How to Write a Media Pitch That Gets a Reply

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Learning how to write a media pitch is mostly learning what to leave out. A pitch is not a press release, not a brochure and not a summary of everything your business does. It is a short email — usually under 200 words — that offers one journalist one story their readers will care about, and makes it easy to say yes.

A pitch is where most coverage starts. The wider process — finding the story, writing it editorially, distributing it — is covered in our guide on how to get earned media. This post is about the email itself.

Why most pitches get no reply

Journalists receive far more pitches than they could ever use, and they triage them in seconds. Most fail for fixable reasons:

• The wrong recipient. The pitch goes to a general inbox, or to a journalist whose beat is something else entirely.
• The story is about the sender. “We are excited to announce” is news inside your building, not a story for anyone else’s readers.
• No clear angle. The email lists facts but never says why this matters, to whom, or why now.
• No clear ask. The journalist finishes the email unsure what they are being offered: an interview? Data? A comment? Nothing?
• It is too long. A pitch that needs scrolling is competing with a hundred that do not.

None of these need a bigger budget to fix. They need a pitch built from the reader’s side of the desk.

The anatomy of a pitch that earns a reply

The subject line. Write it like a headline, because that is the job it does. It should contain the story itself — the specific, interesting fact — not “Press release”, “Story idea” or your company name. If the journalist reads nothing else, the subject line should still tell them what happened.

The first line. Say why this journalist, specifically. A reference to a recent piece they wrote on the same subject, or to the beat they cover, shows the pitch was aimed rather than broadcast. Personalisation that goes beyond the first name is the single clearest signal that your email is not a mass send.

The story in two sentences. What happened, and why their readers will care. Facts first, adjectives last. If the story involves people — customers affected, a problem solved, a change in a neighbourhood — name that human element early, with permission from anyone you name.

Why now. A pitch with a timing hook beats the same pitch without one: a launch date, a vote, a season, a change in the rules, new figures. “Why now” is what turns a nice story into this week’s story.

One ask. End with a single, small next step: a 15-minute call, an offer of the full data, an introduction to the person involved. One ask, easily answered.

A media pitch example, line by line

Here is a media pitch template filled in for a fictional announcement — a family-run bike shop offering free winter safety checks for children’s bikes in November:

Subject: Free winter safety checks for children’s bikes at De Jong Cycles, 8–15 November

Hi Sarah,

You wrote last month about the council’s new safe-routes-to-school plan, so this may fit your readers. De Jong Cycles, the family bike shop on Kanaalstraat, is offering free safety checks for children’s bikes from 8 to 15 November — brakes, lights, tyres and reflectors — ahead of the darkest weeks of the year.

Last winter the shop repaired several children’s bikes whose brakes had worn unnoticed, which is what prompted the offer. The owner can talk about what they find most often, and two local parents have agreed to be interviewed.

Would a short piece work for your readers? I can arrange a visit any morning that week, or send photographs and the checklist the mechanics use.

Thanks for your time, [Name], De Jong Cycles

Why it works: the subject line is the story, with a date attached. The opening earns its place by citing the journalist’s own coverage. The story takes two sentences. The “why now” is concrete — dark evenings, a fixed week. And the ask offers two low-effort options instead of demanding a meeting.

How to pitch a journalist you have never contacted

Cold pitches are normal in this work; most journalist relationships start with one. What separates an acceptable cold pitch from spam is evidence of research. Read two or three of their recent pieces before writing. Check that they still cover the beat — bylines move. Check how they prefer to be contacted; many state it plainly in their bios or on the outlet’s staff page. And pitch only stories that honestly fit their readers: a journalist who trusts your targeting opens your second email; one burned by the first does not.

Following up without burning the contact

Wait four to seven days, then send one follow-up in the same thread. Add something new — a photograph, a figure, a confirmed interviewee — rather than simply repeating the original email. If there is still no reply, the answer for this story is no; accept it gracefully. Two follow-ups is the outer limit; a third stops being persistence and starts being why your next pitch gets deleted unread.

Pitching sits inside the wider discipline described in what earned media is. Businesses that would rather not run it themselves use our earned media service to develop the story and distribute it, and our digital PR work for campaigns built around coverage and links. Either way, the standard is the same: a real story, aimed at the right journalist, in under 200 words.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a media pitch be?

Short — under 200 words in the email itself: the story, why it fits the journalist’s readers, and the ask. The detail belongs in the press release or media kit behind the pitch, opened only if the pitch lands. If your pitch needs scrolling, it asks for more time than a busy inbox gives.

Should I attach my press release to the pitch?

Pitch in the body of the email, and offer the release rather than attaching it uninvited. Attachments from unknown senders are filtered, ignored or treated with suspicion by many inboxes. A link to the release, or a line saying you can send it straight away, keeps the email light and lets the journalist choose.

How many journalists should I pitch the same story to?

A small number who genuinely fit it, each pitched individually. A story can legitimately be offered to several outlets, but never imply exclusivity to more than one at a time. If one outlet matters most, offer it there first, say so honestly, and give a reasonable window before widening the list.

What should I do if nobody replies?

Treat silence as information, not as a verdict on the story. Check the targeting first — was each recipient really covering this? Then the subject line, then the timing. Follow up once, and if there is still nothing, take the lesson into the next story. Even good pitches often get no reply, because journalists receive far more suggestions than they can use.