The Creative Penn Blog: Helping you write, publish and market your book

9 Time Management Tips For Writers

February 13, 2020 by Creative Guest 5 Comments

We all have the same number of hours in the day. What we do with those hours can make the difference between getting our books written and only thinking about writing, as Katie Forrest explores in today's blog post.

At some point, you’ve probably heard the phrase time management or have wondered where all of the hours of your week have gone, and wished for more.

Time management isn’t the creation of additional hours (sadly!), but the act of maximizing how efficient you are with the time you have available.

It’s been a management buzzword for decades, which has often led to a sense that time management isn’t something that us creatives should worry about.

And yet, we’re creating whole worlds from our imaginations, often while also juggling a day job, children or other commitments. I’d say we need to understand time management as much as anyone else!

How To Get Started

When you’re already feeling stretched, understanding how to better manage your time can sound like one more thing you just don’t have time for. It can feel overwhelming and confusing – you may like the idea, but be unsure where to begin.

This post is designed to guide you, step-by-step, through beginning your time management journey.

Where Are You Now?

As with any other journey, you can’t map out your route without knowing your start point. The first thing you need to know in order to manage your time more effectively, is what your current reality is.

There are two ways of doing this. You can ask yourself some important questions:

Where is your time being spent currently?
In what areas are you most efficient?
What distractions do you need to eliminate?
When you’re working on your goals, how focused are you?
What are your most productive times of day?

While these questions are valuable, they also rely on your memory and your understanding of your current time management. For many people, asking these questions alone won’t provide the full story.

That’s why I recommend that people keep a simple time log for a period of at least one week. The time log, split into 15-minute segments, should be filled in as often through the day as possible and should record, in sufficient detail, what you did with that time.

For example, filling in the slots from 9 am-5 pm with one word – ‘work’ – may be true but doesn’t provide much insight. Filling in each 15-minute slot with fuller descriptions can provide you a wealth of information to learn from.

Typical workday activities might include:

Attended a meeting
Commuted
Struggled to concentrate so chatted to colleagues or surfed social media sites
Checked emails (this one comes up a lot more often than people realize)
Wrote a report

At the end of the week, you’ll have a full and accurate log of how you currently manage your time, and you can combine that with the questions above to build a strong understanding of where you’re at right now.

Where Are You Headed?

Next is working out your destination, and you can choose any particular goal or milestone that you have for your writing career. For lots of creatives, the destination is to become a full-time author. For those starting out, it may be to finish their first novel.

If you don’t have a milestone that comes to mind immediately, ask yourself what you want to achieve in the next six or twelve months. Do you want to publish two books, increase your income by a set amount, collaborate on a new project, etc?

This isn’t your final destination, of course, but when you’re working on improving your time management, you need to know what you’re aiming for.

If your goal is to finally finish your first novel, the story that has haunted you since you were a teenager and which has been in various draft stages for the last ten years, your time management will look very different to a person who has a huge backlist and is making the shift to becoming a small publisher themselves.

With this goal in mind, you can review your time log and your answers to the questions, and analyze what changes need to be made.

Time Management Tips

There’s no one-size-fits-all advice sheet for time management, but a good starting point is to review whether your current activity is what’s needed for you to achieve the milestone you’ve set.

Using the example of the first-time author who wants to finish their debut novel, the priority for this person will be to carve out as much writing time as possible.

That’s the big picture level of time management, but how about the specifics? How about tactics, and hacks?

The honest answer is that your specifics will be unique to your goals and your circumstances, but there are certainly some ideas I can share.

Take the ones that work for you, tweak any that you can, and discard the rest.

1. Get your words down first

This is the most common piece of time management advice I give writers who I work with. Make writing the first thing you do when you get up.

Having your words down on paper before the rest of the world starts making demands of you is a hugely powerful feeling.

2. Use your day job downtime

Most people are not working flat out during their time at the day job. They’re having sneaky Facebook breaks or wasting time on idle gossip with coworkers.

And, here’s the thing – your boss knows this. As long as your boss hasn’t raised concerns about your productivity levels of the amount of time you’re zoning out while on the clock, plan your downtime strategically and use it as pockets of time to manage your social media, do research, write your email newsletter, and more.

