In this week’s webinar, we got the latest on media pitching strategies from Maura Brannigan, head of content at Jennifer Bett Communications and Editor-at-Large at Fashionista. With seven years of writing and reporting experience at the likes of Condé Nast and Hearst, Maura brings a sharp media eye and unique perspective to pitching. We learned from the ways she leverages her editorial background to oversee editorial services for clients, and what strategies she’s found to be most successful across client categories. 

The takeaways: 

• Think about what the thesis statement of your pitch is, and make that very clear in both the subject line and the body of the email
• Include as much relevant information as possible in your subject line (e.g. embargo date, name of celeb or founder available for interviews)
• Stay away from writing headline-style subject lines, and instead make them straightforward
• Your email should be succinct, around 250 words, and can include bullet points, or bolded or linked words/phrases, for easy reading. If journalists are interested, they will follow up for more info!
• Important for images: send JPEG or PNG files, *not* TIFF or PDF (the writer will need to reformat it or end up having to use a lower res version)
• Image location: Images can be helpful in the body of the email. If sending an external link, like Dropbox or WeTransfer, make sure the expiration date is far our (so they editor can access it down the line when they need to
• Relationships with media are key, and PR pros are encouraged to reach out to editors for virtual desk sides, event invites or IRL coffee meets – just approach them with consideration for their schedules
• Positive feedback goes a long way, and are a great first step to building a relationship with a journalist 
• When it comes to following up, publicists are encouraged to gauge how worthy of a follow up the particular pitch is (knowing that some might be a better fit than others)
• Social media can be a great research tool for identifying trends and/or pitch angles, as well as getting to know a little bit about an editor or freelancer