One of our readings for today is titled The Art of Pitching. At first I thought it was going to be how to pitch news stories, but it actually details the best ways to pitch business ideas to investors. I thought I was going to be in a world of pain (business kills me), but I actually found the reading fun. As it turns out, pitching business ideas to investors is a lot like pitching new stories to editors. I know this isn't really related to entrepreneurism, but I think there's a cool relationship between the two. Here's some examples as to how they are similar:
Explain yourself in the first minute
This section of the reading talks about answering one simple question in the first minute of the pitch: What does this organization do? If you look at it from a journalistic angle, you'll have to ask," what is this story about?" When you pitch a news story to an editor, you don't want to fumble around and give the back story. Say what the story is, and give the background details when you write.
Answer the little man
"The little man" is what the reading's author says should be on everyone's shoulders when pitching a business idea. He asks, "so what?" In journalism, this little man would ask, "who cares?" Why would your publication want to read this story? Why is it news worthy.
Know your audience
This is self-explanatory in both business and journalism. Who are your readers? Will they care about this story enough to pick up a paper (or mobile device) to read it?
Set the stage
I said before to simply state what the story is about when pitching it. Well when that's done, your editor will want to know more. He or she will ask questions about the story. If you can't answer them, he or she will send you back to investigate or scrap your idea.
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