3. Batch similar activities

Take advantage of the momentum you’ll build when you’re working on a particular activity by doing more of it in one go.

You can record multiple podcast episodes on the same day, schedule a whole month’s social media, map out content topics for the year, or line up several email swaps or promotions for the coming months.

4. Say no

In order to say yes to the goals you want to achieve, you’ll probably have to start saying no to other things. It’s ok. And remember, as Oprah says, no is a complete sentence.

5. Delegate

What are you currently doing that someone else could do? And remember, time saved in your personal life can create time for your writing, so this includes making sure that the people you share a home with are doing their fair share of the household management jobs.

6. Accept your limitations

There will be parts of your writing business that aren’t within your skill sets. Personally, I wouldn’t know where to start with designing covers. Maybe you can do that but don’t understand how to format your books.

If there’s something you are trying to do, only to spend a disproportionate amount of time for a subpar result, accept that from a time management point of view, that doesn’t make sense. Can you pay someone else to do it? If not, can you trade skills or services, or barter somehow?

7. Limit distractions

You’ll never remove distractions completely, even if you sell up and move to a remote Scottish island. But you can limit them.

First, identify them. Which distractions are you particularly affected by? Is it your family, the internet, group messages? How can you reduce them?

8. Change your smartphone notification settings

Two-thirds of people never change the notification settings on their smartphone, meaning they’re pulled out of focus constantly by updates from dozens of apps all day long.

If this is you, head into your settings and turn off any notifications that aren’t urgent. As an example, I only have push notifications for text messages, Whatsapp messages, and calls.

9. Check your email less

You probably check email more than you have to. If you feel particularly tied to your inbox because you have to be contactable for clients or colleagues, try setting an autoreply along the lines of:

“I check email twice a day, at 10 am and 3 pm. If your email is urgent and cannot wait until then, please call me on _________”

In my experience, the people who follow up an email with a call do it when you take more than five minutes to reply, so this autoreply won’t increase the calls you receive by much.

Hopefully, this article will have given you some pointers to begin reviewing your current time management and improving it.

What are your favorite ways to manage your time and make the most of it so that you can further your writing career? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.

Katie Forrest is the author of Time Management for Writers. You can download her 7 day time log at katieforrest.com/timelog and connect with her in her Facebook group, Time Management for Writers by Katie Forrest

She is an indie author, time management geek, director of a boutique law firm and mom to a daughter with complex additional needs. She loves reading, listening to the rain and is quite obsessed with cacti.

[Note from Joanna: For more on this subject, check out my book, Productivity for Authors.]

From Blog To Book And Repurposing Content With Amy Woods

February 10, 2020 by Joanna Penn Leave a Comment

Podcast: Download (Duration: 58:08 — 47.3MB)

Writing a non-fiction book can provide you with authority in your niche, lead-gen for your speaking and services, and extra income. In this interview, Amy Woods, expert on repurposing content, explains the challenges she faced when turning her blog into a book, plus some tips on content marketing for non-fiction authors.

In the intro, the Audible Captions case is resolved with the necessity to get agreement on IP rights when AI is involved [Publishing Perspectives]. The article also mentions the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), who have a call for comment on the Impact of AI on IP Policy. The draft issues paper is fascinating reading.

Plus, the Ask Alli Salon on How to be Creative for the Long-Term with me and Orna Ross, ML Buchman on the Books and Travel podcast talking about finding what's really important while cycling around the world. Plus, Pintxos, Txakoli, Modern Art And The Beach. What To Do In Bilbao And San Sebastian.

Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, where you can get free ebook formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Get your free Author Marketing Guide at www.draft2digital.com/penn

Amy Woods is the CEO of Content 10x, which helps entrepreneurs repurpose their content for podcasting, blogging, and social media. She's also the author of Content 10x: More Content, Less Time, Maximum Results.

You can listen above or on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app. You can also read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

Show Notes

How a book can lend credibility to a business and increase lead gen for speaking and services
Overcoming publishing and audiobook recording challenges
Navigating the learning curve of publishing. [If you're having issues with formatting, check my list here.]
On the long-term strategy of content marketing
Having a plan for your content strategy
Content marketing ideas for authors
Making use of audio and video in book promotion. 8 Content Marketing Predictions for 2020.
Widening an audience via podcast guest appearances

You can find Amy Woods at Content10x.com and on Twitter @content10x

Authors Helping Authors: Would You Make A Good Book Coach?

