For about a month now, we’ve been posting daily to our not-so-secret Slack channel. What have we been posting, you ask? 

Opportunities. 
Global PR opportunities, that is. 

Journalists from international media outlets that are looking for sources for their stories – a golden opportunity to land some media coverage, with minimal effort.

The idea is simple – journalists, when they are writing a piece, often require sources, or real-life examples that they can reference. They don't always know people who fit their requirements, and so they publish them online, hoping that the right people will respond to their request, which can then be added into the article. We, and the general PR community, call those journalist requests, or journorequests.

But these requests come in many different formats, on different platforms, and have different requirements when it comes to responding to them. 

In this article, we hope to clarify how to best make use of the Slack community, how to respond to requests, and the different requirements from the different sources we post. 

(P.S. If you want to join the Slack community, reach out to anyone on the Truesix team, we’d be happy to add you!)

‍The background – what it is and why we do it

Over the course of the day, the Truesix team scans various channels where journalists tend to post people or stories that they’re looking for so that they can include them in an article that they plan on writing. 

This is one of the many ways we work to secure international media coverage for our clients. But we’ve found that very often, a request would be relevant for many more companies and individuals than just our clients. 

In our efforts to strengthen the local startup ecosystem, we decided to make this research available to a wider audience – if we see a request that we think could be answered by a startup or founder in our community, we’ll post it to the Slack channel.

How to respond to a journalist request – general rules of thumb

We could write an entire post about how to pitch a journalist (and to be honest, we probably will – check back to the Truesix blog to find more pitching resources), but here are some key tips to keep in mind when reaching out. 

• Always answer in detail: When responding to these sorts of requests, don't just say something generic like “I'm a fit”. This doesn't help the journalist evaluate if, indeed, you are a fit. Instead, explain to them, in short, why you meet their requests, and give them a brief overview of what that experience is. 
• ‍Read the full request and respond according to what has been asked: Always read the request in its entirety. Sometimes there will be a detail near the end that is very important to understand how to answer (and even if it’s for you.)
• Time is of the essence: Journalists are constantly under time pressure, and the sooner you can reach out to them to provide a comment, the better. Not only that, but others will also be reaching out, and a journalist will likely stop considering new comments if they’ve already come across one that suits their needs. So make sure to answer quickly when the initial request is posted, as well as promptly if they come back with follow-up questions. 
• Never use ChatGPT to generate answers to journalists’ questions: This is the easiest way to get on a journalist’s blacklist. Don't ever use AI to write answers for you. Why? Because the journalists are interested in your story, and how you tell it. Every detail is important, and if your whole response is just a generic garble of information, then it will be thrown to the discard pile faster than you can thank your LLM.
• It’s a numbers game: Journalists will be receiving many responses, and they can't use all of them. Even if your response is great, chances are, the journalist only needs a few. But you shouldn't despair – responding to journorequests is a numbers game. Keep at it, and eventually you’ll land some publicity.

As with any communication, a key factor is just to be yourself and let your personality (and story) shine. If you respond to requests where you truly have something to say, and you say it clearly and concisely, in the format requested, you’re already off to a great start. 

The different platforms and how to respond in each one

While we’re happy to source the requests, it’s up to you to respond.

If you see a request that you think fits your experience, that you would have something to contribute, then feel free to take the reins into your own hands and move the conversation forward with the journalist. 

Of course, the question is – how?

In some cases, the proper approach to answer the request is obvious. In others, you need to answer via a specific platform. We’ll go into the different platforms and how best to use them.

Twitter/X 

Twitter/X is a commonly used platform for journalists to look for sources for their pieces. Usually published with the hashtags #journorequest or #PRrequest. 

In some cases, journalists will write in their tweets which email address to reach them at. Other times, their email address is in their bio. Sometimes they simply request a DM. If it’s not specified, then you have to get creative. The options could be: reaching out to them directly through Twitter messages, connecting with them on LinkedIn and writing to them there, or trying to find their email address on the internet somewhere. 

Linkedin

Similarly to Twitter/X, journalists will sometimes post opportunities to LinkedIn. 

As with all cases, if they specify how best to get in touch with them, definitely do that. For example, in the case above, the person has written “drop me a DM”. So, rather than commenting on the post or sending them an email, your best bet is to connect with them and send them a message. 

‍HARO – Help a Reporter Out

Moving into specific platforms – HARO (or Help a Reporter Out) is one of the oldest platforms helping journalists source quotes. Despite having disappeared for a year or so, it’s back, and so are the opportunities. 

They arrive in inboxes every day (if you want to receive them, you can subscribe here), and we’ll occasionally post them to our Slack channel. In short – journalists submit what sort of source they’re looking for, and if you have something to say, then you can respond to them. Journalists then consider the responses and can use what’s been submitted.

But what’s important to note here is that a specific email address is generated for each request, and that’s the email you should respond to (unless otherwise stated – sometimes journalists leave specific contact details, like their personal email address). 

Help a B2B Writer 

Similarly to HARO, Help a B2B Writer is where writers on B2B blogs reach out for specific know-how. For example, you can get requests for ecommerce experts, with comments that are intended to be published on the Shopify blog (which is a really cool and really big deal!). You can sign up to only receive requests from specific categories (like AI, ecommerce, finance, SaaS, sales, etc.), but we receive everything, and will post any interesting opportunities in the Slack community. 

If you have an answer to one of the requests, then you’ll also need to respond via the generated email address provided (unless otherwise specified). 

Qwoted

Qwoted is another platform where journalists search for sources, which we will occasionally post in our Slack group. 

To respond to a Qwoted request, you’ll have to create an account and submit a response directly through their platform. The good news is, accounts are free to make, and can be made here.

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When in doubt, ask someone at Truesix

We’re here to help! If anything is unclear or if you’d like to talk through your potential pitch, then someone is always on the Slack channel and ready to help out. Don't hesitate to post a question, or reach out directly to the Truesix team. We’re beyond happy to help drive more visibility for our community. 

Of course, if you would like full-service support in your visibility endeavours, the Truesix team is always available for pitching-as-a-service – just reach out. 

Happy pitching!

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