Little things count. Timing is everything. Or how about this one: You only get one chance to make a first impression. Unfortunately, many people, and particularly small business owners eager to have their companies featured in Black Enterprise, shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to approaching us about a story. And in most cases, the self-inflicted wounds are absolutely avoidable. I’ve spoken to my peers on the editorial staff/content development team at Black Enterprise for an unscientific survey of the ways people sabotage themselves when pitching a story about their company. What follows is by no means an exhaustive list (I’ll explore others in future posts), but here are some key things to avoid:
Spelling the editor’s name wrong. Or not getting their title right. Or even sending the pitch to an editor that left the magazine five years ago. This kind of stuff happens all the time, and can make the difference between an editor placing your company’s materials on file for consideration in a future issue of Black Enterprise, or it ending up in that other file–the circular one–before we ever get a good look at how great or interesting your company’s story is. I get particularly miffed at having my name misspelled; it’s Alfred Edmond–not Albert Edmund or Edmunds or Edmonds or Edwards or Evans. (If you want to really impress me, add the “Jr.” and get my middle initial right.) Derek T. Dingle‘s title is editor-in-chief; not publisher or executive editor or CEO. We currently have a Sonja and a Sonia on staff; yes, it matters that you know which one is which. By the way, Paula McCoy-Pinderhughes is no longer our small business editor; she left the staff more than a decade ago. Why is this such a big deal? Our names and titles (and in many cases our photos) only appear in more than a half million copies of the magazine each and every month, as well as at BlackEnterprise.com. All you have to do is take the time to look it up–in a current issue. Or call our New York headquarters (212-242-8000) and ask. Failing to take the time to get it right tells us that you are either unprofessional, careless, plain disrespectful, or just not ready for prime-time national media exposure. None of these attributes will motivate us to present you and your business as examples to our audience, who trust Black Enterprise to introduce them to businesses they can emulate, do business with, work for or invest in.
Being obviously unfamiliar with Black Enterprise. This is something else you communicate when you don’t seem to know our names and titles. Or when you send your information to every editor on staff (using form letters, an absolute no-no) whether your business is relevant to the topics they cover or not. (Ask
yourself: Why would our senior personal finance editor need to know about your glass repair business?) Or when you send the exact same letter to different magazines, and we get the one meant for Essence or Inc. by mistake. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying you have to be a lifelong subscriber of Black Enterprise to get into the magazine (though that doesn’t hurt). But if you want us to consider you for a story, it helps tremendously if you know what generally appears in the magazine and on the web site, and what you’ll not likely to ever see. For example, Entrepreneurs should be familiar with the columns, such as Making It, that appear in the Small Biz section. You, or the person or company you’ve hired to handle media relations, should keep at least two years of back issues of Black Enterprise on hand, and be familiar with the content of those issues, and the monthly sections in particular. By doing so, you’ll know basic things, such as the fact that we focus on black-owned franchises in September, rank the nation’s largest black-owned companies in every June issue, and begin looking for nominees for the Black Enterprise Small Business Awards in the fall, with finalists profiled in the May issue of Black Enterprise in the Small Biz section. The more familiar you are with Black Enterprise, the better you will understand what editors are looking for, which types of stories are sought for which sections, and how to best position your company for consideration.Telling us everything about your company, your business plans, your clients and what a great CEO you are–verbally. Sometimes we see you coming. Worse, sometimes we don’t. It happens via phone. I can tell what’s happening when I walk past an editor’s desk and they’re holding the phone to their ear with that pained look on their face, like a trapped animal. We can’t be rude and hang up, but they just wont stop. It’s also an occupational hazard for us editors at networking events such as the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference. There’s nothing worse than an entrepreneur chewing your ear off for 20 minutes, monopolizing your time and blocking access to others who are also trying to network with you, about stuff you won’t remember 5 minutes after the spiel ends. (Actually there is something worse–when they do it while we’re eating, or literally standing at a urinal in the rest room. Yes, really.) What we’ll remember is how rude, annoying and unprofessional you were. Just kidding (kinda). We’re not that harsh. We understand how passionate and enthusiastic you are about your business, and how excited you may be to get an opportunity to tell one of our editors, face to face, how important it is for you to be in Black Enterprise. However, here’s a tip: There’s no way that we can memorize anything you say after the first three minutes of what you share, no matter how fascinating it is. There’s a reason why developing an elevator pitch is so critical to your ability to promote your business. Do us and yourself a favor: Keep it short, assume we’re interested if you’ve captured our attention for more than three minutes, and follow up with a detailed, professionally prepared package about your company via mail or e-mail to the editor. After that, it’s a okay to call to make sure we got your materials and to answer any questions we might have, and to e-mail follow up updates on your business to keep it fresh in the editor’s mind.
But understand this: You can’t talk your way into Black Enterprise. In fact, it’s more likely that you’ll talk your way out of a potential story, especially if you don’t provide us with the key information we’ll need to know about your business. Please, try to avoid emulating the person ridiculed by the late James Brown: “Like a dull knife, just ain’t cutting. Talkin’ aloud and saying nothin’.” And can a brother at least wash his hands?
Click to read other posts in this series:
How To Get Into Black Enterprise