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Craft of Writing

Suzan L. Wiener

Target Your Audience

And Make More Sales

Have you ever wondered how some writers get editors to give their queries the go-ahead and have their articles accepted over and over while others just flounder in a hit or miss effort? It isn’t just a fluke when a writer gets an acceptance so easily. What is the secret? Know how to target your audience, and know exactly who you are writing for. Once you do that, you will increase your sales dramatically. In fact, editors will be calling you. Of course, it won’t work every time, but it does work quite often.

In other words, it is important to research your markets. Whatever publication you want to write for, don’t do it blindly. Instead, invest in copies of the magazine you want to write for. Do your homework. That is the key to a successful article. I can’t stress researching your targeted publication enough.

If you want to write an article for Seventeen magazine and really don’t have a clue as to what the magazine is about, you will almost automatically get a rejection on your piece. Sending in a submission suitable for people in the 40-50 age range when the magazine’s focus is on teens will not get you that most wanted acceptance letter no matter how well your article is written. If you do not know what Seventeen is about, buy several current issues, not old ones. This applies to all publications you are interested in writing for. Editors often change their minds about what they want in their magazine, so you have to keep up with it.

Are you considering writing for the children’s market? Then definitely get to know children. If you don’t have your own, talk to your neighbor’s children and observe how they react with each other. And, it would help to really like them and not talk down to them. Children know when an adult doesn’t respect them. You have to get into their ‘skin’ in every instance when you are sending in submissions. Children are extremely honest. You will be surprised at how they respond to you and others around them. See how they interact with their own peers. It is fun and entertaining.

For an example, here is an accepted submitted children’s anecdote to Woman’s World in their ‘Last Laugh!’ It read:

“I recently lost weight and was shopping for new clothes with my seven-year-old granddaughter, Elizabeth. I told her that I needed a new wardrobe because I had just lost l0 pounds. Elizabeth became concerned and said, “Don’t worry, Grandma. Maybe we can find them in the Lost and Found Department.”

Had I sent an anecdote not involving a child, they wouldn’t have bought it no matter how cute it was. They pay $50, and that isn’t bad for only fifteen minutes worth of work. But, you have to get into writing op-eds, essays, etc., if you want to significantly increase your bank account, not to mention your accomplishments as a writer.

Here are the tips I follow to help me break into a publication and have a better shot at it.

• Know the publication backwards and forwards. Make sure they haven’t done the article recently. Editors can’t put a similar article in even if they like it a lot. Don’t be afraid to stretch your imagination.



• Network with other writers to get ideas and find out what is going on in the writing world. Even if you haven’t done that a lot, it is a good idea to start. Never be shy when it comes to finding out information that will be invaluable to you. Website forums are a rich source of potential markets.



• Have confidence in yourself as a writer. Hit the big markets like Ladies’ Home Journal, Elle, Glamour. Remember all they can say is no. If one editor doesn’t like it, perhaps another will.



• Strive to give the editor something different that will make him or her sit up and take notice. Make your query/submission an eye-opener; the editor will have to buy it.



• Pretend you actually have an assignment already, and work as though you are doing it as an employee in their company. This will give you more of an edge than someone who is writing an article without any target at all.



• Don’t just send in one article, try sending in submissions to various publications so you will have a much better chance of getting that most-wanted acceptance. You won’t spend time worrying about one article since you will be writing a lot.



• Sometimes a miss can be caused by something as simple as not writing to the reader’s technical level. If readers are all experts in a particular field, a beginner’s basics article wouldn’t be a good fit. Nor would a highly technical article rate very high with editors of a publication aimed at novices.



• If you have a particular subject in mind, a query to the editor should provide feedback to let you know if the topic has been overdone or, conversely, if there are angles the editor would like to see covered.



• When choosing a target, it’s always easier to write about subjects with which you are familiar, although there is nothing to stop you from trying something new, provided you are willing to put in the research time to garner the information you will need to produce an authoritative article. Nothing will turn an editor off faster than a writer who presents an article which contains facts that are known to be wrong or ideas that are misconstrued due to inadequate or faulty research.



• Learn the language; most subjects have key phrases that all readers understand. Look for them during your research. Using them correctly will help make you part of the “in” crowd in an editor’s mind rather than just someone trying to “push” an article.