Haven't I said it all before? How to keep writing when you have nothing new to say
You’ve likely written countless blog posts, articles, newsletters, and social media posts to share your expertise. After a while, it can feel like you’ve said all you need to say. Staying energized and engaged in the process can be challenging when that happens.
I get that.
But if you stop now, you will lose the momentum you’ve built. So, how do you keep going when you feel like you’re running on empty?
Repetition builds your reputation.
No one is paying as much attention to your content as you. You feel like you’ve said it all before, but your audience doesn’t feel that way. Yes, you might have people in your orbit who have been around for a while, and they might even remember you saying something similar in the past.
But you are not the only person they follow. And they are not the only person you connect with through your writing. You constantly connect with new people on social media and gain subscribers to your email newsletter. These newcomers are just starting to dive into your work, so they need you to share the wisdom you shared before.
Repetition is what builds your reputation. If you stop sharing your core expertise and start sharing something novel and exciting to you, you risk confusing your audience. And when our audience is confused, they stop paying attention.
The people you serve need you to keep saying what you’ve been saying.
Why?
Because they know your message is important but aren’t sure how to take action on it yet, and they want your ongoing support. That’s why they follow you!
Think about the folks you’ve followed for a while. Does it feel like they’re repeating themselves? Or does it feel like they are providing good, solid information with a handful of reminders and back-to-basics foundational information tossed in?
Your audience feels the same way.
Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and thought it was okay, then watched it again years later and thought it was fantastic? The book or movie didn’t change. You did.
As we grow and change, we receive the same message differently. Your job is to share your message and meet your audience — the newcomers and those who’ve been around for a while — right where they are.
Finding new ways to talk about the same old idea.
When I say repetition builds your reputation, I don’t mean that you should just share the same article again and again and again. That won’t serve you or your audience. Instead, I want you to share the same ideas in new ways.
Here are five tips to help you find new ways to talk about the same old ideas:
- Collect and share illustrative examples. Think about the experiences you’ve had in your life. Which ones illustrate a point you make when working with your clients? These examples may come from a project you worked on, a speaking engagement, or a podcast interview. But they might also come from a visit to a museum, a book of poetry, or an art class. Each example you have (even if they illustrate the same point) can serve as the foundation of a new article. Different examples will resonate with different audience members.
- Segment your audience. Your audience is not a faceless mass of humanity. It is made up of individual humans with different life experiences, needs, and desires. Whether your audience includes people across the corporate hierarchy, from executives to managers to employees, across sectors, from business to nonprofit to government, or across skill levels, from experienced to novice, each segment needs something different from you. Write articles that speak directly to the needs of each segment so you can meet every member of your audience where they are.
- Consume business content with intention. Be an active consumer, whether reading a book or listening to a podcast. Look for statements that elicit a reaction. What is that reaction? Do you strongly agree or disagree? Is the statement oversimplifying something or overcomplicating it? What is the author or speaker missing? Write a piece responding to that content; don’t be afraid to dive into the nuances. That’s what sets you apart.
- Revisit old material. Read blog posts, newsletters, and social media posts (paying particular attention to the comments). You grow and change, too, so this can be a rich resource for new articles. Read your work critically. Has your thinking evolved since you wrote that piece? Is there more you can share? Can you dive a little deeper into it? If so, write about it.
- Take time to refill the tank. Read books and articles, listen to podcasts, watch movies, take a class, or visit an art museum. Allow inspiration to come from unexpected places.
It may feel like you’re repeating yourself. But that’s because you know your stuff! You, my friend, are the expert. Your audience isn’t. Don’t make them work hard to learn from you. Keep sharing your wisdom!
Is your article worth publishing
High-quality, original articles position you as an authoritative expert. They capture your readers' attention and add to critical conversations about today's world. But how do you know if an article is good enough to pitch to a high-visibility publication?
I developed the CORD Framework™ to help my clients evaluate the editorial quality of their articles. Refer to this framework when you rewrite your article and again during the editing process, and share it with anyone who reviews your work before you submit it. As you review your article, evaluate each of the four elements of the CORD Framework.
Download a copy of The CORD Framework™ to evaluate the editorial quality of your articles.
Is your article cogent?
Writing is not about the ink; it’s about the think. And a big part of that think is determining the best way to present the information you are trying to convey to your audience. A cogent article appeals to the mind. It is clear, logical, and convincing.
