10 Examples of Pitches Writers Will Delete

Writers TRY to read all pitches in their inbox but when it's time to delete without reading, THESE are the pitches that they'll nix first

Hi Top Tier Community!

What a great Top Tier Talk last week! We love seeing your smiling faces every month and being able to chat about all things trending in the media world at the moment. A quick reminder that if you have a topic you’d love us to dig into deep in a Substack, send it our way. We want to make sure we’re constantly doing deep dives into content that you guys want to read about.

On that note, we’ve been asked A LOT lately about why writers delete pitches without reading them. So we figured this week, we’d dive in deeper to this topic. Here goes:

As publicists, you work hard to send out pitches, hoping they land. But sadly, many of those pitches get deleted without landing any coverage or a reply back. It’s never personal. Writers’ inboxes can get so incredibly busy.

We do our best as writers to read, consider and respond to as many pitches as we can. But when writers are chipping away at an out of control inbox, there are some things that just become instant deletes.

Why? Often, it comes down to easily avoidable mistakes. Here’s a peek into why pitches get passed over — and how to make sure yours stands out in the right way.

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1. The Subject Line Says Nothing

A subject line like:

“Quick Question”
“Story Idea”
“Touching Base”
”Trending Product”

...doesn’t help anyone. Journalists are scanning their inboxes at lightning speed. If it’s not clear what the pitch is about, they won’t open it.

Try this instead: Get to the point right in the subject line. Subject lines like “Plastic Surgeon Available to Discuss New Trending Procedure” or “Data: Gen Z’s Top 3 Financial Stressors in 2025” give instant clarity. They also help a writer find an email if they file it away in their inboxes and want to return to it later.

Additional hot tip: Make it obvious who your client is and why it’s timely right in the email header. For instance, if you put “Mother’s Day Tech Gift of the Year” in your subject line, and we’re working on a Mother’s Day gift guide, we can find it much easier with a quick “Mother’s Day” search.

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2. The Email Is a Wall of Text

A 500-word, unbroken block of copy is almost guaranteed to get skipped — no matter how great the pitch is.

“I don’t have time to decipher a pitch buried in a novel,” one writer told us.

Try this instead: Use formatting. Break the email into short paragraphs. Include bullet points. Highlight the expert’s name, their credentials, a product name and description and tell us why it matters now.

Remember, writers do a lot of email scanning so the more scannable you can make a pitch, the better!

Recommended Reading:

PART 1: A Look INSIDE the Process of How Writers Handle an Inbox Full of PR Pitches

PART 2: A Look INSIDE the Process of How Writers Handle an Inbox Full of PR Pitches

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3. It’s Not a Match

A parenting writer gets pitched a cryptocurrency story. A health reporter receives a travel guide.

“Hi! Wondering if you’d be interested in this new luxury yacht brand.”
(Sent to someone who writes about books and health topics.)

Try this instead: Do a quick Google or Muckrack search. Read 2–3 recent articles before reaching out. Tailor the angle. Target writers who cover the beats for the clients you’re pitching.

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4. The Embargo with Zero Context

Pitches that say:

“Important announcement coming Tuesday. Embargoed until 8am.”

...but don’t say what the announcement is? Very often a pass. Writers don’t have time to reach back out and say “yes” they agree and then often if they do they forget what they even agreed to and may miss that second email. You want to build intrigue right off the bat and let them know it’s tailored to their beat and something that really could be a great fit/opportunity for them to write about.

Try this instead: Share a one-line summary of what’s being announced, why it’s timely, and why it might matter to the writer’s beat — without breaking the embargo.

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Read on for more of our tips below.

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