11 Mistakes Founders Make When Pitching Journalists

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PR worked, but figuring out how to pitch journalists properly took far more time and energy than it should have. Not because writing a pitch is hard. But because finding the right journalist, at the right moment, with the right angle is difficult without a clear system. Most founders don’t fail at PR because they’re bad at writing. They fail because they’re guessing. That’s why I eventually built https://contactjournalists.com . If you want to explore it later, there’s a 7-day free trial, but this guide stands on its own. The goal here is to help you avoid the mistakes that slow founders down the most. Table of Contents TL;DR – For Exhausted Founders Hello, I’m Fortuna Why Pitching Journalists Feels So Hard The 11 Mistakes Founders Make When Pitching Journalists Where ContactJournalists.com Fits In A Final Word, Founder to Founder FAQs Founder story Hello, I’m Fortuna 👋 I’m Fortuna, the founder of ContactJournalists.com. Before this platform existed, I founded a supplement company called It Really Works Vitamins. I built it from scratch, bootstrapped, over seven stressful years, scaled it myself, and eventually sold the business. (yay!) Like most founders, I didn’t start out caring about PR. Early growth came from Instagram and influencer marketing ( we were excited to even have Cage Fighter (and former hubby of Katie Price) Alex Reid sharing us on Twitter woohoo! I built relationships with creators, sent products, worked closely with them, and for a long time, it worked brilliantly. Then the algorithm changed. (cue a small sad violin playing) Reach dropped unless you paid. Ads became really expensive. Margins tightened. And suddenly, a platform I didn’t own was deciding how visible my business could be! That’s when PR really stopped being “nice to have” and became completely essential! We eventually landed features in Forbes, Men’s Health, and Coach Magazine. This Forbes feature was a genuine turning point for us: https://www.forbes.com/sites/leebelltech/2019/04/27/best-nutrition-innovation-2019/ What people don’t see is how slow, messy, and mentally draining it was to get there. That experience is exactly why ContactJournalists.com exists! Take a look around and start responding to journalist’s requests now. Why it feels hard Why Pitching Journalists Feels So Hard Journalists are so overwhelmed - everyone is pitching them. Muck Rack’s State of Journalism report shows journalists receive huge volumes of pitches, with relevance being the primary factor in what gets opened or ignored: https://muckrack.com/state-of-journalism At the same time, the Reuters Institute shows shrinking newsrooms and faster publishing cycles: https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/ This means that founders are pitching into an environment where speed, clarity, and relevance matter far more than polish. With that context, let’s look at the mistakes that slow founders down most. Main guide The 11 Mistakes Founders Make When Pitching Journalists Mistake 1: Pitching the publication instead of the journalist Founders often start with the logo they want and work backwards. “I want Forbes” turns into clicking random bylines and hoping someone still covers the topic. This feels logical, but it’s one of the biggest time drains in PR. Journalists cover beats, not brands. Pitching the wrong journalist doesn’t just fail quietly, it often guarantees future emails will be ignored. The Society of Professional Journalists is clear that beat relevance is fundamental to responsible reporting: https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp The faster you can identify who actually covers your niche, the faster PR becomes manageable! Annoyingly this isn't something you can rush, you’ll really have to take your time to research journalists and take a look at what writer has published, the topics they cover - as well as their unique style - thankfully this is something made a million times easier with ContactJournalists.com : our giant database of journalists, influencers and podcasters - filter by niche and respond to journalists live requests as soon as they come in! Mistake 2: Sending a pitch that could literally be sent to anyone Most founders write one solid pitch and reuse it, and personalisation is just an afterthought. Journalists can tell instantly - If a pitch doesn’t answer why me, it really feels like noise. Cision’s research shows personalisation directly affects response rates: https://www.cision.com/resources/articles/media-pitching-best-practices/ This is why seeing what journalists are actively writing about makes such a difference. It turns personalisation into alignment, not extra work. For more on this check out: https://contactjournalists.com/blog/press-pitch-examples-that-get-replies ContactJournalists.com brings live journalist requests and current coverage into one place, saving founders hours of manual research Start today. Mistake 3: Writing a company update instead of a story Founders