Once you have found the right journalist and reviewed their profile, PitchResponse makes the outreach process straightforward. This article walks through every step from selecting a journalist to getting your pitch into their inbox.
Before You Start: Connect Your Email #
PitchResponse sends pitches using your own email account, not a platform email address. This keeps your outreach authentic, ensures replies land directly in your inbox, and builds your sender reputation over time rather than relying on a shared platform domain.
Before you can send your first pitch, you will need to connect an email account and assign it to your project. If you have not done this yet, follow the steps in the Connecting Outreach Emails section before continuing here.
Step-by-Step: Sending a Pitch #
Step 1: Find Your Journalist #
Navigate to Media Outreach > Journalists and run your search using the available filters. For guidance on searching and evaluating profiles, see 02. Searching for Journalists and 03. Reading a Journalist Profile.
Step 2: Open the Pitch Panel #
Click on the journalist you want to contact. Their profile will open and a pitch panel will appear on the right side of the screen. This is where you will compose and send your outreach.
Step 3: Write Your Subject Line #
The subject line is the first thing a journalist sees, and in a crowded inbox it determines whether your email gets opened at all. Keep it specific, relevant, and concise. A subject line that references their beat or signals a clear story idea will always outperform a generic one.
For detailed guidance on writing effective subject lines, see 06. Writing an Effective Pitch.
Step 4: Write Your Pitch #
Use the message body to introduce your story idea, establish why it is relevant to their audience, and make it easy for them to say yes. Be direct and concise. Journalists are busy, and a well-structured 200-word pitch will outperform a rambling 600-word one every time.
Step 5: Select Your Email Address #
If you have more than one email account connected to your project, a dropdown will let you choose which address to send from. Select the email identity that makes the most sense for this outreach, such as your professional business email rather than a personal account.
Step 6: Send Your Pitch #
Click Send Pitch. The email is sent immediately from the email account you selected, with your subject line and message body, directly to the journalist’s contact address on file.
That is it. There is nothing more to do on the platform side at this point.
What Happens After You Send #
Replies come to your inbox. When a journalist responds to your pitch, their reply goes directly to the email address you sent from, not to a platform inbox. You will see it in your regular email client just like any other email. Continue the conversation from there.
Your outreach count updates. Each pitch you send counts toward your plan’s monthly outreach email quota. You can check your remaining sends in your account settings.
Follow up if appropriate. If you do not hear back within a week or so, a brief and polite follow-up is reasonable. Journalists receive a high volume of pitches, and a single nudge can make the difference. Keep follow-ups short. One or two sentences referencing your original pitch is enough.