Try this checklist for your 2025 pitches
My tried-and-tested tips for success
I’ve been pitching successfully as a freelance journalist for over a decade but - as I wrote recently when I shared the common reasons my pitches had ‘gone wrong’ - it’s so easy to forget to cover all the basics sometimes when you’re juggling multiple projects at the same time (as I’m sure we all are!).
So I’ve started using this list to make sure I’ve got everything covered before I press “send”.
Here’s my tried-and-tested pitching checklist:
The Get Featured 5-step media pitching checklist
Here are the five things I always double-check before sending any pitch:
✅ The journalist/editor is still in the role
There are so many changes afoot in the media industry at the moment that people’s jobs and responsibilities seem to be constantly switching. Before you send any pitch, do a quick check of any journalist’s social media bios and their most recent posts to see whether they’re still in the same position. (Commissioning editors often switch to non-commissioning roles, and vice versa, so this is also super important if you’re pitching as a freelance journalist.)
Checking socials is also a great way to get a sense of whether this is a good time to send them your pitch or if they’re really busy right now/on holiday/on mat leave/etc.
✅ It’s not their press day / deadline time
I’ve absolutely done that thing of finally getting a pitch ready and excitedly sending it to a weekly Sunday magazine at 4pm on a Thursday - before realising with a sinking feeling that it was bang in the middle of their final press deadline hours.
If you contact editors when they’re busy, you’re relying on them remembering to go back to your email later when they’re free - which isn’t guaranteed. Avoid press days (for weeklies) and later afternoon deadline time (for dailies) wherever possible.
In the new year, I’ll be sending out a list of common deadlines/press days for major publications so you can keep track of times to target and avoid.
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✅ The publication hasn’t recently run something similar
You can have an idea that’s a perfect fit - but if the publication has just run something along very similar lines then your pitch could be rejected. Before pressing send, do some quick searches to check what’s been written on that subject recently - and if yours is very similar, tweak your pitch to acknowledge this while highlighting why your take is different.
Don’t just rely on Google when searching, as it tends to penalise some news publications and often won’t highlight recent articles. Use the search function on the publication’s own website - and have a read through their recent editions.
You can also use PressReader (I use my local library membership to access it for free) to search and browse hundreds of local and national newspapers and magazines. It has pretty much everything except News UK publications (The Times, The Sun, etc).
✅ You aren’t (accidentally) presenting something old as new
I recently came across what I thought was a great exclusive story, got ready to pitch it as a “new” issue and then had to scrap it when I used more specific search terms and realised it had been extensively covered before.
It’s not the end of the world if this happens - just find a reason why your version is new (new stats, a progress update, a great case study…) and pitch that, hooked on the news that’s already out there.
This is far better than pitching without any awareness of what’s already been covered, which can make you look foolish and your pitch look poorly-researched. It’s always worth doing that extra search to cover yourself.
✅ You’ve caught any awkward typos
You don’t need to beat yourself up if you accidentally leave a typo in a pitch - many editors will overlook this if the story is strong. But there are a few key things you CAN’T risk getting wrong if you want to land you pitch.
Make sure you’ve checked - and double checked - you’ve got these right:
The editor’s name - autocorrect can be a devil at “correcting” names so even if you typed it correctly, go back and check it hasn’t been automatically changed.
The name of the publication and section - ditto.
Any complex spellings in your pitch - try to avoid technical terms unless they’re strictly needed, but check spellings of any key names and words you have to include, e.g. the names of products, medical conditions, expert names, etc.
The details of any news story you’re hanging your pitch on. True story: I once received a press release promoting a commercial product off the back of a violent murder. This was pretty awful in itself (I don’t recommend you do this!) but they also got the victim’s name wrong (they had mixed up her name with her mother). Horrifying. They got no coverage - and got blocked.
Coming up over the holiday period, I’ll be sharing easy-to-use tips for honing your pitches and my guide to deadline times and press days at major publications. These posts will be free to read but you’ll need to subscribe to get them in your inbox!