It’s too late for most of you to get into the news today by using a Valentine’s Day pitch, but remind yourself to start pitching Valentine’s Day ideas early enough next year.
Here are some creative ways others have piggybacked onto Valentine’s Day:
—Friday’s Wall Street Journal included an interesting article about how February 14 is the perfect opportunity for private investigators to catch their clients’ cheating spouses. The cheaters unintentionally sprinkle all sorts of little clues along the way. They drive to a rendezvous unaware that a detective is following them, or that they will be photographed in public with their secret sweetie. Other cheaters sometimes use a credit card to pay for gifts for Number Two, thus allowing the purchases to show up on their credit card statements.
—Yesterday’s Dear Abby column included a letter from Sheryl Cates, executive director of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, reminding us that for many women whose husbands and boyfriends abuse them, Valentine’s Day is filled with fear, anxiety and violence. The association tied its message into Valentine’s Day and, as a result, got exposure in thousands of newspapers around the world.
—Yesterday’s column written by syndicated humor columnist D.L. Stewart featured the book “The 50 Most Romantic Things Ever Done” by Dini von Mueffling. I don’t know if von Mueffling pitched the book idea to Stewart (no relation), but I know for a fact that columnists are always looking for timely topics that tie into the holidays. Keep columnists in mind and tie your pitch to the holidays.
—My friend Barbara Bartlein, author of “Why Did I Marry You Anyway?” already has done 10 radio interviews and has four more planned for today as a result of a news release she sent that ties in with Valentine’s Day. “I always end the interviews letting the listeners know that I have a free quiz called “How is The Health of Your Relationship?” on my website. That drives traffic and sales. I do get ezine sign-ups and I see an immediate increase in sales.”
If you missed out on this holiday, don’t forget the next one. My friend Shawne Duperon, a TV reporter who was my guest during a teleseminar called “116 WOW!Story Ideas from January through June,” said TV reporters are always looking for the local angle to major and even obscure holidays.