How to pitch for press coverage

For freelance parents and business owners who are working from home and would like free press coverage to promote their work.

Jul 30, 2024

Since launching this new platform, Raising Neurodivergence, I’ve received lots of emails from parents wanting to contribute to the platform in some way.

The stories they send me are often sad, laced with deep frustration at The System and very relatable. I love when there is a message of hope or optimism in there.

It is these stories that help me to feel less alone with what we are going through (I wrote about that here) and so I’m keen to share as many of them as I can.

But there’s something else I’d like to do.

I know that when you have a child who struggles to go to school, because of their neurodivergence, it makes it hard to continue working yourself.

Many parents - where there are two, together - decide that one will give up their career to become a full-time carer to the child.

Others look for flexible work that can be done from home, around their child/ children’s needs.

I’m in the latter category but I’ve been freelancing from home for 10 years, since my first baby was born and I realised I didn’t want to return to office work.

In that decade, I have built a very flexible freelance career - around my children’s needs - as a journalist, author, coach and online course creator.

I didn’t design my career with the intention of using it when one of my children, aged seven, could no longer attend school - this was an unexpected turn.

But I feel grateful that I am able to continue working, during this very full-on parenting period, to keep my career going and to bring in an income.

Now, one way I can help other parents of neurodivergent children is to offer freelancing and business tips to those who work from home, or would like to.

I wrote a book, The Freelance Mum, that was published in 2019 and off the back of it, I launched a bunch of online courses that quickly became a business.

Now, I move between writing books and articles (though mostly on Substack, these days) and launching courses. The balance feels good.

I want to share what I know with anyone whose looking for support in these areas - particularly parents of ND kids - and I want it to be as accessible as possible.

So, like all the articles I share on this platform, these pieces will be entirely free for all to read but anyone who’d like to contribute can do so here.

(I’m so grateful for this support, thank you to those who have contributed already).

I will share coaching articles to help you work out what kind of work you’d like to do, as well as specific business pieces (like launching your own Substack).

But today, I’m starting with a piece on how to pitch to get press coverage, which will help you to grow your profile and get your name out there.

Note: if you’re not working from home, freelancing or running a business and so would prefer not to receive these articles, you can opt out.

Head to raisingneurodivergence.substack.com/account, scroll down to ‘notifications’ and deselect ‘business’.

You’ll get all the other pieces published on Raising Neurodivergence but not these business ones.

My journalism background

Back in my early 20s, I completed an MA in print and online journalism and I went on to write, as a freelance journalist, for:

The Guardian, the Observer, Forbes, Grazia, Red Magazine, Stylist, Metro, the Telegraph, the Independent, the Evening Standard, Refinery29, You Magazine, Women's Health, iNews and more.

I have also run several content platforms, as an editor. So I understand the art of pitching for press from the perspective of both a journalist and an editor.

Since people have been getting in touch with me, asking to write for Raising Neurodivergence, I’ve been reminded of the importance of perfecting your pitch.

If you’d like to write for newspapers, magazines, guest post on other people’s Substacks and/or secure press coverage for your business, here are some tips:

How to pitch for press coverage

Don’t pitch on a Monday (editors are often busy at the start of the week) or Friday (slowing down before the weekend). Tuesday mid-morning usually works well.
Find a specific editor, of the publication or a section within it, and email them directly. Emails to opinion@ and similar email addresses rarely get a response.
Before writing the email, decide what it is that you’d like. To be featured in a product round-up? To be interviewed? To write an article? Make sure you include this in your pitch.
Editors are busy. Keep it short and to the point.
A quick introduction to who you are - and your story - will capture an editor’s attention but then it needs to quickly flip into what is that you are proposing.
Crucially: do propose something. If you ask an open-ended question like: so, how can we work together? - you are asking the editor to do the work.
If you’re pitching to write an article, use a potential headline as the subject line of the email. This will help an editor to see how your idea might fit into their publication. For ideas, look at existing headlines on their publication.
Keep the paragraphs short. A long email with rolling text can be hard to scan and digest. If you break it up into shorter paragraphs, it’s more likely to be read.
If the idea is a really good one, you should be able to be explain it in a paragraph. If you feel you need to keep writing more and more, the angle isn’t clear enough.
Check for spelling mistakes. If you’re pitching to write an article and your email is full of errors, it might put an editor off working with you, because it will mean them doing the spellcheck for you.
Remember that editors are real people, with real feelings. Be polite, friendly and respectful. You’re working on building a relationship. If you like their work, tell them. They’ll be grateful for the compliment.
If you don’t pitch, you don’t get. Give it a go. You have nothing to lose and lots to (potentially) gain.