Most executives who want to be featured in major business publications make the same mistake: they pitch themselves when they should be pitching a story. The difference is everything.
What Journalists Actually Want
A journalist at Forbes or Entrepreneur is not looking for impressive executives to profile. They are looking for stories that will be interesting to their readers. The first question every pitch must answer is not “why is this person impressive?” but “why will readers care about this story?” An executive who has built a $50 million business is not automatically interesting to a Forbes reader. An executive who has built a $50 million business using a counterintuitive strategy that challenges a widely held assumption about their industry — that is a story.
The Pitch Formula
The most effective media pitches share a specific structure. They open with the story hook — the specific, surprising, or counterintuitive element that makes the story worth reading. They establish the executive’s credibility as the protagonist of that story in one sentence. They explain why the story is relevant to the publication’s audience right now. And they end with a clear ask — an interview for a story, not a request to be featured generally.
The Relationship Before the Pitch
The executives who get featured most consistently are not the ones with the best pitches — they are the ones who have built relationships with journalists before they need to pitch them. Following journalists on social media, engaging thoughtfully with their published work, offering expert commentary when they post questions, and making introductions to other sources they might find valuable — all of these build the kind of relationship that makes a pitch land differently than a cold email from a stranger.
