Great article, but I'm wondering if it isn't missing the most important piece of information - how did you track down the editors, and their email addresses? Or is this information that can be gleaned from twitter?
You're totally right. I forgot one of the most essential parts of the process which is tracking down the right editor.
The short version is this: find the most relevant publication, then search for the most relevant section (politics, business, etc). Then look on their masthead (you can google {publication} masthead) to find this for every magazine. There you'll find the editor of the section you want to write for. Then you can do a quick google search on them to find their Twitter or email.
In terms of process I usually tweet them first and ask what the best way to send a pitch is. They'll usually include their email. Then I send an email with subject line "re: twitter" (that gets opened everytime). In that email I include my pitch.
More in-depth story on this to come. Appreciate the idea!
If I were an editor, I would simply blackhole all personal mails which include tracking pixels.
If it were me (and I had indeed shared my email to the person reaching out on Twitter) I'd appreciate the reminder of how/why they are reaching out on email.