default to pitching launches, funding rounds, or “exciting news” because it feels safe (and it’s something you obviously know a lot about) Journalists don’t exist to amplify company updates. They exist to serve readers. Harvard Business Review explains why stories outperform announcements in attention and recall: https://hbr.org/2014/03/why-your-brain-loves-good-storytelling What works instead: Frame your pitch around trends, insights, data, or problems people are already experiencing. Your company supports the story, it isn’t the headline! Why ContactJournalists.com saves time: Live press requests show you exactly what journalists are asking for, so you respond to demand instead of guessing angles that just may not land. Check out and take a look around. Mistake 4: Burying the angle under too much context This is one I personally struggled with for a long time. When I first started pitching journalists, I felt like I had to explain everything upfront. Who I was, how I built the business, why the timing mattered, why this story was different. By the time I reached the actual point, the email was already too long. That usually came from insecurity rather than ego. I wanted to make sure the journalist understood why the story mattered before stating what the story actually was. The problem is that journalists don’t read pitches like founders do. They scan. If the angle isn’t clear almost immediately, the pitch gets mentally parked for “later”, which in practice often means never. The Poynter Institute consistently teaches clarity-first writing for newsrooms, because journalists are making decisions quickly under pressure: https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/ Seeing how journalists phrase their own requests makes it much easier to lead with the point, which is exactly what ContactJournalists.com exposes you to. Mistake 5: Making journalists do detective work For a long time, I assumed that if a journalist was interested, they’d click through, Google the brand, or connect the dots themselves. They won’t. Journalists are juggling multiple deadlines, inboxes, and stories at once. If it’s not immediately clear who you are, why you’re credible, and what you’re offering, even a good pitch becomes easy to skip. I’ve seen founders lose opportunities simply because they didn’t include a clear credibility line, or because the journalist had to work too hard to understand where the quote or insight was coming from. Muck Rack’s State of Journalism report highlights relevance and clarity as major factors in whether pitches are opened and acted on: https://muckrack.com/state-of-journalism If you want to see how journalists ask for information in practice, there’s a 7-day free trial on ContactJournalists.com you can explore when you’re ready. Mistake 6: Pitching something that isn’t timely This one is especially frustrating, because it often happens even when the story itself is strong. I’ve pitched genuinely good ideas that went nowhere simply because the moment had passed. By the time I hit send, the conversation had already moved on or the article had already been written. PR is far more time-sensitive than most founders realise. Timing often matters more than polish, and sometimes more than the idea itself. The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report shows how much pressure journalists are under to publish quickly and continuously: https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/ Having visibility into when journalists are actively looking for sources is what makes ContactJournalists.com so useful for founders with limited time. Mistake 7: Sounding like a press release When I was tired, overwhelmed, or unsure, I defaulted to formal language. It felt safer. More professional. More “PR-like”. In reality, it worked against me. Press-release language feels slow and impersonal in fast-moving newsrooms. Journalists don’t want something that sounds like it’s been approved by five people, they want something they can actually use. Journalists have been openly critical of press-release-style pitching for years, including at The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/jan/09/pr-industry-press-releases Regularly reading real journalist requests is one of the fastest ways to unlearn this habit, and you can do that during the 7-day free trial on ContactJournalists.com if it’s helpful. Mistake 8: Not proving credibility quickly enough Early on, I assumed that having a legitimate business was enough, that journalists would take the time to understand the background once they were interested. In practice, journalists need to justify including you very quickly. If your credibility isn’t obvious in the first few lines, they often move on to someone whose expertise is easier to place. This isn’t personal, it’s practical. Edelman’s Trust Barometer consistently shows how much people rely on perceived expertise and third-party validation when deciding what to trust: https://www.edelman.com/trust/trust-barometer Understanding what level of expertise journalists are looking