How to pitch your story to a journalist

From Confessions of an ex-tech journalist by Bekah Grant:

If your pitch sucks, you are less likely to get coverage. This would seem intuitive, but swarms of bad pitches indicate otherwise. Perhaps the problem here is a lack of awareness about what journalists are looking for.

To start, articles need to be newsworthy — they need to have a hook that makes them worth writing about. Newsworthiness is defined by timeliness, relevance, significance, prominence, and human interest. The fact that you want articles about your company (or your clients) does not constitute newsworthiness, and disseminating pitches that meet none of those criteria is likely a waste of time.

You will have better luck attracting reporters’ attention if you know which ones have a genuine interest and expertise in your niche…  

It is important to be succinct, yet also provide actual information. I received emails so obtuse, vague, and laden with jargon, I couldn’t understand what I was being pitched on. Those generally go straight into the trash. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Furthermore, if you are having a difficult time getting someone, anyone to respond to you, you may want to reconsider what you are pitching.