When I was actively writing for Inc. Magazine and Huffington Post a few years ago, I would get multiple pitches per day from people and companies wanting to be featured in my articles. Some of the pitches were good, and some were bad. Only the exceptional ones were accepted. Alas, it’s not as if you can call up Entrepreneur and get your brand in there. Not unless you’re Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, at least. It is not, however, impossible. So if you want to get featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, what should you do?
This blog will look at twenty tips that’ll improve your chances.
1) Read The Magazine
The first step is to become a reader. You’ll have a much better sense of the type of content that Entrepreneur looks for if you read the magazine. In addition, subscriptions are highly affordable, so sign up and make reading the magazine part of your everyday schedule. Over time, you’ll develop a good idea of the articles they’re likely to publish, which you can then use to craft your own story. You’ll also learn plenty of good business tips by reading Entrepreneur’s great stories!
2) And Their Advice
Entrepreneur wants articles for their website; of course, they do! And they’ve put together some valuable tips on how you can get featured. Of course, there are plenty of other good tips that you can incorporate into your pitch, but at the most basic level, you’ll need to ensure that you’re working in line with what they need.
3) Sign Up For Haro
Want a relatively easy way to get featured in Entrepreneur? Sign up for HARO (Help a Reporter Out). Journalists for many of the world’s most prominent publications use HARO to obtain quotes and insight about various issues and topics. If you see one that catches your eye, send in a submission. If the reporter uses your quotes, you’ll be in Entrepreneur — and it’ll only take a few minutes.
4) Email Contributors
Cold emailing isn’t going to be successful all the time, or even rarely. However, there’s always a chance you’ll be successful this way. The key to improving your chances of Entrepreneur saying YES to your email pitch is to have a truly exceptional angle. They receive probably thousands of such emails each week, but the vast majority will be left unopened. It might go places if you’ve got a killer, attention-grabbing headline and a genuinely interesting story.
5) Build Your Personal Brand
Entrepreneur wants high-profile names who have established themselves in their industry to be part of the Entrepreneur world. So, get to work on building your reputation! Of course, this takes time, so think of it as more of a long-term project rather than something that’ll get you in Entrepreneur next week. So, how do you build your reputation? First, become an expert in whatever you do and make sure people know it.
6) Have a Good Story Angle
You can’t expect to get featured in Entrepreneur Magazine if the message you’re trying to send isn’t interesting. This is where a little bit of time and care can help. You’ll be more likely to be featured if you wait for a genuinely interesting angle to present itself rather than forcing through a half-baked idea. It should be a story that will, first and foremost, have value to the magazine’s readers with at least one big takeaway that readers can implement into their business model.
7) Use Engaging Pitches
You’ll get one chance to send your pitch to a writer or content promoter. Business owners often fail to create an engaging pitch that’ll catch the eye. Your pitch should be succinct, relevant, and contain clear information about how they can contact you. Pitches containing actionable information and tips have the best success rate. In other words, don’t expect to get a pitch accepted that focuses on your own company.
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8) Be Honest
Honesty goes a long way in all areas of life, including when trying to get featured in Entrepreneur. Nobody wants to read the tale of someone who thinks of themselves. Instead, they want to read about the raw, honest side — the struggles they had to overcome, the existing challenges, how they see the industry in which they work, etc. You might be surprised at how far this approach can take, not just when you’re trying to get featured!
9) Nail Your LinkedIn Page
You won’t always need to go searching for feature opportunities. Sometimes, they’ll come to you. This occasionally happens on LinkedIn; people will reach out if they can see that you’re someone worth speaking to. They’ll know that by looking at your LinkedIn page, so make sure that it’s entirely up to date and that you’re listing all of your relevant accomplishments.
10) Other Social Media Accounts
You’ll be more attractive to Entrepreneur Magazine if they see that you already have a following. If many people follow you on Twitter and other social media websites, you will have something to offer. This is something that takes time, and it also isn’t easy. People only follow strangers if they’re publishing excellent content. Entrepreneur Magazine features some of the biggest names in business.
To compete for space in their publication, you need a top-level social media presence.
What would a feature in Entrepreneur Magazine do for your business?
