“Pitching is the bedrock of PR. Not everybody is good at it. But if you are, your career trajectory will be limitless.” 

–Ed Zitron^[1]

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day.

The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them.

Most people don’t see any.”

—Orson Scott Card^[2]

First, a Story…

Elisha Otis stood on a platform nearly 50 feet above a crowd of onlookers at the 1854 World’s Fair in New York.^[3]

The platform was held up by a single rope. Otis ordered his assistant to cut the rope.

The assistant swung the ax and cut the rope. The audience gasped as the platform fell.

To the surprise of the crowd, it only dropped a few inches. He reassured the audience: “All safe…all safe.”^[4]

Otis had effectively introduced the first safety brake on an elevator, and he did it with a brief and dramatic demonstration. In doing so, he both literally and figuratively delivered the first elevator pitch.^[5]

Before that fateful day, elevators were generally avoided because they were considered dangerous, and rightfully so. The pulley system in place relied on a single hemp rope, and those ropes would snap, sending the elevator and its occupants in a virtual free-fall down the shaft.^[6] The invention saved scores of lives and made modern-day skyscrapers possible. Today, Otis is the world’s oldest and largest elevator company, and is said to carry the equivalent of the entire population of the world every five days.^[7]

To be fair, Elisha Otis was simply trying to convey the effectiveness of his new safety mechanism, amid much fanfare. More than 100 years after that demonstration, businessman Philip Crosby authored the second edition of his book, “The Art of Getting Your Own Sweet Way,” in which he is credited as coining the term “elevator speech” as we know it today. Crosby framed it as an opportunity to deliver an “all-encompassing, action-producing set of ideas that you pronounce while on the elevator with the big boss for just one minute.”^[8]

The Takeaway

Over the last few decades, the term “elevator pitch” has risen in prominence, relative to “elevator speech,” but the terms are otherwise fundamentally interchangeable. The emphasis is on gaining someone’s interest and conveying information succinctly.

In many cases today, elevator pitches don’t happen in elevators. But at least one venture capital firm went so far as to build an actual “pitch room” inside an elevator at their office, and because the building is just three stories; they can practice pitching quickly.^[9]

Although it originated from the minds of Otis, and later Crosby, the elevator pitch has entered the popular vernacular of the corporate world, and remains an indispensable tool in a world where time and attention are more limited than ever.

Introduction to Pitching

You’ve pitched ideas before, whether you realize it or not.

Ever suggest a restaurant to a friend, family member, or romantic interest? That’s a pitch.

Pitching is fundamental to the practice of Public Relations and Strategic Communication. It’s been referred to as part of the “Triple Crown of Public Relations” alongside news releases and feature articles,^[10] and some practitioners consider it the most important skill.^[11]

Why?

Because large portions of your work life will likely be spent pitching ideas to colleagues, clients, partners, and members of the media. To be sure, the more you pitch, the better you’ll become. In the meantime, though, it’s worth learning from the successes and failures of practitioners to understand approaches that tend to work and why.

How We Got Here: “The Wind-Up” and The Pitch

Pitching is everywhere. In many industries, pitching has become “the default approach of business, even for smaller projects.”^[12]

That’s not necessarily viewed as a positive development, as the prevalence of pitches can feel overwhelming. Across the pond, our friends in Europe have gone so far as to craft a “Pitch Positive Pledge” for agencies and advertisers that asks signatories to (1) be sure a pitch is required, (2) consider the implications of a pitch for all parties involved, and (3) provide and/or accept feedback following a pitch.^[13] The pledge was launched by European advertising bodies and has hundreds of signatories.

Pitching is easy to understand but difficult to master. Like most of Public Relations and Strategic Communication, it’s part art and part science. If you pitch something inherently newsworthy, consider yourself fortunate because the pitch doesn’t necessarily need to be perfect to achieve your desired outcome. But if there’s no real angle to your pitch, all the tricks in the book and your (presumably substantial) charisma won’t get you there, and it’s a waste of everyone’s time. There’s a lot of gray area between those two extremes, however, and that’s where many practitioners find themselves most of the time.

