Business written content for magazine

alext262

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A few weeks back we got a commissioning from a Traffic magazine. We were informed that only about 20% of the magazine was actually written by the magazine. The rest of the content was written by businesses within the industry.

We had never heard of this before, is there a name for it? Is it common? Any other details at all on this business model for magazines?

Thanks
 

Angie

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Some trade magazines get content from businesses within their industry. When done right, it ensures their content is knowledgeable and authoritative, and gives businesses some publicity among other businesses in their niche. I've not heard of a trade that is 80% written by member businesses, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Were they asking you for a donated article? If so, I'd look at their circulation -- if you're a B2B company and getting your name in front of their readers might help you generate leads, then it might be worth the effort.
 

WriterBN

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If the businesses paid the magazine to be included, then the content has to be marked as an advertisement.

Several very prestigious academic journals do this, like Nature Methods: http://www.nature.com/app_notes/nmeth/index.html

However, it's usually a small section relative to the overall size of the magazine. I've never heard of 80% either. Smells like a fish...
 

gettingby

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A few weeks back we got a commissioning from a Traffic magazine. We were informed that only about 20% of the magazine was actually written by the magazine. The rest of the content was written by businesses within the industry.

We had never heard of this before, is there a name for it? Is it common? Any other details at all on this business model for magazines?

Thanks

This should raise some red flags. Business people don't always make the best writer. However, I knew of a publication that had its staff writers conduct interviews with business CEOs and people like that. Then the staff writers would turn the interview into a story and basically ghost write it for the CEOs they interviewed. It would run with the CEOs byline. It was totally legit and did quite well for the industry it was focused on.

But there was another publication I knew about that was a total fake. They literally only printed enough copies to show advertisers. There was no way to even subscribe to the magazines and this company had a few. For a business to get into one of those magazines, they had to hand over contacts for other businesses they did business with. If enough of those businesses took out ads, they would get a story. It was pretty screwed up.

I would look into this more before getting involved with a publication that uses the model you mentioned.
 

nealraisman

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Frankly I wouldn't be worried about it. Business magazines often have material written by the businesses they sell to. This is common practice. Second, it is a publication. Are they paying for it or is it a contribution?
In my consulting business I often publish i business magazines to get the name out.
 

alext262

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I have no worries at all that the magazine is operates in a professional manner. It's just this was the first time we had seen this business model for a magazine. Does anyone know if there is a name for this type of writing? Ghostwriting doesn't seem to fit but is the nearest I can get...
 

Old Hack

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Most magazines rely heavily on freelancers. The more niche the publication the less likely it becomes that those freelancers will be professional writers, and the more likely it becomes that those freelancers will have expertise in the magazine's genre. It's not unusual, in my experience.
 

Jamesaritchie

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They literally only printed enough copies to show advertisers. There was no way to even subscribe to the magazines and this company had a few..
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No business I've ever been associated with would fall for that. It would be impossible. The first thing any business checks is proven subscriber base. Without this, there is no way to know how much you should pay for advertising.

And even a mom and pop business in Paducha wants to know where it can go buy copies of the magazine, and they go there and buy one. Even the tiniest, most homespun business checks out the credentials of anywhere it's going to advertise.

If they claim the magazine isn't actually out yet, you check the names and reputation of everyone involved.

Any business that would fall for that should fail.
 

talkwrite

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Here is an insiders view: There is a reciprocal benefit to have articles related to the industry written by those who know it best. But there is a difference nowadays between flash driven and content driven publications. Professional trade magazines ask the author not to promote your services but to keep the topic educational which you can do by noting that the basis for your premise is your long term expertise in said industry.The author can get paid and with a large readership promote their business. The magazine gets educational material out to the readers and looks more like a resource. So verify the audience and readership to see where your name and writing is going.