The smartest pitching strategy you haven't tried (yet!)
Plus calls for sources for upcoming stories and an invitation for flash consulting sessions.
Hi friends!
Greetings from 30,000 feet in the air. I’m writing this on my flight home from Kalispell, MT, which was my home base for my most epic cycling adventures to date: e-biking the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.
I biked about 10 miles up this gorgeous stretch of pavement, flanked by waterfalls, snow-capped peaks, glacial streams, and mesmerizing cliffs. It felt like I was pedaling through a postcard…
Until it was time to turn back. The weather took a turn for the worse and I sped down at 30 mph through pouring rain as hail pelted me in the face. Springtime weather in Montana is far more volatile than I expected. It was a rough ride, but I made it down in one piece, albeit with mascara melting down my face, puddles in my shoes, and toes that felt frozen.
It was both deeply uncomfortable and supremely invigorating, all at once. I’d do it again in a heartbeat—even if hail was in the weather forecast. This is an adventure I’ll remember forever.
My travel report from Montana is just the beginning of what you’ll find in this issue of my Substack, though. Read on for source requests for upcoming stories, an invitation for flash consulting sessions for a good cause, and a helpful resource I guarantee will boost your chances of coverage for your clients.
You’re invited: Flash consulting on June 5!
I’ve blocked off an entire day in 30-minute chunks for speed consulting sessions with PR pros and brand founders on June 5—for a good cause. You can use these sessions for anything you want:
Ask me anything session
Share info about your clients
Instant feedback on a pitch or press release
Brainstorming session for pitch ideas
Interviewing tips for clients
Getting insights on the state of the media industry
Tips on building better relationships with reporters
Insider info on how product reviews work
Something else entirely!
Interested? Just make a contribution of at least $75 to my fundraiser for cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and I’ll send you the super secret link so you can book your private appointment instantly! This is 50% off what I usually charge for consulting and every dollar goes directly to the cause. (Plus, it’s tax deductible for you!)
After announcing this offer in my newsletter earlier this month, several people already booked their sessions! The day is filling up fast, so jump in ASAP to lock in your preferred time slot.
Upcoming stories in need of sources
Sleep.com: How Chronoworking Optimizes Slumber and Productivity
Chronoworking has emerged as one of the hottest new workplace trends. The concept involves structuring the schedule of your workday based on your personal sleep chronotype (or the natural time your body wants to sleep and wake) in order to boost productivity during the day and sleep-quality at night.
I’m looking for experts to interview to explain what chronoworking is, why it’s becoming more popular now, how to figure out your sleep chronotype, and ways to structure your workday based on your chronotype. Experts could be sleep doctors/health pros, workplace wellbeing consultants, workplace flexibility consultants, or something else entirely, if you can link their expertise to the story.
Email jonimsweet@gmail.com by June 3 if you know someone I should consider for the story.
Sleep.com: How to Deal With a Restless Sleeper When You Share a Bed
Sharing the bed with someone who deals with insomnia or tosses and turns all night long can wreck your sleep. I’m looking for experts (such as sleep doctors/health pros, couples therapists, etc.) to offer ways to cope without alienating your partner, practical tips for sharing the bed, and advice on how to have a sensitive conversation with your partner about addressing an underlying issue (like anxiety) that’s keeping them up all night.
Email jonimsweet@gmail.com by June 3 if you know someone I should consider for the story.
Father’s Day Gift Guides for Forbes
My inbox is still open for Father’s Day gift guide pitches! This newsletter has all the info you need to pitch.
Recently published stories & appearances
The podcast “Coffee with a Journalist” had me on as a guest to talk about my pitch preferences, tips for making it into my exclusive “story leads” folder in my inbox, and pitch subject lines that caught my attention. Give it a listen, and let me know what you think!
While you’re at it, check out a few of my recent bylines:
Jezebel: Behind the Scenes at an Ethical Porn Studio (**one of my favorite pieces I’ve written in years!)
Business Insider: As an adult filmmaker, I know kids are watching porn at a young age. Here's how I talk to mine about it.
Sleep.com: Create Your Own Maximalist Bedroom Oasis
💡Use this pitching resource to land more press coverage for your clients
Ever hear of pitching guidelines? No, not the kind writers like me share with PR folks like you. These are put out by editors of major publications to share what types of stories they’re commissioning *right now*. They’re usually updated annually, but some update several times throughout the year.
Like other writers, I rely on these guidelines to find clues about which editors might be most receptive to my story ideas. But these guidelines can also be extremely useful to PR people, too—and most don’t even know they exist!
Check out this example of pitching guidelines from Apartment Therapy (it’s one of dozens of pitching guidelines I’ve compiled at the end of this newsletter!).
It lays out exactly what the editors are looking for in specific detail. Obviously, this is super helpful info if you’re a writer trying to sell a story. But it can also be useful for PR people to understand different ways of pitching their client that appeal to publications right now—and convincing a freelance writer to submit the idea to their editor ASAP.
How to work with writers using pitching guidelines
A word to the wise: Do not pitch editors based on these pitching guidelines. They’re designed for writers—not PR folks. If PR people bombard editors with pitches based on these guidelines, they may stop publishing them publicly, leaving all of us with less info on what they’re looking for.
The best strategy is to pitch to writers who cover a specific beat or write for that particular publication. Here’s a formula that could help:
In your pitch, you can share that you noticed X publication is looking for stories on Y topic (link to the pitch guidelines), and your client would make an excellent source/compelling person to base a pitch on because of Z reason.
Bonus points if you include the contact info for the editor who handles that section and the rates they pay (they’re often listed in the pitching guidelines!). You’ll get a gold star if you share a couple of compelling headlines that could work for the story idea, too!
While I’ve never received a pitch from a PR person using this method, I would likely jump on the opportunity in a hot second. Not only are you giving me the goods on a compelling story, you’re also giving me a lead on where it could be sold! For a freelance writer, that’s ✨gold✨. It also makes it easy for me to give the pitch my journalistic spin and hopefully score a commission.
Try it, let me know how it works out for you. And to get you started, I’ve compiled 59 pitch guidelines from different publications: