If you’re an author, doctor, or other expert who writes about, treats or discusses breast cancer, what magazines would you target if you wanted to pitch a story about the topic?
The most obvious answer, of course, is any of the big-circulation women’s magazines like Woman’s Day, Working Woman or Ladies’ Home Journal.
Overlooking the smaller, less obvious publications, however, would be a big mistake.
While at the hairdresser’s last week, I picked up Golf for Women magazine, which devoted much of the September/October issue to the topic of b~reast cancer.
I don’t golf. So at first, I didn’t understand the connection between golf and breast cancer until I read the column written by Editor in Chief Susan K. Reed.
“The fact is that a woman’s risk of getting the disease increases greatly when she hits her 40s,” Reed wrote. “Since 60 percent of women who play golf are in their 40s and older, we are squarely on the crosshairs of the disease.”
I found the stories intriguing. They included a piece on four women golfers in the Philadelphia area who had breast cancer, and their rehabilitation with a pioneering physical therapist who is determined to help them continue playing the game they love. It included graphics that showed the type of breast reconstruction each had chosen.
While paging through the magazine, I also found brief items on things like hair conditioner, beautiful brooches, patterned knee socks and ponytail holders.
So why am I telling you this?
–Because it’s important to know everything possible about your target audience. Make sure you know how much money they make, where they live, their hobbies, the kinds of vacations they take, and what kinds of books they like to read.
–Investigate every possible angle and make sure you know about the not-so-obvious publications that would be interested in your story. In this case, I learned that women golfers don’t just want information about golf. They want to know about beautiful baubles they can buy to dress up their clothing when they’re off the golf course, products to help their sun-damaged hair, and life-threatening diseases that women in their age bracket are at risk of contracting.
–If you want to get into a certain magazine, start reading the column written by the editor. It will tip you off to things like emerging trends, new staff writers and features, and new geographic ares they’ll be covering.
There are lots of ways to come up with clever angles. One way is to read the sample chapter of my ebook “How to be a Kick-Butt Publicity Hound.” It’s designed to help you come away with at least one story idea you can start pitching immediately.