7 Reasons a Freelance Writer Isn’t Responding to Your Pitch

While freelance writers and publicists have different goals, the two are alike in at least one major way: Both must master the art of the pitch. Just as freelance writers must learn what each of his or her editors are seeking in a pitch (catchy subject line? How long? What information to include? How much pre-reporting is necessary?), publicists must also learn the preferences of the freelance writers (or editors) he or she is pitching to land a story. But say you’ve been pitching freelance writers and hearing crickets… despite the fact that you think your pitch is really strong. What could be happening? Here are seven reasons a freelance writer isn’t responding to your pitch — and how to fix them.

1. You’re pitching a thing, not a story idea.

I get around 50-75 pitches a day; many are personalized, but some are e-mail blasts from PR. While I’m more inclined to respond to a pitch that’s been customized to me, I don’t always respond if I can’t tell what story idea you’re proposing. Writing to share your current client list and offer assistance for any future stories is a good idea, but if you’re just pitching freelance writers to share that your client exists, there’s no effective call to action to get a writer to pursue a story. With the volume of emails that many freelance writers get in a day, the pitches that deliver an actual story idea in an email stand out much more than an informational, generalized pitch. Freelance writers face enough decisions in a day as it is, completing their basic work such as meeting deadlines and pitching editors — so minimizing the thinking they have to do about how to make a pitch work for one of their outlets will already set you apart from other publicists.

2. They’re OOO.

Most freelancers I know rarely put out-of-office responders on their email, even when they’re traveling or taking vacation. This is because we hate to miss an opportunity to work with an editor, and often it seems like an editor always needs edits ASAP the moment we take a day away from our computer. So if you haven’t heard back from a freelance writer on a pitch, follow up in a reasonable timeframe — just in case they happened to be OOO when your first email came in.

3. You’re following up too soon.

Ah, the follow-up. There’s an art to this as much as the pitch itself. My general rule for following up with editors is to follow up after seven days, then once more after another seven days. If I still don’t get a response beyond that, I pitch my idea to an editor at another outlet. This same rule can be effective for PR pitching freelance writers. Given the volume of emails writers get, they’re not always going to be able to respond while focusing on work that pays the bills (i.e., writing stories) versus answering emails (which takes a lot of unbillable time!). So, follow up seven days after the first one, then seven days after that.

4. You’re following up too often.

Two follow-ups are enough when pitching freelance writers. If you don’t hear back from the writer after sending a total of three emails about an idea, move on to pitching another writer or outlet. That said, even if you think the writer is not interested in your pitch because you don’t get a response, that doesn’t mean they won’t cover your idea in the future. Freelance writers use their inboxes as a research tool, saving most emails they receive in case they need to reference them down the line. Case in point: I’ve followed up with PR more than a year after an initial pitch when I finally have the right fit for an idea they sent along.

5. You’re pitching something they don’t cover.

It sounds obvious that you wouldn’t pitch a food writer a story about a lawn care — but this happens way more often than you’d expect. Beyond the unwritten rule of “don’t pitch a writer on a topic they have never written about,” there’s a sneaky way publicists sometimes still try to do this. Once you start to build a relationship with a freelance writer and they’ve written about one of your clients, it could be tempting to try to pitch them more stories on your other clients. After all, since you already have a good working rapport with that writer, it will be an easier lift to continue working with them rather than pitching new freelance writers, right? This is a strategy I see many publicists employ, and it can work to an extent if your relationship is built on trust and you have multiple clients that make sense for their areas of coverage (i.e., multiple luxury hotel properties for a writer who covers luxury travel). However, I’ve had many examples of publicists working with me on a story about travel who then turn around and pitch me a story on a beauty product, or a kitchen gadget, or even a B2B company that doesn’t make sense for any of my outlets. Not only is this an ineffective way to pitch a freelance writer, but it can also slowly erode your relationship with writers if you try to push other clients that aren’t a good fit. No one likes to feel like a means to an end, even if it’s disguised with cheery emails.

6. You’re pitching something they covered too recently.

One other slightly sneaky strategy I see PR utilizing is to email me mentioning they saw my article on a particular topic (i.e., keto-friendly snacks) and try to pitch me to do another version of the same article, but include their client this time (or, to update a story to add their client — which as a freelance writer, I never, ever am able to do.) It’s important to remember that any good freelance writer is not going to write about the same topic on the same angle over and over… it just doesn’t make sense to repeat similar story angles, because if you do this at multiple publications, editors are going to notice and not commission you work in the future. For PR, it’s great if you mention you saw a writer’s piece on a relevant topic, but then connect your pitch to it by suggesting a fresh story angle related to news, another perspective, another regional angle, etc. rather than pitching a new version of the same story idea.

7. They’re on deadline.

Most of us probably have a habit of keeping our email tab open at all times — it’s the nature of our industry, having to be highly responsive so much of the time. Yet when I’m on deadline for an article or needing to get into deep-focus mode for research, the only way I can really get in the zone is to close out of my email. That means that sometimes, I can go days not reviewing new pitches or responding to emails that are not essential (i.e., an editor’s request). If a great pitch comes in during one of these times, chances are I won’t see it. That’s why it’s important to follow up, referencing points 3 and 4 above to get it right.

How are you feeling about freelance writers’ response rates these days? PR, do you prefer a short rejection email to no response? What else do you want to know about why freelance writers do/don’t respond to PR pitches? Tell me in the comments below.