How to Write a Successful Media Pitch

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Did you know that journalists open only 3 percent of all pitches?

If you want to control the story of your brand, you’re going to need news outlets and journalistic sources to tell a story that aligns with your values. But how can you control what a journalist says if they never open your message in the first place?

This is why it’s imperative to have a strong media pitch. If you don’t want journalists to ignore you, keep on reading.

What is a Media Pitch?

A media pitch is a concise, targeted communication (typically via email) that proposes a newsworthy story idea to a journalist or editor. Its primary purpose is to get media coverage by presenting a compelling story angle that resonates with the outlet’s audience. Unlike a press release, a pitch is personalized and focuses on building a relationship with the journalist while demonstrating the value of your story.

Think of a media pitch like a movie trailer – it’s your chance to get an editor or reporter excited about your story in just a few moments. At its core, it’s an email to a journalist where you’re saying “Hey, I’ve got a story your readers will love, and here’s why.”

But here’s what makes a pitch different from other types of PR: it’s personal. You’re not just broadcasting information (that’s what press releases are for) – you’re starting a conversation with a specific journalist who might be interested in your story.

Key Elements of an Effective Media Pitch

Why this story is relevant to their outlet’s audience
Clear news value or unique angle
Personalization for the specific journalist
Supporting data or resources
Clear call to action

Making the Pitch

First Impressions Matter: Nail Your Pitch’s Subject Line

Your subject line is like the headline of a newspaper – if it doesn’t grab attention, nobody’s reading further. But don’t try to be too clever. Journalists appreciate straightforward subject lines that tell them exactly what they’ll find inside.

Make it:

Clear and specific
Newsworthy
Under 60 characters
Free of promotional language or ALL CAPS

Great subject lines are:

✓ Clear and specific: “New Study: 67% of Remote Workers Skip Lunch”
✓ Timely: “Expert Available: Impact of Today’s Fed Rate Hike on Housing Market”
✓ Intriguing but honest: “How a Local Coffee Shop Doubled Sales During the Pandemic”

Writing Your Pitch Email

Here’s how to structure your email in a way that respects journalists’ time while giving them what they need:

Opening Hook (2-3 sentences)
Start with a compelling fact, statistic, or timely tie-in
Demonstrate immediate relevance

Start with your most interesting point – maybe it’s a surprising statistic, a timely trend, or a unique perspective on a current issue. Think of it as your “Did you know…” moment.

Value Proposition (1-2 paragraphs)

Explain why this matters to their audience
Include supporting data or expert quotes
Highlight unique angles

Connect the dots between your story and their readers. What’s the “so what” factor? Why should their audience care about this right now?

The Ask (1 paragraph)

Clear call to action
Offer additional resources
Suggest next steps

Be upfront about what you’re looking for. Whether it’s an interview, a feature story, or expert commentary, spell it out clearly.

Three Proven Media Pitch Templates That Get Results

Template 1: The Breaking News Tie-In

Perfect for when you want to connect your expertise or story to current events.

Template 2: The Exclusive Data Story

Use this when you have new research, survey results, or proprietary data.

Template 3: The Human Interest Story

Perfect for emotional, impactful stories that put a face on larger trends.

Tips for Using These Templates

1. Customize, Customize, Customize
   Replace all bracketed sections with specific details
   Add relevant details about their past coverage
   Adjust tone to match the publication’s style
2. Before Sending, Ask Yourself:
   Have I made it clear why their readers would care?
   Is my subject line specific and compelling?
   Have I kept it under 200 words?
   Did I include a clear call to action?
3. Quick Formatting Tips:
   Use bullet points for scanability
   Keep paragraphs to 2-3 lines max
   Bold key details if appropriate
   Include your full contact details

Remember: These templates are starting points. The more you can personalize them and make them relevant to the specific journalist and outlet, the better your results will be.

With those basics in place, let’s now delve deeper into the key success factors that create a successful media pitch.

News Angles

To give the news outlets what they want, you need to understand trends in news angles. If you understand this, you can tailor your pitch to what they want. Keep an eye out for these anchors, then pitch when you see them open up.

A big one that you can look for is time-based anchors. The simplest example of this is letting out a summer-based pitch when the warm weather rolls around. If you have a product that is somehow hot-weather related, it wouldn’t take too much effort to figure out what you should send.

This could also be more specific, like a holiday, or specially designed month. Good examples for this are Pride Month, Black History month, Labor Day, etc.

You can also shoot for something that is specifically within the news cycle. News cycles go by quickly, so you’d have to act fast, but if you can hit it right, this is one of the best ways to get your story out there.

Riding current news trends can help your story spread virally — with this tactic, you can capture the cultural consciousness.

Get Specific

Don’t just reach out to any news organization, though; reach out to the ones that you think will be interested in your content. It is the job of a news outlet to report stories with a relative level of objectivity. However, at the end of the day, they’re still businesses and need to find their own niche.

Forbes, for example, specializes in business and money-related news. You’re probably not going to pitch a cultural or artistic-based story to them. That would be more specific to the Wall Street Journal.

Get Even More Specific

Your specificity shouldn’t stop with the news outlet you pitch to. Go above and beyond, and pitch to a specific reporter. 

On the internet, it’s easier than ever to research a reporter. Simply click on their name at the bottom of the page and you can see other articles that they’ve written. Read a few of these — study the topics they’re interested in, what they cover, and what slant they put on each news story.