A cogent article presents a compelling case in support of a specific position or viewpoint. It starts by providing the reader with the context they need to be able to understand and apply the actionable insights presented. A cogent article makes it easy for the reader to understand the point you are making and to follow your argument. It is useful to the intended reader and gives them the tools they need to change their mindset, thinking, or behavior.
Is your article original?
High-visibility publications only publish original work, which means work not published elsewhere, including on your website or social media. But the fact that your article hasn’t been published elsewhere is insufficient to ensure it is worth publishing.
Every idea has a lineage, so your article doesn’t have to present ideas that have never before been considered. (That would be a prohibitively high bar.) It does, however, need to demonstrate independent thinking.
An original article presents a strong voice and a clear point of view. It builds upon your experience and positions you as an authoritative expert. It may go against the grain or point out where others in your field oversimplify or overcomplicate the matter.
Is your article researched?
If you want your articles to build your authority, they must be based on more than mere conjecture. While it is not necessary to conduct an in-depth study, it is essential that the insights you present in your article be based on evidence and grounded in fact. To accomplish this, you might conduct desk research and cite other experts in your field or share anecdotal evidence related to your own experiences.
Every project you tackle is an opportunity for you to conduct field research. It is an opportunity to observe the process you and your clients underwent to diagnose and treat the problem. It is an opportunity for you to deepen your learning so you can share that learning with a broader audience.
Is your article deep?
A high-quality article adds to the conversation, not to the noise. It doesn’t skate along the surface of an issue but explores the nuances, offering insights not found elsewhere. Because articles are only about 1,000 words, each piece must explore a narrow issue to achieve any depth. That specificity, however, allows you to approach the issue from several angles, each serving as the foundation of another article.
High-quality articles meet each of these criteria. This type of writing requires more effort and cannot be outsourced to generative AI. But that effort pays dividends. Writing and thinking through your ideas is tremendously valuable regardless of whether your work is published. When you publish your work, it not only helps you build your reputation as an authoritative expert but also creates an appreciating asset that you can reference and share repeatedly.
Are we putting too much emphasis on storytelling?
Stories are powerful. But they aren't the only effective way to share your ideas with your audience. And if you are afraid that you are not a good storyteller or aren't telling stories the right way, this emphasis on storytelling might be holding you back.
Yes, the power of stories is undeniable.
Stories bring data, facts, and figures to life by giving them context and meaning. They help us connect with our audience emotionally and intellectually, and that connection allows us to get our message across in a way that is not only memorable but persuasive. A good story can capture people's hearts and change their minds.
But have we taken this emphasis on storytelling too far?
Stories can help, but they can also harm.
When we think about stories, especially within the context of business storytelling, the underlying assumption is that stories are good for our clients, good for our businesses, and good for the world.
But stories are not inherently good; they are merely tools.
A well-told story has the power to engulf our minds. It can help us see the world differently and open our minds to new ideas and possibilities.
When the message the story imparts is positive, a story can make that message clearer to the audience. It can help the reader understand the idea by giving it form and substance. Moreover, it can compel the reader to take action and implement the idea because they see how to do it and know what they expect if they do it well.
But what if that message is not true?
In an interview on HBR's IdeaCast, the literary scholar and author Jonathan Gottschall raised concerns about the "storytelling industrial complex." An entire industry has been built around teaching businesses how to tell more memorable and persuasive stories. Many talk about the potential of a good story to "go viral."
It's an apt metaphor.
Stories don't care if the message you wish to spread is true or not. The job of a well-told story is simply to spread the message encapsulated within it. And because stories are so powerful, a good story can inspire good people to do horrible things.
Purdue Pharmaceuticals is the now-defunct manufacturer of OxyContin, one of the highly addictive painkillers at the center of the opioid overdose epidemic. Its marketing strategy was based on an uplifting story about helping those with chronic pain get back to the life they love. This story was bolstered by countless studies, underwritten by Purdue Pharmaceuticals, that claimed the drug was effective and non addictive.
What doctor wouldn't want to help their patients live a fuller life? What salesperson wouldn't take pride in helping people live without pain? When the only story you hear is one where you are the hero, it's hard not to get excited.
Stories are tools, and like all tools, they can be used to help or harm.
Not every article needs a story.
