The four pitch types — structure and worked examples
Each type has a different job, length, and structure. Pick the type first; the structure follows.
1. First contact (no news yet)
Job: get on the reporter's radar before there is anything to pitch. Build the relationship early so the eventual pitch lands warm.
Length: under five sentences. No pitch, no ask beyond offering to be a resource.
Structure:
- Who the sender is (one sentence).
- Why relevant to the reporter's beat, specific to a recent piece (one sentence).
- An offer to be a resource for future stories.
- No pitch.
This is the one type that deliberately closes on a resource offer with no ask. The give-plus-ask close rule (see the anchor-ratio-and-close reference) does not apply to first contact.
Worked example:
Hi [Name], I lead comms at [company], which runs [one-line what it does]. Your piece on [specific recent article, with the actual angle they took] lined up with something we see constantly on [the beat], so I wanted to introduce myself. No pitch, and nothing I need from you. If a related story ever comes up, I'll be around to compare notes.
2. News pitch
Job: offer a specific announcement their readers would care about.
Length: under 150 words. Lead with the news, not the company.
Structure:
- What happened (one sentence).
- Why it matters to their readers (not to the company).
- One line of company relevance.
- A link to the full release or supporting material.
- An offer of a specific exec quote.
3. Byline pitch
Job: offer a contributed article from an exec.
Length: short. The idea has to sell itself.
Structure:
- A proposed, specific headline (not a generic topic).
- Two or three sentences on the argument: what it says, why now, why their readers care.
- One line on who would write it and why they are credible on it.
- A note that a draft is ready if they want it.
Requires a real, existing point of view to build on - a strong post or a public position the exec already holds. A byline pitch with no underlying POV is a topic, not a piece.
4. Reactive pitch
Job: offer a fast expert take while a story is breaking. Speed is the entire value.
Length: under 100 words. Send within a few hours of the story breaking.
This is the one type that anchors to the breaking story itself, not to the reporter's own recent byline - the exception to the anchor rule. Speed replaces the byline check.
Structure:
- Reference the story that just broke, by name.
- Offer a specific expert comment on the angle, not a generic "we can comment".
- Make clear a quote can turn around within the hour.
Worked example:
Hi [Name], on today's [named ruling / story]: the part most coverage will miss is [the specific, non-obvious angle]. [Exec], who [one-line credibility], can give you a sharp quote on that within the hour if useful. Say the word and it is yours.
The soft warm-up before a first email
Before first contact, when there is time: follow the reporter, engage genuinely with one or two recent posts (a real reaction, not "great piece"), then wait a few days and send. Skip this for reactive pitches, where speed beats warmth.