In today’s fast-paced media landscape, getting your story or message in front of journalists can be a challenging task. The key to success lies in crafting a compelling media pitch that captures the attention of journalists and entices them to cover your story. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the key components of an effective media pitch and provide tips on how to write one that stands out.

Are you tired of generic press releases that go unnoticed? Otter PR is here to change that. As a leading public relations firm in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami we specialize in crafting compelling media pitches that capture the attention of top journalists and influencers.

What is a media pitch

A media pitch is a proposal or a request made by a public relations (PR) professional or a representative of a company or organization to a journalist or a media outlet, with the aim of getting them interested in covering a particular story or topic. The pitch typically includes a concise and compelling summary of the story, along with relevant facts, quotes, and other supporting materials, in order to persuade the journalist to write or report on the story.

A successful media pitch should contain the following elements:

1. A compelling headline: Your headline should be concise, attention-grabbing, and clearly convey the main message of your pitch. A great headline can make the difference between your pitch being read or ignored.
2. A concise summary: In the opening paragraph, provide a brief overview of the story, including the main point, key facts, and why it’s newsworthy. Keep it short and to the point.
3. Supporting evidence: Include specific data, statistics, or examples that illustrate the relevance and importance of your pitch. This helps to build credibility and provides journalists with the evidence they need to cover your story.
4. A spokesperson or interview: Provide the journalist with a spokesperson who can offer quotes or an interview, if appropriate. Make it clear that the spokesperson is available for additional information.
5. A call to action: End your pitch with a clear call to action, such as asking the journalist to contact you for more information or to schedule an interview. This helps to encourage the journalist to take action and follow up on your pitch.

How to write a media pitch?

Crafting a media pitch that stands out requires careful planning and execution. Here’s how to write a media pitch effectively:

• Define Your Objective: Decide on the goal of your media pitch, such as generating awareness about a new product or service, sharing a newsworthy event, or positioning an expert in your company as a thought leader. Whether it’s a feature story pitch example or a social media pitch example, clarity in your objective is key.
• Research Your Target Media: Identify the publications, journalists, and reporters who cover topics related to your pitch. Read their previous work to understand their interests, writing style, and preferred topics.
• Craft a Compelling Headline: Use a short and catchy headline that summarizes the main message of your pitch and grabs the attention of the journalist.
• Write a Concise Summary: In the opening paragraph, provide a brief overview of the story, including the main point, key facts, and why it’s newsworthy.
• Support Your Pitch with Evidence: Include specific data, statistics, or examples that illustrate the relevance and importance of your pitch.
• Offer a Spokesperson or Interview: Provide the journalist with a spokesperson who can offer quotes or an interview, if appropriate. Make it clear that the spokesperson is available for additional information.
• Conclude with a Call to Action: End your pitch with a clear call to action, such as asking the journalist to contact you for more information or to schedule an interview.
• Proofread and Revise: Edit your pitch to ensure it is error-free and easy to read. Avoid using jargon or overly technical language that could confuse the reader.

Remember that a successful media pitch is concise, relevant, and timely. Be respectful of the journalist’s time and provide value to their audience. Good luck with your media pitching efforts!

Different Types of Media Pitches

Cold Pitches

The most common type of media pitch, a cold pitch involves reaching out to a journalist or outlet with whom you have no prior relationship. It’s what journalists will see the most of, meaning they need to be truly top-notch to grab their attention. A well-crafted cold pitch often serves as a media pitch email example that others can learn from.

News/ Trend Pitches

A crucial part of any PR strategy is being on top of news and trending topics. Journalists’ editorial calendars are largely dictated by what is current, so if you have a story that relates to something garnering a lot of news attention, that is your golden opportunity to land in their inbox with a relevant media pitch.

Contributor/Guest Post Pitches

If you are an expert in your field, an academic, or someone with valuable experience, you may wish to pitch an article written by you to be contributed as a guest post to a website or magazine. This is another common type of PR pitch example.

Follow Up Pitches

Good PR is all about keeping your contacts warm, which means sending courteous follow-ups to your pitches and keeping in touch with journalists you have worked with before. Your follow-up is a way to bump up your email in their inbox in case a journalist missed it or remind them of the story in your pitch.

Another type of follow-up email is reaching out to one of your journalistic contacts that you have a prior relationship with. The most successful pitches will be the ones where the reporter already knows your name. That’s why offering and maintaining partnerships with journalists is essential – whether this is via LinkedIn, social media, or even by grabbing a coffee together.

Not only does a partnership help to maintain a relationship, but it shows that you understand their specialties and that you are also a good contact for them to have also. If you are looking to expand your journalistic network, LinkedIn is the perfect place to like, comment, and engage with their work. Spending the time doing your background research and networking with the right people will ensure you have greater long-term success.

