An insight into the commissioning process

The topic for this blog comes from a question asked in my last workshop: do editors ask me to write stories on certain subjects or do I pitch ideas?

Good question. I’ve gone through periods, especially back in the day at trade magazines, where pretty much all the feature briefs were fielded out to me by the features editor rather than me pitching. But when I started working for the nationals and consumer titles and those editors didn’t know me from Adam, I had to pitch fresh ideas myself. These days, it’s a combination. Sometimes an editor will drop me an email and ask if I have any ideas and could I send them over, other times they’ll send me a brief and ask if I have availability to work on it. I’d say most of the time now I’m in a fortunate position to work on ideas I want to work on (usually that means they're sustainability focused, or feel-good/solutions-based journalism). One editor knows not to contact me with suggestions as I’m quite particular about what I want to cover for that particular title. I wasn’t always in this fortunate position and I know things could change again and so I don’t take it for granted. Although I’m far from raking it in, due to the media consultancy (the workshops, the online course, the content network agency and the Power Hours), I no longer have to say yes to absolutely every single potential commission that lands in my inbox, giving me the luxury and breathing space to focus more on stories that I’m interested in, and generally for publications I want to write for.

Of course, this is just my way of working. There’ll be freelancers who won’t write for certain publications if they asked them, there’ll be some that due to the terrible rates in journalism need to accept any work that comes their way, while some journalists will only work on particular features for high-paying publications.

If you have any subjects that you would like me to discuss in a future workshop or newsletter, please send them over as I’m always on the lookout for new ideas.

It pays to be kind

I’d finally refilled my Le Labo bottle after several failed attempts and was happily walking to my workspace in London when I was suddenly reminded of an arrogant entrepreneur in one of the beats I used to cover. A veteran in the industry, he was a strong contact of the magazine and was one of the first people I interviewed when I joined. From the offset he was rude, condescending, and always tried to assert control. In order to continue dealing with him I had to put my feelings towards him to one side. When I broke free, I never had to deal with him on that level again – well, till I was freelancing on a newsdesk and I wrote a critical story about his company and then he turned on me. Karma anyone? 

Over the years since I’ve been freelance I’ve had different PR agencies put him forward for interview slots. He might be a name, but when I think of him I just remember that sense of entitlement and his overwhelming arrogance. It’s always a big fat NO from me. We all know it pays to be kind, but if you or your client are rude or a walking ego, journalists (like most people) remember, meaning perhaps they won’t want to work with you or your client again in the future.

A Masterful Way To Raise A Profile

About four years ago I received an email from the Guardian that both thrilled and scared me: Would I be interested in hosting a couple of Guardian Masterclasses? One exploring freelancing for journalists, the other focussed on how PRs and small businesses can improve their press coverage. A former colleague at the Guardian had recommended me. I knew I should jump at the chance – it could potentially lead to something – but I felt nervous. Running a masterclass for the Guardian? Eeek. To cut a long story short, I accepted the PR Masterclass gig. The programme leaders viewed the session as a success and on the back of it they lined me up to run sessions every quarter or so. Seizing the opportunity and disliking the fact it was just for Londoners (or those on the outskirts), I decided to set up my own workshops across the UK - where I will have met some of you in person - before jumping into webinars, courses, and so on. If I never said yes, I doubt I would be emailing you now. Although I've stuck to journalism and that will remain my core focus, it's meant that I'm a little less worried about money than I used to be. It leveraged me to become an expert, super charged me as a teacher, brought with it countless opportunities, and also helped me feel comfortable with public speaking.

So why should this backstory interest you? Because there's an opportunity for you or your client to host classes or courses with national titles.

The Guardian is investing heavily in its masterclasses and is constantly searching for experts to host classes on a range of different subjects.

If you're looking for a new way to raise your or your client's profile, why not pitch yourself or your clients to become a Guardian Masterclass host? Becoming a teacher can give you/your client a dash of gravitas – and ultimately help sell some more products/services.

Their timetable showcases a list of experts ranging from life coach Fiona Buckland to business strategist Simon Alexander Ong.

