13 Different Types of Articles You Can Pitch

Learn 13 different types of articles that you can pitch for press coverage. 

Listen to the podcast on this subject here.

Not all press is created equal.  

Thus, it is absolutely critical to up your PR IQ and understand what type of story you’re pitching for if coverage is your goal.  

Furthermore, there are a few important questions to consider when thinking about landing press. 

• What kind of press coverage do you want? 
• What purpose does it serve you? 
• What outlet do you want to be in or platform do you want to be on? 

Asking these questions prior to outreach will help us to draft as effective of a pitch as possible.

In this roundup, we are going to focus specifically on written media – print or digital – and  13 different types of articles that you can pitch for coverage. 

News Articles:

A news article reports news without bias or personal interpretations by the reporters themselves. News articles relay events, basic information, and facts in an accurate, unbiased, and straightforward way. 

Examples: 

• Incoming New York governor speaks after Cuomo’s resignation
• Huge California fire grows; Montana blaze threatens towns

Feature Articles:

Feature articles are in-depth articles that go into great detail about events, topics, trends, people, or companies. There are various types of feature articles one can go after. 

Examples of Types of Feature Articles:

• News Feature: A news feature is a type of feature story written in the style of a news article. It tackles a topic with detail and requires facts and research to back the story.
  • The Extinct Species Within

• Human Interest Feature Story: A human-interest story discusses people in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest, sympathy, or motivation in the reader or viewer. Human-interest stories are a type of soft news. 
  • Mom Swims Across America to Honor 14-Year-Old Daughter Who Died of Cancer: ‘She Inspired All of Us

• Profile: A profile is an article about an individual – such as a politician, celebrity, athlete, or CEO – or a single company or entity – such as a brand. Profiles seek to give readers behind-the-scenes looks at what a person is like or a deeper look into a company or brand. 

• • Ishmael Reed Gets the Last Laugh

• Behind-the-Scenes Feature: A behind-the-scenes feature tells readers what went on behind the scenes of a process or event. 
  • Behind the scenes: A day in the life of a cybersecurity “threat hunter”
  • The ugly truth about firefighting the public doesn’t understand

How-to-Articles:

How-to articles are very specific and describe in great detail steps or tips to help the reader do something specific. Most how-to articles include solutions to problems or answers to certain questions, and they can include everything from showing you how to reload a grocery store price gun to how to connect a game system to your television set. 

Examples:

 

• How to ensure your first—or next—PR campaign proves lucrative
• How to Effectively Describe Your Product in 1 Sentence

Opinion / Op-Ed Article:

An opinion or an op-ed article, which is short for opposite the editorial, is a written opinion piece of and by the writer. The writer is typically a subject matter expert or otherwise notable person with the qualifications to have an opinion on the topic at hand.

Examples:

• America Needs to Start Telling the Truth About Israel’s Nukes
• Op-Ed: I’m 17 and grew up hiking the Sierra. I’m hopeful it can survive effects of climate change

Interview:

An interview-style article features an interview of a specific subject. It can be presented in a feature style, Q + A, or an integration of the two. 

Examples:

• Cardi B Gives Her Most Explicit Interview Yet
• An Interview With Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur, and Television Personality
  

Editorial: 

An editorial is an article written by or on behalf of an editor that gives an opinion on a topical issue.

 Examples:

• The world must cooperate to avoid a catastrophic space collision

Reviews:

Reviews are part fact-based and part opinion and provide an overview of a certain subject – from a product to an event, service, etc. – as outlined or experienced by the reviewer. Review articles work hard to accomplish two things: first, they accurately and thoroughly identify and describe the subject that is being reviewed; and second, they use experience and research to provide an informed and intelligent opinion of that subject.

Examples:

• Review: Razer Wolverine Ultimate This high-quality Razer controller lacks one key feature—wireless.
• The Harry Josh Pro Dryer 2000 Is So Good, I Stopped Getting Professional Blowouts

Essays:

From short to medium in length, essays describe an opinion or personal experience of the author. Most essay writers concentrate on presenting their specific views on a topic and center the essay on just one specific subject.

Examples:

• How I Overcame Losing My Job and Marriage — With a Jump Rope
• A reality check for my 10-year-old self: Dreams can change for the better

Round-Ups/Listicles:

Round-ups aggregate content, opinions, themes, or products within a specific category. They can also be referred to as “listicles” – although a listicle more specifically is presented wholly or partly in the form of a list.

Examples:

• 14 Products You Need If You’re Someone Who Always Ends Up Forgetting Stuff

• The Most Innovative Beauty Products Of Summer 2021

   

Considerations:

Generally speaking, each type of article will require different information in the body of the pitch, which is why it is important to know what type of article you are pitching before you send a pitch. 

For example, if you are pitching for an interview, you will be pitching a specific subject, and should most likely consider outlining their credentials and availability. If you’re going after a news article, on the other hand, you might find including a news release in your pitch to be worthwhile. 

PRO TIP: Make sure the contact you have selected produces the types of article you are looking to land. Do not pitch a features writer a listicle idea, and don’t ask a How-to Writer to interview your company founder. For more on how to select the right contact, read this article. 

Want more pitching tips and tricks? Check out the full Pitchin’ and Sippin’ podcast library here to learn straight from members of the media. To work 1:1 with THEPRBAR inc., explore service and program offerings here.