A freelance PR person just emailed me and asked, “Did you ever or can you recommend a resource on how to become a magazine columnist?”
I told her that several years ago, I wrote “Special Report #34: Secrets to Becoming a Columnist in Newspapers and Magazines.” It advises writers to offer columns for free and not ask for payment.
The newspaper industry, and the magazine industry to some extent, has been battered since I wrote that report about seven years ago. Audiences are more fragmented than ever. Many publications are losing classified and ad revenue because of Craigslist and pay-per-click ads. Costs for paper and ink are rising and the news hole is shrinking. That makes competition for a column more difficult than ever. Readers, particularly of newspapers, are getting older and dying off.
Trying to get a column in a magazine, I told her, can be mostly wasted effort, unless you’re targeting a B2B magazine that goes directly to your target market. Her client would be far better off blogging several times a week and offering blog content through an RSS feed.
If you blog, you can really gain traction because if your content is good, other bloggers can link to it. Blogging can offer exposure far greater than a magazines column. Besides, journalists who work in traditional media may find the content and cover you as a result.
But these days, savvy Publicity Hounds think far beyond traditional media.
I’ve been fortunate to earn two ongoing columns in prestigious business journals in the Puget Sound region, and the visibility these columns provide for my do-it-yourself publicity expertise — and the quality lead generation — is fantastic.
The first column, called Media-Savvy-to-Go, ran for a year in the Snohomish County Business Journal and offered useful tips about do-it-yourself publicity. About six months into that gig, I invited interest from the Puget Sound Business Journal in a similar column. My “Media Savvy” column with the PSBJ is one-year old and enjoying readership of 67,000 once a month among business decision makers in my own backyard and beyond.
One potential client from Napa Valley was a frequent reader of my PSBJ column and invited me to meet to discuss a potential project. We spoke for a while, and I noticed he had a notebook with him. I asked what was inside, and he revealed a well organized collection of my newspaper columns from both business journals, ezines, and pages from my blog and website. He grinned and said, “Nancy, as you can tell, I am a big fan of your work. The reason we are meeting today is to satisfy me that who you are in person is who you portray yourself to be in print.” He was satisfied because he hired me for a project, and we are still working together seven months later.
I offer this story because you never know who is reading your content, but the right people are paying attention and standing ready to engage you when your advice resonates.
Whether you write for a local business journal, your own blog, other relevant blogs or contribute commentary to online article directories and forums, you will find an audience, and the right people will find their way to you if what you say eases their pain and inspires them into action. That has been my experience.
With that said, ask for that magazine or newspaper column, and see what magic manifests in your business. You have little to lose and much to gain.
I think one common mistake small business owners make is thinking that any publicity is good publicity. That might be true to an extent in the beginning when you’re trying to establish yourself and your company, and you simply want to get the word out. But quickly, it becomes apparent that the time and effort needed to generate publicity in a publication that is not read by your best potential clients is a waste.
Writing a regular column can still be a good thing, but only if the publication is targeted enough to your specific market. And you absolutely must track results from writing that column to determine if it’s worth the time and effort.
I get almost all of my work from attorneys, and I write a monthly column for the Wisconsin Law Journal, a newspaper read by most attorneys in the state. Writing for that publication has paid off far better than any advertising has, but that’s because the readers are in my very narrow target market.
Evaluate publicity opportunities very carefully, and don’t be afraid to say no or end an opportunity if it is not paying measurable dividends.
Nancy and Tracy, you’re both great examples of how writing a column specifically for your target market can really pay off.
I should also have mentioned that most people who pitch columns to local editors have no idea whatsoever how difficult that task is. Creating compelling content week after week is tiring, and sometimes frightening, especially when the column is due in two hours and you have no idea what to write about.
Joan – How right you are about coming up with fresh content regularly. For over a year, I wrote my column twice a month. It simply became too much, and my editor and I felt that the quality would be better if I wrote less often. We were right! I’d rather have one really good column a month with fresh information, than two mediocre columns a month.
I’ve also found that my creativity and inspiration decline proportionately the closer I get to deadline. I actually try to write my column a few days before it’s due. If I wait until the last minute, it’s hard to become inspired.