How to pitch journalists: a short media pitch email that gets read

If you run a small business, handle comms for a team of three, or you're the person at a nonprofit who just got asked "can you get us in the paper?", this is for you. Here's how to pitch journalists without an agency: find the one reporter who covers stories like yours, send a short personal email that says what the news is and why their readers will care, link to your press kit, and follow up once. That's the whole method.

The rest of this post is the detail: what a pitch is, how to find the right person, subject lines, a pitch template you can copy, an example, and what to do when nobody replies.

What is a media pitch?

A pitch is a short email to one journalist, suggesting a story. It isn't the press release. The release is the formal announcement, the same for everyone; the pitch is the personal note that makes one reporter want to read it. Often you send both, with the pitch on top and the release pasted underneath. (Here's how to write the press release.)

Plenty of good pitches have no release at all: a story idea, an expert who can comment on something already in the news, or a trend you're seeing from the inside.

Is your story worth pitching?

Before you write a word, ask what every editor asks: why would our readers care, and why now? Stories that get covered usually have at least one of these:

• It's new: an opening, a launch, a first.
• It's local: it happens where the outlet's readers live.
• It's timely: it ties to a season, a holiday, or something already in the news.
• It's human: there's a person with a story, not just an organization with an announcement.
• It's useful: readers learn something they can act on.

The trick is to tell the news from the reader's side. "Harbor Kids is adding Saturday hours" is an announcement. "Working parents can take their kids to the doctor without missing work" is a story. "A food bank opens its fourth pantry site" is an announcement. "Families in the north end no longer need two buses to reach a food pantry" is a story.

How do you find the right journalist?

A great pitch to the wrong person goes nowhere, so this is where most of the work is.

1. Read the outlet first. Which section would your story run in: business, food, health, home, community? Find out who writes there.
2. Search the outlet's website for your topic. Try "flower farm", "pediatric", "food pantry". Note the bylines on stories like yours from the past year.
3. Read the reporter's author page and social bios. Many list their beat, their email and how they like to be pitched. Follow those instructions exactly.
4. Look past the newspaper. Local TV and radio news desks, neighborhood newsletters, trade publications in your field, and podcasts your customers listen to all need stories.
5. For events, find the listings editor, or the outlet's calendar form, which is often separate from the newsroom.

Keep a simple spreadsheet: name, outlet, beat, a recent story they wrote, email, the date you pitched and the date to follow up. A list of ten well-chosen names beats a bought list of 500. Paid media databases exist, and agencies use them, but for local news and a handful of trade outlets, your own reading will do.

How do you write a subject line a journalist will open?

Your subject line is the pitch in a few words. Write it like a headline: the news, plainly, with the local or timely angle if there is one.

• Say the story, not the format. "Press release" or "Story idea" tells a reporter nothing.
• Be specific. Names, places and dates are what make someone stop scrolling.
• Keep it short enough to read on a phone.
• Skip the tricks. No capital letters for emphasis, no "Re:" on a first email, no "Quick question", no emoji.

A short pitch email template

Copy this, replace everything in braces, and cut anything that doesn't earn its place.

Subject: {The news in a few plain words}

Hi {first name},

{One line that shows you know their work: a recent story of
theirs, or the section they write for.}

{The news in one or two sentences: what, when, where.}

{Why their readers will care, in one sentence: what changes
for them.}

{What you can offer: an interview with {name}, photos, a visit,
early access, a number nobody else has.}

Photos, logos and background are in our press kit: {link}

Thanks,
{Your name}
{Role}, {Organization}
{Email} | {Phone}

Two rules for every pitch: one reporter per email, and their name spelled right.

A media pitch example

Here's the template filled in for Harbor Health, the made-up group of three neighborhood clinics we use across this blog. Dr. Ana Reyes, its medical director and media contact, is pitching a local reporter who covers family health.

Subject: Harbor Kids adds Saturday hours for working parents

Hi {first name},

I read your piece on how long families wait for a children's appointment, and I think this is a hopeful follow-up.

Starting Saturday, January 9, Harbor Kids, our children's clinic, will open from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday for checkups, sick visits and sports physicals.

It means parents who can't take time off during the week can bring their kids in without losing a shift. It's the change families asked for most in our fall survey.

I'm happy to talk about why weekend hours matter for working families, and you're welcome to come by for photos on the first Saturday.