for is something ContactJournalists.com makes much clearer. Mistake 9: Following up badly, or not at all I’ve been on both ends of this. Sometimes I followed up too aggressively because I felt anxious about being ignored. Other times I didn’t follow up at all because I didn’t want to be annoying. Neither approach is ideal. PR is timing, not persistence. A polite follow-up can help if timing was off, but excessive chasing rarely changes a journalist’s mind. When relevance and timing are right, follow-ups often become unnecessary, and seeing that dynamic play out in real time is something founders notice quickly when using the 7-day free trial on ContactJournalists.com. Mistake 10: Pitching journalists on Twitter without reading the room Twitter can be incredibly useful for PR, but it operates on different rules. I’ve seen founders write long, detailed replies to journalist tweets that clearly asked for short, specific responses. The mismatch is obvious immediately. Tone, brevity, and instructions matter more on Twitter than almost anywhere else. If you’re using Twitter, this guide breaks down what journalists actually expect there: https://contactjournalists.com/blog/how-to-pitch-to-journalists-on-twitter Not relying on a single platform for opportunities is part of the thinking behind ContactJournalists.com. Mistake 11: Treating PR like a one-off instead of a system This is the biggest one. Founders pitch once or twice, get tired, don’t see immediate results, and decide PR doesn’t work for them. In reality, PR compounds. One good feature builds trust, which makes the next one easier. Over time, everything downstream works harder. Nielsen consistently shows that earned media builds long-term trust in a way ads don’t: https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2015/global-trust-in-advertising-report/ PR becomes far more manageable when it’s treated as a system rather than a side project, and the 7-day free trial on ContactJournalists.com exists for founders who want to explore that at their own pace. Founder Reflection Final thoughts, from me to you Overall most of what made PR exhausting for me had nothing to do with writing. It was the mental noise. When I was building It Really Works Vitamins, my head was constantly spinning: Instagram tabs open, Twitter in the background. Drafts half-written. Wondering if I’d pitched the wrong person, the right person at the wrong time, or if I’d just said the wrong thing altogether! PR felt important, but it never felt calm - I was just a constant ball of stress. And when you’re running a business, anything that feels chaotic gets pushed down the list. Once I started understanding how journalists actually work, what they look for, how quickly decisions are made, and how much relevance and timing matter, everything calmed down: PR stopped feeling like a crazy dark art and started feeling manageable. That experience is exactly why I built ContactJournalists.com. Not to “do PR for you”, but to remove the guesswork that drains founders. To make it easier to see who’s relevant, who’s actively looking for stories, and when it’s actually worth hitting send. If you take one thing from this guide: You’re probably not bad at PR. You’re just trying to do it without enough visibility. And when you want PR to feel less scattered and more intentional, there’s a 7-day free trial waiting for you at ContactJournalists.com. See you next time! Ready to stop guessing? Start your 7-day free trial at ContactJournalists.com and begin responding to live journalist requests today. Start Your 7-Day Free Trial FAQs FAQs: Pitching Journalists as a Founder Why do most founders struggle to get press coverage? Most founders don’t struggle because their business is boring or their writing is bad. They struggle because they pitch the wrong journalists, at the wrong time, with no visibility into who actually wants stories right now. What is the biggest mistake founders make when pitching journalists? The biggest mistake is starting with publications instead of people. Do I need a PR agency to get press coverage? No. Many early-stage founders get press without a PR agency. How many journalists should I pitch for one story? Quality beats quantity every time. Should I send a press release or a pitch email? In most cases, send a pitch email. How long should a journalist pitch be? Most effective pitches are 100 to 200 words. Why don’t journalists reply, even when my pitch feels relevant? Silence doesn’t always mean disinterest. How quickly should I respond to a journalist request? As quickly as you realistically can. Is it okay to follow up with journalists? Yes, but carefully. Can PR actually drive sales, or is it just for brand awareness? PR can absolutely drive sales. What kind of businesses can use ContactJournalists.com? ContactJournalists.com is built for founders, startups, solopreneurs, and small teams. How is ContactJournalists.com different from Googling journalists or using Twitter? Google shows history. Twitter moves fast. ContactJournalists.com brings live journalist