Pitches wanted (business, consumer affairs) (worldwide) | $400+ per article

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: BUSINESS INSIDER 

Louise Ridley, Senior Features Editor of Business Insider, is looking for pitches:

Freelancers! I am looking for feature and longform pitches for Business Insider from writers around the world, especially those with a few years’ experience or more. Here’s the lowdown:

WHAT DO I WANT?

Pitches for stories of 800+ words that touch on business and consumer affairs. They should drive conversation, illuminate trends, break news or give readers new perspectives.
Strong characters, a gripping narrative and a news angle make me much more likely to commission. Visual feature ideas, lists, first-person interviews and essays are also very welcome.

WHAT DO WE COVER?

We are a Pulitzer-winning digital news company with 220 million monthly unique visits. Our audience is global but primarily in the US, so we need stories either with a US focus or with global appeal.

OUR FEATURES FALL INTO TWO CATEGORIES:

• Features for a broad, non-specialist audience in front of our paywall, for example covering big brands, consumer affairs, working rights, travel, tech, retail and business angles on major news.
• In-depth features for niche business audiences which sit behind our paywall, covering topics including media and advertising, tech, careers, markets, finance, strategy, healthcare, startups and investing.

HOW TO PITCH?

Send a succinct pitch to my email, with “Feature pitch:” as the first two words of your email subject line.

WHAT TO INCLUDE?

A working headline, how the story could be structured, why people care about it, why we should do it now, what reporting you have already done and what you still need to do, and how long it will take to complete. Include examples of your work and your experience.

HOW MUCH DO WE PAY?

It varies based on the reporting required, length of the piece and expertise of the writer but our rates start from around £330 / $400 for a shorter feature piece with 1-3 sources. We pay more for pieces with more legwork.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE KIND OF BUSINESS INSIDER FEATURES WE’D LIKE TO DO MORE OF:

• The quest to find $181 million in bitcoin buried in a dump: https://www.businessinsider.com/james-howells-threw-away-bitcoin-dump-masterplan-get-back-2022-7
• Apple dreamed of making healthcare easy. Then it silenced its medical experts: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-health-employees-backlash-misled-executives-2021-9
• The life and lawsuits of Lucas Wall, a frequent flier who's made it his mission to fight Biden's mask mandate: https://www.businessinsider.com/lucas-wall-anti-mask-movement-biden-administration-tsa-covid-19-2021-11
• Kidnapped for crypto: Criminals see flashy crypto owners as easy targets, and it has led to a disturbing string of violent robberies: https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-nft-owners-targeted-kidnaps-home-invasions-robberies-2022-2
• I just bought my first home, and I got screwed out of $4,000 by a scam that's built into every single mortgage: https://www.businessinsider.com/title-insurance-scam-mortgage-homebuying-2022-2
  

CONTACT INFORMATION (please do not share the email address publicly):

• Submissions: lridley@insider.com
• Website: https://www.businessinsider.com

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: Business Insider is a business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. It pioneered digital-native business news coverage that is real-time, social and mobile at its core. More information here.
• Read through a selection of recent articles/stories on its website.
• Review the submission guidelines here. Note that these are the publication's general guidelines to help you refine your pitch. You must still follow the editor's specific instructions above.
• Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook Database and at SuccessfulPitches.com.
• Do not forget to end your pitch with (1) a short introduction about yourself; (2) a few lines highlighting your writing experience, relevant credentials and publication credits; and (3) links to your strongest work or portfolio, and online profile.

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