How do you craft a compelling pitch for your story idea?

To craft a compelling pitch for your story idea, identify your target audience, develop a clear and concise hook, highlight the newsworthy angle, and provide background information. You can also emphasize the human interest angle, use data and statistics strategically, and offer exclusivity. In some cases, you can even tailor your pitch to the specific outlet. Be concise, informative, and make sure to convey the significance of your story idea. Leave them wanting to learn more.

Before you write your pitch, you need to do some research on your target media outlet and journalist. The Better India, a media platform focusing on positive news, tailors its pitches to journalists who have shown interest in uplifting stories. This targeted approach has led to a 20% increase in media coverage for their stories. Find out what kind of stories your target covers, their tone, style, deadlines, and preferences. Use tools like Google News, Twitter, and LinkedIn to understand your target and tailor your pitch to fit their needs and interests, not just yours.

In addition to x and Linkedin , media database tools such as Muck Rack and Prowly among others are useful tools for understanding the nuances of your target journalist’s interests. These platforms, which I have personally used provides in-depth insights into their published work and engagement trends. They also enable you to craft pitches that resonate personally with their beat and readership, greatly enhancing the likelihood of your story being picked up.

It starts with identifying the target media outlet and the journalist and customizing your pitch accordingly Then cheek and recheck the proof points leading to that pitch to ensure that the messaging is factual, accurate and in line with the company's focus. Also, its important to convey clarity of purpose, indicating the clear expected outcome. For eg: are you looking at an interview with the management or share your perceptive in an industry story or something else.

Your subject line is the first thing that your target will see in their inbox, so it needs to stand out. OYO Rooms, a hospitality chain, uses subject lines that highlight intriguing statistics or questions related to travel trends. This tactic has increased their email open rates by 25%. A catchy subject line should be clear, concise, and captivating. Use a question, a statistic, a quote, or a teaser to spark curiosity and invite the reader to open your email. Avoid generic phrases, spammy words, or all caps.

Your pitch email should be short and simple, ideally no more than three paragraphs. Zomato often sends concise pitches that get straight to the point, which has resulted in a 30% higher response rate from journalists. You don’t want to overwhelm your target with too much information or details. Give them enough to understand your story idea and why it matters, but not so much that they lose interest. Use clear and concise language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and break up your text into short sentences and paragraphs.