Ep. 01: Intro–Perfecting the elevator pitch.
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Welcome! I am so glad you’re here…
On this podcast, I will be sharing marketing tips that work, and the tools needed to improve your content writing, your marketing strategies, and your results—all tailored to the travel and hospitality industry—my domain.
I’ll focus on how to share stories on your website, on social media, in email, ad campaigns, and PR, that have transformed my clients’ hotels, restaurants, and travel brands.
In each episode of the How to Share podcast, I’ll share my tips on storytelling, content writing, strategy, tactics, and execution. Each episode will include concrete ways to improve your marketing performance.
We’ll also hear from industry experts, heads of PR, travel publications, social media gurus, and other business leaders. All of my guests will share tactical strategies you can implement immediately.
Now let’s talk about you for a minute. You’ve probably landed here because you are in someway involved in travel and hospitality. Great, welcome. Whether that makes you a travel blogger, a marketing manager, a hotel or restaurant owner, or a travel partner, you’re probably here because you know that there’s more you can do when it comes to marketing and sharing your stories. And it’s true, there is a lot more you can do.
And hey, if this is the first time we’ve met then let me introduce myself.
I’m Amy Draheim. I am a marketing consultant for award-winning hotels, resorts, restaurants, and travel brands. I’ve been working in marketing for over a decade and with hotels for the last eight years. I also run a successful travel blog and and an Instagram account with that coveted “K” next to my follower number.
I travel a lot. Sometimes I travel for work. Recently, I was down in San Francisco meeting with a large hospitality group on the brink of announcing their merger. I also traveled for my blog this past year, two trips that were completely covered, and another with complimentary luggage thanks to my social presence. I’m telling you all of this because this podcast is going to help you do the same things. Connect with customers and share your stories, or be the influencer.
And when I’m not traveling? I’m in front of my computer most often in yoga pants, a side pony tail that makes a messy bun look like an updo, and a cup of coffee I’ve reheated at minimum five times.
I work with hotel clients every day, and help other marketers, bloggers, and influencers improve their marketing strategy and performance. I built a six-figure business in under two years. I also built a kid in that same amount of time (okay, actually the baby took a lot longer, but that’s a story for another day). My son, Reuben, is about to turn 2!
I also have a husband who is a restaurant owner. We just invested in our first vacation rental in Arizona, which is where we first met. I have a huge family who’s all back east and here I am in Bend, Oregon talking to you and living life the best I can.
But before we jump into the “How To Share” podcast, let’s take a look back.
A dozen or so years ago, my story looked muuuuch different. I was 23. Fresh out of college in Montreal with a one way ticket to Hollywood. A total cliché, and yet, it was my journey. Okay, I’ll stop with the clichés. Between auditions and waitressing, I was also writing a book, a dark comedy loosely based on my college dating experiences.
I had the balls—or maybe the naivety, or as my family likes to say, the chutzpah—to pitch my book at catering events—to anyone who would listen. I didn’t know it by name back then, but I had perfected my ELEVATOR PITCH.
After all, this was a time before podcasts. This was pre-Instagram. Pre-Pinterest. I wasn’t in the habit of Googling, I wasn’t reading business blogs—I was guided purely by my intuition—and a gut feeling that my story was worth sharing.
“It’s Sex in the City meet American Psycho…but for teenagers,” I’d say all while wielding a tray of canapés. It didn’t take long for someone to bite—the head of communications at United Talent Agency (UTA). UTA was one of three major talent and literary agencies in LA, representing the likes of Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Judd Apatow, and reading MY manuscript in their spare time? What had I gotten myself into? Chris (we were on a first name basis), asked me to bring my manuscript down to the UTA office on Monday.
I went straight home to hit “print.” Who am I kidding? I went straight for a spray tan (I have to laugh at this now that I’m all grown up and a huge proponent of sunscreen), and then I went home to hit print.
On Monday morning, I found my way to where Rodeo Drive meets Wilshire Boulevard, and rode the elevator up, up, up to United Talent Agency. It was my Julia Roberts moment, except for instead of clothes and a guy, I eventually got a book deal.
Fast forward a few months. I’ll never forget the day in September when my literary agent, Alex Glass, of Trident Media Group in New York (that’s another story for another day), called to say, “Simon and Schuster is going to publish your book.”
I did it. I’d made it. And guess what? I got the hell of LA. I ran—well actually I flew Southwest and landed in the Sonoran desert. Tucson, Arizona was about as different from Los Angeles as you could get, unless of course you landed in Bend, Oregon—but I’m getting ahead of myself here.
