Right on Pitch: How To Pitch Brand Collaborations and Freelance Stories

Back in January I posted a question on my Instagram stories: “If you could get a 30-minute coffee with me, what is the number one thing you ask me about?” The responses I got were varied, from styling advice, to organization, but the subject that stood out the most was pitching advice. As a freelance writer and blogger, I’m constantly getting DM’s like this:

“I see that you’re writing for Fashionista and some other places too! How can I pitch a freelance story to a website or digital publication?”

“How did you get to collaborate with X brand?”

“How can I write a pitch email that actually gets answered?”

“What’s the best way to structure my pitch email?”

And so I had an idea. I’ve been wanting to develop my own digital products for a while, not just to make money, but to be able to reach more people and share my advice for topics that they wanted to learn more about. In my time as a freelance writer, I’ve now been published in publications like Fashionista, The Zoe Report, Refinery29, Insider, and more. You can view my whole portfolio here to see more of my writing and in this e-book I’ll share how to pitch an editor so that your email doesn’t just sit in their inbox unopened. If you’re wondering how to pitch an article to a national publication, look no further.

When it comes to collaborations, I’ve been lucky enough to partner with some amazing brands like Garnier, Primark, and The New York Times, but a large part of landing those campaigns involves pitching yourself to the brand or an influencer agency and answering the question “why you?” Why should they pay YOU to help share the story of their brand instead of the other thousands of bloggers or influencers out there? What kind of value will you add and who is the audience you’ll be reaching?

I have also done a decent amount of pitching myself (yup, it’s a thing!) to land features on sites like As Told By Women and Makeup.com and podcast appearances on Self-Care Sunday and The Female Millennial. This has helped me position myself as an expert in my field and raise brand awareness for Keep Calm and Chiffon and for me. I’ve even collaborated with other bloggers to introduce myself to similar communities.

So in January I created a Word Document called “e-book brainstorm” and I started to outline what an e-book all about pitching would look like. Four months later, it’s finally here! Right on Pitch is your complete guide to pitching whether you’re a freelance writer looking to get a story placed, a blogger hoping to collaborate with a brand you love, or a business owner looking to get press for yourself. Let me share some secrets to take your pitch from good to great.

Right on Pitch has been a few months in the making because I wanted to make sure I was providing the most helpful information possible in a concise way. This e-book was also reviewed by a group of beta testers who agreed to help me out with this project. Many of them have written testimonials for the book, which you can read here. Their industries range from publishing and digital marketing to education and retail, so there’s something there for you no matter what you do.

In this book I share how to pitch stories to publications, how to approach a brand for a collaboration, my editor-approved pitch checklist, tips for negotiating rates, how to stand out in someone’s crowded inbox, and more.

I hope this is just the beginning of products that I create and that this helps answer some questions, whether you’re new to pitching or are just looking to refine your strategy. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

yours,

Austen