From Pitches to Bylines

A Mini Guide for Digital Media Professionals

by Tiara Janté
Copyright © 2016 by Tiara Janté
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any
manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use
of brief quotations in a book review.

Independently Published
ASIN: B01I0Z4T7Q
For the writers who dare to dream— who dare to express your thoughts, ideas, and opinions
fearlessly— keep inspiring us all.
 INTRODUCTION

Writing has always been a passion of mine, but I can’t say I’ve always believed in myself as a
writer. That changed not too long ago. All my life I’ve been complimented on my ability to
effortlessly convey my thoughts and ideas as well as those of others into words—whether
spoken or written. None of that made any real difference, however, until I could believe this for
myself. Thank goodness, I was finally able to realize and embrace my talent and potential—and
once I did that— my dreams began to come into fruition.

I’ll be honest, this industry is difficult. We’re living in a time where anyone with Wi-Fi connection
has the potential to get into the digital media industry. Going viral presents an interesting
challenge to non-viral, yet talented individuals, who simply lack the exposure to be successful.
While saying the right thing, at the right time, can increase one’s chances of going viral—the
truth is—virality is uncommon. I’ve learned the best way to broaden my reach as a writer is
understanding my brand, understanding how to best market my brand, and understanding who
to market my brand to.

I learned early on that navigating this tangled web we call the Internet can at times be
frustrating, defeating, challenging, and non-sustaining. On a positive note, it can also be
rewarding, intriguing and profitable— if one has the information necessary to be successful.

I wrote this book to pay it forward—to share my experiences and take backs from an industry
lacking an instruction manual. My hope is that this book will make your journey into digital
media a little easier. Each of these tips have been instrumental in my success as a writer and
public relations professional, and it is my hope that they will be just as valuable for your career
as well. So, without further ado, I present to you, From Pitches to Bylines: A Mini Guide for
Digital Media Professionals.

FIND YOUR NICHE

The World Wide Web is a huge, complicated mix of static and communication, so it should be
no surprise that digital media is just as vast and complex. Finding your niche within an
environment composed of so many potential career paths can be frustrating— and choosing the
wrong path can be a hindrance. Luckily, I could discover early on that simply going with what I
know tends to yield the best results. As I’ve worked to establish myself within digital media as
writer, I’ve also learned that trying to do too much, at one time can do the following: (1) confuse
my loyal audience, and (2) become overwhelming as a producer of content.

Let me explain— beyond all the madness, there are levels of success to this digital media thing,
and there are also methods to overcoming the madness and reaching each level. Developing the
ability to maneuver through all the madness as a writer can be beneficial to one’s career, and
can assist one in reaching higher levels of achievement, and most importantly—recognition.
After getting caught up in a bunch of traffic jams project wise, I re-planned my route, then picked
a few lanes within digital media I knew I could successfully maneuver— and those are the areas
I stick to as far as my content is concerned.

Think about it this way, when pitching yourself as a writer to a publication, ask yourself the
following questions: “What makes me qualified to write for this publication?” “What
experiences do I share with this publication’s target audience?”. The answers to these two
questions are key to positioning yourself within digital media in a way that will help you to stand
out—and since competition is stiff in digital media, you want to stand out! Figuring out a way
to translate your interests into niche subject areas for your writing or other media related
projects will be critical to your ability to win!

In summary, finding your niche means identifying the interests that you are best able to
communicate through writing, speaking, or any other field within digital media. It is
representative of your own personal experiences. It is also representative of the audience you
intend to write for. Once you identify the elements, you’re ready for the next step.

KNOW THE VOICE OF THE PUBLICATION

Understanding the voice of the publication you’d like to write for is crucial in understanding its
audience. When I first started writing for xoNecole, I can honestly say I didn’t know how to write
in the “xoNecole voice”. The first article I pitched was rejected, and admittedly a crush to my
ego. I was determined to find out what I was doing wrong. I knew I was a capable writer,
however, it didn’t take me long to realize that the problem was not with my writing ability—it
was with the voice through which I was writing.

One thing about content is that there are a million different voices through which one can
deliver it. When Necole rejected my story, it wasn’t due to the content, it was due to the
delivery. While the content was well suited for the xoNecole audience, my delivery was all
wrong. Thankfully, Necole is excellent at providing feedback—and I could quickly grasp how she
wanted the content delivered.

