Sell your story for cash: A complete guide

Think you have a tale that is headline-worthy and wondering how to sell that story for cash?

The media will pay potentially tens of thousands of pounds for a great exclusive story. 

It’s rare for stories to attract such a high payment, however you could make £100 to £1,000 for appearing in the press. 

There are a few key ways you can make money from appearing in the media: 

• Sell your story 
• Be a case study for a story or feature 
• Provide comment as an expert in a particular subject for a news story or feature 

If you can establish yourself an expert then this is a great way to make extra money.

I was a tabloid journalist for seven years and before that worked for local newspapers for another seven years as a reporter and news editor. 

I have negotiated payment for stories and turned people down who were asking for payment for their story, so I know exactly what the media is looking for.

If you’re asking yourself “how can I sell my story” then read on for the full scoop plus over 15 ideas for places to sell your story. 

You may also like: How to make £1,000 extra a month

How much will I get for selling my story?

Newspapers will pay as little as £100 for a story, or as much as £20,000+ for the right tale. 

I’ve been involved with stories on both ends of that spectrum and I can tell you it is rare that the press will pay at the upper end. It’s even rarer these days now that newspapers are struggling financially, however they do still pay for great stories. 

The highest paid stories tend to be world exclusives about something that will have a significant impact. They may be about something brand new, or may be related to a big story such as a crime, the government, a court case or a celebrity. 

One thing to mention is the press will not pay convicted criminals for stories about their crimes – this is connected to rules about profiting from crime. 

This includes making the payment via friends or family of the criminal, and is outlined in the Editor’s Codebook which most major newspapers in the UK follow.

What about appearing on TV, either on the news or on current affairs shows such as This Morning on ITV?

In those cases the news often pays contributors £150 to £250 for appearing as an expert on bulletins (I have received payment from Sky News and BBC radio in the past for appearing as an expert analysing a news story). 

For This Morning how much you would be paid very much depends on the story and how much prominence it is given on the show. You would need to negotiate to get a higher fee however you could be looking at thousands of pounds. 

If you are an expert in a particular field – whether it is academic, related to pop culture or pretty much anything you can think of – then you can also get paid for providing analysis on relevant articles. 

Is your story newsworthy?

Your story could be used by the media in a number of ways. It may be that a story is presented just about you, with pictures of yourself. 

Or your story may form part of a bigger article, say for example you provide a comment as part of it or you form a case study that runs alongside a story. 

Before embarking on this process you need to ask yourself is your story newsworthy in a country-wide sense. 

A story about your minor consumer problem with a local company may be newsworthy for a local newspaper, but local newspapers do not pay for stories. 

So what are the nuts and bolts of a good story: 

• Something brand new 
• Something with a human interest angle – that often means the media will want you to be named and photographed for the article
• Something that has an impact on a lot of people 
• Something negative that an individual or organisation does not want made public 
• Something that is in the public interest 

Finding out whether your story is newsworthy begins with asking yourself if it covers any of the elements above. 

Then you need to pitch it around to newspapers and media to see if there is any interest. 

Where to sell your story

There are three key ways to sell your story: 

• Contact a news organisation – TV, newspaper, radio, online outlet – direct 
• Contact a news/media agency or freelance reporter that sells stories to the wider media
• Respond to a request for case studies from the press – you may see these online

There are pros and cons for all of these approaches, and which one you should do depends very much on how big the story is. 

A big world exclusive would attract a large fee from a publication, so selling direct means you don’t have to worry about the news or media agency taking a cut. 

On the other hand selling your story through a news or media agency means they do all of the legwork for you in putting it out to every news organisation in the UK. So potentially you may get more money than if you had just sold your story to one paper. 

In addition a news or media agency will have connections across the media, from newspapers to TV. They can act on your behalf and field calls for you. 

Selling your story to a newspaper or news organisation 

There may be a particular newspaper that you read regularly or just like, for example The Sun, Daily Mail, Mirror, Express, Telegraph or The Times.

However who you should pick to sell your story to very much depends on the story, and it’s also worth noting the big tabloids – Sun, Mail and Mirror – tend to pay for human interest stories more regularly. Have a look at the newspaper you are interested in selling to and see if they cover the type of story you are looking to sell.

You could send an email but those can get lost in a busy news desk inbox. It’s often best to phone them instead. 

In order to find the correct email and number simply Google the name of the newspaper and “newsdesk”, which will get you through to the daily news editor who will put you through to a reporter to discuss your story. 

If you are sending an email then get straight to the point of what your story is about close to the top of your email. Journalists do not have time to read through very long emails. At the start of your message write two to three sentences summarising what your story is about. 

Then you can go into a little more detail and do not forget to provide your contact phone number so that it is easy for the journalist to contact you. 

Selling your story to This Morning 

This is a similar process with selling your story to  newspapers. 

You can contact This Morning by emailing thismorning@itv.com or calling 08000 30 40 44. 

It’s worth nothing that This Morning watches the daily newspapers for stories and case studies it may be interested in, and it works the other way too. So appearing on one can lead to appearances in others. 

Selling your story to a news/media agency 

There are lots of news agencies that will help you sell your story to the wider media. They may negotiate a single exclusive with one publication, or sell it around to lots of publications. 

Some news agencies to try to sell your story through are: 

Talk to the Press 

Sell My Story 

SWNS

Ferrari  

How to get paid to be a case study in the media 

The press and media are always looking for real people to bring life to news stories. 

They may want an expect to provide a comment on a story or someone who is impacted by a particular issue. 

There are a number of ways you can connect with journalists in this way: 

Social media 

There are Facebook pages you can join and watch out for media requests for specific case studies. They may want families who have hacks for saving money on food, for example. 

Try Feature Me! UK and Lightbulb. 

It’s also a good idea to join Facebook groups in subjects you have an interest or expertise in, as journalists will often post in these asking for individuals to come forward if they are writing an article related to that topic. 

There’s also Twitter, where you can search under the hashtag journorequest to see if any reporters are searching for case studies. 

Databases 

This is where journalists can post their requests for case studies and experts. 

Help a Reporter Out sends three daily emails rounding up journalist requests. Many are US based, but some are UK based newspapers and organisations. 

There is also SourceBottle and Find Your Expert. 

Creating an online presence

If you have a blog then you could set up a page providing your contact details to the media, so that they can get in touch if they want to speak to you about a particular topic you blog about. 

You can also set up a Facebook page and join groups that are about your particular area. Get involved in conversations in the groups so that you are prominent in that group, as this could lead to reporters reaching out to you.

How to sell my story 

The process of selling your story needs to begin with giving the journalist an idea of what your story is. You can’t just call up and say “I have a great story, pay me and I’ll tell you about it”. 

If you buy a car, you expect a test drive. With journalism it’s the same thing. The journalist needs to assess whether your story has legs. 

They may want to go away and check out the details of your story with other sources to see if they can establish all of the facts, especially if it is legally contentious. 

This means you may have to tell the journalist all of the information, and provide photos, before they agree to pay you a fee. 

Once they have agreed the story is good and they will pay for it, you can negotiate a fee. It’s perfectly OK to haggle at this point but many papers and press organisations have a budget when it comes to what they can pay and will have an idea of what they are willing to pay. 

Stay polite when haggling and remember that if you are providing pictures you can ask for extra payment for those, as you own the copyright. 

Now, it could be that the journalist has approached you for a story, whether because you are an expert in a particular subject or because your name has come up in relation to another story. 

In that case you have a little more leverage for asking for a particular amount. 

As a very rough idea you should not accept anything less than £250. A good starting point for a strong exclusive story is £1,000. A world exclusive story may be worth thousands of pounds more. 

You may then be provided with a contract. If you have agreed to exclusively speak to the organisation or newspaper then they will set out those terms in the contract. You’ll need to then not speak with other media organisations, or else you may not be paid. 

Payment will come after publication and could take several weeks to be processed through the relevant organisation’s accounts department. 

Final thoughts on selling your story 

Selling your story to the media can be a great way of getting quick injection of cash. 

If you are an expert in a particular issue then you may be able to make multiple appearances in the press either providing expert comment or analysis or writing first person pieces on a particular topic. 

Putting yourself out there and forwards is the best way to get started, but be sure to be clear on your story or expertise and why it would make a great story before you contact journalists.