The document provides 20 tips for effectively pitching publishers and journalists, including: 1. Pitch relevant publishers and journalists who cover your topic area. 2. Spend time crafting compelling subject lines that are concise, specific to the journalist's beat, and descriptive. 3. Provide localized and interesting information in your pitch email and highlight any relevant numbers, statistics or data visualizations. 4. Proofread your pitch email and ask for feedback to build relationships with publishers and journalists.

3. *Source: Fractl survey of 1,300 publishers

6. TIP #1
• Do they consistently publish stories
about your content’s topic?
• Is the audience engaged/do they have a
large social media following? Look for
lots of comments/social shares.
• Is it a reputable/authoritative site?
PITCH
THE RIGHT
PUBLISHERS

7. Pitch a specific person. Look for a
writer who covers your content topic
most frequently at the publication.
80% OF SURVEYED PUBLISHERS
SAID THEY REJECT PITCHES THAT
ARE IRRELEVANT TO THEIR BEAT.
PITCH
THE RIGHT
PERSON
TIP #2

8. Invest time in crafting
your subject line. It
determines whether
the writers open the
email, and that’s the
biggest hurdle of all.
SPEND TIME
ON YOUR
SUBJECT
LINE
TIP #3

9. WRITE
COMPELLING
SUBJECT
LINES
• Keep it concise – 45-65 characters.
• Make it specific to the writer’s beat.
• Be descriptive. (But not too descriptive.
Give them a reason to open your
email!)
TIP #4

10. Call out an engaging number or
statistic from your content. These are
one of the most successful types of
subject lines.
EXAMPLE:
76% OF HOMEOWNERS
FIX THEIR OWN TOILET
TRY A
NUMBERS-
BASED
SUBJECT
LINE
TIP #5

11. It’s effective because of the innate
human behavior that’s triggered when
people discover a gap between what
they know and what they want to know,
prompting them to open your email.
EXAMPLE:
WHICH STATES HAVE THE
MOST HANDY HOMEOWNERS?
USE THE
INFORMATION
GAP TACTIC
TIP #6

12. Base it on personal information you
discovered about the writer via their
digital footprint. Only use this for
high-tier publications that may
overlook other types of headlines.
EXAMPLE:
PERSONALIZE
IT
ALEX, AS A NEW HOMEOWNER,
YOU’LL APPRECIATE THIS
TIP #7

13. If your content has a geographical
component, always take the
opportunity to mention the localized
findings to the recipient.
Information becomes significantly
more newsworthy if it’s tailored to
the publisher’s area rather than just
general information.
LOCALIZE
IT
TIP #8

14. Including words and phrases like “Data
Visualization,” “Study,” or “Original
Maps” will help differentiate your
content.
DON’T mention “Infographic” – it’s
become overused, and some publishers
will delete an email immediately if they
see “Infographic” in the subject line.
NAME THE
CONTENT
TYPE
TIP #9

15. Keep your email
pitch to between
100 and 200 words.
LENGTH
MATTERS
TIP #10

16. Hey Jack,
I’m from Miami where we don’t really
use trains, but I can’t imagine what
traffic looked like last week in the Bay
Area when 80 BART cars were pulled
from service. I wonder if people were
courteous enough to take your survival
guide seriously.
PROVE IT’S
NOT A MASS
PITCH
TIP #11

17. With 132 million people using the BART
annually, have you ever thought about
its cleanliness? My team at Travelmath
wanted to find out more about the
germs we come in contact with while
using public transportation.
STRESS
RELEVANCE
TO THEIR
READERS
TIP #12

18. We looked at five major U.S.
cities and found:
• A dog’s chew toy is
almost 40x dirtier than a
BART car
• BART has 50% fewer
riders than the D.C.
Metro, but is 15x dirtier
• 85% of BART’s bacteria
is associated with
causing skin infections
HIGHLIGHT
INTERESTING/
IMPORTANT
INFO
TIP #13

19. With San Francisco being one
of the more overcrowded cities
in U.S. I’m sure your readers
would be interested in
knowing just how clean the
BART is and how it compares
to American public transit
systems. Oh, and don’t forget
to mention hand sanitizer.
Will you feature this original
study on SFist?
REITERATE
VALUE IN
YOUR
CONCLUSION
TIP #14

20. Don’t include
attachments; instead
provide a link to the full
study, project, etc. in the
body or conclusion.
LINK TO
YOUR FULL
PROJECT
TIP #15

21. Particularly important for top-tier
publishers, this signals that you really
value their opinion and respect them.
Plus, if they do end up giving feedback,
it can potentially help you revamp the
content or decide who might be a
better fit to pitch!
ASK FOR
THEIR
FEEDBACK
TIP #16

22. Use correct spelling and grammar,
and make sure you correctly spell their
name and the name of their publication.
42% OF PUBLISHERS SAID THEY
WOULD FLAG A PITCH AS SPAM
IF THEY FOUND A SPELLING ERROR.
PROOFREAD
TIP #17

23. Use a tool like Boomerang, which lets
you schedule out what time your pitch
email is sent.
41% OF PUBLISHERS SAID THEY
PREFER TO RECEIVE PITCHES
EITHER OVERNIGHT OR IN THE
MORNING.
SEND YOUR
PITCH AT
THE RIGHT
TIME
TIP #18

24. We recommend waiting at least 2
business days to follow up. And don’t
send over a quick “just following up on
this!”
• Provide additional angles: Call out
new information from your content.
• Make it timely: Point out
connections between your content
and a trending news topic, if
possible.
NO
RESPONSE?
SEND A
MEANINGFUL
FOLLOW-UP
TIP #19

25. • Pass along interesting, relevant
studies/data or articles
• Introduce them to potential sources
• Send your thoughts on a recent piece
they wrote
• Engage with their content (share/leave
comments)
MAINTAIN
THE
RELATIONSHI
P
Reach out to your writer/editor contacts
even when you aren’t looking for
coverage.
TIP #20