Welcome to PitchResponse. This guide covers everything you need to know to set up your journalist account, post your first source request, and start receiving pitches from qualified experts and contributors.
How the Journalist Experience Works #
PitchResponse serves two distinct audiences: journalists and publishers who need sources, and experts and contributors who want to earn press coverage. As a journalist, your experience is focused on creating source requests and managing the pitches that come in response to them. When you post a source request, it is distributed to the PitchResponse community of experts and contributors who can respond with pitches directly through the platform. You receive email notifications as pitches arrive and can review them under Requests > Pitches Received. Any follow-up with sources happens via email.
Step 1: Sign Up as a Journalist #
When creating your PitchResponse account, you will be asked whether you are joining as a journalist or as an expert and contributor. Make sure to select journalist so you are routed to the correct experience. During signup you will be asked for your publication URL, the topics and beats you cover, and your work role such as reporter, writer, freelancer, or podcaster.
If you accidentally signed up as an expert, contact PitchResponse support to have your account role corrected.
Step 2: Post Your First Source Request #
Once your account is set up, you are ready to post a source request. A source request is how you signal to the PitchResponse community what you are working on and what kind of expert input you need. The more clearly and specifically you write your request, the better the pitches you will receive.
Start with 02. Submitting a Source Request for a walkthrough of every field in the request form, and 04. Writing a Request That Attracts Quality Responses for guidance on writing queries that surface the best sources.
Step 3: Review Incoming Pitches #
Once your request is live, pitches will begin arriving from sources in the PitchResponse community. You will receive an email notification each time a new pitch is submitted with a direct link back into the platform to review it. All pitches are organized under Requests > Pitches Received. When you find a source you want to use, follow up with them directly via email to confirm their participation and arrange next steps.
See 03. Managing Responses to Your Request for more detail.
All articles in this section:
- 01. Getting Started as a Journalist on PitchResponse
- 02. Submitting a Source Request
- 03. Managing Responses to Your Request
- 04. Writing a Request That Attracts Quality Responses
Using PitchResponse as an Expert #
If you are a journalist who also wants to use PitchResponse to earn coverage and backlinks for your own brand or a side project, that functionality is available on the expert and contributor side of the platform. Because the journalist and expert experiences are separate, you would need to create a second account as an expert or contributor to access those features. See Getting Started as an Expert or Contributor for more information on what is available.
Need Help? #
If you have any questions or run into anything that is not covered in the documentation, visit our Contact page and we will be happy to help.