Transcripts
1. Introduction: Pitching is how you break into the world's most respected
publications and right for the exact media brands that you wish to publish your work. I'm here to show you how
to perfect your pitches. My name is Rosie Bell and I'm a location independent
writer, editor and author. What has gone into this course
is years of writing for some of the most reputable
publications in the world, pitching and consistently lending high-profile
assignments. My writing has appeared
in Lonely Planet, Forbes Travel Guide, BBC, cosmopolitan, voters,
coast, brides, Conde Nast Traveler,
and many more. I have an above average
pitch acceptance rate. And my articles
have gone viral and been translated into
numerous languages, but publications all
around the world. Over the years, I have
researched, developed, and tested my pitching methods, and I share the results of this expertise with
you right here. With a focus on print magazines and digital media publications. This class is perfect
for anyone that is looking to improve
your pitching skills. Whether you're an aspiring freelance writer
or a journalist, or in the early stages
of your writing career. Here you'll learn how
to get your dream of media clients to say yes to
your story ideas and pitch. This class is quite detail
because pitching is a very large part
of what you will be doing as a freelance writer. I'll add to some of you
have burning questions, but he loves writing
pitches and I will coach you step-by-step through
that pitching process. I'll introduce exactly what a pitch is and what
it shouldn't be, what you should
pitch, how often, who you should pitch to and how to find those individuals. We'll look at writing and structuring your
pitch, following up. And I'll give you
some pitching best practices that
will help you stay top of mind with editors and consistently get writing jobs. To write successful pitches, you should read
successful pitches. So I will give you actual pitches that have
landed me assignments as well as pitches the
publications want you to see and study before
you reach out to them. You will be able to
track your pitches on the worksheet that
will be provided for you. And it's also loaded with an annual pitching
calendar to give you inspiration for events that
you can tie your pitches to. So if you're ready to protect your petting and land
your dream clients as a freelance writer,
that's speaking.
2. Introduction To Pitching : For first-time freelancers, it's important to note that work
doesn't just come to you. You have to go out and get it. Unless you're
writing as a hobby, you're going to want to
get paid for your work. And to do that, you'll
have to put yourself out there by sending pitches
or query letters. Pitching isn't only
for freelance writers. Staff writers and columnists
at newspapers and digital media publications have to pitch regularly as well. Even established rights are
still send query letters. As a freelance writer, it actually helps,
didn't you pitching as one of your main jobs? Because if you don't ask, you don't get it. It's as simple as that. As a freelance writer, you are a company and
every company needs marketing and you market
yourself by pitching. So what is a pitch? A pitch letter of
introduction or query letter is the way that you offer a story for
sale to a publisher. Think of pitching as telling great short stories and telling stories because essentially
your business, right, the pitch should use
attention-grabbing pros and wow and editor or whoever is hiring or commissioning
these assignments. This is where you
show them that you have intimate understanding of the magazine or business and that you have a
wave story for that. Email is the most
common way to pitch. Editors don't have time
to take phone calls. That's what pitching
isn't a nutshell. Ultimately, it's
how you get editors to say yes to your ideas.
3. What Should You Pitch?: So what should you pitch? Well, what a publisher, once the first thing to do before firing off
a pitch to a magazine, prints or digital, is to
familiarize yourself with the publication and read their contributor or
pitch guidelines. This should be your
one-stop shop because it'll tell you the exact kind of
stories that they want, what they don't want. And you might get some
sparks of inspiration. You can find this
by searching for submission guidelines,
contributor guidelines. Well right to his guidelines along with the
publications name. Take Fast Company for instance, in their pitch guidelines
with your work-life section, they stayed at the
company prefers submissions from
contributors who are leaders in and knowledgeable about the types
of industries and topics we regularly cover
on our work-life section. Productivity, creativity,
career development, hiring and recruiting,
work culture, work-life issues and policies. Entrepreneurship
and innovation are popular with our readers, especially if there's
a salient takeaway for other professionals. Now, if you hadn't read
those guidelines and sent them Historia with the best
places to eat in Tokyo, you would have wasted your
time and theirs alone. What the contributor
and pitching guidelines many magazines published
their editorial calendar to. Sometimes it might be on their website or
into your media kit. A publication might
show any angles or topics that they are working
on in the immediate kit because they'll want to
entice advertisers to place ads in those
specific issues. Use this to your
advantage and pitch for specific issues that
they might be running. If you know that in a
few months from now, a magazine that you want to write four will be
doing a special on blockchain or successful
businesswoman of the best places to retire, send them your stories
that are appropriate for those topics, if you have any. As it's a competitive
market for writers, give yourself a slight
advantage by selling more obscure stories or pitch about less
reports of topics. You can increase your
chances of finding story gems that no one
else has pitched to an editor by reading regional publications and
special interest news. That's where you'll find under
reported and niche gems. Sometimes I checked
the national papers at other countries on other continents to see what's
going on in those corners. Even if you don't
speak the language that publication is in an entire websites can be translated instantly
on Google Chrome. Consuming more obscure and use allows you to come up
with unique ideas and therefore be able to
offer an editor at the element of surprise
in your pitches. And editor will naturally
want to tell a story that's exclusive and that hasn't been told before for your audience. If you can educate them on something that's just fabulous. Send pitches about trends and
recently published reports. Be a Trend Spotter. Editors want stories
that explain the world today and help people prepare
for the world tomorrow. They want shareable,
timely narratives that will cut through the noise
and get reader's attention. So check new sites
which under ports, useful facts and figures
in your industry or area. New sites are a great place
to hunt for story ideas, poke around and see what's
being talked about. And more importantly, what
isn't being talked about. You can also use Google
Trends to find out what people are talking about
in different countries. And trends around
which you can base your stories and opinion pieces. Don't forget to peek
