How to Write a Killer PR Pitch

A PR pitch is a brief message you send to journalists or editors outlining the value of a story and why they should write about it.

For a PR professional, crafting a compelling pitch is a critical skill that involves research, creativity, and perseverance. It’s a skill worth honing — it doesn’t matter that you have a brilliant story if you’re not able to convince people to look at it. Sending a concise, engaging and timely pitch will make all the difference in getting your story out in the world.

A successful pitch leads to media coverage for your brand or client — whether it’s a founder profile, a brand mention, or a product placement in a listicle, ultimately it will impact the brand’s awareness, reputation and bottom line.

Here are some tips for writing a PR Pitch that will get noticed:

Keep it short and concise

Journalists are busy people, they don’t have time to read through an essay. If you send them something needlessly long, they will likely roll their eyes and promptly delete it. Your pitch should be short and clear enough that the journalist can quickly scan it and know if it’s something they’d like to write about.

Try to keep the body of your pitch to 2 - 3 sentences. Then, go through and remove any unnecessary words. It should tell a captivating story, and leave the reader wanting to know more. If you’re doing a roundup pitch, limit it to 3 or 4 products/brands.

Write clear subject lines

Your subject line should be clear and upfront, so that the journalist has a good idea what the pitch is about before opening it. It should also be compelling enough to make them want to open it.

Some examples of successful subject lines are:

Intro to Isabel Aagaard - the woman challenging the single-use industry
Sample offering - Premium, Sustainable and Ethical Coffee from Bruvi
Identity Resolution in a Cookieless Future
Green Valentine - 3 perfect gifts for your eco-conscious partner

Find a unique angle and craft a story

No one wants to read something that’s already been written to death, so finding a unique angle will make all the difference in having your pitch picked up. It should tell a compelling and timely story, something the journalist’s usual readers would be interested in. This requires research — and while you’re at it, make sure the journalist hasn’t already covered the topic. It’s also good practice to include a quick sentence about why this story matters, not only in general but right now.

Personalize your pitches

Most journalists and editors get hundreds of pitches in their inbox every week, so adding a personal twist to your emails is a great way to get their attention. If your email looks like a copy paste job, the odds are they will delete it. Doing your research will pay off.

A good way to personalize your pitches is to reference an article they wrote which is connected to what you’re pitching them. This will 1) show you’ve done your research, 2) Prove your pitch is a good fit for them, and 3) stroke their ego. You can even incorporate this in your subject line to improve your chances of having it opened.

Link to media kit

You want to make the journalist’s job as easy as possible, so make sure they have everything they need to write this story — from the brand’s website to a media kit with high res images, founder bios, press releases, etc. Having all this information in the email will streamline the process and make it easier for everyone.

Follow up!

Don’t fret if you don’t get an immediate response — like I said, journalists are busy people so don’t feel bad if they missed your email. Following up is a good way to bring their attention back to your pitch, politely and respectfully.

Avoid sending more than two follow ups or you might annoy the journalist. Keep them short and try to add value with some additional information that didn’t make it in the first pitch. It’s also a good idea to change up your subject line, maybe the first one wasn’t catchy enough for this journalist.

Ultimately what you want to accomplish with your pitch is to add value, this is something to keep in mind throughout the writing process. How can I make this useful for the journalist?

Being a good PR pro is all about building relationships with journalists, and the best way to do that is being helpful and respectful. Remember this is a two-way street, you are adding value by giving journalists topical stories to cover and expert sources, and they’re helping you with media coverage.