The Psychology of Pitching Articles
- kahansudev
- Sep 22, 2022
- 6 min read
The Complete Guide to Writing a Perfect Pitch:
These are lessons I have picked up through my research on how to create the perfect pitch for editors and publications. I have found success with what I have learned and would like to share them with you.
Introduction
As a naturalist, I tend to think that there are no rules when it comes to getting through to another human being, be it an editor of a magazine, a literary agent for your novel, or the government official who is helping you out with welfare checks.
The editor who is going to read your pitch is not a bot that crawls your writing for keywords. So, my first instincts are to speak to the other person as I would with a fellow human.
But, we can't afford to forget that these fellow humans receive 100 to 1000 emails a day from people like us. Chances are that a naturalist's route of writing long Wordsworthesque essays or a Shakespearean love letters,may not be read at all.
So here are a few basic tips and psychological hacks that may help us get through to our beautiful editors.
An Editor's Basic Tips
The editors have a business to run which makes your pitch a product proposal. Here are a few tips from Austen Tosone, an editor, on what she feels is crucial from an editor's perspective.
To summarise her points:
Pitch to publications that are looking for writers: Cold pitching is fine, but if you are looking to increase your success rate, pitch to publications that are looking for content.
Check publication's guidelines: Research and look for what the publication expects of a pitch. Some of them ask for a completed article, others would want the subject line to be in a certain format, etc.
Pitch to the right editor: Bigger publications have more than one editor. Make sure your subject matter matches the right editor. For example: while pitching to a fitness and lifestyle magazine, make sure your lifestyle pitch is sent to the editor in charge of the respective section.
Tailor to publication: Make sure your content matches the publication's material and that your voice matches the publication's content.
An Example of A Great Pitch
The example below is a screenshot from Indeed's Career Guide blog, by their editorial team. They have a great article on the same subject if you are interested: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-pitch-an-article
Subject line: This is the most important part: the first impression, the line that makes the editor click on your email.
Make it personal: A few editors don't care for such formalities, but, using the right name to direct the mail to the right person makes the message personal and shows that you care.
The content: The product you are selling and the problem you are solving. Keep it short, and concise, but make it a story.
The target: Here is where you describe the target audience.
Small talk: These sections in the example are irrelevant but they make the pitch pleasant. If you do use them, keep them short and sweet.
Author bio: The postscript author bio I feel works very well and is the main reason I choose this example. Keep it short and sweet.
Pitching Psychology
If you're someone like me, then you hate instructions. All we are looking for is a set of principles to work with and direction.
If that sounds like you, this section is for you.
We Are Story Tellers
Our ability to tell stories is fundamental to human nature. Even the readings taken down by the Hubble telescope needed a narrative to support the findings and comprehend the phenomena.
As writers, narratives are the most important factors to understand. The quality of a writer is directly proportional to their storytelling capabilities.
There are three major areas where this gift of ours ought to be utilized in a pitch:
The subject line: If you are able to narrate a one-line story in your subject line, you have a winner. Remember the first impression is the best impression and subject lines are your introductions.
The content: It is in this section that you can do more than just name the topic that you are looking to write. Here is where one can flaunt their writing skills to tell a story.
Author bio: People are most likely to consider what you have to say if they like who you are. And nothing is more admirable than an authentic story of oneself.
Variety and Odd Representations
We are visually drawn to symbols, colors, and images. If your content can be supported by visual data (infographics, graphs, photographs that you have taken) be sure to include them.
And consider putting out these contents in odd numbers, ie: consider using one or three forms of visual information in your pitch. We seem to respond better to odd numbers than we do to even.
In any narrative, it is only when the third entity is introduced does the story begin to move. Think about it, think about a favorite scene of yours from any book or movie (you will always be able to find the third entity or the fifth one, that moves a story forward).
Familiarity and Confirmation Bias
Though I like to consider myself a non-conformist (I don't intentionally not conform, my ideas are a bit eccentric and I know it) I am thrilled to associate with people who may share my views.
We have more affinity toward those who share our POVs. So make sure that you are able to hit areas that you and the editor see eye to eye (which requires a bit of researching on the editor). This can mostly be done in the content section of your pitch.
ADIA Strategy
The one area where humans use psychology more than psychologists themselves is in the field of marketing. ADIA (Attention, Intrest, Desire, and Action) is a famously used marketing strategy.
Attention: Grab the editor's focus with your subject line.
Interest: Make them curious about the subject matter that you are proposing.
Desire: As humans, we are often unaware of what it is we desire, so, show them what it is (for editors it si usually readership). This can be done by highlighting the potential readers and the crowds that your article is likely to interest.
Action: This is where you give the editor your contact details. Make it easy for them to get in touch with you immediately.
Obedience to Authority
Ever realized how we tend to gravitate toward a toothpaste brand that has an actor with a lab coat, posing as a dentist, on screen?
We tend to agree with and listen to authority. This factor can be utilized by showing your client, the editor, why you are the right person for the job.
You can also utilize this hack to support your content. For instance, if you are writing about gut health, you can highlight statistical findings from research conducted by the World Health Organisation.
Authenticity
Be authentic, not just with your voice and tone, but also with your writing. Do not use fillers and fluffs to add volume to your pitch.
Your pitch ought to be short, preferably less than 500 words, and to the point.
Tell good stories, good stories seldom beat around the bush.
I know there are a lot of factors to consider and grounds to cover within 500 words, which may end up hampering our authenticity. Be mindful of it, for superficiality is a turnoff.
Create Urgency
Limiting time creates a sense of lacking or scarcity. Often publications would ask you for a few days or weeks to respond. So, be patient and give them the time.
But, in cases of no such specifications, be sure to issue your deadline. This not just creates a sense of urgency, but in case they do not respond within the deadline, you can move on to pitch the article to the next publication.
Conclusion
The process takes time, effort, and a whole lot of research. It can get very frustrating when there are no replies or the only replies are rejections. But, with failures, there is a sense of freedom.
Failures sink your heart and dissipate the earth beneath your feet. Learn to fly and use your brain to navigate.
There is that one editor who is sitting behind her computer waiting for your email, she just doesn't know that yet. Time to hit her up and show her what she is looking for.
Kahan J Sudev
PS: If you are looking for another article on the same subject: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/writing-a-great-pitch
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