at what's trending on Twitter where you are. News pegs, time-sensitive
and seasonal stories. Seasonal or time-sensitive
pitches also have a higher chance of being
placed than ever green ones. They give an editor a more
compelling reason to buy your story and
time-sensitive pitches linked to our events
often sell quicker. When reading and
considering your pitch and editor will often
wonder why now? Why is it relevant and what would be a good
time to publish it? Telling them that your
story is tied to an event creates urgency and also
simplify a scheduling for them. You can grab an
editor's attention by tying your story to
something in the news. If you're sitting on
an evergreen story about a specific place, person, or company, you can wait
until they are being mentioned in the news and
attach your idea to that. This could work for practically
any topic or industry. Could you write a
travel guide to your city just before
World leaders do to visit your take on a movie and what it means to you just
before the SQL comes out, have you been using
something that's just been banned or just been made legal? Is there some sort
of controversy around something that you love? You can also pitch a story
on how to travel for less than high season or to feel as good in Windsor
as you do in summer, or something pegged to
Mother's Day or Earth Day, or whichever day is
being celebrated in a place that
your editor covers. Editors love and news peg. This bias article on champagne that was
published the day before New Year's Eve is a great
example of a timely idea. Pitch stories that
only you can tell, tell the stories
that nobody else can because they don't have
the access that you do. They don't have your
experience or your vision. This could include profiles of interesting people
that you know, people that you've met our
affiliated with or related to dig into the trove of
things that you are skilled at and tell
people about that. Story idea where you teach or educate people about something
that you already know, talk about what did or
didn't work for you, mistakes you made,
lessons, you learned. This guarantees you a
unique story because nobody but you has this
experience to present this way. How to guides. You can also pitch a
how to guide based on your own experience
or drawing from what the experts say in this
article on how to be happy on very well mind the
rights or brings in and medical experts provide
tips for the readers. Here is an example of a
woman detailing how to make friends as an adult based
on her own experience. And it was published on vice. For cosmopolitan, I pitch a
story about how hiding your Instagram likes could actually help people enjoyed
it vacations more. I pitched this after I
read a report about how social media metrics actually
change our past memories. Human beings have a natural
desire for closure. We don't like having
gaps in our knowledge. How to articles are extremely popular because they
help close those gaps. Another pitching idea, pitch, the unexpected,
contradictory concepts or distinct notions
put together. Who wouldn't want to
read an unexpected story with contrasting concepts
being put together. If you can think up
subjects that are totally unconnected
and put them together, you might be on to a winner. Thinking out loud here, what about left-handedness and a seemingly unrelated
sport or game? Do you a left-handed
friends tend to be better at
playing Scrabble. Do the most competent
people that you've met tend to eat more of a
specific type of food. Have you noticed that
the wealthiest people, you know, tend to shop
less than others? Do you wake up feeling better if you set diagonally on your bed? What distinct ideas
could you throw together to create a fun story? Counter-intuitive ideas are also enticing and
thought-provoking. So feel free to
test theories and established wisdom and
go against the grain. But bear in mind that
you'll need to backup any contrarians statements
that you make with facts, data, or your own experience. If Dr. say that the
food diet is bad, could you conduct your own
experiment about eating only fruits wild traveling and write a report
about the findings. Could you write
about how breakups actually work wonders
for relationships, or how solitude is
great for friendship. Or how getting married to yourself helped you find
love with somebody else. Or how you were unhappy while living in the happiest
country in the world. Some examples of pitches I
send that were Greenland with unexpected angles include this lighthearted
piece with rights. I proposed a list of places around the world where
couples could replace people entirely and
have non-traditional groomsmen and bridesmaids due to social distancing
requirements. For Matador Network, I
pitched a story about the most underrated dishes in every country
in Latin America. And the editors scooped it out. A list of the most
popular dishes in each country might have
been a tad too obvious. For photos, travel,
I pitched an article about words and phrases
in Panamanian Spanish. That's surprisingly stemmed
from English and French, because the French had a
strong presence in Panama for many years during
the first attempts to construct the Panama Canal. I had never written for
photos before this, but the uniqueness
of my story is what convinced the attitude
to take me on. You can pitch a story that
asks a question that returns, would be curious about, like, can money buy self-esteem, travel a clear bias. Why are some people
compelled to cheat a gains? You loved reggae tone, but do you know
where it came from? Is the Western way of
raising kids weird? Or so, what's it like to sail on a $100 thousand per week
private yacht in Croatia? A story idea that
answers a question is compelling and
instantly engaging. Short emails. Shorter pitches also
have a bigger chance of being read and therefore
potentially bought. Editors are busy
people and there'll be put off by excessively
long pitches, so keep it to around five
hundred, six hundred words. A pitch is a
condensed email with the highlights of your
story, not everything. One story at a time. It's generally best to send
one story idea per E-Mail. Some editors aren't
keen on righteous and the multiple stories
in one email. They want to believe
that you're sending your very best story idea,
that's just for them. So again, be sure to really research what each
publication wants. Pitches, stories, not ideas. This is one of the
most important points that you should take
away from this lesson. And as that story
cell and ideas don't. Starting a new business idea, someone's driving a
one-person business that makes a million
dollars in revenue, six months and convincing
operations is a story. Similarly, taking a vow
of silence is an idea. Meeting a celebrity that's
using a false identity at a silent retreats
would be a story. And organic tomato
farm is an idea, but a French prince, saving the world from
tasteless tomatoes is a story. I think you get my drift. Stories are concrete,
ideas are abstract. Pitch. New stories at the magazine
hasn't already run. Check that this
publication that you are pitching to has uncovered this joy recently or
preferably at all. If they just ran
a similar story, why would they want to publish
an identical one? Again? Your pitch should include necessary data facts
more vigorous. In your pitches.
