Looking to be pitch-perfect? Here's how AI can help you smash out those pitches in record time.
My prompt process for unleashing the power of ChatGPT for lightning-fast tailored pitches.
Welcome back to issue three of the AI for Journalists newsletter, where we're all about helpful tips and tricks for you busy journos! This time, we're focusing on ChatGPT and prompt engineering to whip up killer pitches in no time. If you're new to ChatGPT, catch up by reading here and learn how to sign up to the free version and the plus version here. (You need the paid plus version to use GTP-4, but it’s well worth £16 a month.)
Battle of the Bots: GPT-3 vs GPT-4
Having compared ChatGPT-3 and ChatGPT-4, I can confidently say that GPT-4 is far superior in many ways (no hard feelings, GPT-3!). GPT-4's tone, output quality, and improved memory capacity are just some of the upgrades. Keep in mind, though, that there's a cap of 25 messages every three hours. But don't worry – GPT-4 will still remember your previous conversations even after days or weeks!
Now let's talk about writing pitches.
We all know the faster you write 'em, the more commissions you can score. That's where ChatGPT-4 comes in. To demonstrate, let me share my chat with GPT-4 as it helped me speed up writing a pitch for a magazine. Notice that I say it’s helping me and not writing it for me. I’ve written a first draft of a pitch already after brainstorming the feature I want to write and researching the magazine I’m sending it to. I’m going to get GPT-4 to help me to speed up the process.
I won’t publish the pitch I’ve written here or the name of the magazine I want to submit it to because I’m going to send it to them. I’ll let you know in a future issue if it was successful.
Please bear in mind this is just an example at a very basic level of how to use AI to take over tasks and speed up your pitching process. A conversation with AI can go on for ever and there isn’t room here for a full pitch development transcript. Also, AI won’t write for you. You have to do that. If you get AI to write your pitch without using your own skills and knowledge as a journalist, it’s likely to be a very bad one. AI can’t grasp the creative ideas in your head - yet.
This is all good news because in the inevitable wave of mundane AI-generated writing, from publishers who see AI as a source of cheap content, those publications and journalists producing original creative content will stand out more than ever.
Feel free to use my prompts as a start to your conversation or preferably as a guide in how to talk to GTP-4. If you rely solely on this short snipped here, it won’t help a poorly written pitch.
A real-life example: my chat with ChatGPT-4 for speeding up writing a magazine pitch
Me: You are the commissioning editor in the [magazine] features department and you've just received a pitch from me. I want you to critique the pitch and discuss any plus points and problems you can find with it. To acknowledge that you understand, please ask me for the details about [magazine] so you will be armed with the knowledge you need to act as commissioning editor. When you've read the details about [magazine] ask me for the pitch.
GTP-4: Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to review your pitch. To ensure I'm well-informed, please share the details about [magazine].
Me: I pasted all of my research notes on [magazine], including:
Exactly who reads the magazine (age, gender, income, interests etc)
A full description of the magazine content.
The different sections of [magazine].
A description of the section my pitch was intended for.
Advice I’d found online on how to successfully pitch for coverage in [magazine]
GTP-4: Thank you for providing detailed information about [magazine]. This will certainly help me give you more accurate feedback on your pitch. Please go ahead and share the pitch you have in mind.
Me: Here is the pitch: I pasted the pitch I’d written.
GTP-4: Thank you for sharing your pitch. Here is my critique, highlighting the plus points and problems:
Plus Points:
Timeliness and Relevance: Your pitch addresses a topic that is often overlooked, and focusing on [angle] can be eye-opening for readers. This aligns well with the magazine's emphasis on providing content that is relevant to […].
Personal Experience: Your personal connection to the topic adds depth and authenticity to the article. Readers are likely to resonate with a genuine story.
Broad Appeal: The article not only targets those who […] but also aims to inform friends and family members, making it relevant to a wider audience.
Alignment with the magazine’s […] Section: Your pitch aligns well with the […] section, which focuses on […], fulfilling the magazine section’s mission statement.
Problems:
Lack of Expert Opinion: While your personal experience is valuable, it would be beneficial to include insights or advice from experts in the field, such as [.…] This would lend credibility to your article and provide readers with well-rounded, evidence-based information.
Demographic Consideration: Although the magazine targets […], it's important to ensure that the article is relatable to the core audience of [.…] You may want to incorporate more information about […]
Suggestions:
To address the lack of expert opinion, consider reaching out to experts for their insights and tips.
To make the article more relatable to the core audience, consider discussing […].
Overall, your pitch has strong potential and is well-suited for [magazine’s … section]. By addressing the problems mentioned and incorporating the suggestions, your pitch could become even more compelling and engaging for the magazine's readers.
Me: Thank you. Rewrite the text and improve it based on your critique, but keep the basic content and style the same as my original pitch.
GTP-4: Rewrites my pitch incorporating these points.
On reading this pitch, I decide it’s not quite right so I do some more research. I find an article published in the magazine from two years ago on the same subject, but my article is from a completely different angle.
Me: To make sure we've got this right, can you consider this {article} from 2021 and help me to write the pitch so it fits in with this section of the magazine, following their style and organisation of content but from the angle of […].
Article = [I copy the article and paste it into the chat.]
(note the use of {} brackets to help GTP-4 to identify the article)
GTP-4: Gives a more tailored rewrite of my pitch that still retains my own style and a lot of my original pitch. I’m happy with it but I rewrite it a bit until I feel it’s perfect.
Me: Do you think this pitch fits in with the tone and style of [magazine] considering what you've learnt in this conversation?
GTP-4: Yes, I believe this pitch fits the tone and style of [magazine] based on what I've learnt in this conversation. The pitch is tailored to [magazine’s] target audience, focusing on […], which aligns with the magazine's core demographic. The personal story format is consistent with the types of narratives often found in the magazine’s […] section, and the theme of […] aligns with the magazine's overall mission. Additionally, the pitch highlights the article's relevance to existing content, specifically [article I posted], demonstrating an understanding of the magazine’s editorial interests.
Me: I have emailed the pitch to [name of editor and email address (so it has it stored for future use)].
GTP-4: That’s great! Sending your pitch to […] the digital editor at [magazine] is a good step forward in getting your story considered for publication. It's important to be patient and give the editor some time to review your pitch. If you don't hear back within a couple of weeks, you may want to send a polite follow-up email to check on the status of your submission.
In the meantime, you can continue refining your story and preparing it for publication. You may also consider researching other publications that may be interested in your story, in case [magazine] doesn't accept your pitch. Good luck, and I hope your article finds a home in [magazine] or another suitable publication!
The pitch is more me than ChatGPT!
Remember, at this point AI’s development, you have to know how to write a decent pitch in the first place. It just took over some of the tasks and made the process more efficient. I can’t say this is how it will continue because AI tech is growing exponentially so who knows what it will be able to do in the future.
No matter how much you object to it or fear it or want it to go away, AI is here and it’s here to stay.
Feel free to copy my process and steal my prompts. Of course, always remember to fact-check any info you get from ChatGPT.
I’ll let you know in a future newsletter if my pitch was a hit or a miss (fingers crossed!). And stay tuned for future issues where we'll be diving into more ways to harness the power of AI for your journalistic endeavours. Happy pitching!
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