Reader's Digest contact: how to reach the editors, submit a story and get quoted

By Zach Schleien

The Reader's Digest emails for letters, subscriptions and reprints, how to submit a true story, and how to get quoted as an expert by the right writer.

To contact Reader's Digest's editors about something you read in the magazine or on rd.com, email letters@rd.com. For subscriptions, email customercare@rd.com, and for permission to reprint something, email permissions@tmbi.com.

If you want your business or your expertise in Reader's Digest, there's no pitch inbox. Its contact page says it doesn't accept article proposals, so the way in is to become one of the experts its writers interview. Below is every contact route I could confirm on Reader's Digest's own pages, plus how to find the right writer and what to send.

I've earned 200+ media placements across 25+ countries, including 18 TV appearances and 52 major publications, and I've never hired a PR agency. This is how I'd go after Reader's Digest today.

Rather skip the pitching? I can get you into Reader's Digest, guaranteed. Book a press call.

Key takeaways

• Comments on something you read in Reader's Digest or on rd.com: email letters@rd.com.
• Subscriptions, renewals, address changes and account questions: email customercare@rd.com.
• Permission to reprint anything from Reader's Digest: email permissions@tmbi.com.
• Reader's Digest doesn't accept article proposals. It does take jokes, funny true stories, quotes and cartoons through forms on rd.com.
• To get covered as a founder or expert, pitch the writer who covers your topic and offer to be interviewed.

What Reader's Digest covers, and where a founder fits

Reader's Digest is a print magazine and a website, rd.com. Its About page says rd.com publishes hundreds of original articles a month, and its editorial team page says the editors write for 12 million monthly readers. It's part of Trusted Media Brands, and its site lists Taste of Home, Family Handyman, Birds & Blooms and The Healthy among its brands.

A lot of rd.com is practical advice: how to spot a scam, how much to tip, what to do on a trip. Most of those articles quote people who do the work for a living. Here's where you can fit:

• Money, which has its own Scams section. If you run a fintech, security or marketplace business, you see fraud up close.
• Relationships, which covers dating, friendships, marriage and parenting. One Reader's Digest list about dating deal-breakers credits a point to "our matchmaking experts."
• Home, Food, Travel and Tech, if you can give a tip readers can use today.
• The print magazine. Its team page lists the "How To" and "13 Things" columns, the "We Found a Fix" column, The RD List and the Nicest Places in America series.

Every Reader's Digest contact route, and what each one is for

Letters to the editors

Under "E-mail the Editors," the contact page asks: "Want to share your thoughts about something you read in Reader's Digest magazine or on rd.com?" The link goes to letters@rd.com. Use it to react to a story you read. Don't paste a press release into it.

Customer service

For "subscriptions, renewals, gift subscriptions, address changes, payments, account information, and other inquiries," the contact page points you to its customer service help page or customercare@rd.com. This inbox won't help you get coverage.

Reprints

The contact page says: "For permission to reprint any material from Reader's Digest or rd.com, send requests to Permissions." That link goes to permissions@tmbi.com. If you get featured and want to reuse the article, ask here first.

Jokes, funny true stories, quotes and cartoons

The contact page says you can "submit jokes, funny true stories, quotes, or cartoons" for possible inclusion in print or online, and links to two forms: "Submit a joke or funny true story" and "Submit a cartoon."

There's also a page of reader true stories told in 100 words. It says: "Everybody has a story to share. What's yours? Tell us here for the chance to be published in Reader's Digest." The stories that run carry the writer's name and town.

That's the real answer if you want to submit a story to Reader's Digest. It's for personal stories, not company news.

Nicest Places in America

Reader's Digest's community hub calls this its "yearly search for places where people are kind, differences are celebrated and neighbors work together to make their communities better," with a Submit Your Story button. If your business is part of a real story about your town, the town is the story, not your company.

If your story is local news about your town, here's how to reach your local Patch editor.

Mail

The About page says the editorial division is headquartered at Trusted Media Brands, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

What I couldn't find

On the pages I checked, there's no news tip address, no newsroom phone line and no inbox for pitches. The contact page is direct: "We do not accept article proposals or original works of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and we cannot acknowledge or return unsolicited submissions."

There's also a contributor submissions page that says: "Reader's Digest contributors: Please upload your latest contributions using this form." That's for people who already write for Reader's Digest, so don't use it to pitch.

How to find the right Reader's Digest writer

Reader's Digest won't take your article idea directly, but its writers interview experts all the time. The advice articles I read end the same way. First comes "About the experts," a short bio of each person quoted. Then "Why trust us." Then a "Sources" list that names each expert and how they were interviewed, like "email interview, Oct. 23, 2024." One "Why trust us" box says the articles come from "writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts."

