Pitching With Purpose: Making it Into the Priority Inbox
As a journalist studying public relations, I frequently feel like I’m living a double life; some days I find myself submitting a four-page press release for class before heading to the newsroom to dissect another press release for a breaking news story.
Oftentimes, public relations professionals and journalists don’t understand how crucial a symbiotic relationship can be⸺and this disconnect can happen on both sides of the aisle. To help you prepare for your PR-journalist relations, here are some tips I’ve learned from my PR classes, as well as personal advice as the Editor-in-Chief of my college newspaper.
Think Like a Journalist.
Read the news lately? These are busy times for the journalist major you’re sitting next to in lecture. The future journalist you’ll be desperately emailing to pick up your pitch is bound to be busy, too. According to Muck Rack’s 2025 State of Journalism study, 55% of journalists report receiving more than 5 PR pitches per day.
My advice is to make sure you don’t get banished to their block list? Prepare, personalize and proofread all your communication.
Don’t just send a pitch to every journalist on your media list — consider the size of the story’s built-in audience, and distribute accordingly. Do your research on who the journalist is: wonder how their day has been, what their relationship with their audience looks like and even consider perusing their social media to get a sense of their personality.
Once you’ve gathered enough data on how to approach this journalist, start brainstorming how to get their attention via personalization and attention to detail.
If you’re pitching a new luxury lotion product, maybe don’t reach out to the journalist who primarily covers underground music scenes. According to Muck Rack, 86% of journalists will disregard a pitch if it’s irrelevant to their coverage area, so personalize that pitch.
Finally, proofread your pitch to ensure it’s clear, concise and free of any spelling or grammatical errors. Don’t bury the news in the second paragraph —get to the point.
As mentioned before, journalists are busy and will often find any reason to move on from your pitch to the next. This includes seeing any blatant spelling errors within the subject line.
Now that your pitch isn’t in their trash bin (congrats!), let’s get into some specifics on how to stand out to journalists as a PR professional by crafting an irresistible pitch.
The Perfect Pitch.
There are many tips and tricks to crafting a so-called “perfect pitch,” but there are a few key elements that most journalists will consider as ideal, and lead to the highest percentage of follow-through.
Aside from approaching the journalist in a straightforward and personalized manner, you also want to make their job as easy as possible. This can look like breaking your pitch up into easily digestible paragraphs, using bullet points and omitting unnecessary background information.
Here are some tips I’ve learned that have helped me sharpen my pitch:
- Delete the first sentence and see if it still makes sense.
- Remove any small talk from your introduction (scratch the “I hope this email finds you well.”)
- Save any relevant personal references for a “P.S.” at the bottom of the email.
- Avoid writing pitches that look overly promotional or advertorial
- Supply any links to background information or interview contacts that may be useful to the journalist upfront.
By doing these things, you’re doing both yourself and the journalist a favor by giving the pitch its best shot at being recognized for its true value. If you want to get really into the meat and potatoes of perfect-pitching, here is some data to suggest what journalists are after.
According to Muck Rack’s 2025 State of Journalism study1:
- 62% of journalists prefer to be pitched via 1:1 email
- 50% don’t care which day they are pitched, but of those that do, 18% prefer Monday
- 78% want to receive pitches before noon
- 69% prefer pitches that are under 200 words (or 3 paragraphs)
- 50% say one follow-up email is ideal, and 51% say it should come within 3-7 days later
When looking at this data, it can be purported that an ideal pitch is brief, sent personally to the journalist before noon on Monday and followed up a few days after sending.
All in all, you will come across many types of journalists who prefer different types of pitches from PR professionals, but by putting yourself in their shoes and preparing, personalizing and proofreading — you’ve got a much better shot at making it into their priority inbox.
Networking as a Student.
Even though you may not have a media list set up, or even a product to pitch yet, acknowledging the importance of forming relationships among journalists and other PR professionals can be crucial to your success in the field.
Many PR students, such as myself, have a keen interest in journalism — and oftentimes, many journalists have an interest in PR themselves. The world of communication and media is deeply intertwined, and you never know who will be able to assist you down the road of your career.
This goes to say, as you attend networking events, whether they be hosted by PRSSA or other campus organizations, you will likely come across journalists who want to share their advice or skills. And I say, listen.
Seek out relationships with journalists, whether online or through in-person networking events, and figure out what makes them tick. Hone your skills as a communicator with this vital professional role, and you will feel much more confident when the time comes to send your pitch.
Even better, by finding journalists who share similar interests or work within a related field, you may be able to pitch to them directly and see instant follow-through.
Your networking web is within your hands, and my suggestion is to give the journalist a listen, and it may very well strengthen your pitching skills in the future.
Delaney Joyce is a senior at California State University, Sacramento, studying public relations and communication studies. She currently serves on the Publications Subcommittee and as the Editor-in-Chief of her college’s student newspaper, The State Hornet. With a deep passion for storytelling, Delaney hopes to build her writing and media skills to uplift her community. In her free time she enjoys photographing local bands, playing video games and journaling.
