Friday Punch: How to Pitch Stories to Kenneth Wong

Originally, I was going to title this post “How to Pitch Stories to a Technology Reporter.” But that, I concluded, was too presumptuous. I don’t know how other reporters like to be pitched. I can only speak for myself. So, narrowing the scope to what I can speak on with unimpeachable authority, I decided on the current title.

1. Make sure what you’re pitching is newsworthy. In my view, news is something out of the ordinary, a departure from the norm. In that sense, I don’t see why I should report on GM’s use of a high-end automotive surfacing package or a major CAD vendor’s partnership with a global 3D software reseller. On the other hand, if you’d like to tell me about a wedding cake designer who uses AliasStudio or a CAD vendor who offers its products on Amazon.com, I’m all ears. The former, in my judgment, promises insights into unusual geometry-construction methods (not to mention mouthwatering graphics). The latter signifies a fundamental change in software distribution and purchase.

2. For first contact, use a teaser, not a press release. If I take the time to wade through the pile of unread press releases, I’m sure I can rescue a few worthy stories buried somewhere in there (still breathing, but barely alive). But they’re so devoid of color and personality, so heavily laden with buzzwords and promotional lingoes that I’m seldom inspired to go story-hunting in their midst. With me, a single paragraph that explains why a project would make a good story is more effective than a press release. The worst you can do is to email me a press release as a Word or PDF attachment without any explanation. I promptly delete them.

3. Talk to me in plain English, not in jargons and acronyms. I’m more likely to respond to a pitch that reads, “Swedish boat builder designs solar-powered schooner out of disposed barges.” I’m less likely to respond to a pitch that reads, “Innovative watercraft provider engineers energy-efficient vessel out of recycled materials.” I’ll welcome a pitch about “an antique dealer in Milwaukee who keeps track of his Civil War memorabilia using an online inventory system.” I’ll probably ignore the one about “a SMB (small to midsize business) that manages its commercial assets in a SaaS (software as a service) PDM (product-data management) system.” I can easily identify the cast of characters and the narrative in a pitch about “a former pilot in Dallas, an engineer in Dusseldorf, and a Harvard professor remotely working together to build a gyroscope using a project management Web site.” I can hardly hear a heartbeat in a pitch about a “globally dispersed engineering team using a collaboration platform.” Plain English makes me care; catchphrases make me yawn.

4. No interview before 9 AM local time, please. I’m in the Pacific Time Zone. Like most writers, I like to work late into the quiet hours of the night, which means I’m no early riser. So if you’re scheduling a briefing, please don’t propose anything before 9 AM my time.

5. Go straight to the heart of the matter. If I agree to a phone briefing or a WebEx presentation, please don’t spend that precious time trying to convince me that your project, product, or company warrants coverage. I wouldn’t have agreed to the interview in the first place if I don’t think the proposed topic merits a serious look. Whether it’s a wind turbine inspired by an exotic specie of orchid or a new product lifecycle management (PLM) firm risen from the ashes of an old one, just dive in.

6. Use PowerPoint slides and Web conferencing where it counts. Some software features and behaviors are just too complex to describe in words. If that’s the case with yours, please send me graphics, show me slides, direct me to a video clip online, or (the best option) use a desktop-sharing program like WebEx to make your point. Otherwise, I won’t understand what you’re talking about. And I don’t like to write about what I don’t understand. On the other hand, using 15 PowerPoint slides to explain to me the history of your firm or why it’s an industry leader is overkill.

7. Have graphics ready to go. If you’re briefing me, please have publishable graphics ready. In the best case scenario, I’ll start writing the article as soon as the briefing ends, in which case, the article or the blog post will go live in 24-48 hours. For online publishing, JPEG at 72 dpi resolution is fine. For print, however, the preferred format is TIFF or JPEG at 300 dpi resolution. (Print articles take longer to produce, so you may have more time to supply the graphics.) My email has a 5 MB cap, so I can’t accept large file attachments. I prefer to download graphics, charts, slides, movie clips, whitepapers, and other relevant materials via URLs.

8. If you’re not sure, don’t pitch—just ask. If you’re not sure your client’s work is a good fit for my beat, don’t invest time coming up with a pitch. Just ask me if it’s something I’d consider. You can email me, send me a Tweet, or fire off a short Facebook message.

9. I like the odd ones. Sometimes I feel like we (trade journalists) are telling the same story over and over: Company X adopts data-management software Y, increases design reuse by 30%; Company Z uses rapid prototypes (or digital prototypes), reduces manufacturing errors by 20%; and so on. Instead of adding more to the mix, I’d rather be the one to report about a kitchen appliance company that manages to increase its profit margins by giving away digital models of its latest product line in Second Life for free.

10. I like specific details, like sights, sounds, places, dates, and names. If you’re prepping someone who will provide testimony on how he was able to design faster with your software, please anticipate the following questions: What was the product involved? Was it a pepper grinder for William-Sonoma or a wing section for Boeing? What was it about the software that sped up the process? Was it the Spline tools, the automatic dimensioning function, or the new part library?

I look forward to your pitch!

Note: Soon after posting this, I stumbled on TechCrunch’s article titled “10 Words I Would Love to See Banned from Press Releases.” I share the author Robin Wauters’ sentiments.