10 Steps to Publishing a Bylined Article in Your Favorite Publication

Publishing a bylined article in one of your key industry trade publications can establish you as an expert in your field and increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Here are 10 steps to publishing a bylined article in your favorite publication.

1. The first step involves determining what the publication should be. You should go to your nearest library and retrieve the Bacon’s Magazine Directory from the reference section. Go to the alphabetical index in the back and look for publications beginning with one of your industry’s key words. This will get you to the right section of the Directory.

2. Review the magazine profiles in the section to find a magazine with an appropriate subject and readership. Also look at the circulation. The magazine you choose should have a circulation of between 30,000 and 100,000. If it’s lower, you’re not reaching enough people; if it’s higher, it will be much more difficult to pitch your article.

3. Look at the magazine’s editorial calendar. This document describes topics the magazine will cover for the entire year, and if there is a suitable topic for your company, you will have a better chance of publication if you time your submission for that issue. Editorial calendars may be found on the magazine’s website, and topics need to be pitched about two or three months in advance.

4. Call the editor-in-chief or managing editor of the magazine. If you call someone at a lower level, you will need to get at least two approvals to publish your article instead of just one.

5. Avoid voicemails at all costs. The idea is to establish a relationship with the editor during the process described below. Editors receive about 300 press releases a day, so you need a high profile to succeed. If you can’t get through, ask the operator to either page the editor, contact someone at an adjacent office or transfer you to a nearby receptionist.

6. Tell the editor your story idea, and ask if you can submit an outline. This takes the editor off the hook because immediate approval is delayed. It also includes the editor in the process because once the general topic is okayed, it becomes much more difficult to reject the piece if the outline is well done.

7. Ask for deadlines for both the outline and the article. This also includes the editor in the process, and when you submit the outline, and later the article, you should note in the email that you are sending it "per the deadline provided."

8. If you don’t hear from the editor in a week, follow up to ensure the article was received and ask whether it has been reviewed. If not, make two more follow up calls about a week apart.

9. During the last call, ask the editor if it’s possible to review the piece while you’re on the phone. Provide him with the exact time of transmission so the article can be easily found. By this time, after all the calls, both for the outline and the article, you should have established a relationship with the editor, and your chances of approval are very high.

10. If the article is published, the process is not complete. You should create "reprints" of the article for marketing purposes such as inclusion in your press kit. The reprint should be on glossy paper, with a nice layout and the magazine’s banner and date of publication across the top. Copyright approval is generally pro forma, but it must be obtained. Some publications even have their own reprint department, so you should ask about that as well. Many PR experts believe the reprint is more valuable than the people who actually read the article when it’s published.

Founded in 2003, Cut-It-Out Communications (www.cioediting.com) is a full-service public relations firm specializing in B2B clients and interactive services. The President, Willy Gissen, a Harvard graduate, trained with a former SVP of a top New York City PR firm and served on the communications staff of a New York State gubernatorial campaign.