Here is a stat that should change the way you think about media pitching: only 3.43% of pitches sent to journalists get a response. That is not a typo. For every hundred emails a PR person sends, roughly three get any reply at all.

I have been pitching New Zealand journalists for years now, and I can tell you – the ones that land are not the ones that shout the loudest. They are the ones that make a journalist's job easier. The ones that feel like they were written for one person, not blasted to two hundred.

This guide is everything we have learned at Payper about writing pitch emails that actually get opened, read, and responded to. Not the press release itself – we have covered that in our guide to press release structure and our piece on what journalists actually want in a press release. This is about the email that lands in their inbox. The thing they decide to open or ignore in about two seconds.

When it comes to pitching, there are really two main approaches: one is to simply copy and paste a well written press release in the body of your email and send it to journalists who you think will be genuinely really interested in the story (do not "spray and pray" to everyone!), the other is to do a more personalised email to then get permission from the journalist to start a conversation and get more information about your potential story.

Both approaches have their benefits that I won't go into too much detail here. But in short, the second approach – a short personal message – can often be the best approach for direct pitches from founders and business owners, organisations and charities. Especially when the story is relatively simple to describe and compelling, and doesn't need a press release off the bat (which has a higher chance of being ignored) to describe the story.

In this article, I'm going to talk about this second approach to pitching: no press release, just a nice personal message.

The 3% Problem

Let us start with why most pitches fail. According to Propel's State of PR data, only 3.43% of media pitches receive a response. Less than half – 45% – are even opened. And globally, there are now roughly six PR professionals for every one journalist. That ratio was about three-to-one twenty years ago.

So journalists are drowning. Their inboxes are overloaded, their newsrooms are smaller, and they are being pitched more than ever. The maths is not in your favour. I was told by a journalist at Stuff just the other day that many journalists receive in excess of 1,000 emails a day, most of them generic AI press releases, and so many of them don't even open their inboxes any more.

But here is the thing: that 3% figure is an average. It includes every mass-blasted, poorly targeted, AI-generated pitch that lands in the wrong inbox. If you pitch well – genuinely well – your hit rate can be dramatically higher. At Payper, we see response rates well above that average (anywhere from 30-80%) because we treat every pitch like a one-to-one conversation, not a numbers game.

Know Who You Are Pitching

This is the single most important step, and it is the one most people skip. Before you write a word, you need to know exactly who you are emailing and why they would care.

Research means more than finding a journalist's name and email address. It means reading what they have written recently, understanding their beat, knowing what kinds of stories they tend to cover, and – crucially – knowing what they do not cover.

An industry survey found that 86% of journalists immediately reject pitches that do not match their beat or audience. Think about that. Almost nine out of ten pitches are dead on arrival because the sender did not bother to check whether the journalist was the right person.

In New Zealand, the media landscape is small enough that you can – and should – build a genuine understanding of who covers what. There are only so many business reporters, tech journalists, and lifestyle editors. If you are pitching a startup story, do you know who at the NZ Herald covers the startup scene? Do you know which RNZ programme would be the best fit? Have you read their recent work?

If the answer is no, you are not ready to pitch.

Write a Subject Line Worth Opening

Your subject line is the entire pitch in miniature. It is the reason a journalist opens your email or sends it straight to the archive.

The data says shorter is better – subject lines between one and nine words see the highest open rates. But length is only part of it. The best subject lines do three things: they are specific, they are relevant to that journalist, and they create enough curiosity to earn the click.

Here are some examples of what works versus what does not:

• Weak: "Exciting new product launch from innovative NZ company" – This says nothing. What product? What company? Why should anyone care?
• Stronger: "Christchurch AI startup hits $1.4M ARR in year one" – Specific, factual, and the journalist can immediately tell if it is relevant to their beat and to their location (Christchurch, and by extension, New Zealand).
• Weak: "Press release for your consideration" – This is the email equivalent of handing someone an unmarked envelope.
• Stronger: "Kane Williamson launches sports protection brand after on-field injury" – A name people recognise, a clear story, and a hook.

Notice the pattern: the strong subject lines tell you what the story is before you even open the email. They respect the journalist's time. They do not try to be clever or mysterious – they try to be clear.

The Anatomy of a Good Pitch Email

Once the subject line earns the open, you have maybe ten seconds before the journalist decides whether to keep reading or move on. Here is what a good pitch email looks like, section by section.

The opening line

Start with something personal and specific. Reference a recent article they wrote, or explain in one sentence why you are emailing them specifically. "I saw your piece on [topic] last week and thought this might be up your alley" is simple and effective. It shows you have done your homework.

Do not start with "I hope this email finds you well." Journalists receive hundreds of emails that start this way. It signals that what follows is generic.

The story in three sentences

Get to the point fast. In no more than three sentences, explain what the story is, why it matters, and why it matters now. This is the hardest part of pitching because it requires you to distil your entire announcement down to its essence.

Think of it like a news headline and a lede paragraph. If a journalist could not write a story based on these three sentences, your pitch is not clear enough.

The proof

Back up your story with something concrete – a number, a data point, a credible third-party endorsement, a customer quote. Journalists are trained to be sceptical, and rightly so. Give them a reason to believe what you are telling them.