Make sure you give the editor all the information
that they need up front, whether that states
at o quotes or tell them if you have images
to accompany the piece. Take the burden off of them to do any digging or a hunting for further information
in order to decide whether the story is
right for your audience. Editors don't have time to chase down corrects figure as an
additional information, put yourself in their good
books by doing your homework. Finally, your
submission should also be relevant to the editor
that you're pitching. Editors are inundated
with emails and you should try to be a part of that solution for them. Not the problem. The problem being hundreds of
spammy and relevant emails with ideas that don't serve their readership
or business model. If you're sending a
pitch to Epicurius, which is a food and
cooking digital brand. It has to touch on food
and cooking in some way. You should always be
acutely aware of what a publication wants
and doesn't want.
4. Who Should You Pitch To?: Now it's time to think about who you should pitch
to in terms of the type of publication that a particular story
might be good for, as well as who are
the individuals to reach out to at
that publication? When thinking about the magazine or the side that you
are pitching to. What's their editorial slant? What kind of articles
are they known for it? You do need to tailor your pitches according to
who you're sending them to. Because different magazines
have different needs, Nietzsche's goals
and tones of voice. So sending a mass email out isn't going to land
your dream jobs. What National Geographic might dismiss as generic and cheesy, might be perfect for
a wedding magazine. If you want to write
articles about fashion and beauty, think about Vogel, cosmopolitan, lama or a Lear, and not Washington
Post or The Atlantic. This might sound obvious, but make sure you get the
magazines named rights. You might be sending
out so many pitches and copying and pasting. And then you send a pitch for Business Insider
to entrepreneur. That definitely isn't good. Being good at
pitching isn't just about crafting an
excellent query letter. It's also about
knowing who to pitch to and how they want
to be approached. Some sites will send anything to the slush pile That's
e-mail directly to an editor rather than to the
general pitch email address. You can search for the
editor's name on Twitter, LinkedIn, on the magazine's
masthead for print magazines, the best person to pitch
is usually the editor, the features editor
or digital editor, and not the editor in chief
or the editorial assistant. Research is one of
the core skills that you need as a
freelance writer. So put your investigative
skills to good use here. Unfortunately, many
magazines often have their full print
editions online. So you can see who to
pitch to on the masthead, which is usually on the
first couple of pages. If you can't find
their email address, the quick Google search, use email address
binders like hunter.io, look on press releases
and magazine's website or extrapolate based on the
company's email formats. Most businesses have a
standard email format they use like first name dot last
name at company.com. If you can find out the
publishers email formats and have an editor's name, you can use your
powers of deduction.
5. How Often Should You Be Pitching?: How often should
you be pitching? When you're a little bit
more established and you have existing relationships
with editors, assignments will come to you, which ultimately
means that you'll spend less time pitching. However, when you're
starting out, you will need to be persistent with sending out pitches to get your name out there and
build a writing portfolio. There is no right
or wrong amount, only a right amount
based on you and your circumstances
somewhere else or say a pitch a day
keeps the worries away. For some ten per
day is standard. You need to look at your
own personal situation and decide what
works best for you. So, how often should a freelance writer for
pitch story ideas? This question depends on what your individual goals
are pertaining to finances and time and what your vision is for
your writing career. Thinking about time goals. How many hours per day and days per week would
you like to work? How much time do you actually have available realistically, are you doing this full-time, part-time, or as a side hustle, is your goal to have more time to spend with your loved ones. Do you want to retire
and X amount of years. How many stories are
assignments would you like to have on your
plate each week? Then, what are your
financial goals? How much do you want
or need to earn in a year or a
month, or each week, you should have a
minimum income goal that you absolutely must hit to survive and live your life the way that you
need to live it. Your minimum income goal should
also be fairly realistic. Taking into consideration
general pay rates and the length of time that it takes you to write articles. In order to make X amount
of money each month. How many articles would
you need to write? And how many pitches
would you need to send in order to get that
amount of commissions? With the assumption
that you want to work full-time as a
freelance writer. Let's do some calculations now. Let's say the average
pay that you will get per article is $400. If your goal is to make at
least $2 thousand each month, you will need five commission. In order to get five
conditions though, you'll need to send out
50 pitches a month, given that the average
pitch acceptance rate for freelance pitches is
around 10 percent. As you progress and
perfect your pitches, you'll start to be
able to keep track of your individual success rate. Mine last year was 33 percent. So if I wanted to write
five stories a month, I would need to
send out 16 pitches a month or for every week. It's hard to predict
how much money you will make and when
you'll have it though, because different outlets
have varying paste schedules. Some pay within 30 days
while it's 45 for others, put magazines pay much higher
waist and digital tool. Many print magazine's pay a
dollar or word while it's $0.50 a word for many
digital publications, you'll have to think about
currency conversions as well. If you're writing for various
international publications. The finger is pointed here,
our estimations only. And of course, you
might earn much more for each assigned story. Answering the question of how often freelance
writers should pitch is not a
straightforward one. But the most important thing to know is that you need
to be efficient and organized with your pitches to ensure your flow of
work never runs dry.
