Traditionally, the common best practice among PR professionals suggests that Friday is the worst day to pitch media. Journalists have one foot out the door into the weekend and are likely catching up on the remaining deliverables for the work week. However, data released by Propel Media in its Media Engagement Barometer report tells a different story.
Surprisingly, Friday is the most likely date to get a response to a pitch!
The best practice of avoiding Fridays and Mondays for major announcements still stands true. That said, don’t be afraid to pitch on a Friday. The data suggest pitches sent on Friday have the highest response rate of any weekday, with Monday coming in a close second.
Perhaps counter to our common assumption that inboxes are crowded that day, journalists have filed most of their stories for the week by the end of day Thursday – which provides some breathing room on Friday for engaging with new pitches.
Other key takeaways in the Media Engagement Barometer include data illustrating the average response time on pitches, open rates and the importance of follow ups.
The report suggests that journalists report to pitches rapidly, when they are interested – 23% of responses happen within 10 minutes of the pitch being sent, and nearly half of responses occur within the first hour. Nearly two thirds of replies happen within four hours of the pitch being sent, with 86% of replies happening by the next day. This means that only 14% of responses happen two or more days after the pitch was sent.
Another shocking takeaway from the report indicates that a quarter of all pitch opens happen in the first 15 seconds, with 41% of opens within the first minute and 85% of opens within the first four hours of the pitch being sent.
This emphasizes the importance of timely follow-ups. Follow-ups are key. With the response rate diminishing over time, follow-ups are the one action that can be taken to reset the response likelihood. It’s important not to bombard journalists with follow-ups but balance that with the appropriate level of proactiveness to appropriate targets. In my experience, that varies based on multiple factors including the type of media you’re pitching, current events, and most of all your existing relationship and experience with the journalist.
While the data is informative, the customization and surgical approach to each pitch is vital to success. Anecdotally, our team has seen an increase in responses on Fridays and we have been increasingly testing out the waters to increase our chances of enticing interest. You never know unless you try.