At LendIt Fintech News, we get questions all the time and one of the most frequent is “what is the best way to pitch a story?”
Outside of directly emailing one of the news team members, the best way to reach the editorial board is through the “Pitch story” form. Even if you like emailing, this form will speed up the process and make all of our lives easier.
The pitch story form sends a ping directly to our editorial calendar, creating a pitch document we review every week during our editorial board meetings.
It automatically sends us a new pitch email: story slugs that catch our attention usually get a response right away. I use the exact same form in communicating with my editors, so don’t be shy.
Here is the definitive guide
Pitchers can find the doc navigating through the top bar of the main news site, under News> Pitch story. Or CLICK HERE
How to use the form:
- Add a story slug, a three-word eye-catching idea we will see and go, “heck yeah, that’s a great story idea!”
- Select a category
- Set a Region
- Story summary: This can be a whole page long, or a couple of sentences, including the story idea, who we should talk to, the reason you are submitting. This can take the form of a letter, or a short memo with included links and email addresses of possible sources to collaborate with.
- Great idea for PR agents to mention here: Execs available to offer comment on the news of the day.
- Link for context: the main site of the source, LinkedIn, or another news article to check out for context.
- Photo sample: Important for freelances and PR folks to get a story approved, shows you did the homework, not required but writers will have to come up with these with their draft.
- Embargo checkbox: If the story is an agreed-upon embargo, tick this and set the publish date.
- Deadline: Not a strict setting, but a suggestion for editor’s to consider.
- Pitcher name
- Pitcher email: This will automatically set up auto-notify you if the pitch is approved or rejected.
Getting a story on the site is as simple as submitting the proper form and coming up with a great idea.
After that, the editorial team and writing staff will follow through with the rest, reaching out to sources and following through as soon as we see a great idea that deserves amplification in the fintech community.
Don’t fret if you submit a pitch without images or a great summary. However, rest assured that the team can work up some great visuals and copy if the story has real legs.
Also, if you want to just pitch as an industry source, you can use the form for that as well.
What to expect when you’re expecting
PR experts reaching out with pitches for features and great ideas for content, remember this handy tip: The pitch should answer the main question defining what is different about this company/product/topic from the others?
We tend not to feature executives without a topical news hook, for example, if an executive can add insight to a recent event, like a new product or trend with years of experience.
Another great slug is “exclusive.” News stories and features that other news sites publish are less likely to be accepted.
If you pitch a story this way, expect a message from the editorial team and a quick email follow-up from one of the staff writers. After that, we will set up interviews and hunt down space on executive calendars to talk about the story.
This is the same form we review for podcast requests. If this is a new fintech launching, a startup, or a pitch for a one-on-one convo with an established fintech exec, include a description like “Podcast request” in the Summary section.
Industry experts and contributors
We love to feature contribution posts from industry experts. We have in the past but plan on featuring guest posts more often. If you are a respected LendIt community member and have something to say about topics like lending, compliance, consulting, BaaS, crypto, or anything under the fintech sun, use this same form to pitch the idea, and the editorial team will get back to you shortly to discuss specifics.
Guest posts should be 500 words minimum, for example.
If you have any questions, reach out through my email or contact one of the news team members.
When in doubt, use the link to pitch a story, and we will help from there. Thanks for sharing great industry content; we are all looking forward to more.
