Forget the Press Release — It’s All About Your Pitch

In the nonprofit communications world, it’s typical to write and disseminate press releases that you know won’t get picked up. Like the releases you write for the funders who want publicity for a $10,000 grant. Or for the board member who insists a new name or new website is newsworthy. And those for the programming director who wants to raise awareness that new services are available for 25 people.

You have to do the work, and you know your team expects coverage, so the question is: How do you make this news that a reporter can use? Since you have to write a release, likely with competing input from a variety of stakeholders, stop worrying about how many quotes you include and how many pages it ends up being, as it’s all about the pitch anyway.

Here are seven tips to write pitches that will turn that blip into a clip.

1. What’s Your Story?

The story is not about the corporate social responsibility efforts of a corporation. Or that you have a new strategic plan. Reporters and their consumers don’t care about companies — they care about people. 

They want to hear about the client who can connect with a social worker in real time for emergency assistance. Or a former client who was able to secure a business loan thanks to your services. Or the name change that happened as a result of a new population of clients seeking assistance. Your story should always be about impact. 

“More and more these days, journalism has realized the importance of not talking about people but rather engaging with them so they can tell their own stories, in their own words,” Vicky Diaz-Camacho, multiplatform producer at WHYY in Philadelphia, said. “It teaches the journalist and the audiences, and humanizes abstract concepts like poverty, housing or other social issues.”

2. Time Is of the Essence

Is your new prenatal health program launching in the first quarter? Is that end-of-year grant helping fund a new literacy initiative? Have your release coincide with holidays — real ones, like Mother’s Day, or annual celebrations, like Read Across America Day. Chances are, reporters are looking for stories on these topics anyway so timing is key. And if you announce the program after launch, you can secure individuals who can talk about what that program means to them (see tip No. 1).  

“Relevance and human interest are everything,” Stephania Jimenez, an anchor at KSAT-TV in San Antonio, said. “The strongest pitches tie timely events/circumstances/situations and offer something that would benefit viewers.”

3. Why Now? 

In a recent pitch, I literally included the line, “Why this is relevant now” and provided three bullets demonstrating the importance of this news that included: 

• A recent quote from an authority (the surgeon general) on the topic.
• A recently released study with new and relevant information.
• A little-known and surprising fact.

Chances are, if you’ve done your homework on the outlet/reporter/producer, that one — if not all — of these things will catch their attention.

“Having data or studies with easy-to-understand statistics anchors why a story is important,” Diaz-Camacho said. “Numbers can help paint a picture, too, and help reporters make a case to their editors on why the story is important to tell. These questions are often my guideposts: Is there any policy or legislative movement happening now? What does the community say about sharing this info? Is this topic covered or overlooked? What does the data over time reveal? Does it fill a void of news people need to know now?” 

4. Superlative News

A former manager once told me that you should always note if your news is first, last, best, biggest or an anniversary — or includes babies or puppies. This may not sell the news alone, but it can give the news more weightiness.

5. Keeping up With the Joneses

Many reporters cover trending news. Check out trending topics on X. Note if The New York Times and the Today show recently covered the topic you’re pitching. Localizing a trend is almost always of interest to audiences, and the reporters targeting them. But act fast (see tip No. 2).

“Frankly, press releases can get overwhelming so oftentimes I operate by being selective right off the bat,” Diaz-Camacho said. “That means who I connect with and how I spend my time, which is usually based on my areas of focus. That said, what often piques my interest is when my contact helps grant me access to communities that are affected by a particular news issue or trend.”

6. Your Pitch Count

I generally create multiple pitches with various subject lines, angles and information, tailoring each to whom I’m pitching. Each reporter has their own beat, audience and interests so one size does not fit all. If you have the content, use it. Don’t spray and pray. 

“I prefer pitches that anticipate what a reporter needs to start a story,” Al Lubrano, a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, said. “Connection to holidays or news events gets my attention first, since that has immediate relevance, and that's the business we're in. Also, we're always looking for trends in features, especially from social media, and there are lots I'm not aware of. So a pitch that starts with that is invaluable. And if the pitch contains suggested sources with their contact info, all the better.” 

7. Time Is Money

Newsrooms are shrinking, and their staff is stretched thin. Many reporters are becoming a one-stop-shop, doing all the work from filming to reporting to editing and writing. So make it as easy as possible for them to envision and execute your story. 

Tell them who you have to offer for an interview. What are the visuals their audience will see? What b-roll do you have to complement it? When you think like a reporter, you will become a valuable and helpful source, which helps build relationships that last.

“As a journalist, when I’m pitching stories during editorial meetings, I’m always asked to find a regular person impacted by the subject/story I’m working on,” Jimenez said. “That’s the deciding factor in whether my managers accept my pitch or tell me to move onto the next story. Therefore, if the PR person has someone already in mind that’s a home run.” 

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.