Media Pitch Subject Lines to Make You Stand Out

One of the most powerful tools at your disposal is your email subject line. It will be the difference between a journalist giving your media pitch a read or scrolling straight past it. The subject line should be clear, concise, spark intrigue, and use the hook of your story. Examples of media pitches often emphasize the importance of a strong subject line.

However, there’s a fine line between a snappy subject line and click-bait, so be careful not to go for the latter or it might discourage a journalist from clicking to learn more. Subject lines that offer journalists something are also a great way to get your media pitch opened. Writing a successful pitch is not helpful if they are not getting opened. This might mean starting your email with “Interview Opportunities”, “Case Study”, “Samples”, or “Exclusive”. Each of these things not only offers value to a journalist but a call to action.

How to Structure a PR Pitch Letter?

Journalists are very busy people, so you need to make your media pitch as quick and easy for them to read as possible. After they have read your subject line, the hook of your pitch should be in the very first line of the email body. Be clear on why this story is valuable to them and waste no time getting straight to the point.

A typical media pitch template covers about 200-300 words that outline what you are pitching, what you are offering, some background information on you or your company, and why now is the relevant time to cover it. This structure applies whether you’re writing a press pitch or a sample pitch letter.

How to Personalize Your Media Pitch

A journalist will quickly spot a media pitch that has been blasted to thousands of contacts rather than one written specifically for them. To personalize your pitch email, show an understanding of that outlet or journalist’s beat. This is crucial whether you’re using a PR pitch template or drafting a unique journalism pitch example.

You can also show that you are a genuine reader of that journalist’s work, mentioning a recent piece you enjoyed and how it might relate to your media pitch topic. Pitching one by one will take longer, but it will add far more value and bring more frequent success.

How to Make Your Media Pitch Relevant?

While journalists will always be on the lookout for evergreen content, more relevant, newsworthy topics will always take priority. Your media pitch should almost immediately attach your story to something current, such as recent statistics or a new element of a story that a journalist has recently covered. This relevance is key whether you’re drafting a story pitch example or exploring various examples of media pitches.

How to Pitch to the Right Person?

Before you pitch anywhere, spend some research time familiarizing yourself with different reporters and what their specialties are. Media pitching is most effective when directed to the right person, ensuring that your message reaches the journalist most likely to be interested in your story.

Media Pitch Examples

Every media pitch will look different, but below are some real pitches that each saw success in national and regional outlets across print and TV. These should give you an idea of how to first approach a journalist, and how to get to the heart of your story right away. You can send the same pitch email to multiple media contacts at once to get your client as much media coverage as possible.

Media Pitch Offering Template

SUBJECT LINE: Samples/ Review Opportunities: New York Design Studio XXX

Hi (contact first name),

I hope you’re having a great start to your week.

Would you be interested in sampling and reviewing products from the exciting up-and-coming design brand XXX?

XXX is a design-centric lifestyle brand and creative studio, creating products including wall art, cards, and even face masks.

New York-based artist and founder XXX has made it their mission to spread cheer, and add a pop of color to people’s lives, especially when we are all stuck at home more than ever. Prints are designer-inspired, street art style, super trend-centric, and very metropolitan.

(PICTURES)

Each piece is designed by XXX but printed digitally meaning pieces are more affordable, without sacrificing quality. XXX is on top of trends and is always the first to put out a piece of work with the latest pop-culture favorites in mind. There really is something for everyone, from college students to dads, mums, and kids.

Sample products we can offer include:

• Wall Designs
• Cards
• Apparel
• Phone cases
• Home office accessories
• Face masks

Take a look on the site (link) and let me know any particular products you are interested in receiving for reviews, features, roundups, or to include in your holiday gift guide and we can organize samples asap.

Kind regards,

Download Media Pitch template here 

Guest Post Media Pitch Template

Hi (contact first name),

I hope you’re keeping well.

I’m just getting in touch to see if you would be interested in a guest post with award-winning journalist, podcast host, and producer XXX about the key steps every business needs to consider before starting a podcast?

Podcasting is very quickly becoming the most popular form of media in the US. In 2006, only 22% of the population in the US was even aware of the podcasting space. By 2020, this has skyrocketed to 75%, and there was an estimated 88M podcast listeners in 2019. With the pandemic making us crave original, creative content more than ever, if you haven’t already launched a podcast of your own, there’s no doubt that you are at least listening to one.

XXX is the owner and founder of the XXX, a one-stop-shop podcasting studio that provides all podcast services under one roof, from audio production, album art, to distribution. XXX has worked with clients including (examples)

(Picture)

Crucial steps to consider before you decide to start a podcast include:

• (Bullet point examples)

If a guest post would be of interest, please get in touch and we can organize something.

