Pitching Freelance Journalists vs Staff Writers in Crypto

A staff writer can usually decide, with their editor, to cover your news on their beat. A freelance journalist first has to sell the story to an editor who will commission and pay for it, so your pitch has to work twice: once for the writer and once for the editor they forward it to. That means freelancers need a fuller, more distinctive angle, more lead time and material they can reuse in their own pitch. Staff writers need speed and relevance to the beat they already own.

How do freelance and staff crypto journalists actually work?

I've been on both sides of this. Besides PR, I've written as a freelance author for The Chainsaw, Australia's leading crypto publication, and as a contributor for CryptoDailyUK.

Wrote a little piece on @chainsawdotcom! Thanks @hamsoward for being so accommodating during the process Shilika Jain on X, 8 Nov 2022

That "process" is the part founders never see. A freelancer doesn't sit in the newsroom. They come up with an idea, shape it into a pitch, send it to an editor, wait for a yes, agree a length and deadline, then report and write. Staff writers skip most of that, because covering their beat is already their job.

The comparison below is the one I keep in mind when I build a media list.

None of this makes freelancers less valuable. In crypto, some of the most thoughtful features come from people writing across several outlets, and a freelancer who likes your angle can place it somewhere you'd never have reached directly.

What is the two-gate pitch?

This is the frame I use for freelancers. Your pitch has to pass two gates.

Gate one: the writer. Does this interest them, fit their style and give them something they can't get from a press release?

Gate two: the editor. Can the writer turn this into a short, persuasive commission pitch for a specific outlet? If they have to do heavy lifting to explain why it matters, it dies at gate two even if they liked it at gate one.

Most founder pitches are built only for gate one, if that. A staff writer can sometimes carry a weak pitch through on their own judgement. A freelancer can't, because their editor never meets you. They only see what the freelancer writes about you.

So pitch freelancers with the editor in mind. Give them the sentence they'll paste.

What should a freelancer pitch include?

Think of it as a commission-ready pitch pack. When I pitch a freelancer, the email covers these, in roughly this order:

1. The angle in one sentence, framed as a story, not a company. "Why DePIN compute networks keep getting tested by mainstream cloud outages" is a commission. "Our protocol has launched v2" isn't.
2. Why now. A trend, a data release, a regulatory moment, an event. Editors commission timely pieces.
3. Which outlets it could suit, if you have a view. Don't tell them where to pitch, but if you know they write for an outlet whose readers fit, say so.
4. What reporting access you can offer. Founder interview, a second source who isn't you, data, on-chain evidence, users they can talk to.
5. What's exclusive and what isn't. Be honest if the news is also going to staff reporters elsewhere.
6. Timing flexibility. A freelancer may need a couple of weeks to get commissioned and file. Say whether your angle holds that long.
7. A short factual backgrounder they can lift into their own pitch without rewriting your marketing language.

Staff writers need less of this. For them, I'd lead with the news, show why it's relevant to their beat and get out of the way. My guide to building a media list covers how to tag writers as staff or freelance so you send the right version.

How do exclusives and embargoes work with freelancers?

Carefully. An exclusive offered to a freelancer is only useful once an editor has commissioned the piece. Until then, the freelancer may be pitching it to two or three outlets in turn, and your news is sitting in limbo.

My rules:

• Agree a deadline for the commission. "If you can get a yes from an editor by Friday, the exclusive is yours. After that I'll take it to staff reporters." That's fair to both of you.
• Don't offer the same exclusive to a staff writer in parallel. Same rule as always: never promise one story to two people.
• Keep time-sensitive news away from uncommissioned freelancers. Funding and launch news belongs with staff reporters on a news desk. Freelancers are a better match for the analysis piece that follows.
• Confirm the outlet before the embargo lifts. You need to know where the story will run so you can plan amplification.

The trade-off is real: a commissioned freelance feature usually goes deeper and lives longer, but you give up control of timing. For a launch day, that's usually the wrong trade. For a founder profile or a trend piece, it's often the right one.

What do freelancers need that staff writers don't?

Time, mostly, and respect for how they get paid.

Freelancing is less glamorous than it looks from outside, and I'd say that about my own consulting work as much as about writing.

Freelancing is a tougher job than a full-time one! You take calls at odd times,deliver the project to clients within strict deadlines,managing schedules, continuously upskilling,facing competition, lack of financial security, social isolation, balancing payments & so much more! Shilika Jain on X, 14 Jan 2023

In practice, that means a few courtesies:

• Don't waste their unpaid hours. A freelancer who spends a day on your story and can't place it has lost that day. Make the angle strong before you pitch.
• Be available for interviews quickly once they're commissioned. Their deadline is tight because their commission depends on it.
• Don't ask them to pitch your press release. That's not a freelancer's job, and editors won't commission it.
• Never offer payment or perks. It compromises them with every editor they work for. Paid placements are a separate product that outlets sell through their own commercial teams.

How do contributors and on-ground event writers fit in?

Contributors sit somewhere in between. Some outlets publish regular contributors who pitch their own ideas within the outlet's rules, and some send contributors to events to file interviews. I've done that kind of on-ground work myself.

I'd be onground @token2049 & @SolanaConf doing interviews for @cryptodailyuk! Shilika Jain on X, 27 Aug 2024

At an event, a contributor is looking for one thing: a founder with something specific to say who can sit down for fifteen minutes between sessions. What helps them:

• A short list of two or three points the founder can speak to with substance.
• Confirmed availability windows, not "sometime on day two."
• A founder who answers questions directly rather than reciting the deck.

What doesn't help is a PR person sending ten founders' bios and asking which one they'd like. Pick the strongest fit for that writer's outlet and offer one.

When should you prioritise staff over freelance, or the other way round?

The answer depends on the job your news needs to do.

This isn't absolute. Plenty of staff writers do features, and plenty of freelancers file news. Read their bylines and check what they've published in the last few months before you decide.

When this advice doesn't apply

At some outlets, the line between staff and freelance is blurry: a "contributor" may function like staff, or a staff writer may cover so broad a beat that they behave like a freelancer looking for angles. Treat the table as a starting guess, not a rule.

Also, some freelancers work in the industry they write about. If a writer discloses ties to a project or a competitor, respect that and don't put them in a position where covering you creates a conflict for them with their editors.

If your pitches aren't landing with either group, the problem may sit upstream of who you're pitching. Why journalists ignore crypto pitches runs through the common failure points, and my content writing service covers the backgrounders and pitch packs that make a freelancer's job easier. For op-eds, where you're the writer, see how to pitch an op-ed to CoinDesk, Cointelegraph and Decrypt.

FAQ

How do I know if a journalist is freelance or staff?

Check their bio on X or LinkedIn, the author page on each outlet and whether their bylines appear across several publications. Phrases like "freelance," "contributor" or a list of outlets usually mean they aren't staff. When in doubt, it's fine to ask politely.

Is it OK to pitch a freelancer and a staff writer at the same outlet?

Not with the same story at the same time. The editor will see both, and it looks like you're working the desk. Pick one route, and only try the other if the first passes clearly.

Do freelance crypto journalists accept embargoes?

Many do, but an embargo is only useful once they have a commission and a publication date. Agree the outlet and timing first, then share embargoed material.

Should I send freelancers my press release?

Send it as background if they ask, but don't make it the pitch. A freelancer needs an angle they can sell to an editor, and a press release is written to announce, not to be commissioned.

Want your media list split into the right writers for news and for features? Book a 30-minute review and we'll sort it together.