A pitch email serves one purpose – to spark an editor or journalist’s interest in your story. However, the idea of organizing one can be overwhelming to those who lack adequate writing skills and general public relations knowledge. So, to make the email pitching process easier and less overwhelming, we have put together this short guide on how to construct a pitch that actually gets attention.
Follow these easy tips to see your story print:
- The introduction should be limited to three or four sentences and contain answers to all of the five W’s and one H – who, what, where, when, why, and how.
- The body of the email should contain detailed information on your product, service, or cause. The body should not be any longer than two paragraphs.
- The conclusion should be one paragraph, which is a short recap of the main points of the introduction and body.
Overall, the email text should be limited to one page and filled with succinct, newsworthy content. If it is longer than that, the editor or journalist may scrap it because it contains too much information, is too cumbersome, or he or she simply does not have the time to read it.
Hi Kristin,
I enjoyed your very succinct article about an email ‘pitch’. It’s a great reminder of the fundamentals. I have been marketing my own businesses the last 10 years after being downsized from my marketing job with several top businesses in NY after the fateful 9-11 event. I loved that job, even when I had to do the technical support at times! I would be interested to get back into it if you have an opportunity coming up – PR campaigning is challenging and quick. I am at my best under pressure.
Please consider me as advisor, consultant, editor, or writer. Anything that involves PR and Marketing.
Thank you for your time and consideration. And again, your article was very informative.
Kimi L.
Thanks for the info! Knowing a good length for making a pitch would be really helpful in my case, as I have no experience, and usually struggle with them.
Very helpful article!
I would add one more tip: Do not send attachments unless explicitly stated / requested. It’s better to post the details on your own site.
No need to clog up their inboxes!
Thanks!
Great article, although, I would not call this an email pitch. An email pitch, as I understand it, is a sales email to a potential buyer for your products.
The type of email you described is a Press Release — used to get an article about your business printed in a periodical of some kind. Or at least, that is what they call it in the newspaper business.
Sandy