Here's the Pitch Your Masterclass page, which features a pitching form. Add details for yourself/your client, what are you pitching - a one-day workshop or three-hour session, for example, and include your bio – do flag up if you have lecturing experience, and if you have a particularly sizable following on social media.

The Times has followed suit and now runs masterclasses and courses via its website. Allyson Stewart-Allen, CEO of International Marketing Partners, has run one on personal branding, designer and maker Nicole Akong has hosted a session on dressmaking, while Lucy Gough regularly leads workshops on styling your home.

Why we can't respond to every email

Emails. They’re the bane of our lives, aren’t they? I’m not sure how you manage your inbox but for most journalists there’s always a never-ending trail of messages hurtling through at a faster pace than you can ever manage to read them. Probably the same for anyone who works on a laptop.

Now as much as I try to instill kindness and doing good in this world, I will say that for many journalists, it is impossible to reply to every email. Now I had someone pop into my LinkedIn messages disagreeing with me on this recently, arguing that they themselves were a boss, managing a large number of people and juggling lots of various gigs, but they still replied to every email. Good on them. And while I try to respond to personalised emails (rather than generic press releases and pitches that have just swapped a another hack’s name for mine), I know that when you’re on a news desk – when you’re working fast and furiously, focused on that story, building on it, calling sources, meeting people, trying another case study after one just pulled out…while at the same time juggling 12 different stories, as well as perhaps inputting them the system, training the new member of staff, heading to Brussels for a conference and attending yet another internal meeting, it's an impossible task.

I know some people will still argue that we should then continue working till 9pm till we do respond, but I disagree. Instead stories and sources are a priority and producing that TV report for the 7pm news or working on that front page. By the time you want to reply to those emails another 1000 might have come through the inbox. So it’s a trade off: do you want brilliant journalism or someone with a damn good email etiquette?

I hope you understand. We’re not terrible people (most of us anyway) and in an ideal world we’d reply to every email, but the nature of the game means it’s overwhelming (it doesn’t help that our inboxes are often overflowing with irrelevant stories) and impossible without impacting our work or our personal lives.

Thanks for reading,

Susie

When A Brilliant Pitch Lands...

Photo by AbsolutVision

Hi everyone

I hope everyone is well and has avoided THE COLD (I've been hit by three colds and a chest infection over the past two months...woe me!) and Covid so far this autumn.

Earlier this month I received an interesting, unique pitch from a PR which caught my attention. I can't always respond to emails very quickly due to the sheer number that fly in, but I'd met this PR at one of my workshops a couple of years back from which we'd always had a friendly email correspondence. Her email was sat in my flagged emails for a couple of weeks at least but when I had a quiet moment last week I was able to respond.

Due to being a newsletter subscriber too she was able to inject a personal and friendly slant to the email. But the pitch itself caught my eye as it was unique and different (and not directly about her client's business) - I personally hadn't seen a piece about the subject matter in the titles I write for. Straight away I could see myself pitching a few publications on the back of it. There was a strong headline accompanying it, which was in the subject line too. Catching my attention I told the PR I really liked the idea and that I'd try pitching a certain title, which I did shortly afterwards - using a similar headline to the PR and adding my own take on the angle too. And then moments later the editor commissioned me. Voila!

I just wanted to highlight how a strong headline and a personalised and a distinctive pitch (which I know a lot of you do already) rather than press releases (which form the bulk of my inbox) can land to coverage. I'll flag up the pitch in my workshops.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Thanks
Susie

Hold Off The Caps Lock

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters

Hi everyone

Hope you're well.

A very small simple tip this week: please use lower case letters when referring to job titles in press releases and in comments sent over to the press. Maybe your clients cap it up, maybe you have a personal preference, but anyway, it's another bugbear for journalists (yes, you know there's a big list out there). It just makes our lives easier when we're cutting and pasting from press releases and so on. Also, look out for other terms that don't need to be capped. For example, I often see the seasons unnecessarily in capital letters.