6. Writing & Structuring Your Pitch: It's time to look at how to write and structure your pitch. Now, think of your
pitch in three parts. The winning formula is
the hook and explanation, including execution,
bio, selling yourself, and outlining who you
are, and closing. Generally speaking,
you'd have a salutation. And then the story
starting with the hook, your vision for the piece or
how you plan to execute it. And then sell yourself
with the flattering bio. Depending on who or
how you're pitching. Sometimes you might need
to deviate from this. Since you'll be sending
you a pitch by e-mail, the first thing to think about
is the email subject line. The subject line of your
e-mail has the tough job of convincing the recipient to
take the leap and click. What will make the
editor curious enough to say, Tell me more. Is it possible to
create a headline? It's impossible not to open. Whatever you do, don't waste
the emails, have that Brian. Here are some examples. Be sure to start with
pitch or follow-up pitch, or time-sensitive
or timely pitch, depending on the nature of
what you're sending, anything. It's the first time
you're emailing. Pitch. Impossibly interesting new product demonstration
in Barcelona. Time sensitive or timely pitch, impossibly interesting
new product demonstration in
Barcelona next week. Pitch impossibly interesting new heart
demonstration in Barcelona. Starting off with
titles, pronouns, and names, E-mails should
begin with a salutation. So consider what title and
pronoun you need to use. When you know the editor's name, start your e-mail by
addressing them with high firstName or
dear first name. Make sure you got the
editor's name right. Otherwise, this might show a
lack of attention to detail. Double-check the spelling
of the editor's name. Is it Rachel or
Rochelle, EVA or ANOVA? If you don't have
specific details, what the adults are or
what the pronoun is. You can simply keep it
vague with dear editors. Many editors do have
their pronouns on their signature LinkedIn
page or Twitter bio. These days. The first sentence or hook after the emails have
declined and sanitation, the next step is
the hook sentence. It's an enticing
and powerful line, the rose water that face the reader to make
them pay attention. Layer the editor in
immediately with a hook that both introduces the pitch
and presents the problem, as well as acts as an
attention grabber and an alluring snapshot of
what you're about to pitch. The hook sets your story apart from any other and essentially tells the editor why out of all the brilliant
stories in the world, they need this one right now. A good hook means
an extra can't say. So what the first
sentence should compel? It often presents a
new discovery trend or angle or ask a
thought-provoking question. It's also not a bad
idea to start with a statistic or use a quote to encourage the editor to read on and find out who
said what and why. The first sentence is
also where you can use superlatives liberally
at the loudest, best, biggest or smallest. Here are some examples of
hooks and successful pitches that $0.05 example one, original letters
from Oscar Wilde, the world's oldest book museum. A trippy MC Escher
optical illusion museum, date with a girl with
a pearl earring. These are just some of
the unique experiences only on offer in the Hague. Example 2, while the tango will forever be ensconced
in the petunia dialect. There is a novel dance
movement in town. Buenos Aires is quietly
being solidified as the Afro beat capital
of South America. Example 3, the word undiscovered is somewhat
overused in travel, but Boneh, there truly is, particularly outside
of diving circles. This Dutch Caribbean
nation battles the overall
perception that there is little diversion on offer there beyond underwater frills. And it wrestles with
its ABC ion neighbors and Lubeck herself or recall, even airport immigration
agents haven't heard of it. Example for national and
international publications including LA Times and
South China Morning Post, are covering the staggering
rise of tequila 28, $10.8 billion a year industry. Through his founding
narrative is that this growth is fueled by Americans liberty
brands like Dwayne, The Rock Johnson stereo, Mona, and George Clooney is
cosine amigos class EZH2, Mexico's number
one ultra premium tequila brand, thinks otherwise. Example 5. Everyone and their grandma
know of the Panama Canal. What many don't know, however, is that Panama experienced
extended periods of French and then American occupation during
its construction. This has led to some curious
remnants from French and English number woven themselves
into Panamanians Spanish. Example six, Pablo Escobar
as legacy is under attack. Wouldn't this last line make you curious to know
what's coming next? Why would Escobar's
legacy be under attack? And would that be a good
thing or a bad thing? And why? Up next, we're
building on the hook. Think of your idea and
then add layers to it. Leo's can take the
form of time pegs. So why is this
story relevant now? Or superlatives? The best, oldest
bastards or biggest, or some sort of rareness
or exclusivity. These layers add complexity and increase the uniqueness
of your piece. A multi-layered story
is the one that you should pitch with
the afro be story. As an example, let's
unpeel the layers. The hook was that Afro beats
events are becoming more relevant and more popular
than tango in when Osiris, the superlative factor was
that when as iras was becoming the hub of ever beat events
in all of South America. The time peg was at the next
festival was coming up soon. This is the published
or that was commissioned for an
in-flight magazine. Just to clarify, not
every pitch has to have a superlative
