Writing the Perfect Email Pitch

With hundreds of emails piling up in journalist's inboxes daily, it is necessary to have a well-crafted pitch to make sure your story stands out. Below I have outlined some things to keep in mind before you hit the send button.

• Think of who you are pitching. While you may have a very well-written and thought out pitch, you need to make sure that you are tailoring your story so that it is relevant to the publication you are sending it to.


• Keep your subject line short and to the point. Journalists won't take the time to read a long and rambling subject line. If you are having trouble, try writing the body of the email first and then picking key words that will get your point across.


• When you start the body of your email, the first sentence needs to grab the reader's attention by letting them know how they will be affected by what you have to say. Expand upon your subject line to give them more detail.


• Make it personal. Don't send out the same generic email to a ton of journalists hoping one of them will decide to write your story. You need to build relationships with these journalists and show that you want their attention specifically, not just taking a shot in the dark.


• NEVER send attachments. This will successfully get your email put in the trash or stuck in a spam folder. Only attach files if asked.


• Follow-up at an appropriate time. Editors have to look through their entire inbox, so if after a week or two you still haven't heard back from them, send a reminder email or phone call to pitch your story.

While pitching a story of any kind can be stressful, just remember to remain polite and professional while creating these relationships and the process will get easier every time.

What makes your email pitches successful?