requests and relevant contacts into one place. Why do most founders struggle to get press coverage? Most founders don’t struggle because their business is boring or their writing is bad. They struggle because they pitch the wrong journalists, at the wrong time, with no visibility into who actually wants stories right now. PR fails when relevance and timing are missing. Journalists receive a huge volume of pitches every day, so if your story doesn’t clearly match what they already cover, it’s ignored no matter how good it is. This is why many founders feel like PR is “random” or “luck-based”, when in reality it’s about targeting and speed. What is the biggest mistake founders make when pitching journalists? The biggest mistake is starting with publications instead of people. Founders often think “I want Forbes” or “I want TechCrunch”, then work backwards trying to guess who might care. This wastes time and leads to irrelevant pitches. PR works best when you identify journalists who already write about your niche regularly and are actively publishing. When the fit is right, pitching feels natural instead of forced. Do I need a PR agency to get press coverage? No. Many early-stage founders get press without a PR agency. Agencies can be helpful in some cases, but they’re expensive and often unnecessary if you’re willing to be hands-on. What founders really need is a clear way to find relevant journalists, see who is open to sources, and respond quickly to opportunities. That’s exactly why ContactJournalists.com exists, to give founders access to journalists and live press requests without agency fees. How many journalists should I pitch for one story? Quality beats quantity every time. Pitching 10 to 30 highly relevant journalists usually performs far better than emailing hundreds of generic contacts. Journalists can tell immediately when a pitch isn’t meant for them. A small, focused list increases reply rates, saves time, and avoids burning relationships. Should I send a press release or a pitch email? In most cases, send a pitch email. Press releases are often too long, too formal, and written from a company-first perspective. Journalists prefer short, clear pitches that explain the story, why it matters now, and why you’re a credible source. Only send a press release if a journalist specifically asks for one or if there’s a genuine need for a formal announcement. How long should a journalist pitch be? Shorter than you think. Most effective pitches are 100 to 200 words. Journalists scan quickly, so the story needs to be clear in the first few lines. If they’re interested, they’ll reply and ask for more information. Why don’t journalists reply, even when my pitch feels relevant? Silence doesn’t always mean disinterest. Journalists work under tight deadlines, juggle multiple stories at once, and receive more pitches than they can respond to. Sometimes your email arrives at the wrong moment, even if the story is a good fit. This is why timing and live press requests matter so much. When a journalist has already asked for sources, you’re not interrupting them, you’re helping them do their job. How quickly should I respond to a journalist request? As quickly as you realistically can. Journalist requests often fill fast, sometimes within hours. Responding early dramatically increases your chances of being included. Speed matters more than perfection. A clear, relevant response beats a perfectly polished one sent too late. Is it okay to follow up with journalists? Yes, but carefully. One polite follow-up after a few working days is fine. Two follow-ups max, only if the story is still timely. If there’s no response after that, move on. PR is about timing, not persistence at all costs. Can PR actually drive sales, or is it just for brand awareness? PR can absolutely drive sales. Press builds trust faster than ads because it comes from third-party validation. When people discover your business through coverage, they arrive warmer, trust you quicker, and convert more easily. PR also supports partnerships, retail conversations, fundraising, and long-term brand credibility. Its impact compounds over time. What kind of businesses can use ContactJournalists.com? ContactJournalists.com is built for founders, startups, solopreneurs, and small teams who want to get press without hiring a PR agency. It works across industries including SaaS, ecommerce, consumer brands, health, wellness, fintech, creator businesses, and more. If journalists write about your space, the platform helps you find them and respond when opportunities appear. How is ContactJournalists.com different from Googling journalists or using Twitter? Google shows history, not intent. You’re guessing whether someone still covers the topic or is open to pitches. Twitter moves fast and requires constant attention, which most founders don’t have time for. ContactJournalists.com brings live journalist requests and relevant contacts into one place, so you’re not guessing, scrolling endlessly, or missing opportunities because you weren’t online at the right moment.