element and a time peg. One of the two is sufficient. The most important thing to remember is that the first line has to work hard as a carries
the rest of the pitch. Let's take a look at another
successful pitch example. This time from BBC travels
freelance writer guidelines. And it was written
by Elliot style. Sardinia is home to one of the rarest dishes in the world, Sufi Lindy, the threads of God. It's made by pulling and
folding some Alina dough into 256 perfectly even
strands of pasta, the tips of your fingers and
then layering the needle thin wires diagonally in
an intricate pattern. It's so difficult
to prepare that for more than 200 years. It has only been
served the faithful who complete a 20
mile pilgrimage on foot and the town of new oral two Lula for the
feast of San Francesco. Y. Now hook. Today there are only
five women alive who still know how to
make souffles and do. The most renowned
guarded of a tradition is Paula at brainy, a slight grandmother
who has recently started doing something
new with the sacred dish. She's making it for a
handful of restaurants. On a recent trip
back to Sardinia, I tasted Paula's
heavenly Sufi hindu passed up for the first time in a bowl of mutton broth soup
with grated sharp Pecorino. Next week she's invited me
into her home to reveal how she makes it the
sharable element. I'll report and fill the
tightly guarding technique behind one of Italy's most
endangered culinary treasures. And include a sidebar
highlighting the three places around the regional
capital of nor row where people can taste it. I will also detail that
surprising story behind the dish. It involves an outlaw
who hid out in a case. The video can be featured on Facebook to help
promote the story. So let's dissect this pitch. The hook was that super Lendu, or the threads of God, is one of the rare risk
dishes in the world. The exclusive or surprising element about the
dish is that it's so difficult to prepare it
for more than 200 years. It has only been searched
people to complete a 20 mile pilgrimage on foot. The writer went for
that to add up. Why now hook and the
pitch is nicely laid out with subheadings that make
it easy for editors to scan. This is the story as
it was eventually published on BBC Travel. Think about formatting
when you pitch. Make your email easy to scan and break up the
text with headings. This can be to the effect
of what Y now and about me. These headings and bold to
make it easier to read. It's always important
to show that you've done your
homework and that you're familiar with the magazine or a publication management if they haven't covered that story
or angle and if they have, tell them how you'll
approach things differently. Find articles that
editors have written specifically about
their magazine, podcast appearances, or
interviews they've given. There are so many places
where you can dig for editors information and find
out what matters to them. When you find such interviews
the editors have given. You can even use
direct quotes with them in your pitches
to show that you know what you're
talking about and that you've done
considerable research. Feel free to refer directly to an editor's tweets as well. Execution next. How do you plan to
develop the article? Be clear about what you want to say and show them what you propose in terms of tone,
any interview subjects. Or if you envisage
the article as a personal essay, service piece, roundup list, how-to guide, interview profile
or humor story. Little extra. A writer that also provides images can put a smile
on an editor space, particularly for personal
essays or stories and obscure destinations
that it might be hard to find stock
photography for. Mentioned if you have images
and offer to send them, but don't actually attach them
within the initial email. Your bio and credentials. Next, the most important
thing in the pages, the story that should shine first and then be followed by
your clips and experience. Tell them who you are and
include samples of your work. You don't have to
physically attach PDFs or jpegs of
your clips though. Rumor has it that
some editors delete any emails that
have an attachment. You can include links to
your publish articles for portfolio website
seamlessly into your text. Have a little About Me Blurb towards the end of your pitch to the effect of I have
written for X Magazine, Y Magazine, and Z Magazine, and appeared as an expert on
XYZ national news program. Please feel free
to review my work at amazing rights are.com. Your About Me Blurb can have any little wins that
you wish to include, particularly if you don't
have a lot of clips. You can fill this up with any other achievements that
you think are worth highlighting or tip bits that might stick in
the editor's mind. Did someone famous
like your Tweet? Have you won any awards
or competitions? Are you the first youngest? Are only person to do something. Closing remarks
now, always wrap up with a call to action,
question or expectation. Like, I would love to know your thoughts on this proposal at your earliest convenience. Thanks for your
time and attention. Please let me know
your thoughts on this proposal at your
earliest convenience. Or I look forward
to hearing from you to give you an idea of what a complete
successful pitch looks like. I've included successful
pitches and guidelines from different publications
in your handy worksheet. Before you hit send, check your right, and
then check it again. Never draft an email and send
it to an editor directly. Once you're done writing it, took an on-ground really, and then email it to
yourself so you can get a glimpse of what
the layout looks like and also proofread it. Again. You can never proofread
too many times.
