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JOURNO REQUESTS & REACTIVE PR - THE ULTIMATE 2025 GUIDE

Writer's picture: Danielle AmponsahDanielle Amponsah

Updated: Jan 23

What is reactive PR?


Reactive PR is a digital PR strategy designed to build online authority for a brand or individual by securing top-tier backlinks to their website. At the same time, it positions them as a subject matter expert. This approach is particularly effective for thought leadership, as it showcases unique knowledge and insights on a specific topic in which the brand excels.


Reactive PR: A Smarter Way to Build Links and Coverage

Reactive PR allows digital PR professionals to secure high-quality backlinks and media coverage for clients without spending hours writing press releases or creating new PR campaigns - which, let’s face it, can be both costly and time-consuming.


There are three main facets of reactive PR, but the idea is simple: it’s all about responding to current events and news with expert commentary, data, or insights that add value to a journalist’s story.


Here’s a quick breakdown of the three main areas of reactive PR:


  1. Reactive Proactive - This involves creating digital PR stories or smaller campaigns around predictable events, think Mental Health Awareness Week or Black Friday. At HANDNOTE, we create a tailored Digital PR calendar for each of our clients- a good starting point would be to use Cision's 2025 PR & Comms Calendar. SEO agencies offering digital PR tend to love this "reactive proactive" approach because it’s easy to plan for while still delivering results.


  2. Newsjacking - is all about spotting breaking news and jumping in quickly to offer expert insights. This could be a statistic or a comment that supports, challenges, or adds a fresh perspective to the story.


  3. Journo Requests - This is probably the most popular approach among SEOs working in digital PR. It’s straightforward: respond to inbound requests from journalists who need specific information or expert opinions to round out their stories.


In this ultimate guide to reactive PR in 2025, we’ll cover how to pitch effectively and share some of the best tools for spotting those all-important journalist requests. The goal? To help you land quality links and coverage without pouring tons of time, resources, or budget into big campaigns.


We’re skipping a deep dive into newsjacking here, but if that’s something you’re interested in, we’ve got you covered! Check out our free online training, Digital PR Like a Pro,” where we broke it all down. Want access to the webinar recording? Just click the link on our site, and we’ll send it your way.


How to be Reactive PR Ready


Outline your key messaging and topics for your brand and CEO beforehand.


Keep this in a central location e.g. a dedicated Google Drive folder.


Consider These 5 Essentials for Reactive PR:


  1. Industry Expertise:

Focus on topics where your brand has in-depth knowledge and experience in (this will help with SEO).

Include unique quotes and data to back up every theme/topic.


Quotes can come from the founder, c-suite level, employees and customers. Ensure they are up to date.


  1. Customer Pain Points:

Address challenges your audience faces and offer solutions for each.


  1. Data-Driven Insights:

Back up your points with internal or external data, surveys, or case studies to provide unique perspectives. Share trends observed in your business or market analysis.


  1. Current Events & Trends:

Align your messaging with trending topics that relate to your niche. (Utilise your PR calendar and Google Trends to help with this)


  1. Human Stories & Vision:

Share authentic stories, values, or lessons from your brand’s journey or leadership.

E.g. a startup founder can comment on overcoming challenges in entrepreneurship.

Before you pitch:

- Monitor inbound press requests regularly throughout the day (spending just 10–15 minutes at a time is sufficient to scan and respond quickly). Being among the first to reply increases your chances of being featured.

- Ensure all key messaging, quotes, and assets are pre-approved to streamline the response process.


- While some pitches may require real-time approval, which can be time consuming, it’s important to communicate the benefits of timely responses to your client or decision-maker.


In all your pitches:


- Ensure you are giving the journalist what they are asking for.


- Respond to requests within 24 hours or less- we do recommend responding within 2 -3 hours.


- Provide links to social media, website and assets. Also, include a picture if required.


- Check spelling and grammar.



After Pitching


- Keep all you pitches in a spreadsheet (or whichever format works for you) to track whether you've earned coverage or a link, and to help with follow-ups!


- Did you secure coverage or a backlink? Always thank the journalist for it!


- If they included you but didn't link, simply ask in a kind way. Some editors are able to link and some aren't.


Reactive PR Journalist Request Tools


One of the most effective ways to get backlinks and press mentions is by monitoring journalist requests with social media. Create an account on X (Twitter) or BlueSky, and simply type in #JournoRequest to view all the requests from journalists and writers from reputable top tier press outlets.



#JournoRequest on X (Twitter)
#JournoRequest on X (Twitter)


What's intriguing about these tools are that you get a mix of tier one publications such as nationals and lifestyle as well as more niche specific - so you're bound to find a request suitable for your brand or client!


Here are the journalist request tools you can sign up to whether you're a business owner, freelance digital PR or an agency. They are mostly inexpensive:

Reactive PR Journalist Request tools for digital PR
Reactive PR Journalist Request tools for digital PR

Response Source, Dot Star, Roxhill are great for PR and SEO agencies and in-house teams that have a bigger budget.


If you’re curious about how Editorielle, Featured, Sources of Sources (SOS), and PressFlow looks like, check out our recent Digital PR Like A Pro webinar. In it, our co-founder, Danielle, gives you an exclusive preview of their interfaces.


Did any of the points in this blog article resonate with you? Let us know what your "Aha!" moment was by messaging us via our social media links below!

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