How To Pitch to Top Technology Publications and Media Outlets

Media attention can significantly improve your tech company’s position in the current technological space. A pitch is a short but detailed outline of an article you would like published by a tech publication company or any related media outlet.

Learning how to pitch effectively can be the difference between your pitch landing on the junk pile or making it to the front page and snagging you that all-important backlink and PR. This in-depth guide will teach you how to get your pitch to the top of the bank. 

As newcomers to the SaaS industry, companies such as Hutte and Brame are at the forefront of trying to get more media collaborations and thus present the perfect case study to understand the importance of having a long-standing cordial relationship with a tech publication company. A partnership with them will be nothing short of fruitful.

Brame, for example, is constantly generating new and engaging digital content for business communities that address their customers’ questions while providing them with innovative solutions to their problems.

If you’re thinking of borrowing a leaf from Brame, it would be best to have a deeper dive into familiarizing yourself with the industry’s best practices in pitching to top technology publications and media outlets.

Structuring Your Pitch

So, what makes your pitch stand out? Structure. Structuring your pitch appropriately helps you manage all critical aspects of your article outline. 

In addition to avoiding preposterous claims, overselling your pitch, or creating a baseless article, here is a step-by-step outline of the critical components of a good pitch:

The Lead

You might have done your research on your article and done due diligence in familiarizing yourself with the publication you’re pitching at.

The lead is the perfect chance to put your best foot forward when making first contact with the journalist. The lead should directly answer the question, “Why is this pitch newsworthy?” 

A good lead is precise, concise, and based on the tech publication’s audience and your authoritative knowledge of a subject of interest.

A Call to Action

The lead might capture the journalist’s attention, but a call to action is your chance to compel them into taking necessary steps towards materializing your pitch. It is important to highlight what you want the media publication or print magazine to do.

Necessary steps might include publishing an article, getting in touch with you, digging into the subject matter, using your statistics in their next article, or even mentioning your company’s name in a report.

The call to action must appear at the article’s beginning and later, preferably after the closing remark.

Including the call of action at the end maximizes the probability of the journalist following through on their interest in the pitch. A good call to action should include a link or a means to contact you, depending on what you want out of the rise. 

Value Proposition

The next critical component of your structure is the value proposition. As we mentioned earlier, media publications receive a wide range of pitches a day, depending on the size of their audience.

To make yourself stand out, you need to pique the journalist’s attention and maintain it. In the value proposition, you can address interesting statistics and their relevance to a succeeding article.

A popular approach is piggybacking on the success of a previously published article. This approach, you help the media outlet see how your pitch can help them write a sequel with even more reach, relevance, and success. When done right, the value proposition will sell your pitch.

The Conclusion

Most media pitches are usually done in the form of an article. In the conclusion of your pitch email, you can do a one-sentence wrap-up of both the lead and the value proposition. You can also give additional information about yourself and why you and your company are essential players in contributing to the subject matter.

After the conclusion, you can provide a second or third call to action. If you get in touch with the journalist, it will help to provide contact information.

Contact information includes company name, phone number, LinkedIn profile, or any other relevant information and expresses your willingness to provide additional information should the need arise.

The Length of the Pitch

You need to have absolute faith in the value of your proposed article and its success to write a lengthy pitch. Avoiding a long pitch is in your self-interest and to prevent losing the journalist’s interest with a bulk of text and information.

Although the sweet spot might vary, most tech publications and media outlets agree that 100-200 words are the best range for a media pitch.

So, what happens when your pitch comes short or over this proposed word count? The first thing you should do is assess the structure of the article.

Ensure you are within the confines of the structure highlighted above and that you have addressed the lead and value proposition precisely and concisely. If your word count is far beyond 200 words, then it would be best to overhaul the pitch with the essential guidelines in mind.

11 Top Tips for Your Pitch

You know everything you need to know when it comes to structuring your pitch, but if this is your first media pitch, you might be wet behind the ears when coming up with the actual content meant to go into your pitch. 

There is nothing wrong with being green, but a few tips are guaranteed to improve the chances of your pitch being published. Here are the top tips for media pitching:

1. Do Your Research on the Publication

Like in many other fields of software as a service, media pitching requires a bit of research. Doing your due diligence lets you prepare a custom pitch that is more likely to impress the media outlet.

Several aspects are of importance in the research phase of writing your pitch. It would be best to familiarize yourself with the publication’s target audience.

The target audience will tell you everything you need to know about the type of article that the journalist is likely to publish, as well as help you pick out your preferred list of journalists (you can’t pitch to everybody.)

Therefore, it’s a good idea to make your pitches count. It would help if you also went over recent publications to help you tailor a pitch that mirrors the goals of the media outlet and that you are writing relevant content.

Another aspect you need to research is the employee structure of the publication, you need to understand who to reach out to before you attempt to find email addresses.

2. Build Relations with the Journalist First

Pitching to a stranger will likely hurt your prospects of publishing your pitch. Industry experts say it is always a good idea to build a personal relationship with the journalist before you approach them with your pitch.

