So you now know to draft a pitch in an informal way, being careful when you send it and how but what’s the next step in ensuring your pitch is one a journalist will want to open and read in the first place?
4. HEAD ON:
Your subject line should be short and to the point. Basically, it should perfectly explain your pitch in just a few words, but also be interesting enough to grab the journalists’ attention. For example, if pitching a Q&A with an oil manufacturer who has just launched a new type of cooking oil, the subject line could read “Q&A PITCH: X Drowning In A Sea Of Oil” to make it more interesting. The fact it is a Q&A pitch is the first thing in the subject line so there will be no misunderstanding what your email contains but following that with a quirky line such as “Drowning In A Sea Of Oil” makes it far less boring than a typical subject line such as “PITCH: Q&A With X” as well as giving the journalist an idea that it is about oil.
Next week’s top tip talks you through what content your pitch should have and why everyday news does not a good pitch make.
Here's the rest of the series:
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 1: talk don’t pitch
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 2: timing
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 3: contact
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 4: subject lines
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 5: everyday news
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 6: positioning
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 7: preamble
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 8: attachments
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 9: summarise
- The ideal pitch to the press – part 10: time sensitive
