5 pitch tips from journalists

We regularly speak to our community to find out how they work and what best practice looks like. We’ve recently been talking to journalists who use the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service to source information and receive PR pitches through the media database.

Here are five top tips from these journalists, to help every PR pitch successfully.

1. Read the request

A common piece of feedback we receive from journalists using ResponseSource is about the quality of responses they get to their enquiries. While most are great, they often get replies trying their luck at getting coverage for something completely unrelated to what they asked for. The best way to build good relationships is to respond to exactly what the journalist is after when they reach out to you.

2. Have spokespeople available

If you’re offering up an expert to provide comment, make sure they’re available for the journalist to speak to before putting them forward. This is especially important in this time of lockdown when schedules and technological capabilities are often flexible. When working to tight deadlines it’s vital you can provide spokespeople asap.

3. Embargoed press releases

If you’ve got embargo-worthy news, make sure it’s exclusive to a journalist or media outlet to break the news. This can be agreed beforehand so both parties know what to expect from the relationship.

4. The follow-up!

Every journalist has their own preference for if, how or when to follow-up on a pitch or a reply to a journalist request. You’ll score points by doing your research here, a good media database like ours, provides pitch tips on each person’s profile. You should also tap into the experience of your colleagues across the industry, many of whom have best practice stories to help you reach the right person.

5. Building your network

Every journalist we spoke to told us they build their contacts through working with PRs and experts who are reliable and can get the information they need, when they need it. Sign up to receive journalist enquiries to build out your network, and see how a detailed media database can improve your relationships across the industry.