OUTREACH & PR

Offer an exclusive to a single outlet

Use when a story is strong enough to give to one publication first, and you need to make the exclusive feel valuable.

exclusive-offer-to-one-outlet.md

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You are offering a story exclusively to one outlet before wider release.

The story and why it is strong: {{STORY_AND_STRENGTH}}
The outlet and journalist: {{OUTLET_AND_JOURNALIST}}
Why this outlet specifically: {{WHY_THIS_OUTLET}}
What makes it exclusive: {{EXCLUSIVE_ELEMENT}}
How long the exclusive window is: {{WINDOW}}
What happens after the window: {{POST_WINDOW_PLAN}}

Write an email of under 160 words that:
- Says it is an exclusive offer in the first line and names the window length.
- Gives the story in two sentences, with the strongest fact first.
- States precisely what is exclusive: the data, the interview, the first look, or all of it.
- Explains in one line why them and not someone else, using the reason I supplied, not flattery.
- Sets a decision deadline that is short but reasonable, and says what happens if they pass.

Rules:
- No em dashes, no hype adjectives.
- Do not oversell. If the story as described is not strong enough to justify an exclusive, say so before writing and explain what would make it strong enough.
- Do not promise anything I have not listed as available.

Then give the decline-handling reply in two sentences, for when they pass.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

{{STORY_AND_STRENGTH}}
{{OUTLET_AND_JOURNALIST}}
{{WHY_THIS_OUTLET}}
{{EXCLUSIVE_ELEMENT}}
{{WINDOW}}
{{POST_WINDOW_PLAN}}

Getting a better result

A short decision deadline is a courtesy, not pressure, as long as you say what happens when it expires.
Name what is exclusive precisely; first look at a report is a much weaker offer than exclusive access to the underlying data.
Write the decline reply before you send, so passing does not cost you the relationship.

Questions about this prompt

When is an exclusive right rather than an embargo to several outlets?

When the story is strong enough that one outlet running it first is worth the others running it late or not at all. Where the material is thinner, an exclusive offer reads as overselling, and the prompt will say so before writing and name what would make it strong enough.

What has to be decided before the offer is written?

What EXCLUSIVE_ELEMENT actually is, stated precisely: the data, the interview, the first look, or all of it. Then the window length, a real reason for this outlet rather than flattery, and your post-window plan, because the email has to say what happens when they pass and when it goes wider.

What comes back, and what should I keep for the pass?

An email under 160 words naming the window in the first line, the story in two sentences with the strongest fact first, a decision deadline, and a two-sentence reply for a decline. Keep the decline reply. A pass handled well leaves that reporter available for the next story.

What makes an exclusive offer fall flat?

Offering a vague first look and calling it exclusive. First sight of a report everyone receives on Thursday is a far weaker offer than sole access to the underlying data, and a reporter reads that difference immediately. Name the element precisely or expect the offer to be declined.