Still Not Sure What to Write About?

Having a bylined article in your name is one of the most effective ways to establish credibility in your industry and position yourself as the go-to expert in your area of expertise. It also makes you a magnet for podcast producers, speaker bureaus and conference organizers seeking articulate experts.

In fact, the annual CPA | Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey™ found bylined articles are among the Top-5 thought leadership tactics that financial advisors can use (82% of respondents agreed). Our last post (Getting Your Bylined Articles Published) walked you through best practices for building relationships with busy editors. Today, let’s talk a closer look at the types of bylined articles most likely to get you the green light from busy editors.

Without being arrogant or self-serving, you want to help your peers learn a strategy, skill, or technique; solve a problem; or provide information or analysis to readers (or listeners or viewers) that helps them earn more money, become more efficient and stay in compliance. In media-speak we call this “service journalism.” Here are some examples:

• An interpretation or explanation of a market trend, and how to adjust to it or exploit it.
• An analysis of a new law or regulation, with tips on compliance.
• Case studies, and the lessons learned from them.
• Problem-solution stories.
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them.
• Using new technology to gain a competitive advantage
• How to work more efficiently, use time more effectively Building and nurturing professional relationships

A service piece often provides analysis and interpretation of hard news. That means following a breaking news story with discussion of how it affects a particular audience and what action they can take to adapt, accommodate, comply, or exploit the new development.

Here are five suggested angles to consider for your next bylined column:

1) How to. Give the reader clear, step-by-step instructions for accomplishing a difficult task, or an ingenious solution to a common problem. For example: “10 steps to helping your client exit their business and get crystal clear about what’s next.”

2) Trend/ “You’re Not Alone.” Whenever an emerging trend sweeps a profession or industry, articles explaining the trend to different audiences appear everywhere. “If you think more and more advisory firms are merging than ever before, you’re not alone…..The latest research from {source] shows that ……. But what you might not realize is that ………”.

3) Survey Results. These articles report findings of a survey or other authoritative study (See first paragraph of this post). One key is to summarize the conclusions at the beginning of the article, and then support the conclusions by elaborating on who conducted the survey, how it was conducted, who were the respondents, what questions were asked, and what were the responses (using tables instead of prose whenever possible).

4) The Contentious Premise. If you have an idea that is novel, contrarian, or challenging to readers’ sensibilities, don’t hesitate to put it out there – you might become known as an innovator or pioneer. For instance: “Why more and more retirees still have an 80/20 allocation of stocks to bonds.” It’s great to be provocative, but you must support your contrarian premise with hard facts, data, cases, experience, and/or authority.

5) Tie in to current news trends, important deadline or significant date. Suggest a piece about “The Top Five 529 Plan Mistakes” leading up to a publisher’s May 29th issue.

Conclusion

As a guest columnist, you have two jobs:
1) To inform readers and advance your profession (not sell your services).
2) Make the editor’s life easier, not harder.

You probably won’t earn as much as a writer as you do for your “day job” – but the value of name recognition and high quality client leads your bylined column generates can give you a 10X to 100X multiplier for your efforts.

Ping me any time to discuss further.

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Getting Your Bylined Articles Published

Rarely a week goes by when someone doesn’t send me a link to an article in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Insider or Barron’s that’s written by someone they know – often a competitor. “What do I have to do to get in there?” they ask me with exasperation. “I know more about [topic X] than he/she does!”

Okay. Prove it.

You may know more about topic X than your competitor does, but he or she seems to know more about working the press. Here’s the good news. With today’s shrinking newsrooms, you’re likely to see more content bylined by people who don’t seem to have the words “staff writer” or “staff reporter” after their names. So it shouldn’t be that hard to get a byline in a prestigious national media outlet that’s read by millions, right?

Not so fast. Here are three important considerations.

1. Don’t wait by the phone. Media outlets aren’t likely to call you unsolicited unless you’re an A-list celebrity, a superstar athlete or a university professor who’s an expert in a very arcane area that just happens to be in the news due to a recent catastrophe, natural disaster or astronomical phenomenon.

2. Open your wallet. If you’re willing to pay for advertising space, sponsor a related conference, or pay a fee to be listed as an “Advisory Council” member (sorry Forbes), the editors will find a way to get you some space to be heard.

3. Become a trusted source. In media jargon we call this “earned media” as opposed to “paid media” see #2 above. Earned media will take some legwork, since most journalists, editors and bloggers don’t have time for lunch, golf or drinks these days. But it’s worth the effort. I’ll explain in a minute.

Steps to becoming a trusted source:

1. Isolate a half dozen media outlets in which you’d like to be seen. Ask a team member to see which journalists are covering areas of your expertise regularly. Review recent articles they’ve published and get familiar with their style and publishing frequency.

2. Send the targeted journalist/blogger a brief email or voicemail thanking them for covering Topic X. Cite a brief excerpt from a recent story to show you’ve read their work. Let them know you’re available for comment when they do their next follow-up story on Topic X. Include links to recent articles or presentations you’ve done about Topic X to show you know your stuff.

NOTE: You may notice many journalists don’t make their email addresses publicly available. You can usually reach them by phone by calling the media outlet phone directory. You can also approach many on their Twitter feeds, LinkedIn profiles or personal websites. You can also subscribe to journalist databases, but I have a few other legal and ethical ways to reach busy journalists for free….Ping me for tips.

3. Be ready to respond quickly. After you’ve proven yourself a reliable source who understands a targeted media outlet’s audience (i.e., your peers), they will start calling you eventually for background. Just know the journalist won’t be sending a camera crew to your home or office for a lengthy sit-down interview. The questions often come in on tight deadline and you’ll often have to respond within 48 hours to be included in the article. NOTE: Always have someone on your team proof your comments before sending. Don’t make a time-pressed journalist do any more work than they already have on their plate.

NOTE: We have an economical service here at HB Publishing that alerts you to breaking stories that journalists with tight deadlines are working on.

4. Confirm the writing policies before pitching story ideas. Once you've identified possible guest column opportunities, call or e-mail the editor to confirm the writing policies, potential opportunities and specifications for the article. Most media outlets have strict rules about what should (and shouldn't) be included in guest columns. Word count, style and format, use of source materials and attribution will be spelled out as well as the rights they’ll need to your work (i.e., exclusivity vs. first rights, etc.).

Most media outlets will discourage you from referencing your company or product overtly in the article. Doing so could cause the story to be killed or heavily edited. To avoid such penalties, it's best to err on the side of caution. Keep it above board, just as you would when speaking at an industry conference.

5. Pitch a concise story outline. Don’t send the full manuscript. Before an editor accepts your pitch, he or she will likely ask you to submit an outline and a one-paragraph abstract summarizing your proposal. Even if such materials aren't required, it's good practice to prepare an outline before you get started.

Power of your byline

According to our annual CPA | Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey™, publishing a bylined article is one of the five most effective thought leadership tactics out of nearly two dozen choices we surveyed (82% of respondents agreed). Media outlets are always looking for new content with a fresh outlook to appeal to their audience.

The key benefits of bylines include:

• Establishing credibility in your area of expertise, and to your target audiences.
• Creating relationships with publications for future engagement.
• Starting conversations about issues for which you’re passionate.
• Positioning you as a trustworthy, go-to expert on a particular area that impacts your industry/profession and clients.
• Great platform for obtaining speaking engagements, radio interviews and podcast appearances. Speaker bureaus and producers are always scouring the web and the media for fresh voices and points of view. Having a byline in a prestigious media outlet makes you instantly “vetted.”

Conclusion

You may not win a Pulitzer, but bylined articles are one of the most effective tools available for establishing credibility with a target audience. If nothing else, they showcase you and your organization as a thought leader in your field. The article will draw attention to the stature and strength of your company which helps differentiate it from competitors. We have plenty of ways to make the process less daunting and time-consuming.

Ping me any time to discuss.

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