Pitch the Freelancer, Not the Editor
The hungriest, most reachable writer at an outlet is usually the freelancer — target them, not the busy staff editor.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
Founders default to emailing the most visible name (the editor-in-chief), who is the busiest and least likely to source stories directly. Feifer's tactic is to find the actual writer covering your topic — and specifically to prefer freelancers, who must hustle for stories to get paid and therefore read and take pitches far more seriously than salaried staff.
Origin
Jason Feifer, contrasting his own inbox as a salaried EIC with that of his wife Jen Miller, a freelancer for the New York Times, Washington Post and Guardian.
Core principles
- 01The editor-in-chief usually doesn't select stories — editors and writers develop their own ideas
- 02Good writers hunt their own stories; your pitch must overcome their instinct to find things themselves
- 03Freelancers are more incentivized to find stories because they only get paid when they land one
- 04A freelancer's read-and-take-seriously rate on a relevant pitch is far higher than a staffer's
How to run it
- 1
Find who actually covers your topic
Go to the outlet's site and look at how they cover your competitors or adjacent topics. Open the relevant articles and read the bylines to find the specific writer.
Pro tip Search the outlet for a competitor or category term, open the roundups/features, and click the byline to see what that person covers.
Watch out Don't email the editor-in-chief by default — they're the busiest and least likely to source; it's like emailing Bezos about an Amazon order.
- 2
Determine whether they're a freelancer
Check the byline bio — staff will say 'staff'; otherwise it may say writer or contributor. Then Google the name; any serious freelancer has a portfolio site that confirms it.
Pro tip A one-step Google of the writer's name usually reveals freelancer status and their other outlets instantly.
- 3
Prioritize the reachable freelancer
Pitch the freelancer who does the work rather than the salaried staffer whose inbox is flooded and who is not waiting for pitches.
Pro tip A relevant pitch to a freelancer has a near-100% read rate and a much higher chance of being taken seriously.
Watch out Even freelancers assume their job is to hunt stories, not wait for pitches — yours still has to be genuinely relevant to overcome that.
In the wild
Feifer's wife Jen Miller freelances for the NYT, Washington Post and Guardian. Because she must find and sell stories to eat, she is more incentivized to look for stories than Feifer, a salaried EIC whose easily-found address is flooded daily. A relevant pitch that tracks down her email gets read at close to 100%.
→ Going to the freelancer doing the work is often a better move than going to the salaried staffer — higher read rate and higher chance of being taken seriously.
Common mistakes
Emailing the editor-in-chief
The most visible, easiest-to-find name is the busiest person and usually doesn't source stories — the pitch dies in an overloaded inbox that isn't the decision point.
Assuming any writer is waiting for your pitch
Good journalists see their job as hunting the best material themselves, so a pitch must beat their own-sourcing instinct — spray-and-pray to staffers who feel spammed just annoys them.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders doing their own outreach who want the highest-response contact at an outlet
Not ideal for
Cases where you specifically need a staff-only franchise (e.g. the print feature that only an internal editor can greenlight)
From the transcript
“sometimes going to the staff person is not actually your best move finding the freelancer who's doing the work is sometimes the better move”
“Jen has to hustle for her food right Jen has to find stories and Pitch those stories to editors”
“the chances of her reading it are close to 100%”
“any smart freelancer has a portfolio website where they should be very easily found”
From the episode
How to get press for your product
Jason Feifer (editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine)