Leadership and entrepreneurship · National

How to get featured in Entrepreneur

How to get featured in Entrepreneur: staff coverage versus the paid Leadership Network and paid press releases, writer rules, and how to pitch editors.

Website: entrepreneur.com
Owner: Entrepreneur Media
Lead time: Staff stories: days to weeks. ELN articles: two to four weeks for review, per the guidelines. Magazine: months.
Last verified: October 16, 2026

At a glance

Audience. Small business owners, startup founders, franchise buyers, and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Starting a business
Growth and leadership
Marketing and sales
Money and funding
Franchising and the Franchise 500
Founder success stories

Staff reporting: Staff editors produce Entrepreneur magazine and Entrepreneur.com news, features, founder stories, and franchise rankings such as the Franchise 500.
Contributed articles: Most outside bylines come through the Entrepreneur Leadership Network, a paid membership; Entrepreneur's own page lists the cost at $3,000 per year after editorial approval.
Opinion and op-eds: There is no open op-ed page. Opinion and advice pieces come from staff and Leadership Network members writing under published writer guidelines.
Press releases: Entrepreneur sells a paid press release product ($499 per release, per its own page) with editorial review; this is distribution, not staff coverage.

Pitching Entrepreneur, step by step

Choose the route: staff coverage (earned), Leadership Network membership (paid byline), or a paid press release (distribution).
For staff coverage, pitch a founder story with numbers and a lesson, aimed at the editor for Entrepreneur.com or the magazine.
If you join the Leadership Network, follow the writer guidelines: about 800 to 1,000 words, original, non-promotional, and not AI-generated.
Apply to the Franchise 500 and other rankings through the official process if you are a franchisor.
Label any paid placement honestly in your own reporting and sales materials.

How Entrepreneur decides what to cover

Entrepreneur publishes a print magazine and Entrepreneur.com for small business owners, founders, and franchise buyers. Staff editors produce news, founder features, practical guides, and rankings such as the Franchise 500. The site also carries a large volume of bylined advice from members of the Entrepreneur Leadership Network, plus a separate paid press release product.

That mix means three different things can look like “being in Entrepreneur.” Only one, staff coverage, is earned.

How to pitch Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur’s contact page lists the editor in chief of the magazine and the executive editor of Entrepreneur.com, which tells you how editorial responsibility is split. For staff coverage, pitch a founder story with real stakes: what you built, what nearly broke, what you learned, with numbers. Lessons other owners can use are the core of the brand. Franchisors should apply to the Franchise 500 through the official process.

Contributed articles and op-eds

The Entrepreneur Leadership Network is the main route for executive bylines, and it is paid. The program page describes an application reviewed by the editorial team, followed by payment once approved, and lists membership at $3,000 per year. Published writer guidelines set clear rules: pieces of about 800 to 1,000 words, original and not previously published, no promotion of people or companies, no paid links, disclosure of relationships, no AI-generated text, and one article per month, with a two to four week review window. Entrepreneur also says all contributed articles carry nofollow links.

Entrepreneur’s press release product is separate again: a paid release page, listed at $499, that goes through editorial review before publishing.

Frequently asked questions

Can you pay to be featured in Entrepreneur?

You cannot pay for staff coverage. Leadership Network membership and the press release product are both paid routes to appear on Entrepreneur.com.

Does Entrepreneur accept guest posts?

Only from approved Leadership Network members, under its writer guidelines.

Who should I pitch at Entrepreneur?

The editors listed on the contact page for the magazine or Entrepreneur.com, or the staff writer covering your topic.

A PR-led agency approaches Entrepreneur by pursuing staff coverage first and being explicit with clients about what any paid route does and does not deliver. See how we run media relations.

Mistakes that get pitches ignored

Calling a Leadership Network byline or a paid press release earned coverage.
Submitting promotional or previously published articles, which the guidelines reject.
Using AI-generated text; the guidelines say submissions are checked.
Linking to competitors such as Forbes, Fast Company, or Inc. in ELN articles, which the guidelines prohibit.

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Sources for this profile (4)

Profiles describe public editorial processes and are reviewed periodically. Digitize is not affiliated with Entrepreneur. Spot something out of date? Email [email protected].