Online media outreach · Marketing
Get your story in front of the editors who write for your buyers.
You have news, or a view your trade should hear, and no way in. The editor of a trade site gets a full inbox every day. A pitch that arrives with a reason to run it, sent to the person who covers that subject, is read. A pitch to a general inbox is not.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Online media outreach is the work of finding the journalists, trade publications, bloggers and newsletter editors who cover your market, and pitching them a story worth running. GullySales builds the media list, develops the angle, writes the pitches, and records every reply and link.
Whether a story runs is the editor's decision, and we never promise it. If a publication takes money for a feature, that is a paid placement, and it must be labelled as sponsored. We keep the two apart in every list, email and report.
This page is for pitching named people one by one. For the wider practice, including bought features, see digital PR. For sending one announcement to news desks, see press release distribution. If you are a startup with a funding story, startup PR fits better.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- Software and SaaS firms whose buyers read niche trade sites and newsletters
- Manufacturers with a technical point of view that a trade editor would publish
- Consultants and founders who can comment on a topic when a reporter needs an expert
- D2C brands whose product suits a blogger or a newsletter audience
- Companies with a mention in one publication who want the next one
- Teams that have tried emailing a list of journalists and heard nothing back
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- Owners who want a guaranteed mention in a named publication; that is the editor's call, and a guarantee means money has changed hands
- Businesses with no story, no data and no spokesperson; a better website or a case study comes first
- Companies expecting hundreds of identical emails sent from a purchased list
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
Common situations this work addresses.
“I emailed fifty journalists and nobody replied”
The list was a directory export, not people who cover your subject. We read what each writer published before adding a name.
“Our news is not really news”
A new office or a new feature interests the team, not a reader. The pitch needs a change, a finding or an opinion an editor can use.
“A site wants money to publish us”
That is a sponsored post, not coverage. It can be a fair buy if it is labelled and the readers are right, but it must never be reported as earned.
“We got a mention and cannot show what it did”
Nobody saved the link or checked how it is marked. Nobody asked the sales team whether enquiries mention it.
What we do
The work we can include.
Each deliverable and the purpose it serves. Your written scope confirms what is included, who is responsible, and what it costs.
Media list
A sheet of named journalists, bloggers and newsletter editors, with the publication, the subject they cover, a recent piece of theirs and why you fit. You approve the list before anything is sent.
Angle document
Two or three possible stories from your records, each with the supporting fact, the reader it serves and the person who can speak to it. You choose which to pitch.
Pitch emails
A short email per writer, with a subject line, the angle in two lines and a link to the facts. No attachments, and no copy-paste across the list.
Press kit page
A page of your own with company background, spokesperson bio, approved photographs, a logo file and the key facts, so an editor can check you quickly.
Expert-comment responses
When a reporter asks for a source on a topic you know, a reply with a quotable answer and credentials, sent while the request is open and approved by the named speaker.
Follow-up log
Each email, one follow-up that adds something new, and every reply or silence. A writer who declines is noted and not pursued.
Coverage and link register
Each published URL, the date, whether it was earned or paid, and how its link is marked. Clicks and enquiries that can be traced sit beside it.
How the result is measured
- Pitches sent and replies received, by writer
- Pieces published, split between earned and paid
- Expert quotes used, with the publication named
- Links to your site and how each is marked
- Referral visits and enquiries traced to a piece
- Opportunities and orders linked to those enquiries, where your records support it
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Before you decide
Agree the work. Know how to judge it.
Online media outreach: use these checks to prepare, choose the scope, and review what changes.
Bring the right evidence
Define the organisations or buyers you can serve and the reasons they would consider a conversation. Bring examples of accepted and rejected prospects so the selection rule is visible.
Make the scope clear
Agree the research sources, contact approach, qualification rules, and handover. Clarify which meetings count as accepted and what happens to replies that are not ready to buy.
Check the work in use
Review why a prospect was selected and what was learned from the response. Count held, relevant conversations separately from contacts found, messages sent, or meetings booked.
Know when to change course
If the same objection appears repeatedly, adjust the offer or buyer group before increasing outreach. Respect a request to stop contact and keep the exclusion in the record.
These are discussion points, not a fixed package. GullySales confirms the deliverables, responsibilities, fee, and term in writing after reading your brief and speaking with you.
How it works
How the online media outreach work runs
The work itself, in order. How an engagement starts, from your brief to a written scope, is set out on our method page.
- 1
Scope and story review
You send the requirements brief. After a first conversation we put the scope, fee and term in writing, and review what you have that an editor could use.
- 2
Target research
We find the writers and publications your buyers read, check their recent work, and mark which accept contributed pieces and which charge for features.
- 3
Angle and spokesperson approval
Your approver signs off the facts, the quotes and the named speaker. Nothing about a client, figure or competitor goes out without that sign-off.
- 4
Pitching
Pitches go to the approved list only. Replies that need a decision come to you as they arrive.
- 5
Follow-up and expert replies
We follow up once, then respond to open reporter requests as they come. Any request to pay is passed to you, labelled as sponsored, and not booked without your written yes.
- 6
Coverage record
Each piece that runs is checked against what you approved and logged. Sales gets the link and the buyer question it answers.
Before you hire anyone
Do this first yourself.
A pitch only works if there is something an editor can use, so find that before you pay for outreach.
- Write down the one fact or opinion about your trade that a reader would not already know.
- List five publications or newsletters your buyers actually read, and the writer who covers your subject in each.
- Read three recent pieces by each writer and note what they cover and what they ignore.
- Choose the person in your company who can speak on the record, and get their agreement.
- Put the company facts, photographs and a logo on one page of your website so an editor can check you.
- Save every mention you already have, with the link and the date.
Judge any provider
What to ask any provider of this service.
Useful whoever you choose, including us.
- Will you show me the named journalists, and what each has written recently on my subject?
- How do you separate earned coverage from paid placement in your report?
- How will paid posts be labelled, and how will their links be marked?
- Who approves facts and quotes before a pitch is sent, and from which address does it go?
- What do you do when a writer says no or does not reply?
- Do you promise any coverage, and if so, what is being paid for?
Where this fits
Three pieces of sales work, in this order.
This work sits inside sales process design, at stage 1, prospecting and lead generation. The audit comes before it, and sales management keeps it running.
Step 1
Sales audit
Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.
Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.
Step 2 · you are here
Sales process design
One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.
Start here if every salesperson sells differently.
Step 3
Sales management
A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.
Start here if the team has targets and no routine.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
Can you guarantee coverage in a particular publication?
What if a site asks us to pay for a post?
Will the links help our Google ranking?
How is this different from digital PR, press release distribution and startup PR?
What do you need from us?
What does it cost and how long does it take?
How long is the contract?
Who will actually do the work?
What if we are not happy with the work?
By industry
Online media outreach, written for your industry.
Related services
Often bought with this, or instead of it.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.