We take pitches from anyone. The best ones are specific, new, and useful to a person holding a phone.
What we are looking for
A story runs when it does at least three of these five things:
- It is new, or newly relevant to how people live with technology.
- It changes how someone uses technology day to day.
- It reveals something readers do not know but should.
- There is a real trade-off, risk or decision it helps someone make.
- Someone can act or choose better because of it.
What we are not looking for
Press releases and product announcements: send those through the contact form with “Press release” as the subject. Sponsored articles: see the advertising page. A version of a story that has already run everywhere, with nothing added.
How to pitch
Use the contact form with “Story tip” as the subject. Keep it under 200 words and cover these five things:
- The story in one sentence.
- Why now.
- What you have that nobody else does: a document, a person who will talk, a test you ran, your own experience.
- Who you are, with links to two things you have written or made.
- Any interest you have in the subject: a job, a stake, a product, a friend. This does not rule you out, but we need to know.
What happens next
A person reads every pitch. If we want the story, we reply and agree the length, the deadline and whether it is a commissioned piece or a guest post before you write a word. If you have not heard from us in ten working days, take it elsewhere with our blessing.
Guest posts
A guest post is unpaid writing by someone outside the team. It carries a Guest post label under the headline, its outbound links do not pass search credit, and it is held to the same standard as our own work: sources named, trade-offs named, every term explained, no product placement. If you want to promote something, the advertising page is the honest route.