Pitch Perfect: How to Get Tasty Topics From Scripted Writers
"I'm hungry for blog post ideas, but I don't know where to start." If you find yourself in this predicament, don't fear!
We know it can be tough pulling topics together; we've even struggled with it ourselves. So, to help you through the occasional content block we created an easy way for Scripted writers to pitch you ideas -- it's called topic pitching. Here's an overview of when to use this feature, how to optimize it, and get awesome ideas from our community of writers.
See also: Announcing the Scripted Content Planner
The best time to use topic pitching is when you don't have a specific subject in mind. For example, you know vegan donuts are great -- and you want to share your passion about them through a great blog post -- but you're struggling to find a unique angle about these delicious treats. This would be the perfect time to submit a request for ideas.
In order to request pitches, you'll want to submit it under a somewhat broad theme (we'll get back to themes soon). For example, "Reasons Why Vegan Donuts Are Wonderful." Now, if your subject was "5 Reasons Why Vegan Donuts Are Superior to All Other Pastries," and you already have the reasons outlined (that they're healthy for you, pretty, taste amazing, etc. ), then you'd want to just go ahead and submit an order.
If you're ever on the fence about when you should place an order, and when you should request pitches, shoot us an email and we'll help you out!
We mentioned themes earlier and it's time to talk a little bit about them and a few other tidbits that will help you get satisfying pitches.
Requests on Scripted can be submitted under different industries, like Business or Art & Design. Even with an industry chosen it's important to provide a subject area that you'd like writers to submit ideas around. Scripted Writers are full of a great ideas, so it's helpful to provide a little guidance with a topic-theme. To continue with our donut passion, a great theme for topics could be "Life Advice That Appeals to Donut Lovers." A not-so-great request for topics would be "Donuts," since it doesn't provide much context (and you could get negative topics about donuts!).
Now that we've covered good themes, it's time to think about other important details.
Style/tone: The tone of a blog post can drastically change it. When we're writing our donut-loving life advice pieces, we want to make sure our writer creates them with a friendly, conversational tone -- as opposed to a formal and buttoned-up one. The best way to describe what you're looking for to your writer is to provide an example.
Audience: Your target audience also plays a major role in the makeup of your piece and the topics your writers pitch. For example, if we are writing this donut blog post for a master pastry chef, we'd probably speak quite a bit differently than if it were for our sweet-toothed coworkers.
Samples: Are you a fan of listicles (5 ways to make your own jelly-filled donuts) or how-to's (how to eat more jelly-filled donuts)? Giving your writer a model of your ideal posts will help get them started in the right direction and stay on-point.
Now that you've placed your perfect request for topics, what should you expect?
Within a few days, writers should start to submit topic ideas. You can then Start or Reject the ideas that you like or dislike, and provide feedback to your writer!
Feedback is pretty important in either case because it helps guide the writer to hit the mark when writing your post or submitting new ideas. Who doesn't want a slam dunk (we tried forcing a donut pun here, but it didn't feel right, and Scripted Writers know better).
It's also important to keep in mind that all Scripted Writers are freelancers and work based on their own availability. We can't guarantee that every request will be pitched. If you're concerned why you aren't receiving topics, you can always give us a shout (via our chat window or support@scripted.com) and we'll be happy to check out your request to figure what we should do next. You can also always check out our Topic Marketplace to see if there are any topics that satisfy your cravings.
If you have any questions, don't be shy about contacting us - we're here to set you up for success (and maybe share our love of everything donuts)!
We know it can be tough pulling topics together; we've even struggled with it ourselves. So, to help you through the occasional content block we created an easy way for Scripted writers to pitch you ideas -- it's called topic pitching. Here's an overview of when to use this feature, how to optimize it, and get awesome ideas from our community of writers.
See also: Announcing the Scripted Content Planner
When should I request pitches from writers?
The best time to use topic pitching is when you don't have a specific subject in mind. For example, you know vegan donuts are great -- and you want to share your passion about them through a great blog post -- but you're struggling to find a unique angle about these delicious treats. This would be the perfect time to submit a request for ideas.
In order to request pitches, you'll want to submit it under a somewhat broad theme (we'll get back to themes soon). For example, "Reasons Why Vegan Donuts Are Wonderful." Now, if your subject was "5 Reasons Why Vegan Donuts Are Superior to All Other Pastries," and you already have the reasons outlined (that they're healthy for you, pretty, taste amazing, etc. ), then you'd want to just go ahead and submit an order.
If you're ever on the fence about when you should place an order, and when you should request pitches, shoot us an email and we'll help you out!
We mentioned themes earlier and it's time to talk a little bit about them and a few other tidbits that will help you get satisfying pitches.
Now what do we mean by theme?
Requests on Scripted can be submitted under different industries, like Business or Art & Design. Even with an industry chosen it's important to provide a subject area that you'd like writers to submit ideas around. Scripted Writers are full of a great ideas, so it's helpful to provide a little guidance with a topic-theme. To continue with our donut passion, a great theme for topics could be "Life Advice That Appeals to Donut Lovers." A not-so-great request for topics would be "Donuts," since it doesn't provide much context (and you could get negative topics about donuts!).
Other Essential Tidbits
Now that we've covered good themes, it's time to think about other important details.
Style/tone: The tone of a blog post can drastically change it. When we're writing our donut-loving life advice pieces, we want to make sure our writer creates them with a friendly, conversational tone -- as opposed to a formal and buttoned-up one. The best way to describe what you're looking for to your writer is to provide an example.
Audience: Your target audience also plays a major role in the makeup of your piece and the topics your writers pitch. For example, if we are writing this donut blog post for a master pastry chef, we'd probably speak quite a bit differently than if it were for our sweet-toothed coworkers.
Samples: Are you a fan of listicles (5 ways to make your own jelly-filled donuts) or how-to's (how to eat more jelly-filled donuts)? Giving your writer a model of your ideal posts will help get them started in the right direction and stay on-point.
Now what?
Now that you've placed your perfect request for topics, what should you expect?
Within a few days, writers should start to submit topic ideas. You can then Start or Reject the ideas that you like or dislike, and provide feedback to your writer!
Feedback is pretty important in either case because it helps guide the writer to hit the mark when writing your post or submitting new ideas. Who doesn't want a slam dunk (we tried forcing a donut pun here, but it didn't feel right, and Scripted Writers know better).
It's also important to keep in mind that all Scripted Writers are freelancers and work based on their own availability. We can't guarantee that every request will be pitched. If you're concerned why you aren't receiving topics, you can always give us a shout (via our chat window or support@scripted.com) and we'll be happy to check out your request to figure what we should do next. You can also always check out our Topic Marketplace to see if there are any topics that satisfy your cravings.
If you have any questions, don't be shy about contacting us - we're here to set you up for success (and maybe share our love of everything donuts)!
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