6 Tips for PR Pros to Build (and Maintain) Relationships with Journalists and Influencers
How to move beyond one-and-done pitches to forge lasting partnerships that deliver real results
In today's fast-paced media landscape, PR and comms professionals can no longer rely on simply blasting out press releases and hoping for coverage. The success of a holistic multichannel PR campaign – which includes earned media coverage – now depends on something far more valuable: authentic, long-term relationships with journalists and influencers.
Building genuine relationships is not only a key factor to getting more earned coverage, but it can also help you build brand credibility and boost visibility for your story in a crowded digital space.
So, how do PR and comms professionals stand out and not only cultivate but maintain these relationships? Keep reading to find actionable strategies for enhancing your approach and start moving beyond one-and-done pitches to forge lasting partnerships that deliver real results.
Journalists vs. Influencers: What’s the Difference?
Before you start the work of building these all-important relationships, it’s important to understand the differences between journalists and influencers. These critical differences determine how, where and why you might want to reach out and collaborate with them.
Journalists focus on reporting facts, providing context and informing the public. They adhere to strict journalistic ethics and principles and have formal training, usually working at established media outlets – though many have made the jump to freelancing or independent journalism because of industry downsizing. They can target broad or niche audiences depending on the outlet and can be great contacts for objective coverage, in-depth research and interviews.
Influencers are typically more focused on building a personal brand and engaging with followers through a mix of personal content, paid sponsorships or product reviews. As their work mostly revolves around building a loyal following, influencers generally target specific demographics and interests. They can range from macro influencers with 100K+ followers to micro influencers with 1,000-100,000 followers and niche influencers who focus on a specific topic and can be very effective at driving consumer behavior. These individuals offer a way to boost brand awareness and engagement via word-of-mouth.
Both journalists and influencers have value when it comes to sharing your story with your target audience – they’ve both worked hard to build trusting and loyal audiences. As you begin the work of forming a relationship – either with a journalist or influencer – know which category they fall into and get an understanding of the type of stories they write and who their audience is.
6 Steps for Building Long-Lasting Relationships
Earned media makes up nearly a third of PR and comms professionals’ overall media strategy, according to the 2025 Cision-PRWeek Comms Report – underlining the need for strong, trusted relationships with the journalists and influencers you want to share your brand’s story. This kind of outreach and relationship management is a priority for 37% of respondents this year, according to the report. Here are six steps to help PR teams along the way.
1. Do Your Research
This should always be your first step in any PR outreach. Get an understanding of the journalist or influencer’s recent work. What have they published lately? What other stories are they sharing and commenting on? What is their expertise? You also of course want an idea of their audience to make sure they’re the right target for your news.
All this research helps make sure your brand is a genuine fit for their work. In turn, it allows you to personalise your communication with the journalist or influencer and make an authentic, thoughtful connection.
2. Improve Your Pitching
There's no denying it: journalists are swamped. According to Cision’s 2024 State of the Media Report, one in two journalists is inundated with more than 50 media pitches per week. While a pitch may seem like the basics of journalist or influencer outreach, it’s crucial that PR pros know how to craft a short, targeted proposal to grab attention and cut through the noise.
To write a media pitch that stands out, think personal, relevant and easy to read.
In fact, relevance was the most-cited factor of what journalists think makes the “perfect” PR pitch, according to the State of the Media Report. Your research done in Step 1 should help ensure you’re pitching a relevant story. It should be newsworthy, timely and align with the journalist or influencer’s audience. Also consider if your story can tap into a wider industry trend or current event. Essentially, your pitch should make it clear why the story is worth your partner’s time and effort – not why the coverage would benefit you.
Start with a compelling subject line – try to grab attention in 100 characters. Within the pitch, make it clear why your story matters and provide supporting materials like data, quotes and multimedia. While the press release remains the most requested type of content by journalists, 61% told Cision they also want to receive original research reports and 55% are looking for exclusives. Consider what assets you can share beyond the press release as part of your pitch to help grab attention and secure coverage.
Not sure where to start? Get inspired with these tips and templates for a successful media pitch.
3. Prove Your Value
To transition from contact to collaborator, PR and comms professionals must be doing more than simple email pitching. By providing stats, expert insights and story ideas, you can build trust with a journalist or influencer that keeps them coming back to you time and time again.
When building a relationship with journalists, PR pros need to highlight the newsworthy angle of their story and make it clear why it’s unique and relevant to the reporter’s audience. With influencers, offer a clear value proposition – how will this collaboration benefit both parties?
4. Show You Understand
As mentioned above, journalists and influencers are busy and are increasingly being asked to do more with fewer resources. To build a fruitful, long-term relationship, PR pros should collaborate as empathetic partners – not just a third party asking for a favor. Respect their deadlines, don’t send too many follow-ups (64% of journalists only want one follow-up, according to the State of the Media findings) and respond to requests in a timely, professional manner.
In addition, showing that you trust their expertise and audience knowledge can go a long way – allow them the freedom to craft the article, video or podcast that they know will resonate with and engage their audience. Essentially, don’t micromanage the story.
5. Get Face-to-Face
Pitching and social media interactions typically only happen virtually, but allowing journalists and influencers to put a face to the name can be incredibly valuable and allow for more meaningful conversations. So, look for industry events and conferences to get in front of the people covering your industry.
6. Continue Communicating
The work doesn’t end once a story is published. Focus on building ongoing relationships by sending thank you notes after an interview or once a story is live and maintain consistent, respectful communication by regularly reaching out with new story ideas, data and expert insights.
Follow journalists and influencers on social media and like and comment on their posts, even if they’re not about your company. By showing a genuine interest in their work, you can build lasting connections that will benefit your PR work in the long run.
The Bottom Line
Building trust through transparent, honest, thoughtful and well-researched outreach is the key to forming long-lasting relationships with journalists and influencers. Remember to be respectful and understanding of their job pressures and deadlines. And keep in mind that this kind of connection takes time – you may not see results right away. The effort, however, will be worth it in the end.
Ready to extend the reach of your story or campaign and connect with the audiences who matter most? Let PR Newswire help you achieve unmatched visibility and reach.
About the Author
Rocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.