Maybe you want to write for a print publication, but have no clips to show. How do you pitch them?
A good place to start is to check out to what extent they cover the territory. Since any territory, be it business, health care, finance, entrepreneurship, keeps changing all the time, you will soon see some gaps. Many publications try to create fresh content online, too and here you’ll find more slots that are waiting to be filled. They know that there’s little value today in regurgitating content for online readers from the from print version.
If there is one, start with the print version, and scrutinize what ‘departments’ you would best fit into. What angles might you write about within these departments? Go over back issues and see if you can identify the writers’ ‘beats’ and if there are different writers covering print and online. Maybe there’s an overlap, maybe not. Go after the niches. If they do a lot on direct marketing, see if they’re covering opt-in, on-demand, issues about privacy etc.
There could be several reasons why these gaps could exist. The online and print readership profile may slightly different. The online business model may be still being “worked on,” the editor may be stretched…which means he/she is looking for fresh ideas. It never hurts to ask. Editors appreciate someone who’s taken time to do some due diligence and offer solutions. I got two assignments by doing just that.
