ELEVATOR PITCH

I need a pitch. An elevator pitch. Are you familiar with that term? I recently heard it bandied about at a convention of memoir writers, though writers aren't the only ones to use them. An elevator pitch is a clear, concise and compelling description of a person, service, product, etc., often used as part of a fundraising, PR or marketing program. The name reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver your pitch in the time span of an elevator ride, from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. In a way it's like speed-dating. Say you manage to trap an editor or publisher in an elevator. You've got this tiny window of time to pique his interest in your book idea, leave him wanting to hear more, before he escapes from you.

Good thing I'm not trying to sell a book. I have trouble just describing my blog. Seriously. People are forever asking me what I've been up to since I quit my job. I say, "Well, mostly I write this blog. Oh, and I volunteer with The Bountiful Sprout." So then they are all, like, "Tell me about the blog! What's it about? How does Bountiful Sprout work? What are you trying to accomplish?" A few seconds into my stumbling reply, I've completely lost them.

So, if you were trapped in an elevator with someone, and had to make them want to go straight to their computer and seek out Seasonality, what would you say? How would you describe it? Come up with some really good ideas for my pitch, maybe a tagline to use on the blog or when I submit articles, and I just might have to hold a drawing for a prize -- perhaps a recently described book on picking produce?