Want to be a Nationally Syndicated Newspaper Columnist?
Syndicated Newspaper Column
You'll find everything you need to know about positioning
yourself as an expert by getting into self-syndication with
your own syndicated newspaper column.
Marketing your Syndicated Newspaper Column to News Editors
Excerpted from Syndication Secrets - What No One Will Tell
You! (March 2006), by Jodie Lynn.
Tips to Start a Syndicated Newspaper Column
Make your first impression good. Write your column. Edit
it. Take some time away from it, then edit it again. Let
others read it and jot down their opinions. Put it away
for several days and begin this process all over again.
I also sent the information I got from all of the "polls"
I conducted.
Many people do not send in query letters because they feel
it just prolongs the final result. What people really should
do is to send both a query letter and a sample column, or
whatever the newspaper or syndicates guidelines say to do.
Market your entire package/proposal (your package/proposal
is basically all of the material you are sending) in a brightly
colored, large envelope as described earlier. Everyone likes
I do not care who says this does not matter; it does. I
get more than 15 packages a day. This triples in the weeks
leading up to Christmas. My entire family has to help me
keep an inventory of the items, products (including books)
and tons of things for kids. The reason I get so much stuff
is that if I plug something in my internationally syndicated
column, it is worth mega free advertising bucks for these
companies. They often respond by sending me samples of their
product.
Creating a Syndicated Newspaper Column Package that Stands Out
The packages that catch my attention are the ones that
stand out because of their wrapper. For example, a couple
of years ago, Disney sent me a wooden crate full of toys
based on the Looney Tunes gang. They made a new movie, DVD
and tons of other things to try to remarket Daffy Duck,
the Tasmanian Devil and some of the older characters of
yesteryear.
The wooden crate was full of action figures, T-shirts,
caps, games, CDs, movies, and even a new Barbie. What stood
out to me? It was the "dazzle" and quality of
the crate. It was unique, was an unusual size, and could
be used to store items, plus it contained a lot of fun stuff.
It was different and got my attention!
The same is likely to be true of the editors you deal with
at a newspaper or syndicate. They get a lot of syndicated newspaper columnist submissions,
so make yours stand out. The stamped return envelopes that
you send in with the rest of your material can be plain.
It is important to make a good first impression and get
your proposal opened.
Another example of how creative marketing might help: Oprah
once asked for different things to be sent in for a show
- things people had invented or were selling that they thought
were unique. At the time, I belonged to a business women's
group that had around 50 or so members. Someone came up
with the idea of making large colored cubicles and gluing
different items to the outside of the cubicles.
The cubicles ranged in size and pattern, making the completed
project quite large, probably about the same height as Oprah
and almost as wide as the couch she kept on stage at that
time.
It turned out to be such a rare work of creative marketing
that Oprah actually showed it on stage and announced the
group's name. This was quite exciting, and everyone was
thrilled when she chose to show America what the business
women in our division had come up with.
As you can see, first impressions are important and packaging
is the first impression.
Stand out in a crowd - better yet, be noticeable in a group!
Article by Parenting expert Jodie Lynn, an award-winning internationally syndicated columnist and radio
personality. Her column, Parent
to Parent , has been successful for over ten years and
continues to grow in popularity with a readership of up
to 20 million readers.
In her book, Syndication Secrets she shares the exact process
she used to do it. It's really great. She shares everything
from deciding what to write about, writing query letters,
pitching editors on the phone, follow up, organizational
tips, Internet ideas and straight through to editorial rebuttals.
She helps you get inside the editor's head so you know how
to speak their languange when you pitch the column. Click
here to learn more about Syndication
Secrets today!
Other related Platform Building Articles:
Become an Expert
Part 1
Become an Expert
Part 2
Syndicated
Newspaper Column
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