February 6, 2020 by Creative Guest 3 Comments

We are writers and our own writing must come first. But working to help other authors manage their writing projects can be a way for author-entrepreneurs to add to their streams of income and manage a creative business life. Of course, as author and book coach Jennie Nash points out, not everyone is suited to be a coach.

Book coaching is a new player in the gig economy. It bubbled up alongside independent publishing because writers who take charge of their own careers need to gather a team of professionals to help them meet their goals. And because writers aiming for traditional publishers know that in an industry hell-bent on the next big hit, they are not likely to get the kind of intensive, ongoing nurturing editors used to provide.

Book coaches work with writers at every step of the creative process, offering editorial guidance, emotional support, and project management to help writers do their best work. It’s a fabulous side gig for a writer looking to add an additional income stream to the mix of what they do.

I’ve been a book coach for ten years now and have guided both fiction and non-fiction writers to traditional deals and national awards in the independent publishing realm.

Before this, I was a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, and I find the joys and rewards of helping other people reach their writing goals to be more satisfying than doing it myself. It’s deeply soulful, meaningful work to help other people raise their voice and find their stories.

In 2014, I started Author Accelerator, a book coaching company, and have trained more than 50 book coaches. I have developed a good sense of the characteristics that make a great book coach – and while some of the qualities are obvious (see #1), others may come as a surprise.

If you are thinking that book coaching might be something you’d like to do as a side gig or as a full pivot from your current job, see how you measure up to these 10 characteristics of an effective book coach:

1. They love books

Great book coaches love to read. They are the kinds of people who stayed up late reading under the covers with a flashlight as a kid, who sat in the back of big lecture halls sneaking a peek at the next chapter in college, who believe that books can save the world – or at least a long layover in Denver.

They love to talk about books, to read book reviews, to visit bookstores in every town they visit. They probably belong to a book club or two. They may even run it. You will often hear them say things like, “I wish there was a job I can do where I just read books all day!”

2. They love writers

This characteristic is different from #1. It’s about the people behind the books, not the books themselves.

Great book coaches admire the work writers do and appreciate what it takes to sit alone in a room long enough to produce a book-length work. They understand that people who write often feel emotions very deeply. They probably go to readings at libraries and bookstores, go to writer’s websites to learn the behind-the-scenes stories about writers’ lives, follow writers on Twitter and Instagram.

They understand that when a writer shares their work, they are sharing a piece of their soul. They may or may not want to be a writer themselves, but they get writers.

3. They feel comfortable with the creative process

Great book coaches understand the iterative nature of creativity and the fact that it is never a straightforward path. They are not afraid of the ups and down, are not put off by the inevitable twists and turns, the delays, the doubts.

They know that beauty can arise from chaos and enjoy being part of the becoming.

I often think here about something I once heard someone say about middle school teachers. “The only people who are called to teach middle school,” the comment went, “are those who are passionate about angsty twelve-year-olds.”

The people best suited to book coaching are those passionate about begin in the chaos of creativity.

4. They feel confident managing a complex project

Great book coaches have the ability to think logically and strategically about both the story and the creative process. This is often a skill that writers themselves lack; it’s a different muscle.

Book coaches can give clear direction about how to proceed with a project – what to work on first, what milestone to hit next, what to do when something goes awry — so that the project stays on point and on track.

5. They have the ability to focus on details and on the big picture—often at the same time

Great book coaches see the small things on the page and the big things about the way the book will live in the world. They are excellent at making connections between ideas and concepts and can even see things that aren’t there.

I often say that a good book coach can see the book before the writer can see it – they can picture it on the shelf, envision the finished whole.

At the same time, they can see that there is something missing on page 17, that the book may be stronger if it starts in a different place, that the writer has a bad habit of putting in too many adjectives.

6. They understand the marketplace

A great book coach understands that books are products that get bought and sold, that publishers—either traditional publishers or self-published writers—want to make money on the books they sell. They understand that readers are very discerning and have a choice whether or not they will read any given book, and that the job of a writer is to convince them to read theirs.

This means having an understanding of business practices around topics such as marketing, pricing, and product launching.

People who love books and writers and the creative process but don’t love this reality might not do well as a book coach. Most writers want to be read, and want help getting to that point. A coach needs to be committed to understanding what it takes to sell books.

This same spirit will also serve the book coach in running her own business – in doing all the work an entrepreneur needs to do to thrive.

7. They like to work 1:1

Book coaching is not the kind of work you can do at an emotional distance. You have to lean into the writer’s mind and their world, which means you also have to figure out how to establish boundaries so you don’t get sucked into places where you are not trained to work, and where a therapist would be better suited.

Most book coaches work for themselves and work from home but make no mistake: they are working very intimately with the writers they serve, and a great book coach thrives on this kind of 1:1 work.

8. They like to work alone

Editing is done alone in a room. Even if you are in a coffee shop or a library with other people who are working, you are alone in your head.

You need to enjoy being by yourself, working by yourself, figuring out all the problems yourself. You might have friends in the business of colleagues, but when you work – just like a writer – you are alone.

9. They have the ability to step back from the emotion to protect themselves from getting too drawn in

It’s hard to run a solid business if you get caught up in a writer’s drama. You need to be able to be part of their creative process, to meet them wherever they are, good or bad, but you need to be able to stand apart from them, as well.

You can’t take on the writer’s emotion, or their characters’, for that matter.

10. They are self-motivated

A great book coach can meet deadlines, prioritize their work, and keep projects moving along without anyone telling them they need to do it. They can say yes to the right clients, and no to the wrong ones.

They are eager to learn all the skills they need to run their business, constantly learning, determining best practices, and optimizing their business.

If you see yourself in these descriptions but don’t have all of them, can you still be a good book coach? I think so. I learned #3, #4, #5, #6 and #9 on the job, and have coached coaches in many of these areas, as well. They are learnable skills.

One last note about this list. Note that being a published writer, or a bestselling writer, is not on it. Having been published yourself can help you with certain aspects of coaching, but it doesn’t replace the characteristics on this list.

Coaching is its own endeavor, with its own demands. If you feel called to do this work but don’t yet have a book published or haven’t sold as many copies of your book as you would like, don’t let that stop you. You can become a great book coach without that.

The work of a book coach is best summed up by Devin Mahoney Zimmerman, a former cox on the Harvard men’s crew team. In speaking about the great rowing coach Harry Parker, she said: “He made people prove themselves to themselves. It’s like he said, ‘This is what you could be. Do you want to be that?'”

Would coaching other authors be a stream of income that would fit with you and your author business?

Jennie Nash is the founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, a book coaching company on a mission to help writers write books worth reading, and the author of Read Books All Day and Get Paid For It: The Business of Book Coaching. You can learn more about book coaching — and sign up for a free 6-step Book Coaching Basics Course — here. You can visit Jennie at jennienash.com

Writing Crime: Myths And Misconceptions About The FBI With Jerri Williams

February 3, 2020 by Joanna Penn 4 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:38 — 46.9MB)

Most of us are law-abiding citizens, but it's clear that writers and readers are obsessed with crime — and those who fight it. In today's show, former FBI agent, Jerri Williams explains some of the myths and misconceptions about the FBI, and why true crime podcasting has turned into an unexpected new career.

In the introduction, I give an update on my writing as I finish up the production process on Audio for Authors and move into the first draft phase on Map of the Impossible. The creative cycle turns again! Plus, I'm on The Writer's Ink Podcast talking about creative entrepreneurship, and on the Six Figure Author Podcast talking about audiobooks, and multiple streams of income with non-fiction. I also mention some audiobooks from the Financial Times Business Book of the Year 2019, as well as World War Z by Max Brooks.

This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors.

Jerri Williams is a retired FBI special agent, crime writer, and true crime podcaster. She's also the author of FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives.

