Pitch perfect: Submitting your story ideas to Long-Term Living

The Long-Term Living editors keep a close eye on the issues and news that impact the business of delivering quality care for older adults. We love sharing the initiatives and programs our readers have implemented, because learning from peers is the best way to improve business models and care quality.

Do you have a great operational success story, administrative strategy or quality improvement program to share? We receive hundreds of email pitches and press releases each day, so here’s how to make sure you put your best pitch forward:

• Focus, focus. We focus on the business of delivering senior care and services, not on senior consumer issues, per se. For instance, we won’t write about “how to choose a nursing home” or on topics that are of more interest to seniors and their families than to the executives and professionals who serve them. Your pitches should be focused on how an article can inspire or educate facility and organization owners, operators, administrators and caregivers in the long-term care industry. If your pitch can’t explain why our readers should care, there’s a good chance we won’t be interested in the article.
• Me first. As a national brand, we publish only unique content. We won’t run an article that has been published elsewhere, including on your own website. If you have pitched the same article to another media outlet, then be upfront about it and tell us. We require all contributing writers to sign an exclusivity agreement and provide a photo of themselves.
• Always on. We are a digital-first brand. The editorial calendar [PDF] is a nice snapshot of coverage planning and trends, but we are constantly writing and exploring fresh content, so there’s no need to wait until you see “technology” on the editorial calendar to pitch us a great technology story idea.
• Sources matter. We value first-hand reporting and in-depth information. Articles we publish are more than lists of bulleted facts. Offer real people with meaningful credentials—our intelligent audience respects them more than charts, although graphics can help explain complex information.
• No soliciting. We don’t usually publish vendor-written articles as editorial content, because that’s what ads and sponsored content are for. As a vendor, if you have a success story, we’d love to hear about it and do the interviews ourselves.
• Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Please pitch by email only, and to one editor only. We try to review each email within 48 hours of receipt, and we route viable story pitches among the entire editorial team each day, often earmarking them for particular weeks or uses. Multiple emails and follow-up phone calls just jam up the process. If we’re interested in your story idea, we will definitely contact you.

Between the website, the print magazine, our seven opt-in e-newsletters and our upcoming road events, we’re always ready for fresh ideas, impactful content and actionable takeaways for our readers.

Questions? Email me anytime. And keep those great story pitches coming.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.