Welcome to PitchResponse. This guide will walk you through everything you need to do to get your account set up and start earning press coverage, backlinks, and media placements. Each section below gives you a brief overview of what to do and links to the relevant documentation for the full walkthrough.
Step 1: Set Up Your First Project #
Everything in PitchResponse lives inside a project. A project represents the website or brand you are doing outreach and link building for. Before you can do anything else, you need to create a project and configure it with your domain, brand information, and keywords. If you are an agency or managing multiple sites, you will create a separate project for each one.
See 01. How to Set Up a Project to get started.
Step 2: Add Your Keywords #
Keywords are how PitchResponse knows what kinds of opportunities to surface for you. Each keyword alert monitors incoming opportunities for matching content and surfaces them in your Matches view so you are not scanning the full feed manually every day. Add at least a few keywords during project setup — the more relevant they are to your niche and expertise, the better your matches will be from day one.
See 04. Managing Project Keywords for a full walkthrough.
All articles in this section:
- 01. How to Set Up a Project
- 02. Adding New Users to Your Account
- 03. Adding Users to Projects
- 04. Managing Project Keywords
- 05. Managing Project Notifications
Step 3: Configure Your Notifications #
Once your keywords are set up, configure how you want to be notified when new matching opportunities arrive. You can receive notifications via email, Slack, or both, and you can choose whether to receive them immediately, once a day, or three times a day. There is also a separate daily notification for opportunities that are approaching their deadline.
See 05. Managing Project Notifications for a full walkthrough.
Step 4: Connect Your Outreach Email #
PitchResponse sends pitches and outreach emails directly from your own email account. To send anything from within the platform, you need to connect an email account and assign it to your project. PitchResponse supports Gmail, Google Workspace, and any other email provider that supports SMTP. This step is required before you can respond to opportunities or send pitches through the Media Database.
Start with 01. Connecting Your Outreach Email: An Overview then follow the relevant setup guide for your email provider.
All articles in this section:
- 01. Connecting Your Outreach Email: An Overview
- 02. Google Suite / Google Workspace Email Integration
- 03. SMTP Email Setup
- 04. HTML Signature Setup
- 05. Last Step: Adding Email(s) to a Project!
Step 5: Start Responding to Opportunities #
With your project configured and your email connected, you are ready to start responding to journalist source requests. Opportunities are requests posted by journalists and publishers who need expert sources, quotes, case studies, and commentary for their stories. Responding to them is one of the most efficient ways to earn high-quality backlinks and press coverage.
If you are new to journalist request outreach, start with 01. What Are Journalist Request Opportunities? and 04. How to Respond to an Opportunity.
All articles in this section:
- 01. What Are Journalist Request Opportunities?
- 02. Why Respond to Journalist Requests?
- 03. Where PitchResponse Sources Opportunities
- 04. How to Respond to an Opportunity
- 05. Understanding Opportunity Metrics
- 06. Browsing and Managing Your Opportunities
- 07. Bookmarking Opportunities for Later
- 08. Keyword Alerts and Opportunity Matches
Step 6: Explore the Media Database #
The Media Database lets you take a proactive approach to press coverage. Instead of waiting for journalist requests to come to you, you search a database of over 200,000 journalists, find the ones who cover your topic, and pitch them your story idea directly on your own schedule. This feature is available on some plans, check your plan to confirm access.
Start with 01. What Is the Media Database? and 02. Searching for Journalists.
All articles in this section:
- 01. What Is the Media Database?
- 02. Searching for Journalists
- 03. Reading a Journalist Profile
- 04. Sending Your First Pitch
- 05. Saving & Bookmarking Journalists
- 06. Writing an Effective Pitch from the Media Database
Step 7: Join the Backlink Exchange #
The Backlink Exchange is a marketplace of websites whose owners and contributors have opted in to link exchanges. Instead of cold-emailing strangers asking for backlinks, you browse a curated directory of willing partners, submit structured exchange requests, and build domain authority through a process that is organized, transparent, and managed entirely within PitchResponse. Check your plan to confirm access.
Start with 01. What Is the Backlink Exchange? and 02. Listing Your Site in the Marketplace.
All articles in this section:
- 01. What Is the Backlink Exchange?
- 02. Listing Your Site in the Marketplace
- 03. Submitting a Link Exchange Request
- 04. Managing Incoming Exchange Requests
- 05. Completing an Exchange and Submitting Proof
- 06. Tips for a Successful Backlink Exchange
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. You can also join the PitchResponse Community on Facebook to connect with other users.