The ultimate goal of pitching is to “get in and get out as quickly as you can with the result you want.”^[14] But prioritizing relationships means you’ll need to accept a firm “no” or silence as a response in some cases.

Best Practices: Before, During & After the Pitch

You’ll pitch virtually and in-person, and to different audiences.

Regardless of the context, practitioners, and members of the media generally agree upon what works and what doesn’t. In a broad sense, three principles should be followed before, during, and after a pitch.

1. Before the Pitch: Put in the Work

Ignorance can be deafening, particularly when it masquerades as certainty. Few things are more annoying than an overzealous PR practitioner who is deeply self-centered and has no idea what they’re talking about.

In many cases, conducting due diligence requires minutes of your time rather than days and weeks—but those few minutes may make all the difference. Don’t let your ego convince you otherwise. When you don’t do your homework, you rely on instinct rather than strategy. Professionals understand that “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”^[15]

So, eat those metaphorical vegetables and do your homework. Read constantly, and keep up with relevant articles, blogs, and trade publications. A baseline understanding of your industry can go a long way, especially when you’re new, because you’ll know your stuff.

Remember you’re dealing with other professionals who have goals of their own. Invest in those relationships, and avoid viewing interactions as transactional, where the other party is merely a means to an end. Understand what they’ve done and what they’re doing. To do that, follow them, listen to them, and interact with them as human beings rather than constantly badgering them about what you want.^[16] This is a basic step that beginners tend to leap over when they’re hyper-focused on the end result.

If you’re in it for the long haul, recognize the truth in the cliché about life being “a marathon rather than a sprint.” Take advantage of opportunities to meet people and get to know them. Take time to celebrate and amplify their work. Help them even when it doesn’t help you directly. In addition to the benefit of simply being a good human, Cialdini’s theory of reciprocity reminds us that creating relationships makes it more likely that they’ll pay attention the next time you approach them with an idea.

2. During the Pitch: Personalize the Approach

Persuasion is pitching, and pitching is persuasion.  A key distinction is that persuasion can take various forms, while pitching involves interpersonal interactions. Some of the takeaways from the chapters on ethics and relationship management are also relevant to our interests here.

If you’ve followed the first principle and put in the work on the front end, personalizing your pitch becomes easier because you know your audience. More importantly, you know the audience of your audience. That helps when you’re trying to craft an effective hook.

The best pitches are concise and precise. There’s no fluff and no jargon. They demonstrate respect for the recipient’s time and intelligence.

The subtext, or what’s left unsaid, is essentially “You’re smart; I’m smart. I found this intriguing, and thought you and your audience might, too.”

3. After the Pitch: Follow Up Appropriately

If your pitch was an instant success, this step may not be necessary, as you’ll hear back.

But people are busy, and there’s only so much time in the day, which means you’ll often want to follow up on your pitch.

You might have mentioned a timeframe in your pitch, and if that’s the case, abide by that. The appropriate follow-up time depends on how time-sensitive your request is: If it requires a quick turnaround, it’s reasonable to follow up in two days or less; if it’s less time-bound, then you could allow up to a week before following up.^[17]

Above all, demonstrate respect for their time and attention. Don’t pester them on a Friday afternoon, and don’t “circle back” ad nauseum. In general, a single follow-up is fine, though on occasion you could consider following up a second time.^[18] After that, you’ll just have to let it go. Live to pitch another day.

Virtual Pitching

The vast majority of pitching is done virtually, primarily through email.

Avoid the use of all-caps, which is the email equivalent of raising your voice. As Desmond Tutu reminds us, “Don’t raise your voice; improve your argument.” Don’t use all-caps; improve your pitch.

