{"id":6959,"date":"2016-01-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=6959"},"modified":"2024-05-08T18:58:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T18:58:03","slug":"10-tips-pitching-journalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/10-tips-pitching-journalists\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Tips For Pitching Journalists"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pitching<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve checked off almost all of your boxes when it comes to promoting your crowdfunding<\/a> campaign. You\u2019ve hashed out a comprehensive marketing plan. You\u2019ve developed a great social media strategy. You\u2019ve pulled together an impressive fundraising page. You\u2019ve gathered together powerful imagery. You\u2019ve sent out a newsletter to your entire network.<\/p>\n

The only thing left that you\u2019d love to accomplish? Having a journalist craft a compelling and engaging story about your campaign. You\u2019re confident that this would get your campaign in front of a whole new audience, as well as present it in a way that seems completely natural and organic \u2014 not pushy and \u201csalesy\u201d. Plus, you know this story would draw in readers and accurately demonstrate the value of your entire mission.<\/p>\n

Sounds great! But, who\u2019s going to actually write this story? You\u2019ve tried pitching journalists before, and so far you haven\u2019t had any luck. Either you receive a standard rejection email, or you never hear anything <\/em>from the writer.<\/p>\n

Read our online guide to publicity for online fundraising here to learn how to identify and pitch journalists your cause’s next fundraising campaign.<\/a><\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t get discouraged yet! As a journalist myself (and a recipient of many, many<\/em> pitches), I\u2019m here to tell you that there are plenty of things you can do to boost your chances of getting a response \u2014 and maybe even a story! Here are ten tips you should implement when pitching a journalist.<\/p>\n

1. Personalize Your Email<\/h2>\n

Sure, you can blanket your entire press list with a generic email pitch. But, you probably shouldn\u2019t expect great results. What do journalists do when they see their email address in the \u201cBCC\u201d field? They hit \u201cdelete\u201d.<\/p>\n

So, take the time to personalize your emails. Send the email directly<\/em> to them. Use their name. Read their previous work. Explain why you thought they\u2019d be interested in this particular story angle based on things they\u2019ve written in the past. Establishing this personal connection will go a long way!<\/p>\n

2. Do Your Research<\/h2>\n

As mentioned above, it\u2019s important that you do your research about a particular journalist to ensure you\u2019re pitching something that makes sense to them and fits with their current beat.<\/p>\n

For example, perhaps you saw their byline in The Nonprofit Quarterly. So, you didn\u2019t even think twice about immediately sending them information about your campaign to build schools in Ethiopia. But, had you clicked through and done some digging, you would\u2019ve realized that they write exclusively about animal activism. Suddenly, your pitch is completely irrelevant and you\u2019ve wasted both<\/em> of your time. Thorough research is a crucial step in the pitching process!<\/p>\n

\"Lead<\/p>\n

3. Give Enough Lead Time<\/h2>\n

Journalists are busy. So, give as much notice about stories as you can. Sending an email saying that the story must be published by tomorrow afternoon before it becomes old news? That\u2019s definitely not the best way to get on a writer\u2019s good side. More than likely, they\u2019ll determine it\u2019s simply not worth the hassle and stressful time crunch.<\/p>\n

4. Keep It Brief And Basic<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019re capable of writing nearly poetic prose about your own campaign. But, save that for another place. Again, journalists have a lot on their plate, and they\u2019re conditioned to look only for the information they need<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t lead in with a lengthy introduction \u2014 just get straight to the point. Give the basic who, what, when, where, why, and how and cut the fluffy language out of your email. It only serves to cloud your point and hide the real meat of your message.<\/p>\n

5. Explain Why This Matters<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s nothing worse than receiving a pitch that isn\u2019t really a story<\/em>. Instead, it\u2019s just an overview of the organization as a whole. Remember that journalists want you to pitch a narrative \u2014 not your company.<\/p>\n

Before hitting \u201csend\u201d, think about whether or not you\u2019re presenting something that\u2019s actually worth<\/em> writing about. Ask yourself, \u201cWhy should others care about this information?\u201d If you can\u2019t think of a solid answer to that question, it\u2019s probably not worth pitching. So, make sure that the information you\u2019re sending would lead to a great and engaging story, and it\u2019s not just a glorified press release.<\/p>\n

6. Include Links<\/h2>\n

Since you want to keep your email brief, your message should only include the nuts and bolts. So, it\u2019s important that you include a place where the journalist can go to get more information if necessary.<\/p>\n

Of course, you need to include your website link. But, also share any links to your social media accounts so that the writer can get an idea of your community engagement and do some research about what others are saying about your campaign.<\/p>\n

\"Mass<\/p>\n

7. Avoid Mass Email Lists<\/h2>\n

Whether a journalist has given you a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d to previous pitches, you should absolutely avoid adding them to any sort of mass email lists. I know that it can be tempting to slap their email address into a master list of press contacts. But, trust me when I say that it only serves to annoy the writer.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve turned down plenty of pitches, only to continue receiving repetitive, generic emails from that very same person. If I had to decline even your personalized<\/em> pitch, I\u2019m probably not going to respond well to the generic email you\u2019re blanketing your entire network with. When it comes to contacting journalists \u2014 it\u2019s a personalized email or bust!<\/p>\n

8. Eliminate Buzzwords<\/h2>\n

You likely see words like \u201crevolutionary\u201d, \u201cgame changing\u201d, and \u201ccutting edge\u201d as powerful and impactful. Journalists? They see them as pesky buzzwords that are only cluttering your email and actually distracting<\/em> them from the heart of your message.<\/p>\n

Plus, they\u2019re incredibly overused in pitches \u2014 so much so that they\u2019ve pretty much lost all meaning in writer\u2019s eyes. So, cut out these pesky terms and instead focus on getting your point across in a way that\u2019s clear and concise. I promise, journalists would much rather have that!<\/p>\n

9. Utilize Email \u2014 Not The Phone<\/h2>\n

I\u2019d assume with all of the tips above referencing email etiquette, that this point would be obvious. But, I still had<\/em> to include it.<\/p>\n

Always present your pitch via email, and never<\/em> over the phone. You might think that making a personal connection with a phone chat would really help to get your foot in the door. However, unexpected phone calls can just disrupt a journalist\u2019s workday, which can be really off-putting. So, resist the urge to grab your phone, and rely on the magic of email instead!<\/p>\n

10. Follow Up Once<\/h2>\n

You have high hopes for your email pitches, and it can be tempting to send a follow up email every day until you hear something. Resist the urge to pester the journalist incessantly, and follow up only once<\/em> about a week after sending your initial email. Waiting is hard, but sending email after email won\u2019t help your case. In fact, it will likely just annoy the recipient.<\/p>\n

Working with a journalist is a great way to spread your message in a way that is engaging and natural. However, getting a writer to develop a sincere interest in your story isn\u2019t always an easy feat. Keep these tips in mind the next time you\u2019re emailing a writer, and you\u2019re sure to be one step closer to getting your pitch picked up!<\/p>\n

P.S. Looking for some more help with effectively pitching journalists? This post<\/a> has some great email samples you can reference!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve checked off almost all of your boxes when it comes to promoting your crowdfunding campaign. You\u2019ve hashed out a comprehensive marketing plan. You\u2019ve developed a great social media strategy. You\u2019ve pulled together an impressive fundraising page. You\u2019ve gathered together powerful imagery. You\u2019ve sent out a newsletter to your entire network. The only thing left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Candace Cody","author_link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/author\/candace\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6959\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}