We know that stories are powerful tools, especially when you're trying to share your message and capture the fleeting attention of your audience.
But many articles don't need a story.
If you've ever looked for a recipe online, you've experienced the unnecessary story phenomenon.
All you want to do is make Mediterranean chicken for dinner. But to get to the recipe, you have to slog through a long, pointless story about the food blogger's entire family, the time they spent in Greece as a college student, their son's gluten allergy, and their super-picky daughter who, shockingly, loves this particular dish.
Sharing a story before sharing the recipe is not inherently wrong — so long as it is relevant. But many food blogs share pointless stories that are way too long in order to boost their SEO (search engine optimization).
Your reader's time is worth more than yours.
Always.
If a story doesn't serve your reader, if it doesn't add real value, or worse, it detracts from the point you're trying to make, delete it.
Stories aren't the only way to illustrate your point.
As humans, we use storytelling to make sense of the world around us. And we've been telling stories for as long as we've had language.
We all know how to tell a story.
But today, there are countless books, articles, and businesses dedicated to the art of storytelling. You can read about the Hero's Journey, developed by the mythologist Joseph Campbell, dive into Donald Miller's StoryBrand framework, or check out the framework promoted by the good people at Pixar. And if none of those work for you, plenty more people can teach you how to tell a good story.
But the truth is, we've over complicated things.
And that has created a false story about our ability to tell a good story. The fear that we aren't telling a story the right way and the belief that we are not natural storytellers stops us from sharing our ideas, experiences, and wisdom. And that's a disservice to those with insights to share and those who wish to learn from those insights.
If telling a story feels intimidating, try reframing it. Focus on sharing illustrative examples, scripts, or case studies that help your reader understand the point you are making in your article. Write about the client you worked with who had the same challenge you're addressing in the article. What were they struggling with? How did you help them? What was the result? And what can your reader learn from your client's experience?
Debra Roberts, a conversation expert, regularly writes articles for Inc.com. Because she is teaching her readers how to initiate and navigate difficult conversations, she often shares a simple script or sample dialogue to demonstrate how a conversation can escalate into an argument and how to interrupt the pattern to keep the conversation from escalating. These practical examples give her readers a place to start when fear of saying the wrong thing keeps them from engaging in critical workplace discussions.
Whether you make your point through a story, illustrative example, script, or case study, keeping the reader in mind is essential. Only use these tools when they help your reader and make it easier to understand and implement your ideas. You are writing to serve your reader. Eliminate anything that doesn't directly serve them — even if it's a damn good story.
How to organize your research and capture your insights
The most effective way to demonstrate your depth of knowledge is to share your ideas and insights. You can do this through writing articles, posting on social media, publishing a book, hosting a podcast (or being a guest), speaking at conferences, or facilitating a workshop. Your goal is to add to the conversation instead of adding to the noise; to provide real value to your audience.
To accomplish that goal, you need to share actionable insights. And you need to share these insights in slightly different ways again and again and again. Because repetition builds your reputation.
Finding new and interesting ways to share the same old ideas requires you to be intentional. You must look for inspiration everywhere and actively read or listen to material about your industry. And you must capture your sources, quotes, research notes, and insights so you can refer back to them. Over time, you’ll start to see your research notes as a conversation, and you’ll begin to connect the dots in new ways.
Capturing and organizing this information can be a challenge. The best approach to organizing your research and capturing your ideas and insights is the one you’ll actually use. Even if it it’s messy and not terribly efficient.
Keep a research journal.
A research journal is a simple document that captures your sources, quotes, research notes, and insights. Keep topic-specific research journals that can evolve along with your learning. For each source, include a complete bibliography. Next, capture relevant quotes. Finally, write down your thoughts and insights.
Download a copy of my research journal template.
Use an online reference manager.
There are several citation managers on the market. While they are available to anyone, they are popular among academics because they can pull information directly from the university’s library. Here are three of the most common:
- Mendeley Reference Manager is free desktop software that allows users to organize and store their references, create bibliographies and citations, and share their research with others. (This social aspect is quite popular with researchers.) The built-in PDF reader makes it easy to annotate and organize PDFs.
- PowerNotes is a $10/month subscription service that allows users to create notes and organize them by project, topic, or source. It has a built-in citation tool that can automatically format citations in multiple styles and can capture content from across the web.