7. Following Up: If you haven't heard back from an editor about a
pitch that you send, there's no harm unfolding
up within reason. I've gotten applies
and conditions after my second and even
third gentle reminder. So don't pitch and then
just forget about it. A good time period to follow up is one week after
sending a pitch. For a time-sensitive pitch, you can pull up after
two or three days. Most editors are fine with
the polite follow-up message, but no one likes to be hounded. So I would follow up
three times at most. If you still don't
hear back from my editor after folding
up several times, then by all means, send
your pitch elsewhere. The maximum that I would
wait before sending idea somewhere
else is one month. Some say to wait two weeks. There are several reasons
why you might not have gotten reply to you
initial message. Emails get overlooked,
forgotten, or buried. There may have been
some staff changes meaning that your
email was never seen. Sometimes editor needs approval from other senior editors. So the decision isn't
just up to them. Some places have a
weekly editorial meeting were all pitches are
dissected and disgust. It's handy to have a generic
follow-up template that you generally use to speed up
the following up process. Remember to always be polite, even if this feels like the millionth time that
you're e-mailing back. Here's a good one. Dear Stacy. I hope you're having
a lovely afternoon. I'm just checking to
see if my pitch below, sent on eight September
is of interest to you for publication on
grade magazine name. I would love to hear
your thoughts on this proposal at your
earliest convenience. Kind regards Amazing Writer. Some publications will highlight
their policy regarding following up within their
contributor guidelines. This for the emphasises that you should always look for and read the contributor guidelines for any site that you wish
to contribute to.
8. After Your Pitch Is Accepted ...: So you've gotten a commission or the editor has
bought your story. Fabulous. This is your ideal scenario
and what we're all chasing. Once you've gotten a
confirmed assignment, don't be scared
to ask questions. The more questions you ask now, the fewer questions your editor
will have for you later. Make sure you know the deadline, word count and ask for the style guide if you
don't have it already. Some applications use the
Oxford comma and some don't. One site will want UK
English one another. It might need US English
for their audience. Be clear about the deadline
and be realistic too. It's easier to ask for
flexibility with a deadline now, then after when
you've missed it, asks how they want
you to submit, whether that's by
sending a Word document or a Google Doc, or with images separately
in a Dropbox folder. After you submitted the piece of fact checker or photo editor may contact to you depending on the publication and
what you've submitted. Immediately after handing in an assignment than editor likes, send another one to keep
the momentum going. You've got your attention,
which is prime real estate. So make the most of it.
9. Dealing With Rejection: Dealing with rejection. There are two types
of rejection. Radio silence and
an actual note. Many magazines and
publications have a policy of not responding
to right choice. They don't wish to publish, they simply don't
have the time do. So for the most part, only expect to hear back from the editor when
they're interested. Thinking you'll
get a response to every pitch is wishful thinking. Editors wear many hats besides casting their
eyes on your pitch. They go to editorial meetings, they send invoices
for freelancers, and they often write as well. And it shows can get thousands
of emails every week. Yours is just one of them. Newsweek, for
example, reportedly received 600 every month, but only publishes one. Celebrate when you get a
reply, even if it's a no. Now the editor at least knows
who you are, which is good. Start by thanking
them for taking the time to review your work. Courtesy costs nothing
and you want to leave the door open to work with
that person in the future. Once an editor replies, Don't let them forget about you. Strike while the iron is hot
and immediately send them another great idea now
that they know you exist. Accept rejections gracefully, and don't argue or
tried to convince the editor that theory
and the wrong for not snapping up your
brilliant ideas. Rather, you can offer to, we execute the same
story differently. There are many reasons why
a pitch might be rejected. Perhaps you haven't
really understood the magazine that you've
pitched do or their voice. Maybe you're taking
a new direction or maybe a timing is off. It could be a budgeting issue. Well, the plate is simply
full of too many e-mails. The editor doesn't hate you, they just don't
need the story or haven't found your pitch
compelling enough. If an editor doesn't like
your pitch, say lovey, life goes on, don't take
pitch rejections personally. The fact that one person
doesn't like your work doesn't mean that you're
writing career is doomed. They'll let it be a blow to your ego or diminished
your morale. You might have a
stream of rejections, but the next acceptance might be the big one that sets
your heart on fire. If you're getting a
lot of no thank yous. Think about reworking
your pitches. There might be something
that you need to tweak. Generally speaking, the
less eukaryote rejection, the more likely you
are to get back on the horse and simply
keep on pitching. Except in the very
start that it's a natural part of
freelance writing. Once you receive
a firm rejection, send that idea somewhere else. Now, that page is free
to fly into the inbox of some other grade publication that might actually
love your story.
