End-to-end outreach workflow
Vince Nero
Vince is the Director of Content Marketing at Buzzstream. He thinks content marketers should solve for users, not just Google. He also loves finding creative content online. His previous work includes content marketing agency Siege Media for six years, Homebuyer.com, and The Grit Group. Outside of work, you can catch Vince running, playing with his 2 kids, enjoying some video games, or watching Phillies baseball.
Over 50% of journalists rarely receive relevant pitches — hyper-targeted outreach is essential for digital PR success.
Use layered Google search tactics (e.g., allintitle:, site:, date filters) to find journalist-written content by format and topic.
AI tools like ChatGPT work well for finding Read more
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79% of top news sites block AI training bots via robots.txt.
Google-Extended is the least blocked among training bots.
71% of sites also block AI retrieval bots.
PerplexityBot, used for indexing, is blocked by 67%.
Only 14% of publishers block all AI bots, while 18% don’t block any.
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Digital PR and traditional PR serve different goals: SEO and link-building vs. long-term trust and credibility.
Digital PR often reports to SEO or marketing, while traditional PR reports directly to the C-suite.
Mislabeling SEO-focused tactics as “PR” creates market confusion and erodes Read more
Agency-sent email addresses have ~15% higher open rates, largely due to more effective subject lines and pitch content.
Brand email addresses drive ~60% more replies, likely due to built-in authority and perceived credibility.
Best performance came from agencies sending from brand domains.
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Start audits with brand immersion, then benchmark against 3–5 direct or challenger competitors.
Prioritize backlink quality, relevance, and link intersections over sheer quantity.
Incorporate AI Overviews (AIOs) and LLM citations into audits, but report cautiously due to evolving tools.
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Strong survey ideas spark real conversation and emotional reactions—talkability is key to virality.
Blend evergreen and timely topics for data stories with both lasting impact and media appeal.
Use diverse question types and audience splits (e.g., generational, behavioral) to uncover multiple Read more
Journalist pool is shrinking while PR pitches increase, creating a saturated, high-competition media landscape.
Irrelevant, mass pitching damages long-term reputation; hyper-targeted outreach is more effective and sustainable.
AI tools like Muck Rack’s Generative Pulse show niche outlets Read more
8–9 AM local time sees the highest journalist email engagement across most major media domains.
Monday is the top-performing day for both opens and replies, especially among freelancers and UK-based journalists.
Freelancers show broader engagement throughout the week but still peak around Read more
Mass email blasts trigger penalties and underperform — Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo now penalize bulk, untargeted PR outreach.
Smaller, hyper-targeted campaigns earn 17x more links — Based on analysis of 31M emails and 80K digital PR campaigns.
Relevance now includes topic, geography, timing, Read more
Our guest for this episode, Rich Brooks, is a man of many hats. He runs the Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference, is the president of Flyte New Media, and is the Tech Guru for his local NBC channel in Maine, among many other things.
Rich was kind enough to invite me onto his podcast to chat Read more
