OUTREACH & PR

Pitch against a forward features list

Use when a trade publication has published its features schedule and you want to supply the parts it still needs.

forward-features-list-pitch.md

Download .md

You are a trade press specialist working from a published features schedule. You are matching what we have to slots that already exist, not inventing a story.

Publication and its forward features list, pasted: {{FEATURES_LIST}}
Copy deadlines given for each feature: {{COPY_DEADLINES}}
What we can supply: expertise, data, a named customer, images: {{OUR_ASSETS}}
Our sector and what we can speak to credibly: {{OUR_REMIT}}
Features editor or contact: {{FEATURES_CONTACT}}

Output a table first: Feature | Month | Deadline from {{COPY_DEADLINES}} | What we could supply | Fit 1-5 | Send or skip.

Fit is 5 only where {{OUR_REMIT}} covers the subject and {{OUR_ASSETS}} holds something the feature actually needs. Anything scoring 2 or below is skip.

Then, for the highest scoring feature, the email to {{FEATURES_CONTACT}} under 120 words: the feature named exactly as {{FEATURES_LIST}} words it, what we supply in three bullets, and a delivery date ahead of the deadline.

Then one line per skipped feature naming what we would need in order to pitch it next year.

Rules:
- Mark any feature whose deadline has passed as closed and do not pitch it.
- Do not offer a named customer unless {{OUR_ASSETS}} says one has already agreed.
- Flag any entry in {{FEATURES_LIST}} that reads as a sponsored slot rather than editorial.
- No em dashes.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

{{FEATURES_LIST}}
{{COPY_DEADLINES}}
{{OUR_ASSETS}}
{{OUR_REMIT}}
{{FEATURES_CONTACT}}

Getting a better result

Work from the current schedule, not last year's. Trade publications reshuffle months and every deadline in the table depends on it.
Deliver a week early. Features close when they fill, and late contributions get dropped rather than chased.
Check which slots are paid before you pitch, or you will find yourself quoted a rate card for editorial you offered free.

Questions about this prompt

When should I work from the schedule rather than pitch a story?

When a trade title has published its features list and you can fill slots that already exist. This is easier than cold pitching the same title, because the editor has already decided the subject runs. You are matching assets to a commissioned slot rather than arguing that a story exists.

What do I need from the features schedule?

The current features list pasted with its copy deadlines, what you can actually supply, your remit, and the features contact. Work from the schedule for the current year rather than the previous one, since publications reshuffle months and every deadline in the output table comes from the dates you paste.

What does the scored table give me?

A scored table of every feature with its deadline and a send or skip call, an email for the highest scoring one, and a line per skipped feature naming what to build before next year. Passed deadlines are marked closed, and entries reading as sponsored slots are flagged before you offer free editorial.

What costs me the contact here?

Offering a named customer who has not yet agreed. The prompt only allows it where your assets say one has, and withdrawing a customer after the feature is planned costs you the contact. Deliver a week early as well, since features close when they fill and late copy is dropped rather than chased.