10. 21 Golden Pitching Tips: You've made it this far. Congratulations for
our final lesson. I will share with you 21
pitching best practices. These are things that I
wish I knew when I started out as a freelance
writer many years back. Tip number one. Don't be scared to show
a bit of personality. If you're writing style
is informal in general, then write the same way that you normally do in your pitch. You don't have to be
wooden or overly formal. Showing a bit of personality won't mark you as an amateur. You can be personable and
still a professional. What will come across
as unprofessional is mentioning money
in the initial email. Tip two is to save that for once you've gotten a response, the editors know you
want to get paid, but you shouldn't need
them to believe that this is your primary focus. Saved the money, talk for laser tip 3 before
hitting send on anything, make sure you fact check everything you mentioned
in your pitch. Seemingly insignificant
errors can destroy an otherwise
solid pitch. These could be
oversights like naming accompanies old CEO rather
than the current one. Or outdated data. Attributing course
the wrong person or misquoting somebody. Tip number 4. Keep track of all your pitch, an Excel spreadsheet so
that you know who's got to get back to you and when you
need to follow up with them, you can also use it to monitor your progress and track trends. An absolutely brilliant
writer called Lola, I came Monday ACO
Strom started creating an annual freelancer pie chart to show how many
pitches were sends out, how many were
assigned, rejected, and the ones you didn't
hear back about. This is a fantastic exercise to see how you're
doing year on year. Also, have a pitching
calendar that helps you plan your
future pitches. Monthly print magazines plan as much as four months ahead, some even six to
12 months ahead. Websites don't have
such long lead times, but it does help to
get pitches out. Number 5, anticipate
the editors questions. When you set up your pants, you should already
anticipate the kind of questions the editor
is going to ask you. If you are stories
about a person, do you have access to
them for an interview? Think about what basic
questions will come next. Tip six, which often
but pitch, well, don't bash out
subpart pitches to hundreds of editors just
for the sake of it. National Geographic's
editor at large, N400 Kindle says,
pitch liberally and writes prolifically,
but maintain quality. Always have numerous ideas floating around at
any given time. Ten at the very least, be consistent about
pitching to make sure you're consistently
guessing assignments. Don't save your best ideas
for rainy days, either. Pitch them now. Additionally,
always have a story in your back pocket that you'd pitchman editor if
you met them in an elevator on the street. Tip number seven, do target
your dream publication. If you want to write
for the New York Times, push the New York Times. Don't be scared to approach the big names when
you're starting out. Getting a prestigious
byline will set you up for your future
writing career. You'll be able to get more
work, traction, prestige, and money for aiming high right from the start
of your career. If as a publication, you dream of seeing
your name in or a byline that you
fantasize about getting, go after it, study them, follow them on social media, find out who to approach
and pitch them. Sometimes glassware you
will get you everywhere. Your appreciation and
admiration for the publication or client that you're pitching should come across
in your email. But don't become
a vacuum cleaner. If an editor has written something that you
liked recently, feel free to mention it, but don't go overboard
with praises and flattery. Tip nine. You can also give you
a pitch, some flair, personality and possessed
with a bit of humor. So don't be scared to
make it your ally. Being funny requires a bit
more thought and creativity. But it can really pay off in
terms of your open rates. Making people laugh
will always grab their attention and it
makes you stand out. Number ten, should or shouldn't you send
complete stories? There are some
cases when sending complete stories might
be appropriate if a magazine or site has
explicitly asked for complete stories and
with personal essays, generally, you shouldn't write the whole article first
before the pitch. Every outlet has its own
unique style and wants you to write something that fits into
its editorial parameters, appeals to its audience and is tailored to
that particular site. And think about if
you up the same complete story, sensitive vogue, car magazine and
wired with that work, probably know some places will accept complete
manuscripts and others won't. It's best to send a shorter idea and if the
editor wants no more, they'll let you know
or ask you to write it on spec or on speculation. This means that you would
write it and send it to them, but they would
have no obligation to publish the final piece. This provides the editor
with some insurance, particularly with a new writer, because they may be unsure
of your ability to deliver. You should only write on spec. Really, really, really
want to work on the story. Or if you decide
that this byline or this potential payday
might be worth your time. Sending a complete manuscript is a risk for you because
you've spent the time writing the piece
in its entirety and you're not sure
anybody will buy it. Editors will naturally also have pointers, feedback,
and preferences. So you'd be giving
yourself extra work, having to tailor it anyway. It could happen that
you already have a completed story that you
work for someone else, but the editor killed it, or you wrote something
for your blog, what decided that you
wanted to get paid for it. In that case, still
construct a succinct pitch, selling that article that
you've already written, but don't send the
full story, et cetera. Number 11, simultaneous pitches. Some writers do it while
others are thoroughly against simultaneous pitching or
simultaneous submissions, which is sending the
same story idea to multiple publishers
at the same time. You might want to increase
your chances of selling a story by sending its
multiple places at once. But I wouldn't recommend it. Sends at the outlet that you
would like to buy it the most and give them a head start. If you don't hear back in
a total of four weeks, I'd say it's safe to send
your story elsewhere. Imagine that you send the
same pitch to magazine a, magazine B, and
they both love it. It's rare, but it happens. You would have to
go to one of them with your tail
between your legs. The other one hasn't
ended up first. If you do send the same pitch to multiple editors
simultaneously, have some backup
angles just in case you catch two fish
with the same hook. Remember, editors wanted
to believe that you wrote that proposal for them
and their publication. So they might be a bit dejected and put off and working
with you in the future. If you tell them that somebody
else beat them to it, because you set your
page to multiple places. Sip 12. This might seem obvious, but don't pitch a topic that you don't want to write about. If you know that a
publication is looking for stories about cooking and
that's not your forte. Every word you'll have to write as going to
feel like a struggle. Also, the lesson best if you are in a subject and
the less you know about it, the more research will
have to do down the line. So if I had compelling stories, it helps to tackle things
that set your soul on fire. If the cold isn't your thing, you might not be able to bring the same vigor to a
story about ski resorts. Readers consents when you're
