Dos and Don’ts For Connecting With Journalists

Here are 10 do’s and don’t promote a story and build media relationships effectively:

Do:

1. Find the Relevancy: Ask yourself, “Why would this journalist care about this?” Identify where your story overlaps with the journalist’s beat and audience interests. Even if the news isn’t hard-hitting, tying it to current trends, fresh insights, or timely hooks like seasonal events makes your pitch more engaging and increases the chance it captures media attention.
2. Consider Timing: Being mindful of timing not only increases the likelihood your pitch will be considered but also at the very least, seen. Pay attention to the day of the week, time zone, and industry cycles. Connecting with writers well before peak busy seasons and pitching early in the day or week can boost visibility and engagement.
3. Get Creative: Platforms like LinkedIn, Qwoted, and Substack offer opportunities to engage with journalists organically. These spaces allow you to observe the topics they’re exploring and offer timely, well-matched insights. Building authentic connections here can make your outreach more natural and better received.
4. Respect Preferences & Personalize: Research whether a reporter prefers embargoes, timed releases, or quick pitches, and tailor your approach accordingly. Understand who you’re pitching to by factoring in personal interests, beats, and contextual cues, this thoughtful alignment transforms generic outreach into impactful communication.
5. Stay on Top of Trends: Regularly track the news and connect your pitch to emerging headlines or rising industry topics. Use tools like Google Alerts, news scanners, and follow journalists on social platforms to understand what’s happening in their space.

Don’t:

1. Be Overly Promotional: Avoid turning outreach into a sales pitch. Journalists want insight, relevance, and value they can add to their stories.
2. Disregard Timing: Reaching out during late Fridays, off-hours, holidays, weekends, or industry blackout periods (like events or travel seasons). 
3. Mass Email Without Customization: Avoid blasting the same pitch to multiple contacts without any sort of personalization or relevancy to the reporter.
4. Ignore Personal Context: Know who you’re pitching to and what they care about. For example, if a reporter is based in Boston and is known to be a Celtics fan, don’t lead with a Lakers product launch.

Pitch During Sensitive News Cycles: Pitching during major national events, tragedies, or culturally significant holidays may diminish your story’s impact and lead to it being overlooked.

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In the 2nd edition of the Global CMO report, we reveal the influences reshaping priorities and pressures for CMOs and procurement professionals.

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