With publication budgets shrinking and many in-house editorial teams downsizing, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get articles commissioned as a freelance writer.

Editors are inundated with pitches from freelancers on a daily basis, with some receiving hundreds of emails each week. Unless you’re fortunate enough to know a staffer who can prioritise your pitch over everybody else's, you’ve got to know how to make your idea stand out.

As someone who started with zero contacts and no idea how to write a decent pitch, I’ve gone on to write for publications including Glamour, Stylist, Women’s Health, Huffington Post, Metro and more.

Continue reading to find out how you can write convincing pitches that will help you land your dream bylines. But first, what is a pitch?

What is a feature pitch?

A pitch lays out your idea for a feature (or article) to the relevant editor of the publication you’d like to write for.

Pitches should succinctly summarise:

What you’d like to write about (be clear on the topic and angle)
Who would be included in your story (will you need to interview case studies or experts?)
Why your idea would be of interest to your chosen publication’s readers
Why it should be published now

Pitches should give editors a clear idea of what your feature is about and how you are going to approach writing the topic. Is it a first person piece, a think piece, a news article, a how-to guide, a profile, or a deep dive into a topic? Does your feature seek to find the answer to a burning question?

Your pitch should provide all of this context. This allows editors to gauge how suitable your feature is for their publication, and ultimately whether or not they’re going to commission you to write it.

Keep your pitches succinct — between 250-300 words is about right. Remember that editors are fielding lots of pitches everyday, so you need to convey your idea concisely in order to keep their attention.

Download ‘Seven Pitches That Sold’ to read some of my successful pitches

Finding a pitching style that works for you

There are lots of ways that you can write a pitch, and you’ll likely develop a style that you’re most comfortable with over time. The most important thing is to just start writing.

Once you’ve written and sent a few pitches off, you may start to notice ways that you can improve on the structure or content of your writing.

TIP: If you’re not keen on the idea of writing in standard paragraphs, why not try writing your pitch as a bullet point list. Some editors have said they prefer this style.

Now that you know what a pitch is, let’s look at how you can optimise your pitches to make them irresistible to editors.

Include lots of research

Editors want pitches that are well thought out and well-researched. This is a major factor in them deciding if your idea is worth paying for or not. If there’s a topic you want to delve into, discover more about or uncover, then you should include as much information on it as you can.

Are there studies, surveys or statistics that you can link to which will add depth or important context to what you’re writing about? Make it your mission to try and find all of the information and sources you need to add weight to your story and elevate your pitch.

Make it timely

Keeping an eye on the news cycle is a great way of approaching your pitches. Is there a story that everybody is talking about which you can approach from a fresh angle? Editors want to get as many eyes on their publication, and as many clicks on their website as possible. If you’re able to pick up on a hot topic in a way that nobody else has, it’s definitely worth putting the feelers out to see who will bite.

When pitching something topical, bear in mind that editors will be looking for a quick turnaround. This could give you as little as 24 hours to complete your piece, so make sure you have enough time to complete your article by the deadline.

Monitoring awareness days is another way of keeping your pitches timely. The Awareness Days website is a great resource for campaigns big and small, mainstream and niche, from all over the world.

Let’s just say you find out that next month is ADHD Awareness Month, or that World Vegan Day is a few weeks away. Having advance notice gives you time to plan and research feature ideas that you can turn into compelling pitches.

Uncover something new

Have you stumbled upon a new trend, a unique experience, a group of people doing something for the first time in their community or a niche interest on the brink of spilling over into mainstream discourse? Then you’re in an ideal position to pitch an idea on a topic that’s yet to be discovered, or that has had very little coverage in the past. The fresher the story, the more clicks and attention you’ll bring to a publication and the more likely you’ll be commissioned to write the feature.

Confirm your case studies in advance

Depending on the story, case studies can play a vital part in bringing your narrative to life. A case study is a person (or group of people) who can share their personal experience or perspective in order to add depth, context or evidence to your feature.

Quality case studies add a human element to your writing that draws readers in, holds their interest and makes them want to know more.

For example, in this Women’s Health article about Tokophobia (an extreme fear of childbirth) I included quotes from two women who’ve suffered from the condition to find out how it has impacted their lives. It was crucial that I was able to weave these experiences into the piece as it framed the subject in a real-life way, which all good case studies should. Without the case studies, the piece would have lacked substance and the commission would have been pulled.

Finding quality case studies can be challenging and time consuming. If you can confirm your case studies in advance and include some information about them in your pitch, your editor can get a better picture of the idea you’re proposing. The only downside is this means putting time and effort into finding case studies for a pitch that you can’t guarantee will be commissioned.

Alternatively, you can decide which kind of case studies you’d like to interview for your piece and describe this in your pitch. This lets editors know that you have a clear idea of the type of people and stories you’d like to include in your story, which for some editors is good enough.

Pull from personal experience

If you’re comfortable opening up about personal experiences through your writing, why not try pitching some first-person pieces? The beauty of pulling from your own experiences is that whatever you’ve gone through is unique to you.

Depending on how interesting your story is, you don’t have to worry about tying it to whatever is happening in the news cycle. Strong first-person pitches will cut through, regardless of what’s trending on social media.

You may have experienced something unusual, tragic, side-splittingly funny or inconceivable to the average person. If you think you may be sitting on a publish-worthy story, get your thoughts down on paper and start planning how you can best package your idea to entice editors.

Identify which section you’re pitching to

As I’ve already mentioned, an effective pitch should make it easy for editors to picture your idea in their publication. Letting editors know the specific section of the website or print publication you’ve got your eye on adds extra umph to your pitch and takes out the guesswork for them. It’s also a great way to show editors that you’re familiar with their publication and have spent time reading the stories they feature.

Think about the key theme of the story you want to write. Is it culture, relationships, wellness, fashion, celebrity, sport or something else? Once you’re able to identify where your story will fit best, be sure to add this detail to your pitch.

Some other quick tips

Include a strong headline in your email subject

Adding an article headline to your email subject along with the word ‘PITCH’ will let editors know whether your email is worth opening or not. It’s the first step in the whole pitching process so make your headline a good one!

Send your pitch to the relevant editor

Knowing which editor to pitch to will depend on the section of the publication you want to write for. Once you’re clear on this, a quick Google search should be able to let you know the name of the relevant editor. Then all you need to do is check the publication’s website to see what its email format is. The most common is firstname.lastname@[publisher].com/.co.uk but always check beforehand so you can be sure you’re sending your pitch to the correct email address.

Check the publication’s pitching guidelines

Some publication’s are helpful enough to provide pitching guidelines which set out how you should structure your pitch and what your pitch should include. It’s worth having a look online to see if your intended publication has something you can refer to when writing your pitch. A Google search like ‘[publication] pitching guide’ should point you in the right direction.

Make sure the publications hasn’t run a similar story recently

If there’s one way to get on an editor’s nerves it’s to pitch an idea for a feature that they’ve recently published. It’s an easily avoidable mistake and it tells editors you haven’t bothered to check what their publication has printed or uploaded online.

Download ‘Seven Pitches That Sold’ to see some real-life examples of pitches that landed me commissions.

Is there something you think I’ve missed or that you’d like to learn more about? Get in touch and let me know.

How to write feature pitches that editors will commission