Now that you've identified the right people to speak with, the actual pitch is what will likely determine, whether a story about your startup goes live or not.

Here's the anatomical break down of the attached pitch I wrote to get us covered in Mashable the first time:

1. The opening is not at all about myself or anything related to our startup. I have been paying attention to this writer's work for weeks, so I thought of opening with a note to one of the posts I enjoyed the most.
2. The first paragraph is about your product. What has changed, how does it work. I found making this very descriptive can help a lot. There is no talk about how it will change the world (yet), just what it does. Concise and easy to understand.
3. The next part is only about the value for the reader. Why would anyone care? Which use cases are there? How can this be interesting for a reader? Think of this part as the one, where a writer can scan his brain for headlines and imagine a story about this written up.

4. The last part is as important as everything else. Be sure to always give the story away as an exclusive. Then, ask one clear question, that the writer can respond to.

   Triggering a thanks for thinking of us, but I will pass on this story. Can be as important as getting a yes. You will be able to either move on or work with that writer on the story.