It’s best to approach the subject line as you would a headline in a news release or article.^[19]

There’s a fine line between being creative enough to grab someone’s attention, and having a subject line that comes across as gimmicky clickbait. Avoid generic descriptors such as “story idea” or “cool upcoming event,” since those could be used to describe many pitches, and the hope is to break through the noise.^[20]

The proper length of a subject line is an open debate. Some claim concise subject lines of 16 characters or fewer result in higher open rates.^[21] Others claim that subject lines with six to 10 words result in the highest open rates.^[22] And still others claim that lengthy subject lines with more than 60 characters produce the best results. One last consideration is that many emails are now read on mobile devices, so keeping it to 40 characters or less will prevent the subject line from being truncated.

Where does that leave us?

Some of the most compelling studies suggest the length of a subject line is irrelevant as to whether it gets opened or not.^[23] By the time we account for variables ranging from the particular industry to the recipient’s familiarity with the sender, and even the time of day, it becomes difficult to assign much credit or blame to too many or too few characters in the subject line.

Put another way, subject line length probably doesn’t matter because the content of the subject line matters most.

This may seem like a lot to consider for a subject line, but the open rates for pitches is quite low. Estimates are that an open rate of 15-25% is considered “good” in most industries.  If you can’t get someone to open your email, the pitch itself becomes irrelevant.

As with any good news story, the opening line of a successful pitch has to be compelling without being corny.

It shouldn’t feel like a sales pitch or spam. This can be accomplished by personalizing the pitch in a way that meets the recipient’s needs. You’ll want to include your best content here with a statement that is original, concise, and compelling.^[24]

After the opening line, offer additional details that convey why your proposal would be a good fit. End with potential next steps or a scheduled follow-up, and thank them for their time.^[25]

It’s not essential to relay every single detail on this first outreach attempt, and is therefore advisable to keep the body of the email to 200 words or less.^[26]

In-Person Pitching

Similar to virtual pitches, you ideally won’t “go in cold,” and will have connected with your target audience at some point in the past.^[27]

Unlike virtual pitches, the duration of an in-person pitch varies.

The old adage that “time is money”^[28] remains an operating principle for most business-related interactions.

More often than not, especially if there’s a power imbalance, you might have just 15 seconds^[29] or some say 10 words or less^[30] to get your point across in an elevator pitch. At the other end of the spectrum, typically when there’s a lot at stake for an organization, you may have the floor for dozens of minutes.

Whether your pitch is brief or lengthy, considering word choice and body language can help create a desired impression.

With respect to word choice, use vivid imagery that tells a story and creates a mental image.

This has been called “The Scorsese Principle,”^[35] in reference to a famous scene from Martin Scorsese’s film Goodfellas in which the protagonist talks about preparing gourmet meals in prison:

In prison, dinner was always a big thing. We had a pasta course and then we had meat or fish. Paulie did the prep work. He was doing a year for contempt, and he had this wonderful system for doing the garlic. He used a razor, and he used to slice it so thin that he used to liquefy in the pan with just a little oil. It was a very good system.^[36]

By painting a picture for the listener, your ideas become more compelling and memorable. Consider what you want to convey and then illustrate the idea.

There’s also the matter of body language.

You might have heard that 93% of all communication is nonverbal.^[39] It’s a figure that appeared in communication textbooks for decades, but more recently, academics have characterized that number as “an urban legend.”^[40] That’s not to suggest nonverbals don’t matter. The best evidence we have today suggests that up to 30% of all communication is verbal, and 70% is nonverbal.^[41]

Remember all those tips you learned in your public speaking class? You’re gonna need ‘em.

If you are able to, stand upright with your torso facing the person you’re trying to persuade.^[42]

Use eye contact to establish a connection between you and the audience, and use gestures that are appropriate for the context.

Above all else, whether you’re actually speaking to one person or a room full of people, the trick is to speak as though you’re talking to a single person.

Pitching Prospective Clients & Partners

Pitching a client is essentially a “group job interview”^[43] where you demonstrate that your expertise would be a good fit for their communication needs.

We’ll address PR proposals in an upcoming chapter, but there you’re trying to sell your team, and a common vision of what a client is, and can be. You’ll have done research so that you’re pitching in a way that’s responsive to their needs. You’ll leverage your knowledge of the competitive landscape to find solutions that work.

Having an impressive track record and portfolio helps. That portfolio may include speculative work, or “spec pieces,” that aren’t created for use by a client, but to demonstrate your own proficiency at producing quality work. Early on, your portfolio may be limited and even unimpressive, but with more experience and feedback, it will become an asset.

When pitching a potential business partner, the same principles apply. You’re still trying to sell a common vision.

A primary consideration, whether it’s a potential sponsor, influencer (a.k.a. content creator), or any other business partner, is fit. The stylistic fit between an individual and a brand has been referred to by academics as “the match-up hypothesis,” as well as “congruence,” “congruency,” “match-up,” “fit,” and “match” for decades, and despite little agreement on what it should be called, fit is generally viewed as “the primary factor in the success” of an endorsement or partnership.^[45]

In the social media realm, it helps to locate the influencers and content creators who fit with your goals. This doesn’t necessarily mean sliding into the DM’s of a celebrity with millions of followers with a pitch. Many organizations find that so-called micro-influencers (with several thousand, and even tens of thousands of followers) and nano-influencers (with fewer than 5,000 followers) often have more loyal followers, and are viewed as more authentic than larger accounts. Seek out those who have high engagement rates and occupy a similar space.^[46]

Experts Talk Back:

Three Questions with Mayren Rancifer, Communications Strategist at We Defend Truth.

We Defend Truth is a national nonprofit dedicated to combating political misinformation. The organization inhabits online spaces, and its content has gone viral, racking up tens of millions of views.

Prior to the pandemic, I was volunteering on a presidential campaign, and I started a group at Weber State for Pete Buttigieg, targeting young voters. And I traveled out of state caucusing for him, and I actually got to meet him and his husband. It was awesome.

And then the pandemic happened and the world as we knew it went to shit (laughs).

So I moved to Georgia that spring and sent an email to Ossoff’s campaign team saying ‘Hey, I’d like to volunteer, but also if you’re looking for any staff members, here’s my resumé.’ This was in April, and I didn’t hear back from them until September. So that was kind of a shot in the dark, but his press secretary emailed me and said they were looking for a press assistant, and they had my resumé on file, and was I still interested?

And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’

But I went into it super doe-eyed. I didn’t realize how fast-paced and crazy actual federal campaigns were…but it really taught me to just dive into the more traditional aspect of comms, [things like] the press releases, the media contacts, pitching him and trying to get interviews.

I did move to Texas right before the election, and so once that concluded and we won. The high of winning a campaign like that does not leave you. Especially during 2020, since that was such an insane year.

But a couple months later, I hopped on a mayoral race in Boston. It was remote. But I took with me the skills I had picked up, and it was a small but mighty communications team, so I was forced to build a communications strategy from the ground up, including digital as well. I did that, and then some freelance work for a while, and now I’m working for a nonprofit called We Defend Truth, which was founded by this amazing, incredible woman who actually ran for DNC Chair in 2017, she’s a political analyst on Fox News, and we’re debunking conspiracies: like the election being fake, and all that.

Well, there was that (laughs), because it was such a highly contested race.

But for certain news outlets and certain local towns in Georgia, where his message was targeting people in that area, so, for example, there were some more rural areas, and one of the big talking points was a bunch of local hospitals shutting down, and rural voters not having access to health care, so with situations like that, where there’s a specific community issue that he was addressing with his campaign, then I might use that.

But mostly it helped out that it was Jon Ossoff (laughs)…But I felt like a freaking salesman (laughs). Because I’m sending emails and then a few days later I’d send a follow-up email, and then a few days later I’d give them a call like “Hey, just wanted to make sure you got my email.”

