# Public Relations — Marketing Skill for AI Agents

You get press by pitching journalists like you'd pitch a customer: specific, useful, fast, and never about you. The story is the trend, data, conflict, or human — your product is just the evidence. Run at least three of the four PR modes: reactive newsjacking (inject your POV into trending news, hours to days), proactive pitching (build a list of 20-40 journalists who actually cover your beat and pitch original stories over 4-8 weeks), inbound (answer HARO/Qwoted queries), and owned (a press page reporters can self-serve). Every pitch clears a quality bar: right beat, clear news hook, under 150 words, a specific ask, and none of the words "revolutionary," "game-changing," or "disruptive."

> Maintained by Corey Haines · v1.0.0 · Updated 2026-06-10

Install: `npx skills add coreyhaines31/marketingskills`
Source: https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/public-relations

## What's inside

**The playbook covers:** Before Starting, Core Philosophy, The PR Mix, Owned: Press Page + Media Kit, Quick Reference: Pitch Quality Bar, Measurement, Common Workflows

### Reference library

- [Journalist Pitching — Proactive PR Workflow](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/public-relations/references/journalist-pitching.md) — Building a media list, scoring journalist fit, and crafting pitches that actually get opened. This is a 4–8 week practice, not a one-shot.
- [Media Outlets — Where to Pitch](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/public-relations/references/media-outlets.md) — A curated, opinionated list of *where* to pitch for software/SaaS PR. This is the media-outlet slice of resources like submit.co — the journalist-driven half. For startup/SaaS/AI directories (Product Hunt, BetaList, Futurepedia, etc.), use the separate `directory-submissions` skill — different intent, different audience.
- [Newsjacking — Reactive PR Workflow](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/public-relations/references/newsjacking.md) — Injecting your POV into a story that's already trending. Done well: free distribution off a wave of attention. Done badly: cringe at best, brand damage at worst.
- [Press Request Platforms — Inbound PR](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/public-relations/references/press-platforms.md) — Journalists posting "I need a source for X" — you respond, sometimes you get quoted, sometimes you don't. The cheapest PR play available, but only if you treat it seriously.

## Key data

- [ ] Read their last 5 articles — are they covering your beat right now?
- Journalists who haven't posted in 6+ months** — they may have left
- Tier 1 (8–10):** Personal pitch with original angle. Custom each time.
- Tier 2 (5–7):** Standard pitch, lightly customized.
- Tier 3 (below 5):** Skip or pitch only when story is exceptional.
- Under 50 characters** — mobile preview cuts off

## FAQ

### How do I get a journalist to actually open my pitch?

Pitch someone who covers your exact beat (check their last 5 articles), lead with a real news hook, and make the subject line specific enough to predict the headline. Keep it under 150 words, include everything they'd need to write the story — data, quote, customer name, contact — and make one clear ask. If they couldn't write a complete piece from your email alone, it's not ready.

### What is newsjacking and when should I avoid it?

Newsjacking is injecting your point of view into a story that's already trending for free distribution off the attention wave. Skip it entirely for tragedies, accidents, or deaths; skip politically charged stories unless your brand takes political stances; and skip any story more than ~48 hours old where you weren't first. If your only angle is "we have a product for this," that's marketing, not a story.

### Does PR drive direct sales?

Not directly — a TechCrunch hit won't hand you 1,000 paying customers. PR is a multiplier for distribution, not a substitute: it earns backlinks, brand legitimacy, AI-citation surface area, and ammunition for sales conversations. Measure it by coverage referenced in sales calls and AI-citation rate, not by advertising value equivalency (a vanity metric).

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Canonical: https://marketing-skills.com/skills/public-relations