It was also during that time that I learned how selective Necole is when it comes to the site—
and how her brand is presented. She’s worked very hard to make a name for herself within
digital media, and when I was brought on as a writer it was right in the beginning of her transition
from Necole Bitchie (the celebrity gossip blog) to xoNecole (the women’s lifestyle and
empowerment blog). Because there is a huge difference in the voice of both blogs, I had to study
the new platform to craft my content accordingly.

Though rejection is always difficult to deal with, especially when you feel as though you’ve put
your all into the content, in my case I had to accept the fact that my initial pitch just wasn’t
aligning. Had I taken some time prior to pitching, and researched the publication a little further,
I may have avoided that initial rejection. Later, after taking some time to read the content from
a writer’s perspective and learning the voice of xoNecole I could better understand the
importance of publications being consistent when it comes to their readers, and why the voice
of the publication is so critical

One of the most important things I learned from that initial rejection is that there’s always room
for improvement. As a writer, whether it’s been for a publication, a ghostwriting project, or
when I’m pitching a client as a Public Relations professional, I’ve learned to never look at
rejection as failure—instead I look at is an opportunity for improvement. There will come a time
when you will write something that as far as you’re concerned is exceptional. Then, you will
pitch it, and you will be rejected. Understanding how to bounce back from rejection, and not
take it to heart is key to my success thus far within media.

In summary, knowing the voice of the publication is a critical element in the ultimate success of
a pitch. Failure to obtain a good understanding of the publication’s voice and their audience is
one of the number one reasons pitches are rejected. As I mentioned earlier— having a general
idea of the content is not enough. If you can’t relate to the publication as a reader, how can you
produce relevant content as a writer? Doing your research first, as opposed to pitching to a
publication simply because it’s popular will prove to benefit you as a writer, and will also show
the editor you are as committed to the publication as they are.

BE CONSISTENT

During the beginning of your venture into digital media, it may be easier to try to “get in where
you fit in” when it comes to pitching to publications. In my experience, it’s much better to find
your niche, and then stick with it, as opposed to bouncing around between several unrelated
publications. Yes, one can have more than one niche content area—but stick to those selected
areas. There’s a few reasons I’ve determined being consistent with the type of content I write
and the types of publications I write for is valuable.

First, being consistent allows me to build an audience. Once you’ve built an audience, that
audience tends to be loyal, and THEY WILL FOLLOW YOU to the different publications you
contribute to. Staying true to what they’re accustomed to reading from you is essential in
building your audience, and keeping them as your audience.

Another benefit I’ve received by being consistent with my content is I get better reception when
I pitch to new publications. Consistent content looks good on my resume, and helps me stand
out—especially when I can submit samples of published articles that are just as relevant to the
publication I’m pitching to as the ones they’re published on. It shows the editor I am
knowledgeable of relevant content matter and that I’m capable of contributing frequent and
consistent content of interest to their readers.

Being consistent with content can prove to be one of the most invaluable habits a content
producer can have, because it also helps the writer to gain “expert” status—and being an expert
on subjects important to the audience the writer typically writes for can result in the writer
becoming trusted among their readers. So, if your expertise or niche area is beauty—stick to
beauty and related topics—don’t just jump to some random topic such as politics because it’s
trending, when it’s not your strength. With a little bit of research, any good writer can produce
junk content. It takes talent to write something that will have a lasting impact on your readers.

MANAGE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

In an age where digital media is the most popular form of media, I’ve realized that outside of
the brands (pubs) I write for, I am a brand as well. Since branding it everything these days, and
most of it takes place online, it is important to ensure that one’s social media reflects who they
present themselves to be as a writer—for several reasons.

Good social media management can prove to be a vital tool for a writer in their efforts to control
how readers perceive them. This is a lesson I had to learn personally. As human beings, we
have different aspects to our personality. For my self—I can be very passionate about topics I
feel strongly about, and sometimes my passion can be interpreted as combative In general,
however, I’m often described as quite pleasant. What I had to learn is, being passionate and
opinionated in my personal life, but sweet and mild tempered through my writing was creating
a conflicting perception of me. Some may think that people aren’t checking for writers outside
of their articles—and that’s true—for the writers who aren’t making an impact. I don’t aspire to
write for null, however.

As a writer with a goal to make an impact through my writing, I had to make changes in my
online behavior to make sure that the positive messages I was communicating through my
writing was not a contradiction to my online persona. Having an opinion is great, but being able
to deliver the opinion with grace and tact is an even greater skill.

