Understanding Pitching, Pitch Workflow & Pitch States
We demystify the Scripted pitching process with this guide to all things pitching.
Pitching is an excellent way for you to increase your writing chances and craft content that interests you. Read on to learn everything there is to know about pitching your ideas to Scripted's customers.
A pitch is your opportunity to offer up an idea that you would like to write on. Pitches allow writers to be more creative in their work for Scripted and enable them to align their work with their interests, past experiences and knowledge areas.
Pitches are created based on pitch sets that customers create, and the title of a pitch set is the general idea about which a customer is hoping to receive content. Customers often have a sense of what they would like to see but no specific angle or current event to encompass that abstract topic. That's where your ideas come in.
To pitch an idea to a pitch set, visit the Pitching section of your writer dashboard. You can pitch to any pitch set available there, regardless of Industry.
Click on the title of a pitch set that interests you. From there, your dashboard will open up the guidelines for this pitch set. Read these carefully, as they will often have instructions for what the customer is looking for in a pitch.
Once you have your idea, scroll down past the guidelines to the area that states "Your Article Title." Here, you can provide a title to your pitch and some information on what you'll write about.
The more detailed a pitch is, the better. Here are some best practices for crafting a pitch that customers will appreciate:
Once you've submitted a pitch, a few different things can happen. The states that show up next to each pitch -- as well as the states that are outlined in the tabs of your writer dashboard -- depend on whether you submitted a pitch to a customer request or the Topic Marketplace.
Pitches for customer requests go through the normal Scripted pitching workflow.
Pending State
Once you submit a pitch, it will immediately show up in your "Pending" pitches tab, with a status near the title reading "awaiting client selection."
Accepted or Rejected State
Once a customer has had an opportunity to review your pitch, it can either be accepted or rejected. When a pitch is accepted, it automatically becomes a Scripted job and is placed in the In Progress queue of the Writing tab of your dashboard. If you are subscribed to Scripted emails, you will receive a notification as soon as this occurs. This pitch will also move from the "Pending" section of your Pitching tab to the "Accepted" tab.
If your pitch is rejected, it will move to the "Rejected" section of your Pitching tab. Customers will often provide feedback about why they rejected a pitch. Be sure to check out this feedback to see if the customer is asking for you to make a slight change and resubmit your pitch. It's also helpful to keep track of which of your pitches have been rejected to see what you can change to make your pitches more appealing.
Inactive State
A pitch is marked as inactive when a customer has not made any actions on a pitch set for over two weeks. While inactive pitches may still be accepted or rejected in the future, there is a chance that no action will be taken on these pitches. We move the pitches into the "Inactive" section of your Pitching tab so that you can more easily keep track of your currently pending pitches with active customers.
A Topic Marketplace pitch set follows a slightly different workflow than a customer request. Because of this, your Topic Marketplace pitch has a slightly different set of statuses.
When you submit a pitch to the Topic Marketplace, your pitch must first be reviewed by a Scripted team member. Because of this, a submitted Topic Marketplace pitch in your "Pending" queue may have one of two different status updates:
When a pitch is approved by Scripted, it automatically enters the live Topic Marketplace, where customers can purchase pitches on a variety of topics. If a customer orders your pitch, that pitch will immediately become a job and enter the "In Progress" queue of your Writing tab. If you are subscribed, you will receive an email as soon as this happens.
If a pitch is rejected by a Scripted team member, there will usually be feedback on why the pitch was rejected. Be sure to check this feedback in case we ask that you re-submit your pitch in a slightly different way.
Accepted and rejected Topic Marketplace pitches live in the "Accepted" and "Rejected" section of your Pitching tab, much like pitches for customer requests. All other states and the pitch workflow are the same for both types of pitches.
Timing of Topic Marketplace Acceptance
Because Topic Marketplace pitches are available to customers at any time, it may sometimes take weeks before a pitch is ordered.
Occasionally, two issues can occur with pitches and the pitching system. Learn more about what to do when these problems pop up below.
When a pitch set is put up by a customer, it can sometimes lack information that you may need in order to craft the perfect pitch. On the other hand, the pitch set may have thoroughly detailed information and look more like a typical Scripted job.
If this occurs, please flag the pitch set by clicking the "Insufficient Guidelines" button and explaining the situation. We will then work with the customer to decide what the next step forward will be.
If you ever have a question about a pitch set, please contact support@scripted.com. Please only click the "Insufficient Guidelines" button if there is something wrong with the pitch set that is making it impossible to pitch to that topic.
Due to the varying timelines in which pitches are accepted, there may come a time when you receive a notification that one of your pitches was accepted but are unable to complete the job due to vacation, personal business or a full workload. If this occurs, please write in to support@scripted.com. We will work with you to decide how to best move forward, and we can open the job up to the larger writer pool if you are no longer interested in completing the piece.
Have any other questions about pitching? Let us know in the comments below.
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Pitching is an excellent way for you to increase your writing chances and craft content that interests you. Read on to learn everything there is to know about pitching your ideas to Scripted's customers.
The Birth of a Pitch
A pitch is your opportunity to offer up an idea that you would like to write on. Pitches allow writers to be more creative in their work for Scripted and enable them to align their work with their interests, past experiences and knowledge areas.
