By Molly Olson, Media Coordinator Intern

The Ames Community Arts Council hosted a panel discussion, entitled, “Polish your Pitch,” on Thursday, Aug. 30 at the Octagon Center for the Arts. The event was moderated by Michael Morain, Communications Manager of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from four additional professionals, including Holly Boman of the Iowa State Center, Ronna Lawless of the Story City Herald, Stan Rabe of the Ames Community Theater (ACTORS) and Carole Horowitz, a long time arts advocate.

Throughout the discussion, the panelists provided helpful solutions on how to effectively communicate the value of their work and attract the public to come to their events.

As a public relations student and intern at the Ames Community Arts Council, here are five things I took away from attending in this event:

Focus your aim.
To polish your pitch, make sure to narrow down on the main goal(s) of your PR and marketing tactics. Ask yourself these questions: Who is the target audience? How do I want the target audience to respond? Why do I want them to come to our event?

Simplify the pitch.
Fight against shrinking attention spans by keeping the pitch simple. Get to the main points of your pitch quickly by including the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when and why.

Establish authentic and strong relationships with the media.
Networking with reporters at local news outlets, such as the Ames Tribune and the Story City Herald, can help in the promotion of your upcoming event. Morain, who formerly worked at the Des Moines Register, suggested to keep the format and timing of your pitch in mind. Reporters (and editors, too) will happily accept a well written story idea, but make sure to be respectful of their time. Consider pitching the basic details to the reporter two to three months prior to the event. Send a reminder two weeks prior to the event, and if it receives coverage, send a thank you within one week after.

Make use of the resources available in your community.
Many small organizations may be limited on resources. If you’re looking for some help in this area, consider students. In Ames, you may reach out to PR, marketing or event management professors to see if they would be interested in working on a project for your organization.

Keep trying, keep trying, keep trying.
You may not receive the kind of media coverage you want the first time. It’s okay to go back to the drawing board. To help stand out from your competition, Morain recommended to “follow up and follow through.” Don't hesitate to send a reminder before and a thank you note after.

Follow the Ames Community Arts Council on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about our professional development events.