And one thing I wasn’t expecting to do is: After we send out press releases for local events and whatever else, at the butt-crack of dawn the next day, or the day of the event, we would call the newsrooms because usually the way it works is we’d send the press our media advisories and news releases to the actual news channels. So I’d call their newsroom before their morning people got in, and would be like “Hey, just wanted to make sure you guys got this press release from last night. Are you guys going to RSVP?” And they’d be like “Oh, let me check to see if we got that,” and so we’d get an answer rather than just sending that out.

I feel like no matter what, people are going to leave school and unless you start at a super entry-level job where you have someone coaching and guiding you to the next position, you kind of just get thrown to the wolves. And that sucks, and it’s stressful, but at the same time, you’ll come out as a much better person and communicator. So be prepared for anything!

I think the biggest thing, no matter what aspect of communications you’re in, writing is a huge thing. So, making sure that you never lose that knack for writing.

And I think one thing I’ve learned that has humbled me a few times is you have to always be willing to learn new things. Because especially now, communications are ever-evolving. For example, even since 2020, TikTok has emerged. So there’s all kinds of things that you learn in school, you learned about press releases, and this and that, but nothing really prepares you for what it’s like in the real world. And in the real world, it’s just always changing. You just always have to be willing to learn something new.

So, adaptability and you have to love to write.

One thing that’s really helpful both in the classroom and outside of it is working in a group. Because very rarely—unless you’re doing freelance stuff, or whatever—you’re never truly working alone. So, getting in a group, writing something, and getting as many eyes on it as you can is one thing that was really helpful in intro to PR and campaigns classes. But it also applies to the real world because I’ll spend hours on something, and send it on up saying “Hey, let me know what you think.” And then I’ll get back an email with all these suggestions and edits, and you kind of just have to take it.

Pitching Members of the Media

Members of the news media were the original content creators: Show some respect!

To be an effective practitioner, you’ll have to develop a good working relationship with members of the media. Sure, you can create your own content, but it generally won’t travel as far. Studies show that journalist content generates twice as much awareness and amplification overall, and nearly three times as much engagement as non-journalist content.^[47]

To give yourself a sporting chance, you must understand what a journalist’s day is like, the types of stories they might be interested in, and how you can bring value to their work.

For starters, members of the media are generally overworked and underpaid. The mantra in newsrooms for decades now has been to “do more with less.” They have to create new content all the time—and the demand for new stories doesn’t stop.

That’s where you come in.

To be fair, that’s also where every other PR practitioner comes in, and for each member of the media, there are six PR professionals.^[48] So each and every day, journalists have an inbox full of pitches, news releases, invitations and unsolicited feedback, and the pressure of multiple deadlines looming overhead. Your goal is to make yourself as helpful and useful as possible.

Pitching is tough! One informal poll of PR practitioners in 2022 found that 37% of respondents thought that “outreach” was the most difficult aspect of PR, second only to campaign ideation at 43%.

Journalists understand you have a job to do, and despite their likely misgivings about PR as a profession, they also recognize you have the ability to make their job a little easier. So don’t flood their inbox with poorly thought-out ideas. Multiple studies have shown that the biggest reported pet peeve for two-thirds of journalists is “repeated spam” from PR practitioners via phone and email.^[49]

In terms of how and when to reach out, surveys show that more than 90% of journalists prefer pitches via email, and two-thirds prefer to receive those emails before 11 a.m.^[50]

Determining what to pitch requires a working knowledge of what constitutes newsworthiness—not just to the writer or editor, but to the audience they’ll be writing for.^[51] A successful pitch explains the benefit to that particular audience—rather than broadly asserting it’s a “good story idea.” To do that, study the stories they’ve written. Look at who they follow online, and how they interact with others on social media. You may find a natural entry point for a conversation, which is better than a cold pitch attempt.