Pitches are created based on pitch sets that customers create, and the title of a pitch set is the general idea about which a customer is hoping to receive content. Customers often have a sense of what they would like to see but no specific angle or current event to encompass that abstract topic. That's where your ideas come in.
How Do I Pitch My Idea?
To pitch an idea to a pitch set, visit the Pitching section of your writer dashboard. You can pitch to any pitch set available there, regardless of Industry.
Click on the title of a pitch set that interests you. From there, your dashboard will open up the guidelines for this pitch set. Read these carefully, as they will often have instructions for what the customer is looking for in a pitch.
Once you have your idea, scroll down past the guidelines to the area that states "Your Article Title." Here, you can provide a title to your pitch and some information on what you'll write about.
The more detailed a pitch is, the better. Here are some best practices for crafting a pitch that customers will appreciate:
- Provide a catchy title for your pitch. Don't simply restate the title of the pitch set -- make your title relevant to the content you'd like to create.
- Make sure your pitch is long enough that it can convey your proposed idea while also making it succinct and easy for the customer to understand. Two to three sentences are usually enough to get this information across.
- Include examples of possible subheads or areas of interest that you'll cover in your piece. This is especially important if you're writing a "Top X" sort of article. Be sure to include what those "Top X" things are as well as any other additional information that you feel is relevant.
I've Submitted My Pitch... Now What?
Once you've submitted a pitch, a few different things can happen. The states that show up next to each pitch -- as well as the states that are outlined in the tabs of your writer dashboard -- depend on whether you submitted a pitch to a customer request or the Topic Marketplace.
Customer Requests
Pitches for customer requests go through the normal Scripted pitching workflow.
Pending State
Once you submit a pitch, it will immediately show up in your "Pending" pitches tab, with a status near the title reading "awaiting client selection."
Accepted or Rejected State
Once a customer has had an opportunity to review your pitch, it can either be accepted or rejected. When a pitch is accepted, it automatically becomes a Scripted job and is placed in the In Progress queue of the Writing tab of your dashboard. If you are subscribed to Scripted emails, you will receive a notification as soon as this occurs. This pitch will also move from the "Pending" section of your Pitching tab to the "Accepted" tab.
If your pitch is rejected, it will move to the "Rejected" section of your Pitching tab. Customers will often provide feedback about why they rejected a pitch. Be sure to check out this feedback to see if the customer is asking for you to make a slight change and resubmit your pitch. It's also helpful to keep track of which of your pitches have been rejected to see what you can change to make your pitches more appealing.
Inactive State
A pitch is marked as inactive when a customer has not made any actions on a pitch set for over two weeks. While inactive pitches may still be accepted or rejected in the future, there is a chance that no action will be taken on these pitches. We move the pitches into the "Inactive" section of your Pitching tab so that you can more easily keep track of your currently pending pitches with active customers.
Topic Marketplace Pitches
A Topic Marketplace pitch set follows a slightly different workflow than a customer request. Because of this, your Topic Marketplace pitch has a slightly different set of statuses.
When you submit a pitch to the Topic Marketplace, your pitch must first be reviewed by a Scripted team member. Because of this, a submitted Topic Marketplace pitch in your "Pending" queue may have one of two different status updates:
- Awaiting Scripted Approval
- Awaiting Client Selection
When a pitch is approved by Scripted, it automatically enters the live Topic Marketplace, where customers can purchase pitches on a variety of topics. If a customer orders your pitch, that pitch will immediately become a job and enter the "In Progress" queue of your Writing tab. If you are subscribed, you will receive an email as soon as this happens.
If a pitch is rejected by a Scripted team member, there will usually be feedback on why the pitch was rejected. Be sure to check this feedback in case we ask that you re-submit your pitch in a slightly different way.
Accepted and rejected Topic Marketplace pitches live in the "Accepted" and "Rejected" section of your Pitching tab, much like pitches for customer requests. All other states and the pitch workflow are the same for both types of pitches.
Timing of Topic Marketplace Acceptance
Because Topic Marketplace pitches are available to customers at any time, it may sometimes take weeks before a pitch is ordered.
Problems With Pitches
Occasionally, two issues can occur with pitches and the pitching system. Learn more about what to do when these problems pop up below.
Flagging Pitch Sets
When a pitch set is put up by a customer, it can sometimes lack information that you may need in order to craft the perfect pitch. On the other hand, the pitch set may have thoroughly detailed information and look more like a typical Scripted job.
If this occurs, please flag the pitch set by clicking the "Insufficient Guidelines" button and explaining the situation. We will then work with the customer to decide what the next step forward will be.
If you ever have a question about a pitch set, please contact support@scripted.com. Please only click the "Insufficient Guidelines" button if there is something wrong with the pitch set that is making it impossible to pitch to that topic.
My Pitch Was Accepted, But I Can't Complete The Job
Due to the varying timelines in which pitches are accepted, there may come a time when you receive a notification that one of your pitches was accepted but are unable to complete the job due to vacation, personal business or a full workload. If this occurs, please write in to support@scripted.com. We will work with you to decide how to best move forward, and we can open the job up to the larger writer pool if you are no longer interested in completing the piece.
Have any other questions about pitching? Let us know in the comments below.
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Published by JD Peterson on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 in Writing, Pitching, Scripted, Topic Marketplace.