When you do this, you can pinpoint the reporter that will be most likely to pick up your news story and make your brand look good.

If this goes well, you can develop a contact at a specific news agency, and work with them on projects in the future.

Keep in mind that journalists receive several pitches a day, so you’re going to need to make sure you have a lot to say.

Keep Your Story Newsworthy

You want your brand to be covered and a big thing just happened to you. This might trick you into thinking your story is automatically newsworthy. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case.

Your story might just be a standard, mundane story that anyone could tell. Make sure your story is timely and relevant.

Is your story just a situation? Just a few developments? Or does it have a beginning, middle, and end?

Is your story exciting? Tension building? Outrageous?

If your story can’t engage on these levels, consider waiting until something pops up that’s more like this. After all, you don’t want to get a reputation in this news outlet’s eye as someone who comes up with boring stories.

Waiting for the right moment to strike is just as important as striking itself.

Study Story Structure

The human brain loves stories. Stories have a unique ability to transform the human brain and bring it into the world of the narrative, almost like it’s happening to the person experiencing the story.

Developing an understanding of basic stories will help you with your media pitches. You can structure the story of your pitch around some of the most reliable temples of stories out there.

The three-act story structure is a great example of this.

Following Up on Your Pitch (Without Driving Journalists Crazy)

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: following up on your pitch. It’s probably the most anxiety-inducing part of media pitching. Too aggressive, and you’ll burn bridges. Too passive, and your story might slip through the cracks. Here’s how to strike the perfect balance.

Timing Is Everything

First things first – when should you follow up?

• Wait 3-5 business days after your initial pitch. Journalists are busy, and your email isn’t their only priority
• Avoid Mondays (they’re catching up on weekend emails)
• Skip Fridays after 2 PM (they’re wrapping up weekly deadlines)
• Check the news cycle – if a massive story just broke in their beat, maybe wait a day or two

How to Write a Follow-Up That Works

Here’s what a good follow-up looks like:

✓ Keep the same email thread – this helps them find your original pitch
✓ Add fresh value – new data, a different angle, or recent developments
✓ Be brief – they already have your full pitch
✓ Show you’re human – be polite and understanding

Here’s a Follow-up Template That Works:

When to Let It Go

Here’s the tough love part: know when to move on.

• Two follow-ups maximum
• If you get no response after 2 weeks
• If they say “not interested” (but keep them in mind for future relevant stories)

Pro Tips for Building Long-Term Relationships

• Track your pitches in a spreadsheet – note who you pitched, when, and the response
• Follow journalists on social media – engage naturally with their work
• Read their recent articles before following up – maybe there’s a natural connection
• Consider the time of year – avoid following up during major holidays or known busy seasons
• Offer exclusive angles in your follow-up – sometimes that’s the hook they need

What Not to Do

Let’s be clear about what kills your chances:

❌ “Just checking in” emails with zero new information
❌ Following up multiple times in the same week
❌ Demanding to know why they haven’t responded
❌ Marking everything as “urgent”
❌ Calling their office to follow up on an email

When They Do Respond

If you get a response (even a “no”), treat it like gold:

• Thank them for their time
• Ask if they’d like to be pitched similar stories in the future
• Note their preferences in your tracking system
• Connect on LinkedIn (if appropriate)

Remember: every interaction is an opportunity to build a relationship for future stories. Sometimes a “no” today leads to a “yes” tomorrow – if you handle it professionally.

Common Pitching Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Let’s be real – we’ve all made these mistakes. Here’s what to watch out for:

• The Mass Email Approach: Nothing says “I don’t really care about your work” like a clearly copy-pasted pitch
• The Novel: If your pitch needs a table of contents, it’s too long
• The “Me Me Me” Pitch: Focus on what’s in it for their readers, not just your company
• The Time-Waster: Missing crucial details that force the journalist to ask basic follow-up questions
• The Grammar Nightmare: Always proofread. Then proofread again

Use a PR Service

All of the above information is important to learn if you want to run a successful business. There won’t always be people there to help you out — and you should understand how to edit any material to your specifications.

However, if you can, it would save you a lot of time and effort to hire a service specifically devoted to writing media pitches. A team like this would have experience, and would likely write a better PR pitch than you ever could.

EReleases has specific news outlets that are frequent collaborators. By working with a service like this one, you’re more likely to make those connections that are so key to getting your products and/or services out there.

They have an understanding of different news outlets, businesses, and even influencers. However, you can also pick your own specific contacts that you can reach out to. The best media pitch plans do certain things for you, while also allowing you a certain level of autonomy.

These will not just help you get your story out there, but help you develop a “media list,” giving you many different options for media distribution in the future. If you want to grow your business in the contemporary landscape, you’re going to need to embrace this.

Work With Editors

By working with a service like this, you’re working with writers and editors, not sales representatives. These folks understand the intricacies of writing and catching journalists’ attention. They care deeply about their craft and will help you make the pitch that’s right for you to make.

The advice is focused on making sure your writing is as clear and concise as it needs to be — not on selling you anything.

This particular service also provides you with proof of distribution, so you know that your word is getting to the people you want it to get to.

Write a Great Media Pitch

As you can see, a great media pitch is key to building your brand and business. However, these media pitches aren’t easy to make. They require a lot of time, expert, and expertise to get right.

Thankfully, if you make use of a great dedicated service, you can eliminate a lot of the difficulties.

For more information on press release services, contact us today.

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