What are the best times and days to send a pitch to a journalist?

The most important thing to know when sending out a pitch is to know your audience. When I was a morning show producer, I was quite happy to have pitches in my inbox first thing in the morning. However, you must know your audience. Some journalists will want you to reach out on X, some want a phone call, I always wanted an email 3 weeks before the event and then ONE follow up email two weeks before the event. General pitches sent to the newsroom should be sent mid-afternoon the day before coverage is wanted. The assignment editor will not guarantee coverage, the newsroom is short-staffed. And for the love of all that you find holy, if you send out a pitch, be prepared to answer follow up questions/do an interview!

📌 Periodically a pitch must be released at inconvenient hours. Nevertheless, In terms of preferences, a compelling pitch will garner attention if it’s succinct, tied to a trend and shared with journalists committed to the beat. Often times we connect it to a recently published article and/or link it to recent statistics to reinforce the hook and encourage engagement.

I’m often surprised by how few communicators actually read and research the publications they’re hoping to approach - take time to look at who writes about what, if there are topics of particular interest etc before you send something If you send a business story to a crime reporter because you haven’t done your research, you risk annoying them both!

As someone who’s been a publicist and now back as a journalist, I always tell PR professionals to research their journalists and know the outlets/stations where they’re pitching their clients. So many PR professionals will just send a pitch, but not outline how their client makes sense for the journalist to cover or why the segment on a certain show should include their client. Journalists will most likely work with you if you can initially come up with a reason for how your client makes sense for them to cover, but if you just send a pitch blindly, it’s going to stay in that reporter’s inbox.

Build a relationship with the journalist before you need to pitch something. Take them out for a coffee, show them you read their articles and offer to make their life easier by offering to connect them with people who can give context and colour on the sector they cover. Also be nice and respectful. Journalists are human too and their job is certainly not easy.

This is true when dealing with large daily news outlets. However many of us need to use smaller weekly community newspapers . In this case timing is critical because they go to press late Tuesday night and distribute Thursday to Saturday. My best advice, get to know the journalist and their direct contact information. I frequently will give them a courtesy heads up on news coming up and subject but not content and confirm timing to get the story to them. They have always been appreciative.

I agree to forego Friday- you'll get lost in the weekend shuffle. I'm ok with Monday if it's timely news. Just pitch me Monday and do a quick non-aggressive follow-up by Thursday if you haven't heard from me. Send me EARLY emails. Emails that land around noon-3pm fall in my deadline dead zone time, so I will have NO CHOICE but to ignore them. That goes for calls too. For print we have a 2pm deadline which means I am typing my ass off or interviewing someone for the committed article from 11am-3pm on a pushed or holding deadline. "can't talk" but still love ya.

Fridays are great days to pitch if you’re pitching weekend reporters. They’re usually off on Wednesday and Thursday so Friday is their momday.

I agree with avoiding Mondays and Fridays for pitching “usually”, but I’m agreeing with the “knowing your media” category. If they are weekend shift journalists, Thursday/Friday is usually a good day. For example: event and entertainment media usually have journalists that work Wednesday to Sunday. Or Friday to Sunday.

Studies show that mondays have been proven to be great days for media. They tend to fall off later in the week. The exception comes in with journalists who cover weekend events.

I will send the pitch to email, then text the reporter and say, "Check email when you have time for a story idea on (whatever)." Doesn't trap them into an interaction if they're busy and makes it more likely they will at least take a look, I believe.

It depends on what time constraints you are dealing with. Also there is merit on the "Sunday for Monday" approach. Monday papers are slimmer bc companies don't often share news on the weekend so that increases your odds of securing coverage. For print newspapers, you want to get in touch before the editorial meeting.

If your pitch or news update is really, really good, it may not matter all that much when you send it. I've had the experience of sending out a last-minute celebrity interview opportunity pitch on a Friday night and I got countless responses within 10 minutes. If you know your pitch isn't going to have anyone chomping at the bit to cover it right away, then go for midweek. Basically, just be respectful of people's time (and their inboxes).

Aim for midweek and midday when sending a pitch to a journalist, just like choosing the prime time for a sunny picnic in the Hundred Acre Wood from "Winnie the Pooh." It's like finding that sweet spot between busy schedules. Think of it as the time when everyone's ready to enjoy a honey-filled adventure – neither too early nor too late. By aiming for midweek and midday, your pitch becomes as delightful and inviting as a midday picnic with friends in the heartwarming world of Winnie the Pooh.