Our pro tip? Try to attend conferences that are in your industry – most times the press attend these too. If meeting your preferred journalist is out of the question, you could engage with them across social media platforms or online communities.

You may also comment on their recent online publication in their email to ensure the next time you talk. There is an air of familiarity. Generic pitches are likely to end up in the junk pile, and that would translate to a waste of time and resources on your part.

3. Personalize Your Pitch

In the spirit of standing out, you can introduce a personal touch to your pitch. This might sound easy, but expressing your unique personality in professional writing is nobody’s tea.

That said, this is a possible task. You can personalize your pitch by researching the publication and the journalist and addressing your pitch to someone specific.

You may help the journalist understand how much of a trailblazer your SaaS solution is by providing insight into its success at addressing everyday problems backed up with factual statistics.

It also won’t hurt to try and ensure your piece is updated with current technological trends.

4. Focus on the Subject Line

Judging by the number of pitch technology publications, your email will probably be considered from the subject line.

It is hard to believe that a single sentence will determine your success, but often, this is the case. Ensure your subject line is attention-grabbing by highlighting the benefits it offers straight off the bat. 

Using words such as “how” and “why,” along with other more powerful words, will also help your cause. The other ingredient to a good subject line would be to be creative while limiting the length and casualness of your subject line.

5. Cover These Three Points: Urgency, Significance, and Evidence

A sense of urgency will likely grab the media outlet’s attention. To do this, you may highlight coming deadlines or illustrate how writing within a specific timeframe will be in the publication’s best interest (such as before an upcoming launch.)

To cover the significance of your pitch, addressing real-life problems and how you’re solving them with your SaaS product is a good start.

Evidence might be provided through factual data, statistics, or a news story embedded in a link or within the pitch itself.

6. Get Creative with Your Content

A creative pitch is an excellent way to maintain the journalist’s interest. This will undoubtedly help you get a callback or get your pitch published. 

Use relevant tech news, exciting statistics, in-house visuals, or an eye-catching email header design that will interest your journalist. However, it would be best to ensure you steer clear from adopting an informal tone.

7. Make it So Your Pitch Can Be Copied and Pasted into an Article

To increase the probability that your pitch will be accepted and published, you can make it so that it can be copy-pasted into an article as is.

You can provide customer testimonials that may serve as a reference for the article. You may also quote startling statistics, use short, readable sentences, or attach relevant photos to spice up your pitch.

8. Be Honest

If you blow your statistics out of proportion, you will immediately put off the journalist. Additionally, using interesting but factually incorrect information in your pitch translates to having your pitch tossed into the trash pile.

In addition to ruining your chances with the journalist, this might completely ruin your reputation and relationship with the media outlet. This is the perfect case of “honesty is the best policy.”

9. Offer Sources and Statistics

Offering statistics and sources make your pitch more credible and improves your chances of publishing it. You should also ensure the statistics are first-hand or come from a reliable source that is accepted as an authority in the field of SaaS.

It also helps to cite your sources and ensure they are reliable properly.

10. Stay Clear of Buzzwords and Technical Language

Sometimes buzzwords and technical language work in your favor, especially when showcasing your expertise to a knowledgeable audience or business community.

However, this does not apply to media pitches. Simplicity is critical. You should ensure your pitch is readable and consistent with competence. 

Remember to check grammar and assess for potential typing errors before sending your pitch.

11. Follow Up

Regardless of your best efforts, as you can tell from the relatively low email benchmarks, your pitch does not always elicit a response from the technology publication or media outlet. 

When you get no reaction, it does not mean it was rejected. It might be at the end of a huge pile and has yet to be seen. Follow-up emails help you calm your nerves and demonstrate your commitment to the pitch, which might shift things in your favor, leading to the publication of your pitch.

What Not To Do vs. What To Do: An Example

Even with the proper knowledge of the best practices for formulating a pitch, you need a written example of what to avoid inadvertently making a few mistakes.

Below are examples of good and bad angles. If you can pick out what makes each pitch terrible or reasonable, you are well on your way to success.

An Example of a Bad Media Pitch

The above pitch is considered poor because it fails to explain the nature of the application and falsely claims to be the most powerful application.

Additionally, the writer needs to explain how the application can help users complete tasks or what sort of tasks it can accomplish. The conclusion also limits how the editor can contact the writer. 

An Example of a Good Pitch

Here it is evident that the pitch explains the nature of the application and how the reader can get hold of the person. This pitch also has a strong case and convinces the reader why they should consider this application with credible evidence attached.

Conclusion

Things are constantly evolving in the world of technology, especially in the SaaS industry, and it pays to be dynamic in your approach to pitching.

However, it is safe to say that technology publications, media outlets, and SaaS company growth are intertwined for the foreseeable future. 

A well-crafted pitch should include a clear, concise description of your story idea and why it is relevant to their readership.

When crafting your pitch, include all the details about your story, such as the key players involved, the timeline of events, and any relevant data or statistics. Additionally, have contact information so the editor can easily reach out to you for further details. This will ensure that your pitch sticks out like a sore thumb.