Not getting the traction you were hoping for? There are a few concrete things you can do to change that.
Pitch early
Reporters often go with the first strong match they find. It's not always possible to respond immediately, but when you can, submit your pitch as soon as you see a relevant opportunity. Speed matters more than you might think.
Stay consistent
Pitching is a lot like sales. You'll hear nothing, or no, far more often than you'd like before things start to click. Don't read too much into early silence or rejections. Keep showing up, and over time you'll start to see momentum build.
Complete your profile
This one is worth spending real time on. A complete profile helps Qwoted match you to the right opportunities, makes a stronger impression on journalists when you pitch, and helps you rank higher in our source database so reporters can find you directly.
Here's what to fill out and why it matters:
Bio: Adding a bio to your source accounts can help to quickly and effectively establish your credibility and expertise to journalists - which is key when you're on Qwoted.
Profile photo: Puts a face to your name. Simple, but it makes a difference.
Hashtags: Qwoted uses your hashtags to match you with relevant opportunities and notify you when new ones come in. They also work as filters in the source database, so adding them is one of the easiest ways to boost your visibility on the platform.
Employment: Your title and company show up when you pitch, and add credibility to your submission.
Media: Link to articles, podcasts, broadcasts, white papers, or anything you've been published or featured in.
Recent quotes: These can be published or unpublished. Pull from a past article, a blog post, or even a pitch you submitted that didn't get picked up. This section gives reporters a preview of your tone, perspective, and angle so they already have a feel for how you'll show up as a source.
Recent commentary: When you pitch, you'll see the option to "Auto Summarize." If selected, Qwoted will summarize your pitch in two to three sentences and surface it on your dashboard and on relevant journalists' dashboards. It will also appear under "story ideas." You can delete any of these if you'd prefer.
Headshot: Separate from your profile photo, this is specifically for journalists who need a headshot to use in their story. You can use the same image for both.
Gender identity and location: These are required because they're the two most commonly used filters on the platform.
Email and phone number: Not required, but including contact details gives journalists a direct way to reach you outside the platform.
Social media: Adding two social media links gets you to 100% profile completion.
One thing worth knowing: Qwoted profiles are public-facing by default, which means they can show up in Google searches. If you'd prefer to limit that, there's a "hide from search engines" toggle at the bottom of your profile settings page.
Here is a blog post we wrote to help you make your profile even stronger:
Pitching Tips
here are a few articles that share a few best pitching practices, in case they are helpful:
Avoid AI Usage
Make sure your pitches do not read as AI by running it through our built in AI checker. Reporters often cannot use pitches that have a likelihood of being written by AI.
Before submitting your pitch, you can use our integrated tool, Pangram, to check how your writing might be interpreted by AI detection systems. It gives you a score showing whether it could be perceived as human-written or AI-generated.