- Zotero is free, open-source desktop software developed by a nonprofit organization. It allows users to collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research. It is similar to Mendeley but easier to learn. It has a browser add-on for Firefox and Chrome.
Customize an alternative platform.
Many people use other online tools to collect and organize their research, ideas, and insights. These tools tend to have a number of features that allow you to customize your experience (which can be both a blessing and a curse):
- Evernote is a free note-taking and task-management application that archives and creates notes with embedded photos, audio, and saved web content. Notes are stored in topic-specific notebooks and can be tagged, annotated, edited, searched, and exported. The web clipper is especially helpful.
- Notion is a free or low-cost project management, productivity, and note-taking web application with a ton of features, buckets of templates, and infinite flexibility. It organizes information hierarchically, allowing you to nest pages within other pages. It is popular with solo professionals and creative teams.
- Walling is a free or low-cost web application similar to Notion. But instead of presenting information in a linear, hierarchical format, it is organized visually with the option to view information linearly. You can use each brick in a topic-specific wall to capture the source, quotes, and notes.
While it is important to capture your research, it’s even more crucial to capture your response to that research — your insights. Your insights are how you formulate your point of view or note areas requiring additional study. It’s where you begin to identify the gaps in the research or poke holes in other people’s conclusions. It’s where you figure out what you can add to the conversation that is uniquely yours.
To unearth your insights, take note of quotes that capture your attention and then explain why they caught your attention. One way to do this is to review each quote and write a statement that starts with “yes, and,” “yes, but,” or “no, because.” Those simple prompts help you dig deeper and bring more nuance to the conversation.
Good writing is born of deep thinking
As an established consultant, you are an expert with a deep understanding of your industry. You understand the complexities and nuances others miss and know how they can impact your clients. Given your depth of knowledge, you might be tempted to pick a topic and just start writing.
Writing is not about the ink; it’s about the think.
In addition to thinking about the topic, you must also think about how you will convey your insights and perspective to the reader. This step is crucial and often overlooked. But the more time you spend thinking about the structure of the piece you plan to write, the easier it will be to write it.
Get your head in the game.
Set aside some time to engage in deep work. Minimize as many distractions as possible, set the timer for 10 minutes, and get your ideas out of your head and onto the page. You can do a freewriting exercise, capture your ideas in a mindmap, draw a cartoon, or dump your thoughts onto the page.
There’s no wrong way to do this, so do whatever works for you.
The point of this exercise is to get into the right headspace to get clear about what you want to say. By taking a little time to capture your ideas, you can filter out the head trash and focus on your core message.
Identify the point of the article.
Every article you write needs a clearly defined point. Knowing the topic you’re writing about is the first step. Now, you must decide the angle from which you will approach that topic.
To ensure that every article you write builds your authority, captures your audience’s attention, and adds your insights to the conversations they are having, conduct a SOAR analysis by answering the following questions:
- Who does this article serve?
- What is the objective of this article? Why should this audience read it?
- What action will the audience be able to take after reading your article?
- Will this article enhance or diminish your reputation?
Download a copy of The SOAR Model™ so you can use it for every piece of content you create.
Publications are looking for experts to provide their readers with actionable insights. Every article you write must change the reader’s thinking, mindset, or behavior.
Equally important, every article you write, every speaking engagement you secure, and everything you do must enhance your reputation. The only way to ensure it does, however, is to be clear about the reputation you wish to build.
Create a container for your writing.
The SOAR analysis makes the point and angle of your article clear, but you still need to structure your thoughts. A simple outline creates a container for your writing and structures your article in a way that is clear, compelling, and easy for the reader to follow. You don’t need to go into much detail; a brief statement followed by bullet points works fine. An article outline includes:
- Working headline.The headline will likely change. Right now, all you need is a simple headline that reminds you of the point of the article.
- Introduction. The introduction makes the point of the piece clear to the reader and provides the necessary context.
- Subheads. Each subhead is a supporting point. Your reader should understand your point just by reading the headline and subheads.
- Conclusion. The conclusion closes the loop and ties the body of your article back to the introduction.
Business articles have a straightforward structure. But that structure is what allows you to unleash your natural writing style. Now, instead of trying to figure out what you want to say next while you’re writing, you can simply fill each container with the appropriate information.
Write your shitty first draft. Quickly.
