 years so I know a few things about telling a story, and I can tell you that a message map is one of the most effective communication tools I’ve ever used. ” – Carmine Gallo, Entrepreneur

Laura was the hire for email marketing leader CheetahMail where she took the company from 3 people in a room the size of a broom closet, to a multi-million-dollar business that was acquired by Experian. She closed a 5.5 million dollar deal from a cold call. And for a very short time, Laura worked at a huge music PR firm in NYC in the early 90s. It turns out that it was the SAME PR Ariel had worked at a few months earlier. They both agree it was one of the worst work experiences of their lives. In this Instagram Live Laura will help you hone your pitch with real-time feedback.

WATCH THE PERFECTING YOUR 15-SECOND PITCH Q&A ON YOUTUBE!

Ariel Hyatt, Founder of Cyber PR is joined with Laura Allen, AKA The Pitch Girl on this Instagram Live to talk about how to hone pitches. Laura is an expert at perfecting pitches and can help anyone pitch anything in 15 seconds, and in this Q&A she gives us many tips to do just that.

Common Mistakes

To begin, Laura discusses common mistakes made by musicians when trying to pitch. Some things to avoid saying are “my music sounds like no other music” or “we work harder than any other band.” Instead, a good way to capture people’s attention is to note another artist or band that your music is similar to, or who your sound is influenced by. This way, people have a better grasp of what to expect from your music.

Another common mistake is taking too long to get to the point. A pitch is supposed to be a quick but informative introduction, not your life story! This is why it is always a good idea to take the time to formulate a solid pitch and not improvise. If you have a well-thought out and concise pitch, people will be more likely to check your music out.

4 Steps to Craft the Perfect Pitch

Laura also tells us about her four-step approach to crafting the perfect pitch. First, is to say who you are. Next, is to say what you do, whether you found your band or are a singer-songwriter. Then, say what makes you different. Here, say what genre your music is, or any musicians your sound is influenced by. Lastly, the fourth step is the call to action, which can be getting people to join your email list or follow you on social media.

Executing Your Pitch

When it comes to actually executing a pitch, it’s always a good idea to build a connection with the person you’re pitching too before talking business. Showing interest in them will help to get them to show interest in you! It also helps to tell the person that their time is valuable and that you will keep your pitch brief before giving them your card and asking to keep in touch. Another important thing to keep in mind is that your pitch should be appropriate for the person you’re giving it to. In Laura’s words: you can have a different pitch for each niche.

Where to Put Your Pitch

As for the places your 15-second pitch can live, Laura and Ariel recommend saying your pitch on a podcast you’re being interviewed on, putting it in your social media bios, and also using it as your first sentence on your website’s bio page. By tuning in on this Instagram Live, Laura and Ariel will give you all you need to know about how to both create your perfect pitch and execute it!