When we pitched Contented's $4.1 million seed round, the proof was built into the story: $1.4 million in ARR within a year, oversubscribed round, credible investors. The numbers did the heavy lifting. When we pitched Cover's launch, the proof was Kane Williamson himself – a globally recognised athlete putting his name and reputation behind a product born from a real on-field experience.

The offer

End with a clear, low-friction offer. An interview with the founder. Early access to data. An exclusive if the story warrants it. Make it easy for the journalist to say yes.

Keep the entire email under 200 words if you can. The research consistently shows that shorter pitches get higher response rates – and honestly, if you cannot explain your story in under 200 words, you probably have not figured out what your story actually is yet.

What Not to Do

We see the same mistakes over and over again, from both in-house teams and other agencies. Here are the big ones.

• Do not blast the same pitch to every journalist in your database. Mass emails are obvious, and journalists resent them. If your pitch does not reference something specific about the recipient, it reads as spam.
• Do not lead with your company description. Nobody cares that you are "a leading provider of innovative solutions." Lead with the story. Who you are is supporting context, not the headline.
• Do not attach a 10-page media kit to a cold pitch. If a journalist is interested, they will ask for more. A cold pitch with heavy attachments often ends up in the junk folder.
• Do not pitch on Friday afternoon. Journalists are filing stories and heading into the weekend. Your email will be buried by Monday morning.
• Do not use AI to write your pitch without heavy editing. Journalists can spot AI-generated copy quickly, and it signals that you did not care enough to write a genuine message. Use AI as a starting point if you need to – but the final email should sound like a human being who actually knows the journalist and the story.

When to Send It

Timing matters more than most people think. The data says Tuesday morning between 6am and 9am is the sweet spot – 41% of journalists say Tuesday is their preferred day for receiving pitches, and press releases see 37% higher pickup on Tuesday or Wednesday.

In New Zealand, this lines up with how newsrooms work. Monday mornings are chaotic – editors are planning the week, catching up from the weekend. By Tuesday, the rhythm is set and journalists are actively looking for stories to fill the week. Wednesday is still good. Thursday is fine for a Friday or weekend piece. Friday is generally a dead zone for pitching.

One caveat: if your story is genuinely time-sensitive or breaking news, send it when it is ready. Timing rules are for proactive, planned pitches – not for news that is happening right now.

Following Up Without Being Annoying

Following up is essential. Journalists are busy, emails get buried, and a well-timed follow-up can be the difference between silence and a story. But there is a line between persistent and pushy, and crossing it will burn a relationship.

Our approach at Payper: follow up once, two to three days after the original pitch. Keep it short – one or two sentences at most. Something like: "Just checking this landed – happy to jump on a quick call if it is of interest." That is it.

If you do not hear back after one follow-up, the answer is no. Move on. Do not send a third email, and definitely do not call them to ask if they got your email. That is a fast way to ensure they never open anything from you again.

And never follow up with multiple journalists at the same outlet simultaneously. Journalists talk to each other. If two reporters at the same publication both receive your follow-up, you have just made it clear you are mass-emailing – and you have annoyed both of them.

Be Prepared

As always: if you pitch a journalist, expect a "no" or a ghosting but ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR THE YES! There is nothing worse than a journalist saying "yes please" to a story to only be told that you, the person who's pitched them, is not available for an interview until next week.

Great ways to be prepared for a "yes" before you pitch:

1. Have a press release prepared that dives deeper into the details of your story, and provides great quotes from you and other spokespeople that are relevant. Even if you don't pitch with a press release, having one ready to send to a journalist who shows interest in your story is always worth having.
2. Have a great Press Kit: full of great photos and, ideally, b-roll video for your brand.
3. Clear the calendar and be ready to jump on a call immediately for an interview, or meet the journalist in person. Nothing kills a story like not being available for an interview.

The Long Game

The best pitches do not come out of nowhere. They come from relationships – not the schmoozy, corporate networking kind, but the genuine kind where a journalist knows your name, trusts your judgement, and knows that when you pitch them something, it is worth their time.

Building those relationships takes patience. It means being helpful even when you have nothing to pitch. It means sharing a tip or a contact that could help them with a story you are not involved in. It means being honest when they ask if a story has legs – even if the honest answer is "not really."

This is where having an ex-journalist background helps. Both Adrien and I come from newsrooms, so we understand the pressures journalists face and we respect their time. But you do not need to be an ex-journalist to build good media relationships. You just need to be genuinely useful, consistently honest, and respectful of the fact that their job is not to write about you – it is to write stories their audience cares about.

If you can help them do that, they will pick up your emails every time.

A Quick Recap

• Research your journalist – know their beat, read their work, pitch only if your story is genuinely relevant to them.
• Write a clear subject line – specific, short, and honest about what the story is.
• Keep the email under 200 words – lead with the story, back it with proof, end with a clear offer.
• Send on Tuesday or Wednesday morning – avoid Friday afternoons and Monday chaos.
• Follow up once – politely, briefly, then move on if there is no response.
• Play the long game – build relationships by being useful and honest, not by pitching constantly.

If you have read our guide on how to tell if your story is actually newsworthy, you are already ahead of most people. Combine that judgement with a well-crafted pitch, and you will be surprised how much more effective your media outreach becomes.

And if you would rather have someone handle the pitching for you – that is literally what we do. We only get paid when the coverage lands, so we are pretty motivated to get it right.

Get in touch here and we'll give you a straight answer.