The more you can customize your pitch, the greater your chances of getting coverage. If you are the public information officer for a community college, for example, and your story idea is about a new gourmet
cooking program at your school, you can pitch your idea to education reporters as well as food writers. But the pitch might look a little different for each. For the food writer, you might also offer recipes.

If you are sending a pitch to more than one media outlet, never put your entire media distribution list in the "to" field. Otherwise, reporters know the idea isn't being pitched to them exclusively. Better to simply send it to each reporter individually.

Anytime you can address the journalist by name at the beginning of your pitch and also mention their media outlet by name or call letters, you increase your chances for coverage. I'm a big believer in addressing them by their first names, simply because it will differentiate you from most other PR people who prefer last names for a more formal greeting. If you met the journalist awhile ago, or spoke on the phone, or had another personal contact, you can mention that in the pitch because it might help them remember you. Or you can mention that you are familiar with articles they write on such-and-such a topic, and you think your idea would be a good fit.

To learn more about what not to do versus what to do with your email pitch see Special Report #26 How to Make Your Story Pitch Stand Out in the E-mail Jungle