Another way I’ve learned to manage my social media is to separate my personal life from my
professional life. It’s very easy to blur these lines—because it’s much easier to engage with
others through as little social media profiles as possible. The truth is, however, though it takes
more effort to manage multiple social media profiles—it’s better in the long run. This will vary
among writers though.

While I choose to have specific social media, profiles set up for myself as a writer, and keep
family and personal content off those social media profiles, someone who writes about family
life and children regularly may find merging both their professional and personal life into one
profile to be beneficial. Having a good understanding of how your personal life affects your
professional life is important to know when managing your various social media. Being strategic
is key.

Ultimately, whatever your decision is, you always want to make sure your choice helps as
opposed to hinders you professionally. If there are things on your social media that you may
not want your readers or the public to be exposed to—make a separate, private profile for those
experiences, and manage who you let into those private profiles. You can also be like some
media professionals I know and keep all your personal business off social media. The choice is
yours—just make sure it is an educated one.

BE CONFIDENT & TAKE EDUCATED RISKS

Being an educated risk taker relies greatly on one’s level of confidence. Taking risks in media is
sometimes the only way to move forward. For a while, I felt like I wasn’t utilizing my full
potential. I felt stuck in the same place with absolutely no change in sight. After reevaluating
what I wanted out of my career, I realized I was stuck in the same place because I had gotten
comfortable. I also wasn’t envisioning myself where I wanted to be professionally, so I wasn’t
going where I wanted to be professionally.

After checking myself, and confirming to myself that I have the talent and potential to go
anywhere I want to within media, changes began to happen. I began pitching to publications I
initially thought were too “big” for me, and I began producing content from a more personal
voice. Though my more personal content made me feel a bit vulnerable at first, it also resulted
in the most engagement from my readers—and engagement is always a good thing in media.

Caution: whenever you decide to take a certain risk with your career, make sure it is an educated
one. Don’t mess up a good thing. For instance, if you’re a non-paid contributor at a publication
you want to turn into a paid position, it may be worth it to continue contributing on a non-paid
basis for a while. When determining whether it’s worth it or not, an important question to
answer is what the benefit will be to your career in the long run. In most cases, non-paid
positions often turn to paid ones after some time—just don’t wait too long and miss better
opportunities while holding out for one you prefer.

HONE YOUR CRAFT

As I mentioned earlier, there is always room for improvement. This applies to any profession.
Constantly engaging in activities that will better yourself professionally can be rewarding. It can
be something as simple as reading the dictionary to enhance your vocabulary as a writer, or
taking an online course to increase your knowledge on a subject you deal with often
professionally.

Certifications are good, because if you’re a writer trying to gain “expert” status on a topic,
certification shows that your knowledge is based on more than just experience. As a writer, I
also observe a lot. I will observe the habits of individuals within my field who I admire, to “steal”
some of their best practices for myself. Making a constant effort to perfect my craft also helps
me to not get too comfortable.

It’s no secret that digital media is a very competitive field. I’ve discovered it’s important to
always stay on top of my game, and make sure that I’m always giving my best effort. I’m also
very competitive, which has proven to keep the fire underneath my ass—and has prevented me
from becoming too complacent in my current position. Again, there is ALWAYS room for
improvement as far as I’m concerned, and keeping that notion in my head hasn’t failed me yet.

KNOW YOUR WORTH

Even if you are new to the field, you are still valuable. Understanding when to accept projects
and when a project does not match your level of expertise and skill is crucial in establishing
yourself as a digital media professional. Knowing what your worth and demanding to be paid
accordingly, even if it means turning down an offer for your services, is critical to one’s success
in this field.

I’ve learned, there are plenty of publications who will try and get over on writers who are new
to the field, and offer them “exposure” in exchange for their content, but will not offer any
monetary compensation. Meanwhile, they’re making bank. Again, you must judge whether
accepting such an offer will result in something better for you in the future, or if the publication
is just trying to get free content from you.

What many new writers don’t understand is how valuable their content is to a publication or
brand. From a marketing standpoint, website content can make or break a brand. Successful
brands have a few things in common— one being high quality and engaging content on their
websites. This helps tell search engines what the brand or publication is about, improves the
consumer or reader’s experience, and can also result in converting visitors to loyal patrons. Loyal
patronage translates to money that can be counted on.

For publications, great content translates to great engagement, and great engagement has a
direct effect on the level of commercial sponsors a publication gains for their site. As a producer
of content, you probably hold one of the most critical roles in determining how much money a
brand or publication makes. YOU are important, and YOU are valuable, so don’t let anyone
lowball you when it comes to YOUR contributions.

