“ Ya gotta have a gimmick,” is the battle cry, also known as the pitch, for audience attention from Ms. Mezzeppa, a vaudeville performer in the legendary theater presentation Gypsy. Her gimmick? Her pitch to the audience was to capture and hopefully keep their attention. Her wardrobe - a pair of pasties, strategically placed on her Trojan armor, enthusiastically twirling to a bump and grind, while lustily trumpeting of her rendition of the flag raisings Call to Colors.
Her gimmick is planned to hopefully set her pitch apart from the other scantily clad Vaudeville performers.
In media speak, Ms. Mezeppa’s gimmick is what as referred to as “the hook” or the razzmatazz, also called the sizzle of the steak, the ultimate wow.
I’m Raleigh R. Pinskey, and we are here to talk about the Hook. We are addressing the noun. Merriam -Webster says the word hook originates from before the 12th century. Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hōc; and means something intended to attract and ensnare. Used then by the town crier, now in media releases (aka press releases) to get your point across.
My blog deals with PR, Marketing, Publicity and Public Relations, so we are going to discuss how to apply the hook in various applications in your media releases (press releases) to attract and ensnare your audience into believing or doing what you want.
In 101 Ways to Write Dynamic Media Releases, I list up with twenty – six meaningful hooks to use in your media releases. For the next several blog entries, I will discuss these hooks and how they can be used to pitch your media target. Here’s a hook to begin ensnaring and attracting your reader’s attention: Surveys. Surveys rock. People love surveys. Surveys offer you an opportunity to connect with your existing list and add to your list building. Offer surveys in your blog, your ezine, your podcast. On MySpace, on LinkedIn or FaceBook. Create your own format or use the free tool SurveyMonkey.com
Hooks help build and pitch your case. When you read the following examples, imagine how you can adapt each hook to your subject matter.
Here’s to your many successes.
Promote & Prosper!
Raleigh Pinskey
One way you can insure effective participation with the media and erase the fear of promotion is to have the tools that will help you promote yourself. 101 Ways to Promote Yourself, available at http://www.promoteyourself.com/store/index.html
