How to make your story stand out in a pile of pitches

Journalists’ inboxes are “overflowing” with email pitches, but do PR pros know what to do about it?

Data from Fractl say nearly 60 percent of journalists and publishers receive from 50 to 500 pitches per week. That’s right, your brilliant concept and eloquently crafted email is one of hundreds in a single inbox in any given week. How encouraging.

Despite that, data reveal only 2 percent of publishers said they never open their pitches and nearly 45 percent said they always or often read them.

Feeling better?

There a few key approaches you can take to ensure your pitch gets clicked. Based on a survey of nearly 1,300 publishers, writers and editors, here are some tips to help you increase the value of your pitch:

Give reporters what they want.

Survey data suggest there’s a pretty good chance your pitch will be read: Almost half the respondents said they are more than likely to look at your email. Getting a journalist to select your content, however, might require additional effort—and no, that doesn’t mean following up by telephone the day after you hit “send.”