Are you interested in becoming a contributor to Forbes?
As a writer or business owner, it makes a lot of sense to get published in the magazine.
You get powerful exposure to the media outlet’s 150 million monthly readers as well as valuable backlinks to your blog.
At the same time, Forbes is benefiting. The company will be able to publish a diverse array of articles by vetted contributors that are recognized as authorities in their industry.
So, how do you get published on Forbes?
In this article, I will show you how to write for Forbes and the requirements you must meet to increase your chances of being accepted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the questions people are asking on search engines about what it takes to get published in Forbes:
Can Anyone Write For Forbes?
You can get published in Forbes by pitching a one-time original story to a Forbes contributor, or by becoming a contributor yourself.
To become a contributor, you must prove to a Forbes editor in your niche that you are an expert in your field.
How Much Do Forbes Writers Get Paid?
Forbes pays $250 to contributors that publish at least five articles in a month.
The company’s full-time writers earn a lot more, roughly $66,282 a year according to Glassdoor.
How Much Does It Cost To Write For Forbes?
Nominally, you won’t have to pay a cent to become a contributor to Forbes magazine.
In reality, you may have to resort to freelance writing options to create your article or work with PR agencies to boost your chances of being accepted as a contributor.
What Is Needed To Ensure You Can Become A Forbes Writer
Here are the things you will need to stand a chance of being published on Forbes:
- An Original Story — you will get nowhere with an article idea that has been covered in an existing blog post on another site. Your article pitch must be about a unique story and to get writing inspiration, you can use AI-powered story generators.
- A Sterling Reputation In Your Field — you will be vetted and must prove that you are an expert or recognized thought leader in your field before you can become a regular Forbes contributor.
How To Write For Forbes: Step-By-Step Instructions
There are two ways to get featured on Forbes:
- Submit an original opinion article
- Become a Forbes contributor
Method 1: Submit An Original Opinion Article
Forbes content focuses on personal finance, the stock market, technology, aerospace & defence, politics, and lifestyle.
Writers, business owners, and company executives are allowed to guest post if they are pitching stories that fall under the culture, arts, and public policy categories.
To pitch your story, you will have to identify and reach out to several Forbes contributors in your niche. This can be in any field, for example “technology policy.”
Search the Forbes website till you find articles that are related to the story you are working on, then check how they are categorized and tagged by Forbes.
You can also google keywords that are related to your story and add “Forbes.com” to your search query.
Once you find your niche, note it down and go through the articles again to identify the authors that wrote them.
The next step is to reach out to each contributor via email or by messaging them on social media.
An email is usually the most effective approach for something like this but most people don’t make their personal email address information available to the public.
If you are lucky, you may find the email info within the contributor’s bio page on Forbes or by simply typing the name plus “email” into Google.
If that doesn’t work, you can use email finder tools like Hunter and Rocket Reach. These platforms hold accurate databases of the contact information of millions of professionals from all over the world.
If you are reaching out via social media, LinkedIn may be your best bet. It is a professional network and it is quite easy to send InMail messages on the platform.
Many Forbes contributors are thought leaders and they tend to have Twitter accounts, so the platform is also a good place to connect with a contributor and build a more personal relationship.
Once you have discovered the email addresses of the contributors you want to get in touch with, or you have identified their profiles on the relevant social media platforms, pitch your article idea to each of them.
If it’s accepted, your story will be published.
There is nothing stopping you from submitting new stories in the future, but make sure you are always coming up with pieces that are fresh and valuable to readers.
Method 2: Become A Regular Forbes Contributor
A Forbes contributor is allowed to write multiple articles about topics in the relevant niche each month.
The rule is to contribute at least one article a week, and if five of your articles are published in a month, you will be paid $250.
Here you will reach out to a Forbes editor (not a contributor) in your niche via email or social media just like I explained in the preceding section.
Having published articles in high-authority blogs or industry websites in your niche can go long way in convincing the editor that you are someone that can be relied upon to consistently contribute quality articles.
Here are tips to help you pitch successfully to Forbes journalists:
- Make It Personal: use your research to include tidbits of information in your pitch that show you took the time to get to know the person whose approval you are seeking. Do this by sharing things you have in common and using compliments.
- Be Honest About Your Qualifications: the vetting process is highly selective and often it’s accomplished industry professionals and thought leaders who tend to qualify. That’s not an excuse to falsify or exaggerate your professional qualifications and achievements in your field.
- Position Yourself As An On-Trend Guest Contributor: Forbes tends to favor people from high-impact and growth organizations that can contribute content that’s likely to be shared and amplified by lots of readers. Present yourself as someone with experience and knowledge in such a niche.
Similar Tutorials Types To Check Out
- How to Write a Blog Post: this article will show you a step-by-step process for writing quality, in-depth articles that will rank for your keyword in Google and how you can track the performance of your blog post.
- How to Write on Medium: discover why the content management system is such an excellent platform for writers and thought leaders online, and how to start creating content with it.
- How to Outsource Blog Writing: this article will show you the advantages and dangers of working with freelance writers and how you can successfully outsource your blog writing without running into major issues.
Wrapping Up
It’s no exaggeration to say the Forbes brand is known to practically every English-speaking literate person on the planet.
If you can successfully follow the steps outlined in this article to get featured in the magazine, you will have gained an incredible opportunity to boost awareness about your brand in your industry.
If you have any questions about contributing or pitching articles to Forbes, feel free to reach out in the comments section.
