How to Get Covered in Forbes: Editorial Pitching Guide

Originally published April 2019. Updated October 10, 2026.

To get covered in Forbes, send a short, evidence-backed story idea to the Forbes staff tips address, tips@forbes.com, or directly to the reporter whose recent work covers your subject. Forbes says on its Editorial Values and Standards page that story ideas and news go to that address. Forbes also bars staff and contributors from accepting compensation, privileges, or favors from people they cover, so the pitch must stand on its own merits.

This guide explains the routes into Forbes, what the outlet publishes about its own process, how to write the pitch, and how to make a placement useful afterward. It is part of EPR's media placements guide, and every claim about Forbes comes from the outlet's own published pages.

What does Forbes cover?

Forbes lists seven coverage areas on its Editorial Values and Standards page: wealth and billionaires, finance and investing, entrepreneurship and founders, technology and innovation, leadership and professional communities, consumer businesses, and lifestyle. Match your story to one of these areas before writing a word.

The outlet's history shapes its structure. Forbes magazine was founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917, and Forbes.com launched in 1996. The Forbes Contributor Network was formed in 2010, and the Breaking News desk began in 2019, according to the same page.

Forbes also publishes 47 international editions, including Forbes Africa, Forbes Asia, and Forbes Middle East. A story with a regional angle may fit an international edition, and each edition publishes its own contact details.

What routes lead into Forbes?

Forbes describes several distinct kinds of content, and each one has a different owner and a different label. The table lists the routes Forbes names on its standards page.

Label each outcome correctly in your own reporting. Earned coverage comes from the editorial routes, while branded and membership programs are a separate category that Forbes lists under its own heading. Counting them separately keeps measurement clean.

How does Forbes say its editorial process works?

Forbes says its editorial work rests on five principles: independence and integrity, fair and ethical journalism, freedom from bias and conflicts of interest, factual and authoritative reporting, and inclusive and diverse voices. The outlet says it honors the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics.

Forbes also describes its safeguards. It says it fact-checks major and investigative stories with a team of trained staff journalists and makes clear updates when corrections are warranted. It directs concerns about its work to corrections@forbes.com.

Two safeguards affect every pitch. Forbes prohibits staff and contributors from accepting compensation, privileges, or favors of any kind from people, companies, or groups featured in their coverage. It also requires conflicts of interest to be avoided or disclosed to readers, and it asks journalists to disclose how AI tools were used when they help create content.

How should you choose who to pitch?

Choose the person whose recent bylines prove they cover your subject. Open the outlet's section page for your topic, read the last 30 to 60 days of stories, and note which writers return to your theme. A reporter who has covered your exact question recently is a better fit than a masthead title.

Forbes lists a general route as well. The standards page invites story ideas and news at tips@forbes.com, and the outlet runs a separate confidential tips page for sensitive information. Use the confidential page only for material that must stay confidential, not for routine announcements.

Contributors write under their own bylines and standards, so a contributor pitch is a conversation with an independent writer. Read the contributor's earlier columns first, and offer evidence for their reporting without asking for coverage in return.

What makes a good Forbes pitch?

A good Forbes pitch states a new fact, explains why it matters to Forbes readers now, and offers evidence the reporter can check. Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026 survey, covered in EPR's media placements guide, found that 70% of journalists value clear relevance to their beat and 58% value interview access to relevant sources. Both apply here.

1. Subject line. State the finding in plain words, for example the number, the change, or the decision.
2. First sentence. Give the news and its date, with the source named.
3. Why it matters. Connect the fact to one of Forbes's seven coverage areas and to a recent story by the reporter.
4. Evidence. Offer data, documents, a named customer, or an executive who can speak this week.
5. Close. Name your availability and give contact details.

Keep the whole email under 200 words, the length 69% of journalists in the same survey said they prefer. EPR's guide to pitching a financial journalist shows how a data-first pitch reads for a money desk, and the TechCrunch guide covers the technology equivalent.

What does a worked example pitch look like?

The example below is a template for a fintech data story. Every bracket must be replaced with a verified fact, and no figure should appear without its source and date.

The template names the evidence, the method, and the person who can speak. It also avoids asking for a feature, which keeps the decision with the editor.

How should you handle timing, embargoes, and follow-ups?

Forbes's published pages do not state embargo or exclusivity norms, so agree any terms in writing with the individual reporter before sending the news. Name the release date, the time, and the time zone, and honor the terms exactly. A reporter can only accept an embargo they have agreed to in advance.

For follow-ups, send one message with new information, such as an updated number or a newly available source. The Muck Rack 2026 survey summary reported that journalists prefer a single timely follow-up. A second message with no new content gives the reporter nothing to act on.

How do you make a Forbes placement work after it runs?

A Forbes placement works hardest when other sources point to it. Add it to your press page, share it in executive profiles, and cite it from owned research so readers and AI systems can trace the claim. Forbes appears often in AI answers, a pattern EPR mapped in its citation study of 366,087 AI citations, which found Gemini surfaces Forbes.

EPR's own testing also shows that other sources compete for the same answers. In EPR's report on why Wikipedia, Reddit, and Substack appear in AI retrieval, Reddit out-cites Forbes for ChatGPT brand citation share in select B2B categories. The practical lesson is to build a graph of sourced mentions, an idea EPR explains in its citation share glossary entry, instead of relying on one placement.

Measure the result by outcomes you care about: referral traffic, qualified inquiries, and whether the page appears when a buyer asks an AI engine your category question. EPR's media pitching citation share study shows how to run that check.

Where does Forbes sit inside EPR's media coverage?

Forbes sits inside Everything-PR's Entertainment and Media coverage alongside other major outlets, including Newsmax, Sinclair, and Daily Caller. Each outlet has its own audience and its own routes for story ideas. For a related EPR perspective, read The Machine Agrees With the Editor.