You can listen above or on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

Show Notes

Why we’re fascinated with crime and law enforcement
Specifics about FBI special agent job titles and hierarchy
The types of crimes that are under FBI jurisdiction
What types of murder the FBI actually investigate
Misconceptions about FBI agents
What the FBI Academy is really like
How TV shows measure up to what’s real about the FBI
Stepping into podcasting as a book marketing tool
Podcasting as a mission rather than a revenue generator

You can find Jerri Williams at JerriWilliams.com and on Twitter @JerriWilliams1

Book Marketing: Reach More Readers Through Guest Posting

January 30, 2020 by Creative Guest 3 Comments

Providing useful, inspirational or entertaining content on popular blogs in your niche can be a great way to reach your target audience, especially when you are just starting out. Nina Dafe shares tips for how to do this effectively and which mistakes to avoid.

If you took the decision to become an authorpreneur and write a non-fiction book, it’s more than likely because you realize that they are a great way to:

Position yourself as an expert in your field
Increase your authority and credibility
Give you a larger platform to share your influence, thought leadership and message
Increase your followers, subscribers and fanbase
Expose you to your ideal clients – keeping you booked, busy and making bank.

However, none of this is possible if nobody knows that it (or you) exist! The truth is, “if you build it they will come” is only true in Hollywood. A literal field of dreams, if you will.

If you want to create more impact and ultimately sell more books, you will need to attract more attention to you and your brand. This means becoming more visible through networking, PR and marketing.

A great place to start is mastering guest posting by becoming a guest author, blogger or contributor on another person’s platform.

Having now been featured in over 40 platforms, including Thrive Global, HuffPost, Bustle and the TEDx blog, here are some tips for getting started with guest posting based on my experience:

Pre-pitch

Before you even submit your guest post, there are a few things that you should do to make sure that you give yourself the best chance of success, including:

1. Research

First and foremost, do research to make sure that the platform that you want to guest blog on actually accepts pitches and/or submissions – as not all blogging platforms do. I can't tell you how many pitches I've received, even though I don't accept guest posts on my blog!

Once you've established those basics, you'll want to get clear on who the platform's demographic is and whether it ties in with yours. So research:

Who the platform's target audience is
What the audience's interests and/or pain points are
How your expertise can help them
Whether your topic has been covered before

Next, check their submission guidelines to see how they prefer to receive guest posts. For example:

Is there a word count?
Are there particular topics that they like/dislike?
Can you promote yourself within the article or do they prefer that be confined to your author bio?
Do they prefer submissions to be emailed or sent via a particular platform?
Do they prefer that you pitch your guest post idea or send a fully-fledged article?

2. Network

As the saying goes, “people only do business with people that they know, like and trust”. With this in mind, another great step to take before sending your pitch would be to find ways to connect with the editor of influencer so that you can establish a rapport. More on this, later!

During your pitch

Now that you've laid all of that groundwork, you can formulate and send your pitch.

Here are some common mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Having unclear subject lines

If you are sending your guest post via email, you'll want to make sure that the email subject line is not vague. Make it as clear as possible so that it doesn't get lost in the pile of emails that the editor or influencer is reading every day!

This can be done by following any instructions that they may have about this in their submission guidelines. If there aren't any, I like to make it clear that I am sending a pitch and what it's about, as in the example below:

[Pitch] 3 Networking Mistakes and How to Avoid Them According to Experts

2. Starting with your bio/qualifications

Although counter-intuitive, resist the urge to start by introducing yourself and your history. Editors and influencers are busy people, receiving thousands of emails a day. Do them (and yourself!) a favor by getting straight to the point of why you're contacting them.

Your short, professional author bio should go towards the end of the pitch instead. Also link to your media bio and/or the “press” page of your website, if you have one, so that they can check out your expertise and previous PR experience to build credibility.

3. Failing to establish a rapport

Yes, you want to be brief but you also want to be human and relatable to create a rapport. You can do this by complimenting the editor/influencer that you are writing to and establishing common ground. My favorite way to do this is by mentioning:

When we met each other, either online or in-person previously
A mutual friend
My favorite past articles, programs, talks and their impact

This is why I mentioned the importance of networking pre-pitch earlier. It's also important to maintain this rapport post-pitch- but we'll get to that later.

4. Waffling

Once you've gotten their attention by establishing a rapport, shoot your shot and pitch!

As I said before, keep it brief. Get straight to the point by providing a quick summary of your guest post. Headings, subtitles and bullet points are your friends when it comes to avoiding waffling and making your email more inviting to look at and read as well.