With a simple outline in place, it’s time to write your shitty first draft. Set a timer for 20 minutes and fill those containers as quickly as possible. Your goal is to complete your first draft within the allotted time.
One of the benefits of quickly writing your first draft is that it shows you whether you’ve given enough thought to the piece. If your thinking is still muddled, it may be that the angle isn’t quite right. If your thinking is clear, but you could make your point stronger, you may need to do more research.
Good writing meets your readers where they are and gives them the tools they need to get value from your writing. It helps your readers understand the complexities and nuances of a specific challenge so they can take steps to resolve it. And it positions you as a trusted advisor and authority in your industry.
So, I Guess We Gotta Talk About Generative AI
When it comes to generative AI, I follow one simple commandment: Thou shalt not outsource thy thinking, voice, or relationships to generative AI.
Generative AI generates media (images, videos, and text) from prompts supplied by the user. Applications like ChatGPT rely on Large Language Models (LLMs), algorithms that generate probabilities of series of words based on large datasets consisting of trillions of words scraped from the internet.
My biggest concern with generative AI is what it takes from us.
When we rely on generative AI, we outsource creativity to an application — a thing, not a person. A thing that cannot think and therefore cannot be creative. A thing that generates media in response to a prompt and deprives us of the joy of thinking deeply about an issue, wrestling with our ideas, and creating something in response.
Relying on generative AI deprives us of our humanity.
My laments for humanity are often dismissed by those who believe I am too idealistic. Others can’t hear my cries over the din of society’s demands to produce more and more, faster and faster. It’s true that I am an idealist. But I’m a pragmatic idealist (and a recovering attorney), so let’s turn to the business case against relying too heavily on generative AI.
The legal implications of using generative AI.
Erin Austin is an IP attorney who helps founders of expertise-based firms build and protect saleable assets. She discussed the legal implications of generative AI on her Hourly to Exit podcast with her guest, attorney Girija Patel. There's a lot of depth and nuance to their conversation, but here are three key takeaways:
- US copyright laws do not protect AI-generated content.
- Content you produce with the assistance of AI might be copyrightable. If it's easy to separate what you created from what AI generated, the portion you produced may be copyrightable. If that division is unclear, copyrightability will depend on how much control or influence you had on the AI-generated output. (Well, that's clear as mud.)
- Consultants, contractors, media outlets, and corporations are adding provisions to their contracts that clarify whether generative AI can be used and to what extent. Use these tools when your contract forbids it, and you'll be in breach of contract.
The legal implications of using generative AI is a complex and evolving area of law. But the legal implications of using these tools shouldn't be your only consideration.
Generative AI may negatively impact your reputation.
Your reputation is your single most important asset. When considering whether to use generative AI, and if so, how to use it, you must evaluate it against the potential harm to your reputation. Keep these three points in mind:
- Generative AI cannot think. All it can do is use an algorithm to identify words that usually go together and spit out those pairings as sentences and pair sentences into paragraphs. That is why generative AI "hallucinates." If you use it, fact-check it. Always.
- As a consultant, your clients pay you for your expertise. AI-generated content is generic; it cannot bring your experience or insights to bear on the challenges your clients face.
- Some of your competitors are undoubtedly taking AI-generated content, polishing it up, and putting it out into the world as their own. They will put out a lot more stuff a lot quicker than you. But their work will lack depth, substance, and nuance. You can differentiate yourself by sharing your perspective and focusing on quality over quantity.
Generative AI can be a helpful tool if you use it wisely. And there are smart ways to use it to make the writing process easier, such as the approach shared by Neil Thompson in this LinkedIn post, especially if writing isn't your strong suit. But it can harm your business and your reputation if you don’t use it wisely.
Some will take the shortcut offered by generative AI, and many will get away with it even if their contract forbids it.
(They won't get away with it for long, however. Just like there are AI-based tools like Grammarly that can discover plagiarism, AI-based tools like originality can tell if your content is unique or generated by AI.)
The internet is a noisy place. If you churn out as much content as possible as often as possible, you’ll do nothing more than add to the noise. Instead, focus on sharing your experience-based expertise and the insights your clients value most. Let others go after the immediate dopamine hit and burn themselves out on all the socials while you play the long game and build a sustainable consulting business.
How to Tame Writer's Block
You cannot tame writer’s block if you don’t understand what it is or what is causing it. But while “writer’s block” is a common term, every writer’s experience is a little different, and there is no one agreed-upon definition.
