Whether you’re launching a new company, announcing a product launch, or you want to share an informative article that you just created, your ultimate goal is to reach as many people as possible within your target audience and demographic.
Pitching your news to the media, journalists, influencers, and bloggers is an effective way to accomplish this. However, it can be difficult to craft the perfect pitch that actually gets your email opened and content picked up.
If you aren’t receiving any responses to the pitches you have been submitting, and you have been sending out hundreds of emails, then it is time to rethink your approach.
So how exactly can you create a good pitch?
The bad news is that there is no set way, rhyme, or reason. The good news is that there are certain things you can include in your pitch that will improve your chances of making it a successful one.
Here is the ultimate guide on how to write a pitch email:
First things first…
What is an email pitch?
An email pitch is a letter that a company or service provider will create and send to the media, journalists, bloggers, and editors in an effort to receive coverage on their publication or platform.
You may be looking to promote an upcoming announcement, your company or service, a new product, or a piece of content, but no matter what you are looking to get covered, the content and composition of a good email or media pitch is similar in nature.
What are some key components of a great email pitch?
There are several factors that play into why an email pitch may be considered relevant or spammy to its recipient. Here are a few crucial parts of a good pitch letter:
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The email subject line is relevant, concise, and attention grabbing.
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The body of the email is short and to the point.
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It provides value to the recipient of the email.
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It promises value and relates to the recipient’s audience and/or followers.
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It actually reads like a real human being wrote it (and that’s because a real human being DID write it).
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It is unique, personal, and may even include an emotional element.
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It doesn’t include the piece of content you are looking to promote.
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It includes your contact information and/or your availability.
Common email pitch mistakes:
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Using the same exact template for every pitch
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Unnecessarily including more than one recipient
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Not addressing the recipient by his or her name
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Writing too much content in the body of the email
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Spending too much time explaining who you are
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Not understanding the tone or theme of the publication
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Trying to share something irrelevant to the publication’s readership
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Including the piece of content you are looking to promote
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Sounding too robotic or like a template you found on Google
Although your news or piece of content may be extremely valuable to YOUR audience, you need to do your job in convincing the recipient that it is going to be just as important to THEIR audience.
Additionally, most pitches that end up failing dive too deep into explaining who you (the pitcher) are and why you are important instead of spending the effort establishing why they and their readers should care. That is where a lot of pitches go wrong.
Email and media pitch letter examples
According to one HubSpot blogger, this is the best email pitch she has ever received:
“Hi,
I’m Bryan.
I’m a huge HubSpot fan. I especially liked your recent piece on business card design.
I work with companies like KISSMetrics and make weekly videos for their blog. Here is one that published earlier this week on their site: 4 Critical Facebook Reports.
Just wanted to email you and see if HubSpot might be interested in a similar series.
I made a demo for you to show you what it might look like: 5 Split Test You Have to Run on your Website Today
Is this something you guys would be interested in?
-Bryan”
This sample pitch letter is a great example to base your future pitches off for multiple reasons.
Overall, it is short, personal, concise, and relevant.
He also went above and beyond in creating a demo video for HubSpot which was created in an effort to fill the weakness that they were apparently experiencing. It hits most, if not all, of the good pitch components listed above.
Writing a pitch letter to a blogger like HubSpot, however, differs from writing a media pitch letter. When pitching your product or news to a journalist or magazine, you may want to approach them in a different way, like this:
“Hey Carl,
I was just reading your article Newegg now accepts bitcoin and thought [insert a controversial point about an article and share your opinion, pique their curiosity a bit, ask them a question].
BTW, I work at a company where we [insert your one sentence pitch]. We were recently featured/talked about in [insert a recent accomplishment]. We have some news coming out [feel free to insert a few words about the news], would love to share more info with you. Let me know if you’d be interested to hear more.
Thanks.”
This media pitch sample originally shared on Orbit Media is timely in nature, relevant, and concise with just the right amount of information that is needed for the editor or journalist to decide whether or not he or she wants to respond and cover this story.
Conclusion
Journalists, editors, bloggers, and those working in public relations are busy people who aren’t waiting around to accept pitches from companies.
Despite following all of these tips and guidelines, you still may not receive a response to every pitch you send — and that is to be expected.
That is why it is vital that you create a quality email pitch that proves your worth and value to them in both your subject line as well as in your email body.
Cory Young is a Digital Marketer with 10+ years experience developing SEO and Paid Search strategies for Fortune 500 companies. Cory is the founder of BCC Interactive, a digital marketing agency in Philadelphia, PA that specializes in developing strategies to help businesses grow through organic search.