Are Journalists Not Responding to your Pitches?

Improve your media hits average with this pitching advice

There’s new research that presents some pretty daunting statistics for us who pitch stories to the media.

Propel’s Media Barometer found that journalists respond to just 3.3% of the pitches they receive.
Put another way, that means on average, one out of 31 pitches sent will get a response.

At first glance, that’s pretty disheartening. If you were an MLB pitcher and it took you 31 pitches to throw one strike, you’d fast be looking for a new line of work.

But on second glance, this isn’t much of a surprise. While shrinking newsroom staffs and the chaotic pace of news these days have likely made it more difficult than ever to catch a reporter’s attention, there are still opportunities to get your story told.
Here are five ways to start throwing more strikes.

Obsess on your subject line and opener: You have a split second to compel a journalist to click on your email. Make sure your subject line and opening sentence piques their curiosity or drives home the urgency or timeliness of your story.

Seize opportunities to build a relationship: Ultimately, the most successful PR practitioners are those who put in the time to get to know the journalists they are pitching. If you do get a response, make things as easy as possible for the journalist to get the information they need. If possible, suggest a brief phone conversation.

A great story can beat the odds: Simple truth – a lot of story pitches don’t get opened because they don’t compel a journalist to do so. The topic is boring, or old news, or is simply a press release that was sent for the sake of sending the press release. Look for a story that is timely, has a strong news hook, and a compelling human element, and write it in a way that a journalist can’t resist.
And make sure it connects to the journalist’s beat. If your pitch has a back-to-school angle, make sure it’s going to education reporters – and not to the folks covering city politics.

Don’t waste too much time on follow up: Propel’s research indicates that your best shot to engage a journalist is within the first few minutes of sending that first pitch. There’s nothing wrong with a polite follow up a few days after your initial pitch, but constantly bugging a journalist can get you on the blacklist.

Consider a PR partner: If this feels like a plug for working with a firm such as Turn Two, well, you’re only half right. My point here is less of a sales pitch than it is a recognition of reality. And the reality is that a lot of in-house communications pros wear many, many hats, only one of which is pitching the media. Because pitching stories is not a routine activity, it can be more difficult to build meaningful relationships with journalists than someone at a PR firm who is pitching and communicating with journalists on a regular basis.