Kind regards,

Download Guest Post Media Pitch Template 

News Story Media Pitch (TV) Template

Hi (first name)

I hope you’re doing well.

I have a great story with a local angle to share with you for Women’s Health Month this May.

XXX is an acclaimed local musician and award-winning songwriter based out of XXX, has teamed up with XXX charity, a one-of-a-kind nonprofit, supporting the innovators working on cancer beating solutions by fundraising through rising artists. XXX has had several female family members affected by cancer in the past so this cause hits close to home for her. She knew she needed to use her music and platform to help fight the war on cancer.

XXX was considered in five categories in the 58th Annual Grammys and has been named XXX’s Best Female Vocalist” multiple times, garnering several XXX awards.

(Quote from the artist about the importance of the mission)

I can connect you with (artist) and (founder of charity) for interviews. Let me know if you would like to set something up this month? I can also provide some b-roll, pictures, and more. Just let me know what you need!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks,

Download News Story Media Pitch Template

All Templates

Media Pitching Strategies

Even when your client has some big news, you may need more to get an outlet to take an interest. Here are some pitch strategies that can make your pitch stand out and appear more valuable to a journalist.

Win-win pitch

Obviously, your goal is to see your client benefit from getting media exposure, but that does not mean that the outlet cannot benefit as well. If you can show the outlet how it will benefit from writing an article about your client, they will be much more likely to run with it. For example, if your client is local to the area where the publication reports, providing coverage could be a way for them to promote a home-grown success, which readers also like.

Added value pitch

With strategy, you explain to the outlet how writing a story on our client will make some previous coverage even better. For example, if they have done a general article on health care related challenges, following up with an article on your client’s healthcare solution will provide a great service to their readers. This strategy will require you to do some research on what the outlet has been covering lately, but it should pay off.

Past success pitch

This strategy simply involves you going back to outlets that you have worked successfully with in the past. Remind them that they picked up a pitch for one of your clients and the great response that they got. If they trusted you once and it worked out well for them, there is a good chance they will trust you again.

By following these strategies and incorporating elements like media pitch templates and examples of media pitches, you can enhance the effectiveness of your outreach efforts.

Our team of seasoned professionals, including technology PR, healthcare PR and financial services PR, is dedicated to securing top-tier media placements for every client.

Examples of Follow Up Pitches

When drafting a follow-up message to a pitch that has not prompted a response, keep in mind that there are a variety of reasons why an outlet does not respond. They may not see the value in your story, or they may be on vacation, or the message may have gone to the spam folder. Because you do not know the reason for their silence, your follow up will typically be rather generic. Here are three examples that may serve you:

The “Just Making Sure” Approach

Hello (reporter),

I recently sent you some exciting information about (client/topic) that I thought would really appeal to your readers. I am following up to make sure that it did not get intercepted by your spam filter and to see, if you did in fact receive it, whether you had any follow up questions I could answer.

You will find below the information that I originally sent.

Thank you for your time,

The “Time Is Running Out” Approach, which works well with seasonal news or news that involves upcoming events

Hello (reporter),

I recently sent you some exciting information about (client/topic) that I thought would really appeal to your readers. Because this is a timely topic, I am following up to make sure that it did not get intercepted by your spam filter and to see, if you did in fact receive it, whether you had any follow up questions I could answer.

You will find below the information that I originally sent.

Thank you for your time,

The “In Related News” Approach, which requires a little homework on your part

Hello (reporter),

I recently sent you some exciting information about (client/topic) that I thought would really appeal to your readers. After sending you my message, I noticed an article with your byline on this topic. It reported that (info). I am following up because I believe the information I provided would make a great follow-up article for you.

You will find below the information that I originally sent.

Thank you for your time,

Download examples of follow up pitches

Why Choose Otter?

When it comes to elevating your brand’s visibility, Otter PR stands out as a trusted public relations firm with a track record of delivering guaranteed media coverage. Whether you are based in Miami, Los Angeles, or New York, our team of PR experts is committed to securing the best possible exposure for your business.

We are a dynamic group of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, writers, marketers, and creatives, all driven by a passion to design and execute PR campaigns that deliver real results. Our tailored strategies are crafted to fit your specific needs, ensuring that your story is told effectively across major media platforms.

As a top public relations firm in Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, and New York, we specialize in understanding the unique markets of these cities. Our expertise spans various industries, and we leverage our strong media connections to bring your brand the recognition it deserves.

With Otter PR, you’re not just getting a best PR firm; you’re gaining a partner dedicated to growing your brand. Ready to see how our PR plans can transform your business? Contact Otter PR today to learn more about our Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami, and New York public relations services and how we can help you achieve your goals.