Want your pitches to land? Take cues from Ragan editors and other experts

Free booze or doughnuts aside, what’s the best way to grab a journalist’s attention?

A concise email that teases interesting, useful or helpful information is a great start. Of course, timing, tone and tidiness all matter, too. Let’s review more tips that will help PR pros move to the front of the pitching line:

Offer fresh data or useful information for our audience. Reporters are at the behest—and service—of their audience. If the information you’re pitching is not of serious interest to our readers, why would we bite?

As Fast Company puts it: “What problem are you solving, why is your solution unique, and what makes you the right person to solve it?”

It doesn’t have to be a groundbreaking study or a fully formed article; sometimes just an interesting infographic, clever chart or substantive quote is a helpful asset that can pump up a piece. Side dishes that can enhance the flavor of a story are just as welcome as content entrees.

Before you pitch, consider:

Ragan Executive Editor Rob Reinalda shares this success story:

 I saw this opening line, and I knew she had done her homework: