Five Rules for Getting Your Op-Ed Published

You want to write an op-ed. Of course you do. Your CEO wants to write an op-ed. Your client wants to write an op-ed. Somewhere out there, a middle manager is absolutely convinced that their thoughts on remote work policy deserve to be in The New York Times. Spoiler alert: they probably don't.

Here's the thing nobody wants to admit. Getting an op-ed placed used to be difficult. Now it's nearly impossible. Newsrooms have been gutting their opinion sections for years. According to EMARKETER, nearly 15,000 media jobs were eliminated in 2024 alone. The Washington Post slashed its opinion section this fall. The Los Angeles Times cut over 20% of its newsroom. Fewer editors, fewer slots, and somehow more people than ever who think their lukewarm take on leadership deserves precious column inches.

So let me help you. Let me actually help you, which means telling you the truth, even if the truth is uncomfortable.

YOU NEED AN ACTUAL OPINION

Ninety percent of the pieces that executives and clients think should be op-eds should actually be corporate blog posts. Or LinkedIn newsletters. Or those motivational posters they hang in conference rooms with pictures of mountains on them.

Opinion editors are not interested in your gentle musings about collaboration or your carefully vetted brand messaging disguised as thought leadership. They want controversy. They want someone to read your piece and feel compelled to write an angry response. They want debate.

But we've spent our entire careers training executives to avoid controversy. Stay on message. Don't rock the boat. Be diplomatic. And now we're asking these same people to write something bold? It's like teaching someone to cook by having them only make toast for twenty years and then asking why they can't prepare a soufflé.

Here's your test: Would any reasonable person strongly disagree with a single line in this piece? If the answer is no, you've written absolutely nothing. Throw it away. Post it on your company blog where it belongs and stop wasting everyone's time.

BEING SECOND IS THE SAME AS BEING LAST

Let's say you actually have a bold opinion. Wonderful. But even the boldest opinion in the world is worthless if twelve other people have already said it.

Some news event happens, and suddenly everyone wants to write the same take. The same angle. The same conclusions wrapped in slightly different adjectives. You know what editors do with the four hundredth version of the same perspective? They delete it without reading past the subject line.

Before you pitch anything, do your homework. Scan what's already been published. Is your leader bringing something fresh? An overlooked data point? A contrarian conclusion? Something that makes people reconsider what they thought they knew?

If the answer is no, scrap it. Reshape it until you have something distinctive. Because being second in the op-ed game is the same as being last.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING AND YOU'RE PROBABLY TOO LATE

Nobody tells you this about op-eds, but they take time. Sometimes weeks. This isn't a news story where you can file at 3 PM and see it online by dinner. Opinion sections have calendars. They have schedules. They have editors juggling seventeen other pieces who don't have time for your urgent request.

If your piece ties to breaking news or a policy change, pitch it immediately. Before you have a perfect draft. Before you've run it through seventeen rounds of legal review. Editors make quick decisions when something matters, and if you wait until your draft is pristine, you've already missed the window.

If it's an evergreen piece, plan for delay. Set realistic expectations with your client. And stop pitching summer graduation op-eds in June. That ship sailed in April when every editor on the planet was already planning their May content calendar. You're not optimistic. You're delusional.

Timing isn't an afterthought. It's half the battle.

YOUR OPINION NEEDS RECEIPTS

I shouldn't have to say this. But apparently I do, because people keep submitting op-eds that are nothing but vibes and vague assertions about the future of work.

Your opinion needs evidence. Data. Research. Actual facts you can point to and say, see, this isn't just something I made up while waiting for my coffee order. Ideally, you'd use your client's own research combined with credible third-party sources. Government data. Academic studies. Reputable publications.

Link to your sources in the piece. Highlight them in your pitch. Editors want to see proof because they're not going to stake their publication's reputation on your unsubstantiated claims about consumer behavior.

An op-ed grounded in evidence isn't just more credible. It's more pitchable. And in this environment, pitchability is everything.

GETTING PUBLISHED IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PROBLEMS

Here's the part that really gets me. People work for weeks to land an op-ed. They celebrate when it publishes. They send around the link. They update their LinkedIn profiles. And then nothing. The piece quietly disappears into the digital void, never to be referenced again.

What a waste.

Landing the op-ed is step one. If you treat it as the destination, you're leaving enormous value on the table. The moment that piece goes live, you should be amplifying it everywhere. Share it on social channels. Offer your leader as a guest for podcasts and panels. Use the op-ed as a springboard for broadcast commentary. Create follow-up content with lessons learned, deeper analysis, responses to reader feedback.

One op-ed, built correctly, can become an entire campaign. The kind of earned media that actually shifts reputation instead of just adding another line to a coverage report that nobody reads.

BEFORE YOU HIT SEND

Run through this mental checklist. Be honest with yourself.

Does this piece express a strong, debatable opinion? If a thoughtful reader wouldn't disagree with any of it, you haven't written an op-ed. You've written a press release with delusions of grandeur.

Is the angle genuinely distinct from existing commentary? Have you built in enough lead time, or are you pitching yesterday's news? Is the argument supported by credible evidence? Do you have a post-publication plan ready to amplify the moment it goes live?

If you hesitated on any of these, go back and fix it before you send.

Op-eds are harder to place than ever before. The slots are limited, and editors are drowning in pitches from people who didn't bother to follow any of these rules. But if you bring a real opinion, make it distinctive, time it correctly, back it with evidence, and treat publication as the starting line, you'll have a genuine shot.

And honestly, that's more than most people have. 

If your thought leadership strategy feels like shouting into the void, Winsome Marketing can help you craft op-eds that actually get published and amplified. Get in touch to start the conversation.