Do you have a pitching strategy when you send your stories to editors asking them to publish your writing? If not, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
- A pitching strategy keeps you connected to your goals and objectives.
- It allows you to focus your resources and not waste energy.
- It helps you build your audience and writing platform.
Your pitching strategy begins by knowing what you want before you send your first pitch to an editor of a commercial publication. It helps you create an overall plan so even if one action you take fails, you still have a path to follow.
How strategy guides your pitching!
A “pitch” is the letter you send to an editor or agent sharing your story. It explains why your idea is perfect for their company and lets them know the story you want to tell is aligned with their strategy as a publication.
These first words introduce you and explain why your story is right for their publication. Effective pitches lead to commissioned assignments that share who you are and what you ultimately want for your writing life.
Reach your goals faster by creating a clear pitching strategy
When you have a clear vision of what you want for your writing life, you can make a plan to get there.
Do you want to become a freelance writer, or are you looking for a 9-5 staff position? Is making money a top reason for your writing? Or is it more important to you to share a message or cause? Are you publishing articles to build your writing career or are your pieces meant to share information about a business or company you run?
When you know what you want, you can aim your pitches accordingly. If making a living is a top priority for you, then you know you’ll pitch publications that pay well. If sharing your message is more important, you’ll submit to a range of publications with larger audiences to reach more people. Or you’ll target publications with audiences who align with the stories you want to tell.
For example, if you’re worried about the environment, you wouldn’t contact trade magazines that work with the coal industry to share your stories about the harm they do to the environment. Instead, try parenting magazines for families who are concerned with protecting their children’s health. Or reach out directly to environmental magazines whose readers will benefit and even act on the information you share with them.
Here are five methods to consider as you develop your pitching strategy and build your writing career.
Choose a niche or specialty area for your writing
Choosing a niche doesn’t mean you have to settle on only one topic and only write about that one thing. Instead, begin with one topic that’s central to the expertise you want to develop and branch out from there.
Women’s issues can apply to the environment, parenting and business. Perhaps you write critical race theory and that leads to beginner how-to articles for data-based journalism. Or perhaps your knowledge of critical race theory informs the way you write erotica.
Whatever you want to do, pinpoint it and relentlessly send your pitches to publications, businesses, podcasts as you develop yourself as the go-to person for that kind of writing.
When I decided I wanted to write about health & wellness, I did so not only because I was embarking on my own health journey, but also because there’s a huge market for health and wellness writing in the United States. I began by writing a few pieces for Everyday Health and Women’s Health then used those clips as proof of my skills in that genre when I sent pitches to new editors.
Armed with my two health-related clips in hand, I re-introduced myself to all previous editors and contacts to let them know I was now writing in this new area. Reconnecting with editors I’d worked with previously allowed me to build on my relationships with them. Editors move between publications, which means you can expand to new publications based on past connections.
Use weak ties to build an extensive network of editors
While you don’t have to know an editor to pitch them, having a connection can create an edge when they see your name in their inbox. Everyone is connected in some way on social media. You can harness the power of “weak ties” to build your editor database.
The first thing you should do is check the website for a masthead-or list of departments, editors, and writers who work for a publication. In print magazines, you’ll generally find the masthead toward the front of the publication. Contact information on websites shows up in various places, and each publication is different. Check the navigation bar at the top of the website or scroll to the bottom for a list of links. You’ll usually find editor’s names and often e-mail addresses in the About Us section. If not, look for a link to Submissions, Jobs and Hiring, or sometimes Contact Us.
You can apply this same “weak ties” technique to social media.
Linked In is also an excellent way to find the contact of agents, editors, and publishers. Type the name of a publication or publishing house and see if you have any loose connections with any of the staff. See if they’ve put out any calls for submissions or if they’re open to connecting in other ways.
The same principle can be applied to Twitter and Instagram. Many editors put their contact info in their social-media handle bios.
Sourcing editor information can be a community effort as well. Studyhall, an online community for media workers, has a multi-level subscription service that includes listservs, a database of media professionals for hire, a weekly classifieds newsletter, and other resources. Other websites like Freelance Success and Media Bistro, have databases of editors, job ads, and market guides on what and how to pitch all sorts of pubs.
Develop anchor clients as part of your pitching strategy
When I first started freelancing, It seemed impossible to make a living by cobbling together various pitches to commercial publications. You can’t guarantee regular income, because you never know when an editor will get back to you or when the accounting department will send your check. Also, commercial publications don’t pay as well as trade magazines that focus on a particular profession and copywriting clients who use your words to generate sales.
In addition to one-off pitching, look for anchor clients and ongoing gigs that serve as a reliable source of income each month. Don’t rely on one client for more than ⅓ of your income. That way, if a contract ends suddenly, you can replace that client and still have money coming in from other sources.
Websites such as Lindy Alexander’s The Freelancer’s Year, Writing Class Radio and The High-Income Business Writing Podcast are excellent resources for learning how-to build your writing business and hone your pitching strategy.
Cold Pitching Widens Your Playing Field
No matter how many people you know, you won’t always be able to find a connection at a publication, so you’ll have to send them a cold e-mail. That means your pitch or proposal – from your subject line to the last word – must survive entirely on the merit of your content.
Cold pitching is uncomfortable. It may feel like you’re sending e-mails into a black hole. You may worry you’re being a pest. If you want to survive cold pitching, I recommend you get over yourself. I had to. As long as you’re professional and respectful, there’s nothing wrong for going what you want. In fact, it’s necessary.
While the rate of response to cold e-mails tends to be lower than to contacts you know, you will get some replies sometimes which makes it well worth the effort as you expand your reach, build your audience and write bigger bylines.
It’s not just enough to look at classified ads and listservs, because so many jobs simply aren’t posted for public consumption. Many opportunities circulate within an editor or business owner’s social circle. If you don’t make a point of inserting yourself into their circles, you won’t have access to those jobs.
It’s your job as a freelance writer to put yourself in front of as many editors as possible.
Of course, don’t send cold emails to just anyone, Instead, create a pitching strategy that targets publications and companies that take freelancers in your niche areas and pay within a range that reflects the true value of your work.
Use your community to go farther
During my pitching early days when I was still trying to build a foundation for myself, I set weekly goals to apply for a certain number of jobs or pitch a specific number of articles.
In order to reach my goals, I had to set aside time each week to research new-to-me publications and editors. I had to read articles in those publications and get to know the details of the business I was pitching so my pitches showed I understand their business and their needs.
You can set goals like this on your own, but it’s even more powerful when you work with a group of other writers.
A study from the American Society of Training and Development showed that when you share your goal with others, you improve your chance of achieving that goal to 65%. When you regularly meet with others to discuss your goal and sharpen your ideas, you are 95% likely to reach your goal.
This simple yet incredibly powerful method of creating accountability and finishing your work is a core technique we use in The Workshop, a unique online mentorship community for writers.
Join us in The Workshop as you build your strategy, craft your pitches and build your writing career.
