Recently, WritersMarket.com interviewed me for their site about my work as a freelance journalist. Here are the questions they asked and my responses:
1. What makes a great business feature article?
Outstanding, knowledgeable, and respected resources are the
key to a great business feature. The difference between a serviceable business
feature and a great business feature is determined during the research phase of
the writing process. When you have excellent quotes and outstanding input, a
great business feature will feel as though it is writing itself. If you’re not
experiencing that feeling as you write the feature, you’re probably not writing
a great article. Business features should be truly irresistible, not merely
serviceable. Once you have the essential input from strong sources, it is easier
to express your unique style and add some zing to the copy.
2. What makes a great technology feature article?
Real world examples are the key to a great technology
feature. Mark Twain put it best: “There’s nothing so annoying as a good
example.” Often, when covering technology, the technology is new and untested.
When you’re able to cite specific cases where the technology has been used, it
helps the reader to understand how it could be applied to their situation. When
it comes to a feature, the technical aspects of a particular technology are a
lot less important than how the technology can benefit the reader. By
illustrating how the technology can be applied in the real world, the article
becomes a valuable tool for helping the reader improve their business
processes, profitability, efficiency, etc.
3. How should freelancers pitch magazine editors to get
assignments?
Would you rather sell a loaf of bread or a truckload of
loaves? Instead of pitching one idea, pitch ten ideas at once. A summation of
each idea will suffice—enough to give the editor some idea of your level of
understanding and imagination. Plus, you’re doing a lot of the work for the
editor, which many editors like a lot.
Another approach—instead of rushing in with article pitches—is
to introduce your body of work to an editor and position yourself as a seasoned
journalist in a particular field. The point of such an introduction is to plant
the seed for an ongoing relationship. Of course, this approach only works if
you truly are an industry veteran (e.g., you’ve written for two of the top
three magazines in a niche and you’re approaching the third after years of
working for the other two). I’ve used this approach with good success in
industries in which I’ve written for more than a decade. I’ve also been able to
expand into closely related industries using this strategy.
The pitch doesn’t end when the article is accepted or even
when it is submitted. In today’s tough freelance marketplace, you need to
become a value-added contributor. What's meant by value-added? Freelance trade
press contributors have to understand and embrace social networking. Most
established trade press veterans remain clueless about how to promote their
work in the social medium of the Internet. I've made it my personal
responsibility to promote new pieces whenever they appear on my publisher's
sites. My publishers haven't asked me to do this task; however, I recognize
that in this new environment, trade press stories can now be accessed by those
outside the original low-circulation print editions. Through the magic of the
Internet, they can now be viewed by the entirety of the Web audience. Soon, I
believe, trade publishers will come to value this additional traffic as it
expands their reach, drives traffic, and ultimately brings in increased ad
revenues.
I want to be seen as a contributor that helps build this
traffic for my publisher's sites. By doing so, I will also be building my brand
online. As my Facebook and LinkedIn network expands, my work, which once only
received exposure to a small group of engineers or school administrators, for
instance, can now be viewed by anyone interested in a more in-depth coverage of
a given topic, albeit of a technical nature.
I've established my blog (http://www.martyweil.net) as one
means to sending out that content. I have linked my Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn pages to receive a feed from this site, which often features links to
works I've recently published.
