From The Mouths Of Legaltech Journalists: How To Successfully Pitch To A Story

As there are far fewer legal technology media outlets and journalists than there were even five years ago, it's all the more difficult to get the attention of journalists and bloggers who cover the space.

These days, the legal technology space is crowded. It seems as if there are new start-ups emerging every day into already well-populated niches of the legaltech marketplace. Established companies seem to get all the press, leaving smaller companies in their wake, struggling for a mere nod of acknowledgement from journalists who cover the space.

For small legaltech start-ups, the struggle is real. After sending out a press pitch that you think includes a great story, there’s no reply. Despite your best efforts, you can’t seem to get a single legaltech journalist to take notice of your company and its message.

Rest assured, you’re not alone. The rise of the internet and digital media has had a marked impact on the legal technology news media. The outlets that cover this type of news are struggling to stay profitable and have reduced costs through mergers and staff cuts. As a result, in 2021 there are far fewer legal technology media outlets and journalists than there were even five years ago. This means that it’s all the more difficult to get the attention of journalists and bloggers who cover the space.

What’s a legaltech company seeking media coverage to do?

While I don’t have a surefire answer to this question, I do have some ideas, straight from the mouths of legaltech journalists. This very topic came up last week, during Legaltech Week, the weekly legaltech journalist roundtable hosted by Bob Ambrogi. The journalists participating last week shared their thoughts on how to successfully pitch a story to them. Below you’ll find some of their recommendations.

Along with Bob and me, the other journalists participating last week were:

  • Steve Embry, publisher, TechLaw Crossroads
  • Caroline Hill, editor in chief, Legal IT Insider
  • Victoria Hudgins, reporter for Legaltech News
  • Joe Patrice, editor, Above the Law
  • Zach Warren, editor in chief, Legaltech News.

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Here are some of their comments and recommendations about press pitches and how to improve them.

At the start of this segment, Bob explained that what often surprises him is “how poorly written some press releases are and how much they fail to tell you at all what they’re about.”

Caroline agreed and explained that when she receives one she often wonders: “What is the actual point? Why are you telling us what you’re telling us? What has changed? What is new? […] Imagine you’re telling your friend what the story is and write it like that.”

Steve agreed that they’re often written poorly: “When I quote a press release in one of my posts and […] run it through Grammarly […] I wonder, ‘Don’t you have these types of tools?’ ”

Bob explained that sometimes he’ll “read them several times, and I just don’t know what happened. Even the headline doesn’t help.”

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Steve then shared that in some cases that’s actually the problem: “Some of the time nothing has happened!”

Bob suggested that perhaps the problem is that press releases aren’t always written with the press in mind: “What often happens is they end up writing press releases for executives or investors or someone else […] who has to sign off on it, and by the time it’s released there isn’t much left.”

Joe then shared the format he prefers for press releases: “I prefer the bullet points […] with quotes that are easily pull[ed] into a story. You don’t need to write a narrative, but if the bullet points are beefed up with something you can block, pull, and drop into [your article] that would be ideal.”

Caroline agreed, and then offered her two cents on what should be included in a press release: “I love when you have someone who perhaps has been a journalist and then you […] can just use that. […] Think about what it is that the audience […] wants to read about. How is [the product] useful? […] If you were the end user you might think ‘Oh, I might need that.’ ”

Bob explained that he would prefer to learn about the news over a phone call: “I prefer not (to receive) a press release at all. I prefer an email saying here’s the news we’re announcing, here’s why it’s significant. Would you like to speak to someone from our organization?”

Next, I emphasized the importance of having useful content that can be used in an article: “Because everyone’s in a rush, including some useful chunks of text to build a story around  can help.”

Steve agreed that can be useful, especially when it comes to background and biographical information: “Background information is helpful so you don’t have to look up how the company describes itself and how it describes its product. […] It saves time.”

Joe also appreciated having that type of information readily available in a press release: “Those bios are useful for pulling a couple of lines. […] Because I can describe what I know of the company, but they may not be what want to be described that way so I’m willing to take their lead […] sometimes.”

Finally, Joe suggested that conference organizers should consider including a media panel so that members of the press could share these types of recommendations with legaltech companies: “All conferences should have a panel where [the press] explains how to get their attention.”

So there you have it! Everything you need to know about getting the news out about your legaltech company, straight from the mouths of the press!


Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and Director of Business and Community Relations at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikiblack and she can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.

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