being dishonest about your interests and
so can editors. As a freelance writer, you don't ever have
to write about topics that you
are not drawn to. Number 13 is to think about
installing an e-mail tracker. Some people aren't keen on the thought of the
emails being tracked. But many journalists
whereby email chakras as a sure-fire way to know if the masters had been
read when and by whom. Knowing that an editor hasn't
read your e-mail gives you information to decide when to reach out again and follow up. There are a variety of free and paid plans you can get from providers
like male track, and they're quite
straightforward to install. Number 14, don't get too
attached to your niche. The importance of
picking a niche is widely discussed in
freelance writing, but many writers have
wildly successful careers without Aneesh at all. The benefit of having a
niche is that you can be seen as an expert
on a given topic. And you can therefore
develop a reputation for yourself and build your career
faster than a generalist. However, you might actually lose out on work that's
not in your field. Editor may be less likely to hire you to write a piece about tech startups if
your portfolio only indicates significant
knowledge of podcasting, having a niche could actually exclude you from certain jobs. It's best to take a
dual approach and not entirely shoehorn
yourself into something. Even after selecting a leash, there's nothing stopping
you from branching out to other topics or sectors. Once you've established
yourself in one, try on different hats and
see which suits you best. With each pitch. Present
the clips that show expertise in the specific topic
that you're pitching for. It may not be your niche, but you can position
yourself that way for each query letter. If you're pitching
about fitness, preferably include
all the stories that you've written
about thickness, not business. Tip 15. Reduce uncertainties for the editor as
someone who was both for the last and sent
hundreds of pitches and also edited the work of
other freelance writers. I can't stress enough how important it is to
demonstrate that you can do the job that you're
worth the time and money that's being
invested in that project. And that you'll make
the editor's life easier and not harder. A client or editor wants
know that you can do the job and that you're
the best person to do it. Your pitch should
tell them this. Your pitch has a
greater chance of making it past the finish line. If you can answer
the questions about your competence and would use any uncertainty
for the editor. Why should you be hired over a freelancer with
more experience? Show that this is not
new territory for you. Give specific examples of previous occasions when
you've nailed this topic or type of article
and that you're capable of knocking this assignment are the
parts of that. Yours pitch should make a wary editors leap of faith
a little bit easier to make. Number 16, make sure you join and monitor freelance writing message boards and
Facebook groups. They have editors who will
post call Azra pitches. Research the magazines
that you want to write for and follow the
editors on Twitter, setting what they talk about, who they interact with and
the stories they share. This gives you a legitimate
proof of what they like. Editors who are very
active on Twitter also often retweet other
editors calls the pitches. Answering calls a pitches is an easier sell
because you know that the editor is
already looking for topo store that
you wants deliver, as opposed to a cold pitch calls a pitches also usually include how the editor
likes to be pitched, as well as their
contact details. Regarding calls for pitches. If an editor has asked
for rights was based in Alaska for specialists or people with five
years of experience writing business
articles. Don't pitch. If you don't fit that brief. It's a waste of everyone's time. Number 17, practice
really does make perfect. Keep working on your
art and your skill because you can always
get better at pitching. Tip 18 is to tap into the
pool of editors you already know when you need to get some work fast pitch editors or clients that you've
already worked with before, you have a higher chance of getting assignments from them. Once you become familiar
with an editor, you can start sending them
one or two line emails just with ideas. Last, detailed pitches are
fine for once an editor no longer needs to be convinced of your writing style or abilities. Number 19, you should focus on building
long-term relationships, not getting one-off assignments. Getting recurring gigs saves you so much time and therefore makes you money because
as a freelancer, time is what you're selling and pitching is essentially
unpaid work. You should be working
up to a point where you have several regular
clients that you work with who come to you with assignments and not
the other way around. This guarantees us any income less putting as needed
and rising to them is easier for you because you
are already familiar with your editorial style
who set up with all of their payment systems and you know what to
expect from that. Clients would come to you with requests when
they've worked with you before and they know that you
deliver what you promised. And also if you're a
pleasure to work with. Tip 20, make it
easy for people to find you and read your work
with an online portfolio. Having a dedicated list or
a page where editors can peruse all your work in one place will certainly
come in handy. You can build yourself
a website where you Shaphan the rooftops about
what a great writer you are, all your accolades, what you're good at and what
you write it out. Showcase your personality on the about page and
have it work with me or hire me page that lists
all the services you offer, even if you've never been
paid for any of them. Yeah. Remember to maintain
this side and update it with all of your
clips as they come in. If you would rather not set up a dedicated portfolio website. There are also freelance
writer portfolio sites that contentedly and MapGraph where you can upload all
your articles. The final tip today
is to be competent. Particularly if
you're pitching to national publications
with huge audiences. Competition is high and you need to believe
that you've got what it takes to compete with
the best of the best. Believe in yourself and
remember that magazines and publications need new
content to survive. They exist to keep your
audiences and they do that by continuously delivering
great stories like yours. Editors don't and
can't know everything happening everywhere in
the world all the time. They welcome and
need for stories. And that's where you come in. Your job as a
resource for rights, for it to come up with
a story ideas and editors and their
in-house writers and collection of
freelancers won't come up with and don't
have access to. Don't think of
pitching as you have like an editor with story
ideas all the time. Think of it as you
making your job easier by reducing the
time that they have to be generating ideas and helping them find solutions
to their problems.
11. Your Class Project: Now that you've
gotten a world of inspiration regarding
writing winning pitches, it's time to put pen to
paper or fingers to laptop. Your class project is to take one publication that you
would like to write for, semi their submission
guidelines and write a practice pitch using the
tips provided in this course. Thank you so much for joining me for this pitching
protection class. And I can't wait to
see what you create. Good luck, have fun, and see you at the next class.
Rosie Bell, Writer & freedompreneur