The term “writer’s block” was introduced in 1949 by Dr. Edmund Bergler in his book, The Writer and Psychoanalysis. Bergler spent two decades studying writers who suffered from “neurotic inhibitions of productivity.”
Yep. Bergler considered writer’s block a neurotic disease.
In the early 198os, Yale University psychologists Michael Barrios and Jerome Singer conducted further research to understand what it meant for writers to be creatively blocked and how writers could overcome such blocks.
Writers who made no progress on their main project and felt unable to write for at least three months were categorized as blocked. Barrios and Singer followed their progress for a month, interviewing them and asking them to complete several psychological tests focused on waking imagery, hypnotic dreaming, and rational discussion.
They detailed their findings in “The Treatment of Cognitive Blocks,” published in the September 1, 1981 issue of Imagination, Cognition and Personality. Barrios and Singer found that blocked writers often reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, were more self-critical, and indulged in much more procrastination.
Like Bergler, Barrios and Singer approached writer’s block from a psychological perspective. As a result of their work, Merriam-Webster defines writer’s block as “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece.”
That’s a bit too heavy.
That type of writer’s block — a creative block that lasts for months — is relatively rare. And as someone who once made her living as a freelance writer, a deep and prolonged bout of writer’s block was a luxury I could not afford.
Identifying and combating three types of writer’s block.
Every writer goes through periods when they feel deeply unsatisfied with the quality of their writing. And every writer has published something they wish they could have worked on just a little longer and polished just a little more. That’s part of being a writer. In my experience, there are three types of writer’s block:
1. You have no idea what to write.
If you don’t have any ideas, walk away from the computer. Take a break and go for a walk. Once you’ve cleared your mind, grab a pen and some paper and do a little brainstorming exercise. Think about the questions your clients, partners, and prospects ask, the convention wisdom you call into question, and the action your clients can take right now to achieve their goals. Try to come up with at least ten questions you’d like to answer.
If you have a hard time getting started, turn to generative AI! Prompt the program by indicating your audience and topic, and then have it generate 25 questions your audience has (or should have) about the topic.
What if you have the opposite problem? If you have so many ideas that you’re not sure where to start, take a break. Come back to your list of ideas later and choose the one that you feel most energized to tackle today, that you know will help a specific client right now, or that responds to a question someone asked you recently. If that doesn’t work, choose the third idea on your list and start writing.
2. You're stuck.
If you know what you want to write about but are unsure how to get started, complete a SOAR analysis to identify the audience, the reason they should read the piece, and the thing they will takeaway from the piece. Then create a simple outline that includes a working title, necessary context, and a few bullet points. You might also try changing the format. Email is a less formal writing style, so try emailing yourself with an answer to the question the article poses.
Sometimes it’s hard to start because you haven’t thought through the piece enough. Go for a walk and think about what you’re trying to say. Outline the article in your head or capture a few ideas on your phone. Try dictating the first draft of your article. It doesn’t matter how you start, just so long as you get started.
3. Your motivation abandoned you.
If you don't feel motivated, examine that feeling closely. Is it really a lack of motivation, or are you just fried? If you're fried, don't try to push through. Take a walk or a nap or do some work in the garden. The only time it is helpful to push through is when you’re nearly finished, and you just can’t seem to get those last few paragraphs done! In that case, set a timer for 15 minutes and write like a fiend. Knock out the first draft, and don’t worry if it’s terrible.
But if you’re having a hard time putting your butt in the seat and getting started, try scheduling a co-working session with a friend or setting a deadline that they will hold you to. You could also try The Most Dangerous Writing App, a terrifying tool designed to help you write the first draft quickly — if you stop writing, your words will start to flash red, and the app will delete your work.
Becoming a more resilient writer.
Each type of writer’s block has a slightly different treatment plan. But the best way to become a more resilient writer is to embrace a writing practice. The more you write, the easier it is to keep going, even when the writing doesn’t come easily.
Wrestling the writing dragon is part of being a writer. The only thing that can help with the writing dragon is setting a deadline, sticking to it, and reminding yourself that done is better than perfect.
Yes, you will publish some pieces before you think they’re finished. That’s part of being a writer too. When you finish a piece that requires you to wrestle the writing dragon and publish it even though you’re not completely happy with it, you free yourself up to work on something new.
