---
name: "public_relations_outreach"
description: "Run earned-media outreach end to end: build a targeted journalist list, craft personalized pitches, set embargo and exclusive terms, assemble a media kit, and follow up with discipline. Use when someone wants press coverage, a product launch announcement in the media, an expert source placed in stories, or a structured media-relations campaign."
---

# Public Relations Outreach

## Purpose

Get real editorial coverage, not a press release blast. This skill walks an agent through earned-media outreach the way working PR pros do it: research first, small targeted lists, personalized pitches, clear embargo or exclusive terms, a reporter-ready media kit, and follow-up that respects journalists' time. It covers both one-off story pitches and launch-campaign motions.

## Workflow

**1. Clarify the story and the goal.**
Ask: what is the news (launch, data, funding, expert point of view), and what does coverage need to achieve (credibility, signups, investors)? If there is no news hook, stop and say so: pitching without a hook wastes relationships. Every factual claim you will pitch (numbers, dates, quotes, customer names) must be verified against a primary source before anything goes out. Unverifiable claims get cut.

**2. Build the tiered media list.**
Never spray and pray. Data from millions of pitches shows smaller lists win: pitching 1-50 hyper-targeted contacts beats mass blasts on opens and responses. Build three tiers:
- **Tier 1:** 1-3 candidates for an exclusive. Only approach if the story is genuinely strong and the outlet's beat matches.
- **Tier 2:** journalists and outlets that cover this beat closely (vertical/trade press, aligned digital outlets).
- **Tier 3:** niche publications, local press, and relevant newsletters.

Find journalists by reading their last 5 articles: do they cover this beat, this topic, this audience? Record for each contact: name, publication, beat, recent topic, professional email, one-sentence angle for their readers, last contact date, response. Never buy or reuse stale pre-built lists; journalism turnover makes anything older than a few months unreliable. Segment the angle per journalist type: tech reporters get the technical angle, business reporters the business impact, local reporters the local relevance, data journalists the dataset. One angle per contact, one sentence on why this outlet and this beat. A pitch that could go to anyone goes to no one. (Schema and research checklist: `references/media-list-schema.md`.)

**3. Warm up before you pitch.**
A few days before the pitch, engage with the target journalists publicly: comment on their recent posts or articles, share their work with a real observation. This builds name recognition so the pitch email is not a cold first impression.

**4. Set embargo and exclusive terms (launch campaigns).**
For launches, sketch the timing skeleton before sending anything: exclusive feeler, then round one, round two, lift moment, post-lift follow-up. Label any specific timing as common practice, not a rule; outlets and news cycles vary. An exclusive means the material goes to one publication under agreed conditions; only offer one if you can genuinely honor it. State embargo terms in writing: what is shared, when the embargo lifts, and what is off the record. (Checklist: `references/embargo-exclusive-checklist.md`.)

**5. Write the pitch.**
Use email, one journalist at a time. Structure:
- Subject line: specific enough to predict the article's headline. No clickbait.
- First line: reference their recent work with a real observation.
- Body: the story idea in plain terms, why it matters to their readers, and everything they need to write the story from this email alone (the key data point, a quote, a customer name, a link). Keep it under ~150 words.
- Close: one clear ask. Interview? Quote? Embargo review? Exclusive offer?
- Attach nothing heavy; link the media kit instead.

Ban the hype words: revolutionary, game-changing, disruptive, synergy, cutting-edge. If a journalist would have to reply asking "what is the actual story," rewrite. (Templates: `references/pitch-templates.md`.)

**6. Assemble the media kit.**
Every campaign gets a single-link digital press pack before the first pitch goes out:
- One-paragraph company description, copy-paste ready.
- Founder bios with downloadable high-res headshots.
- Logo pack (SVG + PNG, light + dark) with basic usage guidance.
- High-res product screenshots and any charts (PNG plus an editable format).
- Three ready-to-print quotes from named spokespeople.
- Fact sheet: founding date, team size, funding if disclosed, pricing.
- Recent coverage links (social proof for the next journalist).
- Press releases for the current announcement.
- One press contact email that a person actually reads. Answer within 24 hours, always.
Journalists work on deadlines; the kit exists so they never have to email back asking for basics. (Checklist: `references/media-kit-checklist.md`.)

**7. Follow up once, then stop.**
If no reply after two business days, send one short, polite follow-up: restate the story in two lines, ask if it is a fit or if someone else on their desk covers this. If the second email also gets no response, move on. Repeated follow-ups on the same pitch damage the relationship. Never follow up on an embargo offer as if it is a different pitch; if a journalist passes on an exclusive, confirm the material is no longer exclusive before shopping it elsewhere.

**8. Log everything and review.**
Keep a pitch log: who was pitched, which angle, date sent, follow-up date, outcome. After the campaign (or after 30 days), review: what got covered, what got replies but no story, what got silence. Silence is data: weak angle, wrong timing, missing proof, or wrong outlets. Decide what changes for the next round. Coverage earned is never the press release; track earned features separately from wire pickups.

## Output Contract

Every outreach engagement delivers:
- **Media list**: tiered, with a per-contact angle and verified beats, in the schema from `references/media-list-schema.md`.
- **Pitch**: personalized per Tier 1 and Tier 2 contact, passing the quality bar in Operating Rules; never a mail-merge template with names swapped.
- **Embargo terms** (launch campaigns): written terms stating what is shared, when it lifts, what is off the record.
- **Media kit**: single-link digital pack covering every item in the kit checklist, or a named list of what is missing and who owns it.
- **Pitch log**: one row per contact with send date, follow-up date, and outcome.
- **Review note**: what worked, what did not, and what changes next time.

## Operating Rules

1. No factual claim goes into a pitch without verification against a primary source. Unverifiable = cut or flagged.
2. Pitch one journalist at a time, in email. Never bulk-send identical pitches.
3. Before any pitch sends, it must pass this bar: the journalist covers this beat (last 5 articles checked); there is a real news hook; the email contains everything needed to write the story; the subject line predicts the headline; under ~150 words; no hype words; one clear ask.
4. One follow-up per pitch, two business days later. Then move on.
5. Exclusives and embargoes are stated in writing and honored exactly. If terms change, tell the journalist before the clock runs out.
6. Never pitch on behalf of someone without their sign-off on the facts and the spokespeople's quotes.
7. Style: plain, direct sentences. No em dashes, no hype, no PR-speak. If a line sounds like a press release, rewrite it.
8. Phone is for genuinely time-sensitive matters only, and only when the journalist has not asked you to stick to email. Keep phone pitches to the top lines: the basis of the story and who is available to talk.