The Local Pitching Playbook for Content Creators

Hey there! Jaclyn, CEO of Bento here. Over the past few weeks, I tried something a little different: I pitched 200 local businesses - think medspas, dental offices, pilates studios, and dermatologists.

And guess what? Local pitching might just be the most underrated strategy for creators, as this appears to be a promising untapped market.

Here’s how it went:

• Dental and medspas gave me the most interest. Things are still in the works, but I’ve completed a few gifted deals and am discussing paid retainers with multiple companies.
• Pilates studios gave a few gifted offers, but no paid
• Dermatologists: crickets. Not a single reply

The Upside of Local Pitching

• Way less competition (most creators pitch big brands, not local ones)
• Higher response rate than my usual national brand pitches
• Great value in trades: I got a $700 skin treatment and am lining up over $1K in potential dental services
• Retainers are more likely: locals want recurring marketing, not one-offs
• You can offer real value: these business are less experienced in social media and marketing, so you can provide much more value compared to larger brands
• You can meet them IRL: typically selling in person is more effective than over email, and it’s easier to build rapport

The Downsides

• They’re slow to respond: expect to send lots of follow-ups to get a response
• Deals take longer to close: they’re busier and need more decision-makers involved
• Many don’t know what UGC is or how to best use of content online generally: you’ll need to educate them a bit (but this is also your edge)

Want to Try Pitching Local? Here are my suggestions:

1. Pitch at least 40 brands per category.

   • If you want a dental gig, send 30–40 pitches. It really is a numbers game.

2. Target newer businesses.

   • Bonus if they launched in the last 2 years! These owners are more social media aware and understand that it’s key to getting exposure to their business

3. Send pitches between 12pm–8pm.

   • Most of these businesses don’t even open until 11am. I’ve found evening outreach works best.

4. Be religious about follow-ups.

   • Seriously. If you’re not following up, you’re leaving money on the table.

Bento Update: Pitch Local is Now Live!

Want to try this strategy? We just launched a new Local Pitching feature on Bento! You can upload your own list of target brands and we’ll help you send and track pitches directly from your dashboard. Find the Pitch Local button on the Brands page in the Bento dashboard.

If you don’t have an account yet, you can get started for free here.