Your Checklist for Pitching the Media

You did it! You took the plunge, crafted a pitch you’re proud of, and you’re chomping at the bit to finally hit send on that Bad Mama Jama. And let’s be clear—we’re super proud of you! You’re facing your fears, owning your expertise, and finally stepping into the spotlight where you belong.

But before you hit send, let’s double check your work one more time. Because both of us know firsthand that there are a few key things that help greenlight a great pitch—and without these pieces, your great idea could end up in the bad pitch folder. Consider this your pre-send checklist for pitch perfect media outreach.

Check One: Is your pitch specific?

Make sure your pitch is as specific as possible. Tell them what problem you’re solving, how you’re solving it and—the most important part—why their audience should care! And if you can do all of that while passing the ultimate media-readiness test, you’ve nailed a great pitch.

BONUS: Give them a counterintuitive angle with an interesting hook. What does everyone get wrong or have backwards about your industry? What small detail changes your clients’ lives in a big way?

Producers would much rather book the nutritionist who says, “Our culture has bought into the lie that fat is the enemy. I’d love to do a segment on why bacon is healthy—and how a fat rich diet actually melts body fat.” Now THAT has our attention!

Check Two: Does it match their brand?

Pitching isn’t as easy as creating a template and blasting a thousand emails into the media ether. What works for Buzzfeed will not work for MindBodyGreen will not work for The New Yorker. It’s kind of like television: You could probably pick up a script for a comedy TV pilot and figure out pretty quickly whether it belongs on CBS or HBO.

You significantly increase your chances of rising to the top of the flood of pitches producers and editors receive if you make it clear that you understand the media outlet’s brand. What kinds of stories have they run in the past? How do they incorporate humor? Are they family-friendly or edgy? Is there a throughline or theme to the kind of content they gravitate toward?

Check Three: Will it resonate with their audience?

The best pitches visualize one very specific person and tailor the advice to helping that person solve a problem. To take your pitch to the next level, you need to identify who that ideal audience member is for each outlet you pitch. And it helps to get as specific as possible.

Let’s pretend that the walking embodiment of a Today Show viewer is a 38-year-old mother of two living in Mesquite, Texas. And let’s pretend that the walking embodiment of a HelloGiggles reader is a 24-year-old administrative assistant living in Brooklyn.

If you were a relationship therapist, you would approach those two clients entirely differently—and the same goes for your pitch. You might pitch a piece on surviving the “Seven Year Itch” to the Today Show, but a piece on tweaking your Tinder profile might go over better at HelloGiggles. By researching the outlet’s audience, you also save yourself—and producers and editors—precious time by not wasting good material on people who don’t need it.