How I Got Featured on Business Insider Without Pitching Them by Tim Denning

Unless it hasn’t been done before, we’ve probably seen it. Unique analysis, commentary, and expert opinion. Our writers cover many many topics — you can write about a similar topic provided you offer an original viewpoint that is corroborated by facts. We will typically give your piece our own headline so that it fits Business Insider style. We’ll also illustrate the post with our own photos. Unfortunately, since contributors are not on staff we don’t allow them to use Business Insider India for press credentials.

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Offer a research-backed and punchy explanation for the pitch, with credible sources backing your thesis. Provide headshots, and a short bio in the first email, helping editors have less work with your story. I still sent a hard pitch, but it was good enough. Nick Wolny’s strategy served as a starting point for my pitch. I followed Nick’s advice and did my best to create less work for BI editors in my opening email. You can get your draft accepted and published in 36 hours.

When I heard that Arianna Huffington was launching Thrive Global I emailed her directly. In my email I mentioned I was already writing for The Huffington Post and would like to be part of her new project. Within hours I got a response that they would love to have me as a contributor.

I then found the next conference he was going to and “coincidentally” saw him there. 74% of employees think that Business Insider has a positive business outlook. This is based on anonymous employee reviews submitted on Glassdoor.

I started with small scale business blogs because I had to gain online reputation and then with TweakYourBiz, Insights Wired, Business2Community. Then that portfolio was enough to get me into Entrepreneur.com. Step by step, I contributed to e27, Business.com, TechinAsia, and business2community, and because of these blogs my application to Huffington Post got approved. I built a relationship on LinkedIn with one of the editors of The Huffington Post, and that led to my first ever column opportunity. After leaving academia, I learned SEO, designed an education magazine, and shared my work across LinkedIn.

I emailed Arianna at the Huffington Post directly to become a contributor there. If you don’t take risks, you won’t get rewarded. Step out of your comfort zone and take action if you want to make a difference.