I create content for heavy equipment manufacturers and dealers. The content I create achieves greater trade publication exposure through one of two ways. Here are two case studies based on clients.
Wacker Neuson Canada
For Wacker Neuson, I travelled to Ottawa, interviewed one of Wacker Neuson’s customers who recently purchased two of their machines and took photos of the machines at work. Then I wrote @ 850-word story and gave them the contact information for the magazines.
Because one of the machines mentioned in the article isn’t available in the US, the article could only be sent to Canadian publications. The story was sent to 4 publications. All four publications requested the photos. I saw the story appear in 3 publications (print).
The story took up 2/3 – 3/4 of one page in each magazine. To purchase advertising space equal to the amount of total non-paid space would have cost about $8,000. I charged them about $,1000.
Montreal Tracteur
I have written 3 stories over a 9-month period for this company and each one appeared in Daily Commercial News, but Montreal Tracteur has never paid me.
For each story, the dealer informed me of a potential story—generally, one of their clients with new equipment working on a construction project of some significance, which I then pitched to the trade publication. The trade publication decided they wanted to buy the story. I wrote the story to the trade publication’s specifications and deadline and then the trade publication paid me.
So, those are two ways I can get you greater exposure in trade publications.
Finding the right mixture
Although the second way is free, the content can only appear in that one magazine. The trade publication owns the content. You may even not be allowed to use it in your own internal communications. But you can use your social media to direct people to the story on the trade publication’s communication channels.
Although you are putting more capital up front in the first scenario, trade publications are more likely to accept it, because it is free to them. It also has a bigger impact and can be used in your communications, because you own the content.
You can always do both. Some stories can be pitched to the trade publication, and if they aren’t willing to pay for it, then you can choose to pay for it.
To maintain integrity, I never accept payment from the trade publication and another customer for the same story. Also, since I have no decision-making power over the content that gets published at the magazines for whom I write, I can’t leverage that power for favours.