Resource Library
Pitch Checklist
The "journalist-approved" checklist for crafting perfect pitches.
Reference the points below to create clear and concise pitches.
After interviewing 200+ journalists, we uncovered the secrets behind what makes them open a pitch, respond to it, and ultimately write a story about it or include it within an existing piece.
These 20 points offer clues into the preferences of journalists AND what they expect to see in a pitch that lands in their inbox. Follow these tips for better odds of getting a "Yes!"
- Ensure the pitch is highly relevant to the journalist's specific beat or coverage area.
- Tip: submit a pitch to generate a curated list of journalists that matches their beat to your news.
- Research the journalist's past work to understand their typical stories and style.
- Tip: run an article search or view the journalist's profile card by clicking their name.
- Tailor the pitch specifically to that journalist, showing it's not a mass email.
- Tip: refer to their recent articles or social media for a personal tie-in, but make sure it's authentic.
- Keep the pitch concise and short, ideally a few sentences or short paragraphs.
- Tip: write your pitch, then rewrite a condensed version.
- Get straight to the point quickly at the beginning of the email.
- Tip: highlight the point in bold or display it on its own line.
- Use a direct and clear subject line that clearly indicates the main topic.
- Tip: ask AI to create a subject line based on your pitch text.
- Prioritize providing data, reports, or interesting findings.
- Tip: offer stats early on and follow-up with key data points that support.
- Include key business metrics (like revenues or growth) upfront if relevant to the journalist's coverage.
- Tip: focus on stats that support the narrative and don't sweat if they aren't readily available.
- Offer access to interesting or senior-level sources, including relevant experts.
- Tip: coordinate times ahead of outreach for ease of booking.
- Provide relevant credentials for any experts or sources offered.
- Tip: add your LinkedIn handle to your signature or name.
- Suggest a clear story angle or hook that the journalist could pursue.
- Tip: refer to past coverage or highlight a trend they might have not covered yet.
- Include specific, striking details or numbers that make the pitch compelling.
- Tip: back up your claims with evidence to build the case.
- Consider "plating the story" by including multiple necessary elements like experts, data, and context.
- Tip: review 4-5 articles to see what's included (images, quotes, headshots, etc.)
- Offer exclusive or novel information that hasn't been widely covered elsewhere.
- Tip: don't offer exclusives to everyone at once. Do one journalist at a time and plan ahead.
- Ensure the pitch is timely or connects to relevant current trends.
- Tip: if it happened even a month ago, chances are its old news.
- Provide helpful assets such as a media kit or images.
- Tip: linking to assets can help avoid spam filters.
- If providing images, consider using a Dropbox or zip file link for better usability and to potentially avoid spam filters (though some journalists prefer attachments).
- Tip: make folders or files easily shareable.
- If including photos, provide captions and credits along with the images.
- Tip: naming the photo and owner are simple but often overlooked.
- Present information clearly, whether using bullet points (preferred by many for skimming) or concise paragraphs (preferred by some for flow).
- Tip: bullets and numbers can easily break up text.
- Follow up appropriately, often once is sufficient, and avoid excessive emails, especially if the pitch wasn't relevant.
- Tip: wait at least 1-2 days between emails if your pitch is timely. Otherwise, a strategically timed follow up in the future could be a great touch point.
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