Why this matters
Effective media outreach is about connecting the right story with the right journalist at the right time. Thoughtful targeting, personalized messaging, and careful tracking increase engagement, strengthen media relationships, and maximize coverage impact.
How to Identify Relevant Journalists and Influencers
Best practices
Use CisionOne’s media database to search by topic, beat, geography, and recent coverage.
Review journalist/influencer profiles for previous work, pitching preferences, and engagement style.
Prioritize contacts who have covered similar stories in the last 6–12 months.
Leverage AI suggestions in CisionOne to surface additional relevant contacts you might have missed.
Helpful resources
How to Build and Segment Your Media List
Segmentation tips
Priority Tiers: Tier 1 (high-reach/top journalists), Tier 2 (mid-level outlets), Tier 3 (blogs/influencers).
Geography: Local vs regional vs global campaigns.
Beat/Topic: Match journalists to specific story angles or product launches.
Influence Metrics: Reach, engagement, and past coverage frequency.
Maintain separate lists for each segment to ensure focused, relevant outreach.
Helpful resources
Crafting Personalized Pitch Emails
Best practices
Personalize greetings and reference relevant past coverage.
Create compelling subject lines that summarize the story’s value.
Keep the pitch concise, highlighting the story angle, key points, and clear call-to-action (e.g., interview, article consideration).
Adjust messaging by tier and outlet type—high-priority journalists may receive more detailed context; lower tiers can get shorter, focused pitches.
Use AI-assisted drafting in CisionOne to generate templates, then refine manually for personalization.
Helpful resources
Sending Pitches and Tracking Engagement
Guidelines
Use CisionOne’s outreach tools to send emails, track opens, clicks, responses, and coverage.
Avoid mass sends; focus on relevant, personalized messages.
Log all interactions and follow-up activity in your media list.
Monitor journalist responses and categorize as positive, neutral, negative, or no response.
Helpful resources
Monitoring Coverage and Reporting Results
Best practices
Use CisionOne to track earned media, social mentions, and influencer amplification.
Measure coverage quality, share of voice, sentiment, and social engagement.
Compile findings into a “Pitch Result Report” for leadership including:
Volume and quality of coverage
Engagement metrics (open, clicks, shares, mentions)
Key takeaways for future campaigns
Use insights to refine future targeting, messaging, and outreach timing.
Helpful resources