Journalist Q&A series: Top tips from Ollie Pickup and Joel Khalili

For the Spark team, one of the cornerstones of PR success is getting to know the individual preferences of journalists we pitch, including the stories they like and how they write them. To help build relationships, Spark holds regular Q&A sessions with some of our key contacts. These sessions are vital in sharing some top tips and tricks for how to grab their attention, and ensure that we’re always pitching them things they (and their readers!) will be interested in.

We were recently very kindly joined for Q&As by Ollie Pickup, freelance journalist and regular contributor to Raconteur, and Joel Khalili, News and Features Editor at TechRadar Pro. Here are some of the top tips they shared with us.

Tip 1: Email subject lines

So, you’ve got your pitch sorted but what should you put in your subject line? This is the first thing that many journalists will read, and often determines whether they keep reading or scroll past.

This was a hot topic of conversation with both Joel and Ollie as the team were keen to learn what makes a good subject line. The consensus from both was to ensure it is attention grabbing. Is there an important issue that your client can solve, or is this an interview opportunity with a CEO? They both suggested we think about what the potential headline might be, as this will help the journalist to automatically picture the story. And if you’ve got some research, is there a shocking stat that you can use in the subject to grab your reader’s attention? An important thing to remember is the length – as not all of a subject line will show on their screen, so you have to get to the point in a few words.

Tip 2: Give them what they want

Every journalist is different – they all have their own interests and requirements – so there’s no point sending exactly the same email to all of them. Instead, we need to put the work in to get to know them, and then share insight and information that is as useful as possible for them. For example, Joel stressed that all content on his site needs to be able to link back to other articles and buyer guides – and he needs to be able to see which section of the site it would slot into.

This can work wonders when you have a specific journalist or publication in mind, as you can really spend time tailoring quotes, stats and other elements of the pitch to the exact areas they are most interested in. As Joel pointed out to us, journalists are much more receptive when they feel their needs have been listened to, and they are given as many relevant ingredients to help them tell a story as possible. We shouldn’t be forcing them to rummage through a ‘general lot’ to find pieces that are a good fit for them – it needs to work the other way around.

Tip 3: Keep it short and sweet

Sometimes, it can be difficult to fit everything that your client wants to convey into a short comment. But Ollie stressed the importance of keeping it pithy and to the point. He said that ideally all comments should include data and be supported by a case study or examples, with eye-catching quotes and analogies.

He mentioned that often comments can appear overly polished, which might hit all the right notes of the client’s messaging, but fail to produce an interesting argument. Always think about how you can make your submission stand out from the countless other pitches journalists are likely to be receiving.

Feeling the benefits

Stay tuned for more journalist Q&A updates and top tips from us, and if you’re a journalist who’d like to take part in a Q&A, please let us know!