Day 16: PR Pitch Writing

The concept

Most PR pitches fail because they are written like company announcements, not stories.

They begin with who the company is, explain what the company built, and then ask the journalist to care. That structure creates work for the journalist. It asks them to find the news inside the pitch.

A strong pitch does the opposite. It leads with the news, explains why the outlet's readers should care now, and makes the next step easy.

Plain English

Journalists do not cover your product because you launched it. They cover stories their readers would care about even if your product did not exist.

AI can help you shape the pitch, but only if you provide a real angle and real outlet context.

Start with news

News is not the same as novelty to your company.

Weak angle:

We launched a new analytics dashboard.

Stronger angle:

New data shows mid-market retailers are wasting 18 hours a month reconciling marketing and sales reports.

The second angle is about the market, not the product. Your company may be the source of the data, but the story belongs to the reader.

Good PR angles include:

• original research
• customer outcomes with measurable results
• market shifts
• partnerships with broader implications
• behavioural trends
• regulatory or industry change
• unusual data from your platform
• expert commentary on a timely issue

If the angle only matters internally, it is probably not a pitch yet.

Target by beat, not audience segment

Marketers think in segments. Journalists think in beats.

A journalist covering retail technology cares about different evidence than a journalist covering small business finance, even if both publications reach business readers. The pitch should reflect what that journalist already covers.

Before prompting AI, gather:

• the journalist's recent article topics
• the section's typical story format
• the publication's reader profile
• whether they use data, expert quotes, case studies, or trend pieces
• any recent debate your angle connects to

AI can then help position the story for that context.

Keep the pitch short

The 180-word limit matters. Journalists receive too many pitches. Long emails usually signal unclear thinking.

A useful structure:

1. Opening sentence The news.

2. Second paragraph Why it matters to this outlet's readers now.

3. Third paragraph What you can offer: data, sources, interview, quote, exclusive, visual, or report.

4. Close One low-friction question.

Avoid phrases like "I hope you're well," "we're excited to announce," or "I thought your readers might be interested." Lead with substance.

Use exclusives honestly

An exclusive is valuable only if it is real. Do not offer the same exclusive to multiple journalists. If you have no exclusive, offer useful access: data, spokesperson, customer source, early report, or additional context.

You can still send a strong pitch without an exclusive if the angle is timely and relevant.

Today's practice

Choose one story. Run the prompt. Then review:

• Does the first sentence contain news?
• Would this matter without our product?
• Is the outlet fit specific?
• Is the ask low-friction?
• Can we actually provide what we offer?

Send the pitch. A sent, well-targeted pitch teaches more than a perfect draft held for next week.

Build a pitch angle bank

PR becomes easier when you maintain a bank of possible angles before you need coverage. Add raw material as it appears:

• original data points
• customer results
• founder opinions on timely topics
• market shifts you can explain
• internal observations from product usage
• customer behaviour trends
• partnerships or milestones
• expert commentary tied to news

Once a month, ask AI to review the bank and suggest which angles may be timely for specific outlets. This prevents the panic of trying to invent a pitch after a launch date is already set.

Match evidence to the outlet

Different outlets value different evidence. A trade publication may care about practical detail and named sources. A business publication may care about market impact. A local outlet may care about jobs, community, or regional relevance. A technical publication may care about implementation details.

Use AI to adapt the same news angle for different outlet types, but do not send the same pitch everywhere. The story frame should change with the readership.

Respect the journalist's job

A good pitch reduces work. Include the assets a journalist would need:

• concise data source
• spokesperson availability
• customer source if possible
• quote option
• link to report or background
• embargo details if relevant
• clear contact information

Avoid attachments unless requested. Keep the first email light. The goal is to earn a reply, not to send every possible detail at once.

Learn from non-response

No response does not always mean the story is bad. The timing may be wrong, the outlet may have covered the topic recently, or the journalist may be overloaded. But repeated non-response to the same angle is signal.

Save your pitches, responses, and silence. Ask AI to compare them after a few attempts. It may identify that your subject lines are too company-led, your angles are not timely enough, or your outlet targeting is too broad. This turns PR from a guessing exercise into a learning loop.

Create a journalist-fit checklist

Before sending, check the pitch against the journalist's likely filter. Is this new? Is it relevant to the beat? Is there evidence? Is there a human, business, or industry implication? Can the journalist explain the story quickly to an editor? Is the source credible? Is the timing useful?

If the answer is weak on more than one point, revise the angle before revising the wording. Many pitches fail because the sentence polish improves while the story remains thin.

Prepare the response path

If the journalist replies, speed matters. Have the next assets ready: spokesperson bio, data source, customer source, quote, image, report link, and availability windows. PR momentum can disappear if the journalist has to wait two days for the basic material.

AI can help draft the response pack, but accuracy is critical. Confirm every number, quote, and claim before sending.

Use PR beyond coverage

Even if the pitch does not land, the work can still create value. The news angle may become a LinkedIn post, founder commentary, report landing page, customer email, webinar topic, or sales conversation starter. Good PR thinking sharpens your market narrative even when it does not produce immediate press.