How to Pitch to Journalists

A large part of marketing a business is PR. And a large part of PR is pitching. Sending pitches to  journalists, especially at the more widely known publications, can sometimes feel like screaming into a void. It is difficult to stand out given the volume of pitches journalists receive on a daily basis, but we have compiled a list of tips to help you do just that.

1.     Build your Contact List

Arguably the most important part of pitching is having an extensive and up to date PR list. You want to ensure you have a wide variety of publications that cover a range of topics. Sort them by category which will make it easier to choose where to send you article, depending on what the content covers. The saying goes quality over quantity but realistically the more journalists you send your pitch to the more likely it is going be picked up.

When researching your PR list, try to get direct contacts rather than ‘general enquiries’ emails. This is a great way to ensure your pitch is in front of the right person from the off, if sent to a generic inbox it might never be seen. Doing this also opens opportunities for building relationships with writers or editors for specific publications, which may lead to you being the person to turn to when they need fresh content.

2.     Make it Snappy

When drafting your pitch for an article, keep it short and sweet. You don’t need to overload them with information about experience or past achievements. Share what is relevant to the content of your article, you want them to know you are qualified to speak on the topic and include links to your LinkedIn profile or website in case they want to do further research into your career or history.

Where the content is concerned, really a pitch is just a summary, or to use a term that might bring some of you crashing back to Uni days, an abstract. Focus on the key themes of the article to give a brief taster and leave them wanting to read the full piece. That is sure to grab their attention.

3.     Personalise your Pitch 

Now this isn’t as hard as it sounds. As mentioned previously, when sending pitches you will want to do them in big batches to increase your chances, so making each one specific to each publication could take hours. So instead, try having a template style pitch and personalise it as best you can by mentioning a certain section of the publication you think it would best fit.

If you are lucky enough to have the name of the person who will be on the receiving end of the pitch, of course use it. It helps to be a little informal. Use a cheery greeting, call them by their first name rather than Mr or Ms and be friendly.

4.     Check, Double Check, Triple Check

I think this applies to every email you will ever send in a professional setting anyway, but it is still important to remember. Always triple check the email you are sending. Look for things like typos, grammatical errors, ensuring you have the correct name, that the name spelled correctly, make sure your links work and that you’ve actually attached all your attachments! It may seem obvious but these are the types of minute details that could cost you that PR opportunity.

Keep in mind that, thought virtual, this is your introduction and as they say first impressions last a lifetime. And when contacting people who write and edit for a living, nothing is more important than spelling and grammar. Have a colleague or even a family member read over your article and pitch before sending, sometimes fresh eyes catch things you might have missed. 

5.     Note your Feedback

It is rare you will have an editor or journalist respond to tell you the things you are doing wrong, or right for that matter, but if they ever do be sure to make a note of it. This will help you improve your pitches in the future and also remind you not to make that mistake again. A way to keep on top of this is to keep you contacts in a spreadsheet and have a column at the end for notes or comments. You can also use a CRM platform to manage your press contacts, a great free option is Hubspot.

This goes back to what was previously mentioned about keeping your list up to date. If you receive an out of office or an automatic email to say the person no longer works there, usually they will give you an alternative email address to contact and you can add or update you list to include them. If your email bounces back, you may need to seek new contact information from the publication website and be sure to delete the old email address so as not to waste time contacting that in the future.