My book was published, garnered media attention like Page Six of the New York Post, I signed books, I got interviewed, my friends and family went overboard sending me selfies from the aisles of Barnes and Noble and Chapters (shout out to my Canadians).
And then the dust settled. And there wasn’t a request for a sequel. And my relationship with my ex was way too fresh to start writing my next tell-all.
I turned 26, my book advance dwindling, and I was back to working in restaurants. I wasn’t entirely sure how to leverage my writing talents, until I had a heart to heart with my dad, who convinced me to give marketing a try.
Somewhere along the way I met a guy, moved to Oregon, and after one final stint as a waitress, I landed a job in marketing. I didn’t know it then, but that was the second major turning point in my life.
I wonder if you can relate to my story—whether you’re a writer, an entrepreneur, or a storyteller of some kind—I hope that you find some inspiration in what I just shared.
My recipe is 1 part trusting my gut, it’s 1 part believing in my own strengths, and it’s 1 part storytelling. It couldn’t be more simple…or more complex, right?
Believe it or not, I’ve spent nearly a decade since then, sharing stories for hotels, resorts, and restaurants who’ve gone on to win awards, earn recognition by national publications, fill their rooms and reservations lists, and in the last three years, I’ve done the same for myself in my side hustle, travel blogging.
In this podcast, I’m teaching you “How to Share.” How to share stories on your website, on social media, in email, ad campaigns, and PR, that have transformed my clients’ hotels, restaurants, and travel brands. I’ll share my tips on storytelling, content writing, strategy, tactics, and execution.
Let me know what brings you here, what you’re looking to accomplish, and any burning questions you’d love for me to answer. I’ll be responding to every comment.
Well, that was quite the intro. I think we should get started.
Let’s talk about how you can perfect your Elevator Pitch.
You probably already know that an elevator pitch is a soundbite you use to sell your story to someone. It’s a little longer than a marketing tagline, but shorter than a synopsis. An elevator pitch is almost like a movie trailer because it quickly communicates the story, and if done effectively, it will leave your audience wanting more.
Whether you’re a travel blogger pitching a brand or a hotel marketer pitching a campaign to ownership, an elevator pitch will help you share your story with stakeholders, and eventually your customers, clients, or followers.
Your Elevator Pitch should roll off your tongue because you’ve mastered it. It’s one to two sentences that sums up your campaign in an interesting way.
An exercise in inspiration—go to the library or book store, find a few good books, and read the couple of lines on the back cover. Whether it’s a fiction novel that creates suspense, or a self-help book that famous people are endorsing, notice how some draw you in immediately, and others don’t.
Now come back to the task at hand—your pitch, for your story.
You may only have 30 seconds of someone’s attention. An Elevator Pitch, as the name suggests, can be done in an elevator. Imagine you’re in an elevator, minding your own business, and the editor of Condé Nast Traveler walks in, or your favorite clothing designer is standing there, or maybe it’s the head of marketing for your hotel group and you’re the intern with a great idea. You’ve only got a few seconds, make them count. Here are some guidelines for what to include in your elevator pitch.
1. Be succinct.
You have very little time. Get right to the point. Get rid of phrases like “I was wondering if” or “I thought maybe”—and get right into the content.
2. Be relevant and timely.
Know what’s already been done, and offer your perspective on what might work well, next. “Your collaboration with Levis was brilliant, especially on July 4th weekend, Pendleton blankets and s’mores would set the scene for fall.”
3. Who The Heck Are YOU?
If you’re pitching someone who doesn’t know you yet, take a second to share your platform. What’s your claim to fame? Is it Instagram followers? Is it a Black Friday campaign that generated six digit revenue? Give your audience a glimpse of your greatness.
4. Listen for interest.
You may have received an open-ended response like “That’s interesting.” or “Great concept,” and you’re not sure where to go next.
Go ahead and seal the deal before the conversation ends.
Say something as simple as “Great, I’ll follow up with you in an email” or “Can we brainstorm this together?”
If you’ve got a story with sharing, chances are, you’ve got your foot in the door.
This is so exciting!
You’ve got the tools needed to successfully pitch your story, so go for it.
Oh, and if you’re still trying to find your story, write your story, and share that story…take a listen to the next episode.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the “How To Share” podcast wherever you’re listening and leave a review.
