Outreach Management

Every pitch lives in a tracked lifecycle — from generation through distribution, follow-up, response, and resolution. AI Presence maintains an outlet classification database with five-tier ratings that adjust automatically based on actual pitch outcomes. Journalist profiles store beat coverage, recent articles, contact information, and full interaction history. The follow-up queue surfaces overdue pitches on the dashboard with days-overdue counts and suggested next actions. When a pitch is accepted and the article publishes, the mention flows directly into the tracking system. Response patterns compound in memory — after fifty pitches, the system knows which outlets respond, which angles work, and which journalists cover your domain.

The outreach system is not a CRM bolted onto a content tool. It is a purpose-built distribution engine designed for editorial pitching. Every interaction is recorded, every response is categorized, and every outcome feeds back into the intelligence layer that improves future pitch targeting. The goal is not just to send pitches — it is to build a compounding database of media relationships that makes every subsequent pitch more likely to land.

When you generate a pitch through the content engines, it enters the outreach system automatically. The system assigns the pitch to a journalist, sets the follow-up cadence, and begins tracking. You do not need to copy content into a separate tool or maintain a spreadsheet of sent emails. Everything lives inside a single pipeline from content generation to published coverage.

Five-Tier Outlet Classification

AI Presence classifies every media outlet into one of five tiers. This classification determines pitch priority, follow-up cadence, and how much weight a resulting mention carries in your authority score. Tiers are not static — they adjust based on actual pitch outcomes over time. An outlet that consistently publishes your pitches may move up a tier. An outlet that never responds may move down.

• Tier 1 — Top-Tier National — Major national and international publications with broad reach and high domain authority. Examples include outlets like TechCrunch, Wired, The Verge, and Bloomberg. A single Tier 1 placement can shift your authority score significantly and often triggers AI citation pickup.
• Tier 2 — Industry Authority — Respected publications within your specific industry vertical. These outlets carry strong authority within their domain and are frequently cited by AI systems when answering industry-specific queries. Tier 2 placements build deep credibility with your core audience.
• Tier 3 — Relevant Vertical — Publications covering your broader vertical or adjacent verticals. These outlets provide solid coverage and contribute to entity spread across topic areas. Tier 3 is often the most productive tier by volume for growing organizations.
• Tier 4 — Niche — Smaller publications focused on narrow topic areas. While individual Tier 4 placements carry less authority weight, they contribute to mention diversity and help establish topical coverage across a wider range of queries.
• Tier 5 — Local and Micro — Local news outlets, community publications, and micro-niche blogs. These placements serve geographic or hyper-specific audience targeting and round out your entity presence across the full spectrum of media coverage.

Pitch Lifecycle States

Every pitch in AI Presence moves through a defined lifecycle. The system tracks each state transition with timestamps, enabling detailed analysis of pitch velocity, response rates, and conversion patterns over time. Understanding where pitches stall helps you refine angles, improve targeting, and adjust follow-up timing.

The lifecycle states are:

• SENT — The pitch has been delivered to the journalist. The follow-up clock starts. Day count begins at zero.
• FOLLOWED_UP — A follow-up message has been sent according to the configured cadence (typically Day 4, Day 8, and Day 12). Each follow-up is logged with its content and timestamp.
• RESPONDED — The journalist has replied. The response is categorized and the pitch moves to an active conversation state. Response content is stored in the journalist profile for future reference.
• ACCEPTED — The pitch has been accepted for publication. The system watches for the resulting article to appear and automatically creates a mention record when it does.
• DECLINED — The journalist has explicitly declined the pitch. The reason, if provided, is stored to improve future pitch angle selection for that outlet and journalist.
• NO_RESPONSE — The full follow-up sequence has completed without any reply. This outcome feeds into outlet tier recalculation and journalist engagement scoring.
• CLOSED — The pitch lifecycle is complete. Whether accepted, declined, or unresponsive, the pitch data is archived and its outcomes contribute to system-wide intelligence for future pitching.

The outreach system integrates directly with mention tracking. When a pitch results in published coverage, the mention is automatically created, categorized, and scored. This closed-loop architecture means you never lose track of which content efforts produced which outcomes — and the system gets smarter with every pitch cycle.