5. Not being unique

If you did your research thoroughly, as previously mentioned, you'll know if your guest post topic has been covered on the platform before and in what capacity. Use that knowledge to set yourself apart by crafting a unique pitch.

In other words, try to present a unique and different perspective in your guest blog post.

Post-pitch

Have you heard the saying “the fortune is in the follow-up?” That's because it's true! Here are some helpful tips to know about it:

1. Timing is everything

As previously mentioned, editors and influencers are very busy people. This means that pitches can fall through the net. If this happens to you, you'll want to find a way to follow up so that they don't forget about you, lose interest or think that you're being a pest.

Most guest blogging guidelines will mention if and when you can expect to hear a response to your pitch. Contacting them during this time will place you firmly in the pest category – don't do it!

My rule of thumb is to contact 1-2 weeks after that time. If no response time is given, 1-2 weeks after sending is also a good time to send a follow-up email in general.

If handled correctly, in my experience, 9 times out of 10 they will thank you for following up and/or apologize profusely before actioning it.

2. It's a good relationship-building tool

A little known fact is that, because editors and influencers are such busy people, they tend to use the same experts for particular topics. Sending a good pitch and demonstrating your expertise within a guest post is only half the battle of building a good relationship with them and becoming a regular contributor, though. This is why what you do post-pitch is so important for building that know, like and trust factor.

Here are some of the ways that I do it:

Say thank you
When alerted that your post has been accepted and/or published, send a thank-you email. You can also go the extra mile by sending a thank you card, gift or some of your merchandise.

Give them publicity too

The best relationships are mutually beneficial. Editors and influencers want publicity for their platform too. You can reciprocate and help them achieve this by sharing your post:

On social media, tagging them and/or using relevant hashtags
With your email list (forwarding it to them so that they know you did it, of course!)

Be an asset

Another way to reciprocate is by finding ways to be an asset and add value outside of guest blogging. My favorite way to do this is by:

Asking how I can be of service and finding ways to do so
Connecting them with other content creators who would also make great guest bloggers for their platform
Building and maintaining the relationship by continuing to follow up (see my bio for details about 7 ways you can do this without even having to leave your bed!)

So, to summarise…

Mastering guest blogging is one of the BEST ways to share your expertise, gain authority, market your non-fiction book and, ultimately, sell more copies. However, your greatest PR success will come through remembering that:

People only do business with people that they know, like and trust; so-
How you conduct yourself with editors and influencers pre and post-pitch is just as important as the pitch itself.

Have you thought of using guest blogging as part of your book marketing strategy? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.

As an international bestselling author (of The Art of Unlearning: Top Experts Share Personal Stories on the Courage to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone), Nina Dafe mentors heart-centered, visionary Christian women who want to banish the blocks keeping them from crushing their business goals once and for all.

She is also an international speaker, talk show host, and award-winning blogger whose writing has been featured on multiple platforms including Thrive Global, TEDx, HuffPost, She Leads Africa, Bustle, Relevant Magazine, and Radiant Health Magazine. Named one of 101 women of influence by Monique Melton, you can find out more about Nina and her 7 tips for getting collaborations, referrals, PR and speaking opportunities (leading to increased credibility, subscribers, followers, customers and more) without even leaving the bed at Faraboverubiescollection.com!

How To Get Started

Where Are You Now?

Where Are You Headed?

Time Management Tips

1. Get your words down first

2. Use your day job downtime

3. Batch similar activities

4. Say no

5. Delegate

6. Accept your limitations

7. Limit distractions

8. Change your smartphone notification settings

9. Check your email less

1. They love books

2. They love writers

3. They feel comfortable with the creative process

4. They feel confident managing a complex project

5. They have the ability to focus on details and on the big picture—often at the same time

6. They understand the marketplace

7. They like to work 1:1

8. They like to work alone

9. They have the ability to step back from the emotion to protect themselves from getting too drawn in

10. They are self-motivated

Pre-pitch

1. Research

2. Network

During your pitch

1. Having unclear subject lines

2. Starting with your bio/qualifications

3. Failing to establish a rapport

4. Waffling

5. Not being unique

Post-pitch

1. Timing is everything

2. It's a good relationship-building tool

Give them publicity too

Be an asset

So, to summarise…

Connect with me on social media

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