Finally, the internet has a vast amount of free resources at your disposal that can guide you in
determining what your skills and experiences translates to monetarily—so use them. It’s literally
as simple as searching Google. Having an educated idea of what you will accept as compensation
for your skill will help you make reasonable requests for both yourself and the brand or
publication, and result in making your career in digital media much more sustainable.

REPRESENT YOU

I can’t communicate this any simpler—YOU are YOUR brand. How you represent yourself both
online and offline will have a huge impact on how successful you are within digital media. I
cannot stress how important it is to be prepared to represent yourself professionally always.
I’ve learned the hard way that having things like a professional website, properly curated social
media profiles (for your professional self), digital media kit, business cards, as well as references
and recommendations on deck can make or break a potential opportunity. If you don’t have all
the things yet, thankfully it’s something you can work on bit by bit.

I’ll be honest, I am still building my brand as I write this, but I’m a lot further along in the process
than I was years ago, and I wish I had a guide like this to refer to when I entered the industry.
It’s a fact that branding is one of the most essential components to being influential online.
Branding is also much more than tweeting and posting. Being selective with the content you
post as it pertains to your brand and learning how to time your content so that it reaches your
audience at the most engaging times of the day is uber important—but it will take a bit of trial
and error to learn the intricacies of digital branding and marketing to utilize it effectively.

Now, while branding is very much based on who knows you, networking is very much based on
who you know. This brings me to my final tip: network.

NETWORK

There is no doubt that digital media is a competitive field—one in which you are basically
competing for attention against other media professionals. With that said, you still want to
associate and connect with other professionals in your field. No one is good at everything, and
everyone has different strengths and interests. Networking with other professionals in and even
outside of your field can prove to plant seeds that grow into fruitful opportunities. As a media
professional, you should always be looking for an opportunity to grow and expand.

Networking should include both online and offline connections. While it’s easy to connect
online and then like, comment, and retweet a few things-- this is not a real connection. Try to
connect with people who genuinely inspire you—this will often result in developing
relationships that are meaningful and lasting.

Another way to network is to join professional organizations and attend conferences. I’ve made
some lasting connections through conferences—and a lot of the time I develop friendships as
well. Again, networking is about who you know—so in a lot of cases, the more people you know
and who are aware of your professional capabilities, the more opportunities you are exposed
to.

On the flip side, it is important to be wise about who you’re connected with as well. If you’re
connected with someone who constantly takes and never gives, they may need to be cut off.
You should never exhaust your energy in any professional relationship that is not beneficial to
all parties involved.

A FINAL WORD

I wrote this guide to provide some insight to newcomers to the industry, or just anyone with
some basic questions. This is in no way meant to provide you with everything you need to know
to be successful within digital media. I am confident, however, that the tips I’ve given and
experiences I’ve shared can help you along the way—even if you’re not a writer.

As I mentioned earlier, digital media can be very confusing. It is in many ways much different
than the more traditional media forms, and there are much more components needed to build
a successful career. Using the tips I’ve provided can definitely set you on the path to success, if
they’re applied accordingly. I firmly believe, that while the action begins with the pitch, the
preparation beforehand and the follow up afterwards is what matters most. Ensuring that you
both prepare for the pitch and follow through afterwards, using the tips and best practices I’ve
provided in this guide, may no doubt result in your pitches becoming bylines. Good luck in your
career and I wish you much success.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tiara Janté is a freelance content writer, ghostwriter, author, and PR & Branding consultant from
Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. She is a Co-Founder of Oak PR, a boutique public relations firm
specializing in digital PR and branding. She is also a contributor to sites such as xoNecole and
BlackSci-Fi, and serves as co-editor for Black Girl Magic Literary Magazine, a quarterly literary
magazine that provides a platform for women of color within speculative fiction. You can keep
up to date with her work by following her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

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 BREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT!

Are you ready for the next step? From Pitches to Bylines: The Comprehensive
Guide for Media Professionals will be released in January 2018. This guide is
designed to help you perfect your pitch, learn the ins and outs of branding yourself
as a media professional, provide insider tips for newbies to the field, and much
more! The guide will also include bonus leads for writers seeking publications to
pitch to, and a host of other resources for media professionals. If you’re ready to
take your writing career to the next level, then you definitely want to get a copy.
Follow me on social media for the latest!