10 Questions with Matt Villano, Freelance Writer
By Sharon Kane, @SharonTully
Freelance writers are a great resource for pitching story ideas. They cover a variety of topics and aren’t limited to only one publication and one beat. As part of our monthly “Media Meet & Greet” series, freelance writer Matt Villano stopped by our Eastwick San Francisco office to share some tips and best practices for working with the media.
Matt has been a full-time freelance writer for more than 18 years. In 2015, he wrote more than 530 stories on a variety of topics, from family travel to business, for publications like Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Expedia Viewfinder, and more. Matt has 30–35 different stories open at any given time, and usually writes during “vampire hours,” from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. PT (also the time your pitch is most likely to get his attention).
Read more about Matt below and on his website, www.whalehead.com, and follow Matt on Twitter @mattvillano.
Interested in being a guest at our next Media Meet & Greet, or is there someone you’d like to see profiled? Email sharonk@eastwick.com and check out our recent conversations with Fusion, Bloomberg West, Fortune and Re/code.
1. How do you view PR and what should we be thinking about?
I couldn’t do my job without good PR people. In that sense, I view PR professionals as my partners at unearthing information that can help inform stories. PR, therefore, becomes a critical part of the information gathering process. You should be thinking about the same things I’m thinking about: Making lives easier. For me, the goal is to make my editors’ lives easier. For you, the goal should be to make my life easier. If everyone is doing his or her part in this progression, we get a pay it forward situation where everybody wins.
2. How can we best work with you? How have PR people worked to build personal relationships with you (what worked and what didn’t)?
I’m a big fan of relationship-building even when there’s not a story in the works. This means getting to know me, getting to know what I like to write about, getting to know how I work, and keeping notes on all of these points so anyone at your agency can call upon them for a pitch. It also means sometimes getting together just to talk shop, just to cultivate ideas, just to kindle the fire that is us. These types of nurtured relationships pay great dividends. Some of my closest personal and professional friends are PR professionals with whom I’ve worked for decades.
3. Best/Worst pitch example? Dos and Don’ts?
I could go on and on about this, but at the risk of sounding shrill, I won’t. Do your homework on me to avoid the most egregious mistakes. I get at least five pitches a week for events in LA. I live in SF. That’s a failure. I also get a number of pitches addressed to Mark. I get invited on press trips, when I almost never do them and I say that on my website. Finally, if you tell me something is an exclusive and you’re clearly sending me a form pitch, it’s pretty obvious you’re spamming.
4. What are your deadlines like, and is there a certain time of day you like to be pitched? Do you prefer phone or email?
Every freelancer is different on these points. I happen to work vampire hours, which means the heart of my workday is between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. PT. So pitches that come in around that time usually get my attention first. I prefer email but am not averse to phone. I’ll respond to everything I receive, good or bad. If you have a good story and you pitch it in an irresistible way, I don’t care if you send up a smoke signal.
5. Do you find social media useful in connecting with PR people or sources?
One hundred percent yes. It’s become my go-to. As with all reporting, once I’ve cast the net, I still have to qualify the leads. But social is great for lead-acquisition, largely because the leads that come in off Facebook almost always have been pre-qualified by my own personal network.
6. What are some stories you are working on now?
This question always vexes me. I have 30–35 stories open at any given time. I wrote more than 530 stories in 2015. It’s safe to say I’m always working on a few family travel pieces and a few business pieces. Hopefully that’s enough to satisfy all inquisitors.
7. Who was your best interview and why? And who was your worst and why?
Recently, the best interview I did was with Thomas Keller. I’m not a fan of Q&As but he gave me such incredible quotes, I actually convinced the editor to let me run with a Q&A so I didn’t put my own voice into the mix and muck it up. In terms of bad interviews…those are almost always a reflection of poor reporting, so I’d like to think I’ve never really had HORRIBLE interviews. Some don’t yield the kind of quotes or information I want. Usually, however, even with those, I can pull out something useful.
8. What makes a good spokesperson or source, in your mind?
Someone who understands the importance of a short and pithy quote. Someone who gives reporters the facts we need before we even ask for them.
9. Which outlet do you see as your biggest competition?
As a freelancer, my competition isn’t really another “outlet,” but instead other writers. Even still, I don’t really see anyone as “competition” in the truest sense of the world, because IMHO nobody serves his or her customers the way I do. So many people in our industry act like self-important assholes. They’re entitled. They think their shit doesn’t stink. They think they are God’s gift to journalism. My perspective is different. I’m a decent writer with a strong work ethic. I’m going to file copy that’s solid and clean. I’m going to file it on time. And I’m going to go above and beyond to make your life as an editor easier. I’d like to think this approach gives me a competitive advantage, if you will. I tell journalism students the secret to successful freelancing is, simply, NOT TO BE A DICK. Anybody who behaves this way can never compete with me.
10. What was the most influential / popular / viewed article on your website and why?
Oy. I could look at the numbers. To be honest, I don’t care about which articles are most influential or popular or viewed. That’s not why I write. I write to unearth and tell good stories. If people read the stories, AWESOME. If not, that’s awesome, too. Because I’m not going to stop telling them.