I'm looking into roaming the country again with my physical workshops and I wanted to sound out if attending workshops in person is something people feel comfortable with or would you prefer to learn online? Also, if anyone wants a session for their group, team, community, please let me know. And, if you know of any affordable spaces do let me know as I feel Covid-19 means I need bigger spaces than some of the ones I have booked previously and they tend to be £££.

Have a great rest of the week.

Thanks

Susie

How Not To Handle Phone Calls

Photo by Annie Spratt

Hi everyone
 

Hope you're well.

Firstly, thank you so much for your kind messages and support after my last email. Many of you shared your own personal experiences of brain fog and fatigue, showing clearly that there's definitely a kind of pandemic burnout hanging over us. Or indeed, long Covid.

I've wanted to talk about phone calls for a while. I was prompted to cover the subject earlier in the week after a PR left me a voice message. Now I know cold pitching is god damn hard, never mind when you're trying to sell in a story over the phone and I note it's often the younger PRs encouraged to do this. Now in the most recent voicemail left by a PR I couldn't even tell you what she said, who she was, or where she was calling from. She clearly wanted to get the call over and done as soon as possible, but it just left her message completely incomprehensible. 

Another thing to be beware of is the length of the voicemail. Often I have messages from PRs that are three minutes long. THREE MINUTES. No one should leave a voice message that long. And often what I'm hearing is a whole press release being read out to me. "Hi Susie, I'm calling from x. Our client is launching a new solutions tool to create the perfect hybrid office." I know many experienced PRs don't do this, but just to say, please don't come across as robotic or as if you're reading from a press release. If you need to leave a voice message pitching in a story, and to be honest, no one really does for me (I don't work on a news desk), make it brief, interesting, and get to the point quickly: why should I be writing about it?

Have a great rest of the week.

Thanks

Susie

Why you need to research which journalists you're pitching

Photo by Charisse Kenion

When you have a story you want to sell into the press, you'll need to work out which journalists to contact.

Don't just send it to anyone. I receive so many emails and DMs on LinkedIn/Facebook/Instagram from founders and PRs who think that because I'm a journalist I'll write about them. This happens to pretty much every journalist. 📺 📻 🗞

You need to research which journalists your story might suit.

A journalist who specialises in tech? Women's issues? Education? Is your story one for the news or features desk?

Research who is writing about your/your client's competitors. Look on Google News. Buy magazines and newspapers, check out the various sections and look at the bylines to see who's writing about your industry. Pay for access to a media database.

But don't send a release off to - or contact - any journalist "just in case". Our inboxes are already bulging and it's not a great way to build relationships. It's also like contacting an electrician about a plumbing job.

If you're feeling a bit stuck on targeting and pitching journalists, my in-depth course Lessons from a Journalist: How to Secure Press Coverage covers this in more detail.

Why you need to research who you're pitching to

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

When you have a story you want to sell into the press, as many of you with PR experience will know, you'll need to work out which journalists to contact.

I'm begging you not to just send it to any old journalist. I receive so many emails/messages on LinkedIn/Facebook DMs from businesses and PRs who think that because I'm a journalist I'll write about them or their client. Same applies to pretty much every journalist I've ever spoken to.

Please don't clog up our inboxes or contact a journalist "just in case" (words I'll regularly see accompanying a pitch).  It adds to our already stifling inbox and really doesn't help with building relationships with the media. It's like contacting an electrician about a plumbing job. I would never send an editor a pitch about gaming if their beat was music. And I wouldn't pitch a magazine without buying it and really looking at what they cover. 

You need to research which journalists your story might suit.

A journalist who specialises in tech? Women's issues? Education?

Research who's writing about your/your clients' competitors. Look at who is writing about your sector via Google News. Buy magazines and newspapers and browse the various sections. Look at the bylines to see who's writing about your industry. Check out media databases. If they're a generalist like me, you need to be specific and have a targeted pitch with case studies. Look at what we write on Muckrack. There you'll get a sense of the stories we like to cover.

Have a great weekend,

Susie