When it comes to creative blocks, there’s no way out but through.
How to Pitch High-Visibility Publications
Many publications have specific guidelines about how to pitch your ideas. Some want you to pitch an article, some want you to pitch a column, and some want you to submit a completed article for consideration. Others offer no guidance at all. But every pitch incorporates the same core elements.
To determine which publication to pitch, you first need to develop a pitch strategy. The pitch strategy will help you create a series of filters based on your business goals and objectives so you can narrow down the list of potential publications to pitch. Once your publication roadmap is in place, you can evaluate the shortlist of publications to determine which ones complement your writing style.
Once you’ve identified your top-choice publication, you can focus your efforts on crafting a pitch that editors will love. But you’ll need to do a little research first.
Familiarize yourself with your top-choice publication.
Does your top-choice publication have guidelines? Do they want you to pitch a specific editor? Or do they have a form they want you to complete? Do they want you to pitch an article or a column? Review their contributor guidelines, style guide, and media kit so you can understand as much about the publication (and its readers) as possible.
If the publication does have guidelines, follow them. Exactly. Failure to follow their guidelines will likely result in your pitch being rejected. Not all publications have contributor guidelines, and those that do, don’t always make them easy to find. Use the publication’s search bar and look for terms like “contributor guidelines,” “contribute,” “write for us,” or “submission guidelines.”
Subscribe to your top-choice publication and search for articles about your area of expertise. Review the headlines and notice how the articles are categorized. If most articles appear in a specific section on the website, look closely at that section. These articles are part of the conversation you want to enter, so read them carefully and look for places where you can add to the conversation.
Develop your idea for an article or column.
Your article or column must add something to the conversation about your area of expertise. What are the gaps in the conversation that you can fill? What is missing from the conversation right now? How can you give the publication’s readers a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the topic?
If you’re pitching an article, you need an attention-grabbing headline and a few key points that show the editor how your article adds to the conversation. If you’re pitching a column, you’ll need to come up with several article ideas.
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Download the editorial calendar template to help you capture and develop your article ideas.
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Craft your pitch.
A well-crafted pitch gets right to the point. It isn’t cute or clever; it’s clear. In a few short paragraphs, you must show the editor that you’ve done your homework, will be easy to work with, and will provide a ton of value to the publication’s readers. Unless the publication’s guidelines say otherwise, you will pitch your idea by email. Here are the seven elements every pitch should include:
- Subject. Keep the subject line of your email simple and clear so the recipient knows what to expect. For example, “Pitch: [Article Title]” or “Pitch: Column on [Overarching Idea].” If you’re pitching a column, spend some time developing the overarching idea for your column.
- Salutation. If pitching an individual editor, make sure you spell their name correctly! Keep the greeting formal and professional. Unless you know how they like to be addressed, it is often best to address them by their full name.
- Hook. Grab the editor’s attention with a strong first sentence. The hook is the same kind of lede you’d use in an article. What is your article or column about? Why should the publication’s readers care?
- Beat. What are you going to write about? If you’re pitching an article, give the editor the key details in a few sentences. Include a working title and a summary that explains how the article will unfold. If you’re pitching a column, explain how it adds to the conversation and why the publication’s readers should read it.
- Credentials. Explain why you are qualified to write this article or column in one paragraph. What are your credentials? Have you written for other publications about this same subject? Have you been featured in other publications? Have you worked with well-known clients? Were you trained at a prestigious institution? The editor wants to know they can trust you to give their readers solid, actionable advice.
- Clips. Links to three relevant clips (writing samples) that show you are a good writer and strategic thinker. Ideally, these links go to analogous publications, but they can also be links to your blog, Medium, or an article on LinkedIn.
- Close. Thank the editor for their consideration, and (unless the guidelines dictate otherwise) let them know that you will follow up in 10 days.
Once you’ve crafted your pitch, you will want to refine it. Make sure it is as short as possible and easy to read. Incorporate some white space and use a bulleted list for your clips. If you have difficulty explaining your article or column in a few sentences, you may not have thought it through enough.
Once you’re happy with your pitch, double-check your grammar, triple-check that you’ve spelled the editor’s name correctly, and then hit send. Make a note on your calendar to follow up with the editor if you haven’t heard back from them in 10 days, and then get on with your day knowing that you’ve done everything you could.