How to pitch an article

So you’re ready to start pitching your own content? Hooray!

Before you get started, please revisit the ‘Meet our audience‘ page to remind yourself for whom you’re writing for.

What to include in a pitch…

Please include the following information for each topic proposed:

• THEME (see the six THEMEs to choose from – choose just one) – [Internal team members only!]
• Category (see the categories on the ‘Explore’ dropdown menu on our site and for the categories and sub-categories here)
• Sub Category (as above)
• General theme (eg Politics, Discovering French cathedrals, French women, French kids, French language, Paris insider guide, Culture: Theatre)
• Alert rating (eg Cliché or Audience match or…): High, medium or low. (eg –Romance = high, –markets = medium, or the economy = low) Whilst we want you to avoid clichés, some topics can have a clichéd element and we want you to always be thinking about how you can dig deeper and avoid clichés.
• Format (eg report, interview, feature article, list articles, guide, collaborative article)
• Topic (a more detailed explanation of the topic you’ll be exploring – 3/4 sentences – convince us why our audience and our magazine must have your article!)
• Angle (a detailed explanation of the angle from which you’ll explore this topic – a maximum of 3/4 sentences– take whatever is required to communicate your idea clearly and concisely)
• Structure (give us your proposed structure – provide your suggested heading and sub-headings)
• Relevant external & internal links (at least two of each and insert these between the headings wherever appropriate – find high-quality sites – do not include Trip Adviser, Timeout etc.
• SEO:
  Primary SEO keywords or a phrase and
  Secondary SEO keywords [to be provided here]

For example:

• THEME: [DEEPER] – [only for internal team members]
• Category: Vie française
• Sub Category: French Focus OR Expat experience
• General theme: French relationships
• Alert rating ( Cliché) : High – I’ll avoid a cliché article specifically by (explain specifically how you will achieve this!)…. This is particularly important as we try to avoid clichés and/or deal with them in a sophisticated manner.
• Topic: Do cultural backgrounds influence relationship expectations?
• Angle: Deep exploration of relationships – is it a cliché that french have and accept affairs? What is the reality? Looking at French and Anglo perspectives – possibly quotes or collaborative paragraph contributions.
• Structure: (indicate headings and sub-headings)
  • Title: Do the French really have the monopoly on romance?
  • Intro: Introduce debate via several highly publicised examples.
  • Romantics vs realists: The dichotomy of the French being known as romantics and the stereotype of their infidelity. Are romance and passion the same thing?
  • How do we compare? A look at how other cultures view love, relationships, romance and infidelity. It would be good to have a few people from different cultures define each term to them.
  • Specifically looking at relationships in the public eye: how does our treatment of politicians involved in romantic scandal differ?
  • What do the French have to say? Opinions from French people and Anglophones on whether the French do in fact have the right idea. Quotes included from literature or real people.
  • And therefore: Have the French misconstrued what romance really means?
  • Note: This plan may change as research and interviews are conducted.
• Resources: [List external and internal links here]
• SEO: Primary and supplementary SEO keywords[ to be provided here]

Remember that articles are to be 750+ words unless otherwise agreed.

Submitting pitches

• First-time Contributor applications:
  Please send us a few themes you wish to write about and a list of article topics via email in a Google or preferably a Word document to info@MyFrenchLife.org. From there we’ll ask you to pitch a sample/trial article as part of your Contributor application. After your pitch has been agreed we’ll send you our style guide and agree on a submission timeline with you.
• Ongoing pitches from existing Contributors:
  We should have already agreed the general themes you wish to write about and a list of article topics. You’ll need to keep your content plan topped-up at least three months in advance. Our suggestion is that you pitch three articles in advance. Internally we’ll then talk through potential angles, layouts and the SEO requirements for each.

Any questions?

Don’t hesitate to send us an email! We’re always happy to help.