11) Work With a Public Relations (PR) Agency
You may not have much experience getting your name into prominent publications. But some people do have that experience. Publicists can be helpful for many things, including getting featured in Entrepreneur Magazine. Please do your research before you sign up with a particular publicist; as with all professions, they are good and bad! Working with the right PR professional can give you the edge you need and save you lots of time from doing the work yourself. In addition, pr agencies can help you develop article ideas and story angles that you wouldn’t be able to do your own pitching.
12) Start With Smaller Publications
Entrepreneur Magazine is a big-league publication. You wouldn’t expect to go straight to Major League Baseball; you’d start in the Minor Leagues (usually). If Entrepreneur is beyond you at this stage, look at smaller, local publications. There are many excellent ones out there. You’ll get some exposure and learn how the process works with this. It’ll also look good in the eyes of Entrepreneur Magazines writers and editors if you have previous media exposure. Put yourself in the shoes of the editor. Would you accept a pitch for Entrepreneur Magazine from someone with little to no prior appearances in the media?
So don’t start with major publications like Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes Magazine, or the Wall Street Journal. A great way to get media coverage is to work your way up to major magazines by getting placed in different publications within your industry, writing guest posts on blogs, and making appearances on various podcasts.
Click here to schedule your interview.
13) Ask: How Will it Benefit Entrepreneur?
You’ve got your motivation for wanting to be featured in Entrepreneur. The magazine has its interests, too. When you’re coming up with pitches and ideas, keep in mind how your idea will benefit the magazine. It doesn’t have to be the primary consideration, but if you can’t think of one reason they’d use it, you probably need another idea.
14) Be Ready to Talk
Things move fast in the writing world. If you’ve lined up a writer for an article that will feature you, make sure you’re ready to talk. It’s doubtful that the writer will schedule a formal interview or that they’ll send questions in advance. So you’ll significantly improve your chances of being included in the article by being entirely ready for a chat. You may not hear anything back for months until the writer needs a source for a topic you’re a fit for. If a writer reaches out, respond FAST!
15) Follow Up Effectively
It’s unlikely that you’ll hear something straight away. At times, you may not hear anything at all. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the idea is dead. It could just mean that it’s lost in the chaos of professional life. A well-timed, effective follow-up email can be all it takes to get the placement.
16) Make Yourself Appealing
There’s no substitute for hard work and working on becoming the best that you can be. It’s easy to become too focused on getting your name into a prestigious magazine. While you’re focusing on that, you’re neglecting your self-improvement. People will eventually reach out to you if you can make yourself awesomely appealing. Some people become so prominent and influential that they’re impossible to ignore. Make yourself one of those people.
17) Attend Industry Events
The more people you know, the more likely you’ll be featured. Life is all about connections, after all. An excellent place to look for new links is at industry-specific events. If it’s a big one, then Entrepreneur will have a reporter there. Simply mingling may present an opportunity, but to stand out, look at getting yourself on the bill of speakers. If you’re a young company, attending industry events can be one of the best ways to make the connections you need to grow your company effectively.
18) Find an Appropriate Writer
A writer will be much more likely to work with you if you’re involved in an area of business that they usually cover. For example, if you work with NFTs and crypto, it won’t make any sense to approach a writer who deals with medicine innovations, whether you have a cool idea for a story. Instead, pitch a relevant topic with reputable sources. A writer at Entrepreneur must stick to a set of specific topics. Finding the right people is vital to the success of any pitch.
19) Build Relationships
You may not get accepted for your first pitch, second, or third. But that doesn’t mean that the fourth won’t come good. Focus on building relationships, and it may pay dividends in the future. Sometimes, the timing isn’t quite right. But it could be later on down the line!
20) Be Patient
Finally, remember that you won’t be successful on the first day that you try to get featured in Entrepreneur Magazine. It can take time. See it as a long-term ambition, not something that’ll happen overnight! Hopefully, you won’t have to wait until the next decade to get your pitch accepted, but patience is needed as it can take a lot of time and effort.
Final Thoughts
As we said at the beginning of the article, getting featured in Entrepreneur Magazine is no easy task. But it’s far from impossible. People get featured all the time! Take our tips outlined above, and you might find that you’re one of those people one day.
Ready to get featured in Entrepreneur Magazine? Let’s chat!
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