Photos, logos and our fact sheet are in our press kit: harborhealth.example/press

Thanks,

Dr. Ana Reyes

Medical director, Harbor Health

media@harbor.example | (555) 012-7730

Why it works: the first line shows Ana knows the reporter's work, the news fits in one sentence, and the offer (an interview and photos) gives the reporter something to say yes to. It's under 150 words, with one link.

When should you send a pitch?

A few days to a few weeks before the news, depending on the outlet. Daily news sites can move quickly. Monthly magazines and print gift guides plan months ahead, so a holiday pitch in November is for this year's websites and newsletters, and for next year's magazines.

Weekday mornings in the reporter's time zone are a safe default. If your news happens on a set date and you'd like reporters to have it early, offer it under embargo, and ask before you send the details. The product launch press kit post explains how embargoes work.

How do you follow up without being annoying?

Once. Wait three to five working days, then reply in the same email thread so your first pitch is right there underneath. Add something new: a photo, a confirmed date, an interview time, a fresh detail. Keep it to two or three lines.

Hi {first name}, one more detail on Harbor Kids' Saturday hours: the first families arrive at 8 a.m. on January 9, and you'd be welcome to come by for photos. Happy to set up a call with Dr. Reyes any day this week.

If there's still no reply, let it go. Silence usually means "not this one", not "never", so pitch the next person on your list. Don't call to ask whether they got your email. And if a reporter says no, thank them: a gracious no today is a warm contact next time.

Should you offer an exclusive?

An exclusive means one outlet gets the story before anyone else. It's worth offering to the outlet that matters most to you, as long as you're clear about it: "I'm offering this to you first, until Thursday." Only offer it to one outlet at a time. If they pass, you're free to take it to the next.

What should you link in a pitch?

One link: your press kit or press page. That's where a reporter can get:

• High-resolution photos and headshots, with credits
• Your logo, as PNG and SVG
• Your boilerplate and a fact sheet
• Bios of the people they could interview
• A named press contact, with a phone number

Don't attach big files to a first email. Large attachments from someone a reporter doesn't know can land in spam, and nobody wants a 40 MB zip on their phone. If you don't have a press kit yet, press kit vs media kit covers what goes in one, and an online press room gives it a permanent home on your website.

Pitching mistakes to avoid

• One email to 200 reporters, with everyone in BCC.
• The wrong beat. The restaurant critic doesn't want your clinic news.
• "Dear Sir or Madam", or someone else's name.
• Three paragraphs about your organization before the news.
• Asking to approve the story before it runs. Reporters don't send stories for approval; offer to check facts instead.
• Offering the same exclusive to two outlets. They'll find out.

Your press kit, one link in every pitch

The last line of a good pitch does a lot of work: "Photos, logos and background are in our press kit." In BrandTab, that kit fills itself in from the brand you've already saved.

Here's the moment that saves the most time. Before her first pitch, Ana gave the Harbor Health website to Tabitha, BrandTab's assistant. Tabitha read up to eight public pages and came back with suggestions: the logos, each with a role; photos from the site; the doctors named on the team page, with their roles and one-line bios; each clinic's address and phone number; the media contact; and a boilerplate drafted from the about page, marked "Drafted by Tabitha". Ana unticked a photo she didn't like, ticked the rest, and the press kit's spokespeople, photos, logos, boilerplate and press contact were filled in before she'd written a single pitch.

On the Creative and Studio plans, the press kit shares as a live link. It starts switched off, and switching it off again takes it down straight away. It's the same link in every pitch, and it's always current: change a bio in BrandTab and every reporter who opens the link sees the new one. While you write, press ⌘K on Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows, type "press contact" or "boilerplate", and copy the approved version, so the details at the bottom of the email are never retyped from memory.

Questions people ask

How long should a pitch email be?

Short enough to read on a phone without scrolling: about 150 words, in four or five short paragraphs. Put the news in the first two lines.

Should I include the press release in my pitch?

If you have one, paste it below your note rather than attaching it. The pitch is the reason to read; the release is the detail.

How many times should I follow up with a journalist?

Once, three to five working days after your pitch, with something new to add. After that, move on to the next person on your list.

Can I pitch two reporters at the same outlet?

Not at the same time. Pick the one whose beat fits best. If they pass, you can try a colleague, and it's polite to mention that you pitched their coworker first.

Should I call a journalist instead of emailing?

Email first. A call can make sense for news happening that day, like an event a TV news desk might send a camera to, but a pitch by email is easier for a reporter to read, forward and come back to.