I Delete 30+ Pitches a Day - Here's Why

Discover why I delete so many pitches - plus how to make yours better! From my presentation at the Digital PR Summit 2025.

Transcript

2. Who am I? And why should you care? • Editor of Hitched, a wedding planning site with 1M+ monthly users • Speak to ~250,000 UK couples getting married each year • 13+ years in digital content • Lead editorial & digital PR strategy • Obsessed with weddings + SEO • I know what gets published - and what gets deleted 👋
3. Let’s take a look at my inbox... 👀 Pop quiz! This month, I’ve received press releases about: • 🧴 A restock of ‘milky toner’ • 🩸 Flushable period pads for festivals • 🏠 Peugeot’s spring homeware collection • 󰝋 How to recover from a marathon • 🏡 Urgent questions homebuyers should ask • ✅ All of the above
4. What fills up my inbox and wastes my time 📬🕒 I have 600+ unread emails right now - most of them are: • ❌ Irrelevant, time-sensitive product drops (that expire in a day) • ❌ Generic seasonal roundups (with no unique angle) • ❌ Random data dumps - often with no sources cited
5. Why I hit delete ✨🧹 I delete pitches when there's... • 🚫 Zero relevance to weddings • 👀 No sign they’ve read our content • 🤖 No personalisation • 📉 Dodgy data (Where’s the sample size? Who ran this?) • 📺 Newsjacking gone wrong - trending topic, no connection to weddings
6. What PRs often get wrong about editorial content 🤯 Having worked on both sides, here’s what I see go wrong: 🧱 We’re not short on content we don’t need filler, we need fit ⚖ A link isn’t a favour it’s an exchange, and we need value too 👻 Ghost-pitches don’t land if you don’t know my name, my brand, or my niche, you’re out
7. The anatomy of a good pitch 🧠📩 What makes me actually open and read a pitch? • 💌 A clear, personalised subject line (not clickbait!) • 🔍 Mentions relevant content - show me you’ve done your homework • 👰 References the brand, the audience, and relevant search terms • 📊 Clean, credible data - sample size + source, or it’s a no
8. Bonus points for... 💅✨ Want to really impress me? Go beyond the basics: • 🥇 First refusal offers - exclusive always wins • 🎯 An exclusive or unexpected angle • 🤝 A collaborative tone - not just a broadcast • 🔎 SEO awareness - e.g. “This ranks for Y, but could also rank for X…”
9. Workshop: A bad pitch rewritten ✏🔄 Let’s break down a bad pitch I’ve received and turn it into something better... I fed ChatGPT several irrelevant press releases I’ve received and asked it to recreate one in the same style. • ⚠ Disclaimer: No PRs were harmed in the making of this! • 📝 Note: Don’t go after Jess at Crumb & Co - she doesn’t exist. 😉
13. What’s the difference? 🔍 Here’s what makes the second pitch stand out and not go straight to the bin: • 📊 Clearly cited, decent data - no vague claims, sources are solid • 🔍 Research - with a clear benefit to me and my audience • 🖼 Relevant imagery - adds value, not just fluff • 󰳓 Expert quote - actually leveraging the expert's authority, not just pushing a product
14. Your Ultimate Pitching Checklist: The Basics 📋 Before you hit send, check: • 👤 Is it clear who you are pitching to? • 💌 Do you use their name? If not, can you find it? • 📢 Have you referenced the brand? • 💡 Have you made it clear how you can help them? • 🎯 Do you demonstrate an understanding of their audience or content?
15. The Ultimate Pitching Checklist: Relevance 📋🔄 Before you hit send, check: • 🏷 Is it relevant to the brand’s niche? • 󰝋 Are you pitching marathon recovery aids to a wedding planning website? • 📊 Is the subject matter likely to be interesting to more than half of the brand’s audience?
16. The Ultimate Pitching Checklist: Data📋🔄 Before you hit send, check: • 📚 Have you cited your sources? • 📊 It’s not enough to include a vague percentage. • 🔎 Have you included the sample size, methodology, and date of the study? • 🗣 Who is the data from?
17. The Ultimate Pitching Checklist: Clarity📋🔄 Before you hit send, check: • ✉ What’s your subject line saying? • 🔍 Is it clear what the pitch is about? • 👤 Is it clear who the pitch is for? • 📥 Is it clear what the email contains?
18. The Ultimate Pitching Checklist: Value📋🔄 Before you hit send, check: • 🎁 What’s in it for your recipient? • 🥇 Do they get first refusal? • 🔒 Is it an exclusive story? • 🎯 Is it tailored for them?
19. The Ultimate Pitching Checklist: Tone 📋🔄 Before you hit send, check: • 🔍 Have you demonstrated familiarity? • 📝 Have you got a way for them to use the story in mind? • 📚 Do you show that you’ve looked at their content?
20. The Ultimate Pitching Checklist (Final Check! 📩) Before you hit send, check: • 🔍 How will it aid their SEO? • 🔄 You get a link, but what do they get in return?
21. The Follow-Up Checklist 📧🔄 Before you follow up, check: • 🎯 Was it really perfect for them, or was it a long shot? • 🧐 Be honest with yourself and don’t send follow-ups if it’s not dream content for the brand.
22. Golden Rules to Avoid the Trash Can 🗑✨ Relevance is EVERYTHING If it’s not a perfect fit, don’t send it. Personalise or Piss Off Generic pitches don’t cut it when your inbox is full. Be Useful Give journalists what they can actually use, not what brands want to sell.
23. The Bottom Line 👇 Don’t chase a link - earn the link. None of us are short on content, but we are all short on time.