Follow-up is fine. But if you haven't heard back from me it's probably because I'm SLAMMED with other stories. Don't take it personally and move on after I haven't grabbed it in two weeks. I probably can't breathe. If you are really trying to pitch a story and you are in desperation mode, try offering me the story on a silver platter. Meaning, have it really ready to practically just go... complete with quotes, insight, links, and photos with courtesy attribution for legal. Make it so easy for me to pitch to my editor that I can be the hero of the day and actually squeeze in a THIRD story because YOU made it so easy for me to NOT say no to you. This is OBVIOUSLY a hail mary scenario.

I have been told time and time again in meetings with journalists..."Do NOT call me unless I will lose my job for missing the story or the story is something you know is absolutely essential to me." Journalists are doing more and more with less and less and they do not have time to listen to me try and justify how a borderline story, that may be important just to my organization, is actually something they should cover.

Be extremely considerate of the media’s time … for news producers (print or broadcast) offer up sources with ready-to-publish quotes, including of a real person/organization. Offer a link to the images — even 10-second video clips — in a Box or Dropbox storage account, if footage is available. I get about 50% success with that. Teases are great, but unlocking all the “good stuff” during the send will be appreciated by overworked journos. I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum so I know what I liked and was motivating. Aspire to make the story as “visual” as you can!

The journalist’s generation should inform how you contact him or her. I’m a millennial, so texting or messaging is better than calling, in most cases. Calling is probably better for Gen X or Boomers, and I suspect messaging might be the way for Zoomers, just like millennials.

Following up is easier and more fruitful if you already have a relationship with the journalist. My favourite way of following up is sending a WhatsApp. But obvs that's only possible if I have their mobile number.

When I contact journalists on twitter for the first time, I usually ask " where do you like to receive pitches?" So far, this approach has been very well received.

Testing and tracking your results is like conducting an experiment with Merlin's magical spells in "The Sword in the Stone." Just as Merlin carefully observes the effects of his enchantments, test different approaches and track your outcomes. It's like ensuring your strategies wield the desired impact. Use tools like Google Analytics or social media insights as your magical crystal ball. By experimenting and tracking results, your approach becomes as insightful and transformative as Merlin's mastery of magical arts, ensuring you continually refine your strategies for success.

Know news cycles. Know whats topical. Know what's trending. Try and pitch your story so it's relevant to what's happening in the wider community or society at that time. Having a news sense to what else is making headlines is vital. Build your media contacts. Get to know the shifts they dread because content is hard to come by (Sunday for Monday stories using Embargo's always appreciated by hacks struggling through a boring weekend afternoon). Of course now news is constant so think beyond that traditional easy target time in the news week. In short to do good PR you must be able to look beyond your pitch but be aware how it fits into wider news agenda of journalists and their outlets.

Another thing I’ve found helpful with pitching to media is formatting. In my first pitch, it’s typically brief with the “so-what?” Immediately up front. Providing some background information in this initial contact is critical as well. Draft it in such a way that you’ve taken into consideration the reporter’s typical audience. Additionally, this topic is related but could also have it’s own paper, but I’ve found building a relationship with media is crucial as well.

Always be extra available when you send a pitch. If a journalist does respond to your story idea and want to speak to you or one of your clients, imagine how frustrated they will be if you are not prompt in responding to their positive interest. Offer your cell # in your pitch and let them know that it's ok to text or call you "after hours" - it's a busy, digital world and they, like many of us, may be working remotely and around family/personal time. Finally, follow the Golden Rule. Would YOU want to be on the receiving end of that email, DM, text or call? Cast yourself into their space and try to be of service first and foremost. Answer the "so what?" question in your subject line and teaser/preview verbiage. Get right to the point.

To me, it matters less when or how you pitch it as long as it is a good news story. It helps to put yourself in the place of a reporter- what would make them write about this? What is a good angle? Too often, PR people pitch me stories without doing research on the types of stories we run on our site. Study us. Do your due diligence. Prepare before you pitch. That means getting the right pitch to the right reporter or editor. Also get to the point quickly. Too many pitches have long intros/background info. Heard of customer centricity? Be reporter-centric - think of all the pitches we get and try to minimize our cognitive load.

In fact, I believe that the day a pitch is sent, or its hour, doesn't really matter. Yes, we all know that some journalists like to check their inbox in the morning, but that doesn't mean you should only send your pitch in the morning and never again. Follow a few simple pitching rules: 1) Make your pitch personalized: Address the journalist or editor by name. No generic mailings! 2) Add facts, figures, and statistics to your pitch. Express your willingness to help the journalist gather additional data or add to the story. 3) Remind yourself after 2–3 days if you haven't received a response the first time, but don't be pushy. If you are rejected with this topic, don't get upset. Try again next time with a new topic.