Media Pitching 101: Crafting the Perfect Media Pitch

Six Tips to an Effective Media Pitch

With more than one in four journalists overwhelmed by 100+ pitches weekly, make sure yours stands out by following these steps to success.

1. Craft Your Message

When developing ideas for articles or other coverage, it’s essential that they are newsworthy, interesting, timely, and original. Cite industry trends or pressing issues and demonstrate how your insights address key challenges or drive innovation. This will make your pitch compelling and relevant.

Example: If you’re offering to write an article on cybersecurity, link it to the recent surge in data breaches affecting businesses globally. Explain how your expertise can provide actionable strategies for improving security measures. When possible, include industry statistics or a success story to strengthen your case.

For example, “Fifty-two percent of companies reported data breaches in the past year. This article will provide evidence-based strategies that have helped organizations improve safety measures by 30 percent.”

While data and industry trends are essential, incorporating a human element in your pitch can make it truly stand out. Journalists are often drawn to stories that connect with people on a personal level, showing how your product or service impacts lives or solves real-world problems.

When crafting your message, set clear goals. Consider these questions:

• What do you want to achieve with this pitch?
• Are you introducing a new product or service, building thought leadership, or increasing brand awareness?

2. Be Clear About Your Target Audiences

A deep understanding of your target audiences ensures that your message will reach the right people. Consider organizational roles, industries, audience priorities, and other factors. Messages that are tailored to an outlet’s readership increase the likelihood of getting coverage.

Example: If your goal is to promote a newly launched B2B software, your target audience could be IT executives or business decision-makers.

3. Identify Target Media Outlets

The next step is to determine which media outlets are a fit for your message. Look for magazines, journals, news sites, online publications, and other outlets that align with your expertise, industry, target audiences, and story ideas.

• Does their audience match your target market?
• Is the publication’s style formal, conversational, or heavily data-driven?
• Do they cover companies like yours?
• Search the sites for articles similar to what you envision for your pitch.

As Business News Daily points out: “Everyone is not your customer.” The same applies to media outlets—your messages aren’t a fit for every outlet.

Keep in mind that readership figures aren’t the only important metric to consider. Niche publications that reach highly targeted audiences are highly effective and increase the likelihood of reader engagement, quality leads, and conversions.

4. Create a Strong First Impression

Your subject line is the first thing a journalist sees—it’s your chance to grab their attention. Craft it with care. Use urgency, personalization, or data-driven insights to make it compelling. Instead of a generic “Don’t miss this newly launched B2B software,” opt for something like “Story idea: How to solve [industry problem] with AI.” Be sure to avoid sales-y words that could trigger spam filters.

Once you’ve captured the editor’s attention, make it simple for them to say yes. Your pitch should have clear, concise messaging that gets straight to the point. Avoid overwhelming journalists with too much information. Stick to one main idea per pitch, and don’t send more than five story ideas at a time.

Tip: According to Business Wire, journalists favor pitches that are timely, personalized, concise (under 200 words), and sent earlier in the workweek.

Bonus tip: Don’t attach files in your pitch. Email systems may filter out attachments as potential spam.

5.  Make the Media Pitch About Them

Show editors that you’ve done your homework. Tailor each pitch by referencing recent articles published by the outlet. This shows that you’re not sending a generic pitch and are genuinely interested in their work and audience.

In addition to presenting story ideas for contributed content, you may propose interviews with C-suite executives or industry experts who can provide valuable insights and exclusive commentary on current trends. For example, “We can arrange an exclusive interview with our CEO, who has recently been featured in [Industry Publication] discussing upcoming trends in AI.” Present innovative angles on pressing topics.

Always let editors know that any contributed content will be exclusive to their publications. This doesn’t apply to press releases, however, which are designed to generate widespread media coverage.

6. Follow Up

Proper follow-up helps ensure your pitch doesn’t get lost in the shuffle and shows persistence without being pushy. Initial follow-up emails result in a response rate of approximately 8.5 percent. This means that a timely and polite follow-up can increase your chances of securing coverage by up to 40 percent.

Points to remember:

• Follow up three to five business days after your initial pitch. This gives editors enough time to review your pitch while keeping your proposal fresh in their minds.
• Frame your follow-up as a friendly check-in or offer additional information. Avoid being aggressive.
• Keep a record of pitches sent and responses received. These numbers will allow you to adjust your strategy accordingly.
• Experiment with different angles, subject lines, and formats in your follow-ups to see what works best.
• Understand that even if you do everything correctly, some editors and journalists won’t reply. Don’t get discouraged.