In a survey of 500 top-tier publishers, Fractl discovered that 81% of editors prefer email pitches over other channels like social media, contact forms, and phone calls. We also found that 85% of editors open pitches based on your subject line. With subject lines being the ultimate gatekeeper for your open rates, Fractl and BuzzStream decided to collaborate on a new publisher survey to discover how they would improve your subject lines.
1. Lifestyle, Entertainment and Technology writers take the brunt of your pitches
In our study, we found Lifestyle, Entertainment and Technology writers account for 60% of the verticals getting pitched over 300x/day. Knowing that these verticals suffer the most news release fatigue, you should trim down your pitches to the preferred 100-200 word count. In comparison, there is significantly less competition in verticals such as Jobs, Animals, and Climate, each of which receive an average of 10 pitches/day.
2. Editors receive 68% of your pitches
PR professionals often debate about whether you should pitch editors, staff writers, or contributors; however, our research tells us that editors receive 68% of your pitches. If you want to stand out where there is less noise, try pitching staff writers with a highly targeted pitch based on that individual’s beat and previous coverage.