Here's how to find the right writer:

1. Search rd.com for your topic, like "romance scams," "tipping" or "first date." Read the 10 most recent stories.
2. Write down each byline and click through to the author page. The one I checked listed the writer's background, how many stories they'd written for Reader's Digest on their main topic, and links to their own LinkedIn and Instagram. It had no email address.
3. Read the "About the experts" section on each story. It tells you what kind of credential the writer looks for. If everyone quoted has a PhD and you don't, pick a topic where your hands-on experience is the credential.
4. Reach the writer through their own website or LinkedIn. Never guess an email address.
5. Check the editorial team page to see who handles what. It splits the staff into print, digital, The Healthy, social media and shopping teams. The shopping team oversees "thousands of product reviews each year," so a product pitch belongs with a shopping writer.

Think in writers, not outlets. Your press universe is every reporter who covers your niche, and that can be up to about 20 reporters at a single outlet. I used the same approach to find the right writers at TIME and at Rolling Stone.

What Reader's Digest editors look for

The About page says Reader's Digest shares "trusted advice and stories to help you and your family enjoy healthy, wealthy, and wise lives," and tries to "keep it simple, informative, and fun." Use that as your filter:

• A tip a reader can use today, not a company announcement.
• Plain words. If a 12-year-old wouldn't understand the sentence, rewrite it.
• A credential tied to the topic. The expert bios under each article say what the person does and why that qualifies them.

You don't need to be big. My first real press win was the Washington Post featuring 18percent, my mental health community, on July 2, 2018, in its "To Your Health" section. We had about 150 members. Journalists cover stories, not size.

Example angles for Reader's Digest

Write for a reader who cares about family, money, home, safety and a good laugh. Plug in your own real details, and don't invent numbers.

1. The scam warning. rd.com runs pieces on romance scams, catfishing, scam text messages and more. At Filteroff, we built an AI system that detected scammers and bots and quietly put them in a separate fake dating pool with other scammers and bots. TechCrunch and Gizmodo both covered it. For a Reader's Digest scam writer, the angle would be what a dating app learns by watching scammers up close.
2. The insider tip from your job. "What a [your job] wishes every customer knew about [topic]." Read the How To and 13 Things columns in a recent print issue first so you can match the format.
3. The relationship expert. If you're a matchmaker or dating coach, offer your take on a question the dating lists already cover, like what makes someone ask for a second date.
4. The money question. If you run a service business, give the real answer to "how much should I tip" with numbers you can back up.
5. The holiday piece. Holidays & Observances is its own section, so pitch well before the holiday.

How to write the pitch

Keep it short. The subject line should name the topic and what you offer, like "Source for your romance scam coverage: dating app founder." Here's a made-up example of the body:

"Hi [first name], I read your piece on [topic]. I run [business] and see [specific thing] every week. If you're writing the next one, I can share three red flags with real examples from our users. Happy to do an email interview."

For six more pitches you can copy, see Media pitch examples: 6 pitches you can copy and why they work.

Then ask for the interview plainly. One sentence that got me booked on live TV was simple: "Would you like to interview the founder?"

I write one master pitch per campaign, which takes me 1 to 2 hours. Then I change only the journalist's name and the publication and send it to the 200 to 1,000 journalists who actually cover that beat. For Reader's Digest, that means every writer whose recent bylines match your topic, not one editor. I go through each part of a pitch, step by step, in How to Write a PR Pitch That Actually Gets a Reply.

Volume matters. When I pitched my dad's COVID recovery story, I sent roughly 70 pitches to every New York Times writer covering that beat. One of them forwarded it to the op-ed editor, and the op-ed ran on April 9, 2020.

Generic inboxes don't work. In my Top Romp days, I sent roughly 20 to 40 generic press releases to company contact pages and got zero replies. Things changed when I watched how my friend Michael pitched press, asked him a ton of questions and started doing it myself. What lands coverage is the pitch and the angle, not connections.

Do-it-yourself checklist

• Read the 10 most recent rd.com stories on your topic.
• List each byline and the experts each story quoted.
• Find a real contact route for each writer. Don't guess an email address.
• Pick one angle a reader can use today.
• Write one master pitch and change the name and story reference for each writer.
• Offer an email interview, and answer quickly if a writer sends questions.

Mistakes that get Reader's Digest pitches ignored

• Sending an article proposal or a finished article. The contact page says it doesn't accept them.
• Using letters@rd.com or the customer service inbox to pitch.
• Using the contributor upload form when you aren't a contributor.
• Pitching your company instead of a tip for the reader.
• Overstating your credentials. The articles I read print a short bio of every expert they quote.
• Sending one pitch, hearing nothing and giving up.