How should small brands pitch journalists or influencers (quick guide)?

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Topic summary

The post seeks practical insights on email outreach to journalists and influencers, particularly for small brands.

Key Questions Posed:

  • What specific mistakes taught valuable lessons? (e.g., poor timing, inappropriate tone, overly aggressive follow-ups)
  • What small adjustments significantly improved response rates?

Focus Areas:

  • Learning from failures rather than just best practices
  • Understanding what damages relationships versus what builds them
  • Identifying tactical changes that yield measurable improvements

The discussion remains open, inviting community members to share their experiences with media pitching—both missteps and successful strategies.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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We’ve all been there: you send an email you think is perfect to pitch journalists or media press, and you get complete radio silence that feels like you’ve burned a bridge forever.

Learning what not to do is often more valuable than learning what to do. So let’s talk about the hard lessons in email outreach.

  • What’s a specific mistake that taught you a valuable lesson? (Was it the timing? The tone? Following up too aggressively?)

  • On the flip side, what’s one small change you made that dramatically improved your reply rate?

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