Just about anything is preferable to a cold pitch attempt, so your first outreach attempt could also be on something where you lend expertise on an issue, or even recommend others to speak on a particular topic. If you offer the former, be sure you’re able to provide a new perspective. If you offer the latter, be sure to indicate the credentials of a particular source and the potential insight they may offer. In that way, you’re positioning yourself as a trusted resource for a journalist.^[52]

Journalists are most interested in sources that can communicate clear, short messages. They need to be credible in the field as well as reliable. And hopefully they’re articulate enough to convey useful information in a way that will adapt to the journalist’s need for “simplicity, clarity, and dramatization.”^[53]

It’s possible to be proactive on this front as well. The website “HelpAReporter.com” (HARO) connects journalists with sources. Offer your services there if you find a good fit. And take a look at social as well. One popular hashtag used by journalists when they’re looking for sources for a particular story is #journorequest. Other common keywords are “prrequest,” “bloggerswanted,” “bloggerrequired,” and “bloggerrequest.” So don’t just sit there and wait for something good to happen: Make yourself useful.

You also build trust by being a professional, which means you respect “no” as an answer. You should respond promptly, even when the news is bad, to demonstrate respect for their deadlines, and to be transparent about your agenda.^[54] That shows them you’re a serious professional, and not just another PR hack nagging them for coverage.

Story Types

If you’ve taken a journalism course, you’re familiar with the general elements of newsworthiness. You also know the difference between hard news and a human-interest story. You know that stories that have a timely angle or hit close to home for a target audience are particularly newsworthy. And, of course, you know stories that are a bit odd or unusual tend to get clicks online.

Ideally, your pitch offers more than one angle to a potential story, as that makes it more likely to pique the interest of a journalist.

So to work on those angles a bit, a few generic “types” of stories are the company story, company news, and a trend piece.

The Company Story essentially argues “X Company is the Y for Z.”^[55] People tend to evaluate something new in terms of something that’s already known. So if we were to describe the app Hipcamp, which allows campers to reserve spaces on private property, our angle might be that “Hipcamp is Airbnb for campers.”

Company News is precisely what it sounds like: News about the company. A basic way of looking at it is “X company launches Y.”^[56] It could be anything from a new product or service, to a new executive at the company, to new funding. In other words, there’s a “hard news” angle to it, and you want to share that development.

A Trend Piece requires a bit more thought because you need to have a solid grasp of a particular industry. Some of the more common examples may be found when something “goes viral” on social media. Look at the larger trend involved, and see how your client might fit. Ideally, you’re “both on trend and ahead of the curve” as that’s “the best place to be.”^[57]

Above all else, when you’re asking a journalist for something, make sure the ask itself is clear. It’s a waste of everyone’s time if you craft a “beautiful narrative that places your issue in the center of the world, but never actually gets to the point of why you’re writing, calling or tweeting.”^[58] Remember your focus is on your audience’s audience. While you want a journalist to provide you with earned media, they want to provide content to their loyal viewers or readers.

Summary: Putting it All Together

Pitching is concise and targeted persuasion.

You have about 15 seconds or 15 words to capture someone’s attention. That’s it. So don’t just rely on your gut instinct and charm.

Put in the time and perform due diligence to give yourself the best shot at success. Become familiar with your audience’s audience.

Personalize your pitch to a single person every time.  If you use GAI tools to generate ideas or smooth out phrasing, that’s fine—but humanize and personalize the final pitch. Journalists can identify a generic “copy and paste” job from a mile away, since they encounter those every day, and there’s no quicker way to wind up on their spam list. Unless, of course, you keep badgering them on a follow-up to your pitch.

None of these concepts and principles are particularly difficult to comprehend, but you’ll inevitably find it’s more difficult in practice. The more you evaluate the situation from the perspective of a journalist or content creator, the more likely it is you’ll experience success. People won’t respond sometimes, even when you and your client want them to. That’s just part of the business.