Pitched a Client's Story to 12 Publications — 7 Said Yes. Here's How
A 58% success rate on media pitches doesn't happen by luck. It happens because of what you do before you ever hit send.
This is the story of a real outreach campaign we ran at Swyft Media Productions for a client who had a genuinely compelling story — but had no idea how to get it in front of the right people. By the end of it, 7 out of 12 publications we approached either featured the story, agreed to a guest post, or opened the door for an ongoing relationship.
Here's exactly what went into it.
It Started With Getting the Story Right
Before we wrote a single pitch email, we spent time just listening. To the client, to their customers, to the problem they were solving and why they started doing it in the first place.
Most businesses sitting on great stories don't know they have one. They're too close to it. They see their work as ordinary because they live it every day. Our job at Swyft Media Productions was to come in with fresh eyes and find the angle that would make a journalist or editor stop scrolling and actually want to cover it.
What we found was a specific turning point in the founder's journey — a moment of failure that eventually led to the business's biggest breakthrough. That became the spine of everything.
Why Most Pitches Get Ignored
Before we talk about what worked, it's worth being honest about what doesn't — because most media pitches fail for predictable reasons:
They're about the brand, not the reader — editors don't care about your product launch. They care about what's useful or interesting to their audience.
They're too long — a pitch email should be scannable in under 30 seconds. Most aren't.
They're sent to the wrong person — pitching a lifestyle editor with a B2B tech story is a waste of everyone's time
They have no hook — "we're a great company doing great things" is not a story. It's a brochure.
They follow up wrong — either not at all, or so aggressively that the relationship dies before it starts
We've seen all of these. We've also corrected all of them.
How We Built the Pitch List
Not all publications are worth pitching. Relevance matters infinitely more than reach.
We built a list of 12 targets based on three filters:
Audience alignment — does this publication's readership actually overlap with the client's potential customers or industry peers?
Content fit — does this outlet regularly publish founder stories, brand journeys, or industry opinion pieces?
Realistic access — are they open to contributed content or do they only work with PR firms they already have relationships with?
We researched each publication individually. We looked at what they'd published in the last 90 days. We identified the specific editor or writer who handled the kind of story we were bringing. We noted their tone, their preferred angle, their stated submission guidelines.
This alone took more time than writing the pitches. That's exactly how it should be.
The Pitch Itself — What Made It Work
Every pitch we sent was different. Same story, different angle — tailored to why that specific publication's audience would care.
The structure that consistently got responses looked like this:
One punchy subject line — specific, curiosity-driven, not clickbait
A one-sentence hook — the most interesting thing about the story, immediately
Two to three lines of context — who the client is, why this story is timely or relevant right now
A clear ask — feature, guest post, interview, podcast appearance — one thing, stated plainly
A brief credibility line — not a full bio, just enough to establish legitimacy
No attachments on the first email — they kill open rates
The whole thing fit inside a phone screen. That was intentional.
The Follow-Up System
Sending the pitch is maybe 40% of the work. The follow-up is where most people either win or lose the placement.
Our approach at Swyft Media Productions:
Follow up once, five to seven days later — a single short email referencing the original pitch and adding one new piece of value or context
If no reply after follow-up, move on — no third emails, no guilt trips, no "just checking in" for the fourth time
When someone says no, respond graciously — because "no for now" often becomes "yes" three months later if you handled the rejection well
When someone says yes, respond fast — editors work on tight timelines. Being slow to respond after a yes is how placements get dropped
The Takeaway
Getting media placements isn't about who you know or how big your brand is. It's about having a real story, finding the right people to tell it to, and doing the unglamorous research that most brands skip.
At Swyft Media Productions, this is the work we love — the kind that builds reputation quietly and compounds loudly over time.
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