Make Money Writing for Trade Magazines
Niche Publications May be Best Best in Tough Economy
Feb 24, 2009
The list of consumer magazines that have folded in the last half year is a long one. Trendy publications such as shopping-themed magazine Domino, homey magazines such as Craft and tech favorites such as PCMag all printed their final issues in 2008 and 2009.
Sure, some of the magazines that shut down in the last six months still have Web versions. But in all, it's been a rough time for print consumer magazines. According to FOLIOMAG.COM, ad pages in consumer magazines dropped 11.7 percent in 2008. Everything from Sporting News to Blender to Soap Opera Digest saw ad sales drop, according to the story.
This means fewer opportunities for freelance writers at consumer publications.
There is another option, though: trade and association magazines.
Trade Magazines Remain Solid
Unlike consumer magazines, trade publications do not attempt to be everything to everybody. They focus on one small niche.
The good news for freelance writers is that nearly every industry has its own trade magazine. The people who operate those kiosks selling cell phones or sunglasses in the mall? They have Specialty Retail Report magazine. The men and women responsible for making sure stormwater is clean when it flows from a community into nearby rivers and streams? They have Stormwater Magazine. Even the window cleaning industry has American Window Cleaner Magazine.
The editors at these magazines, because of their lower profile, often receive far fewer query letters from freelance writers than do the editors at consumer magazines. Because of this, freelancers have a far better chance of getting consistent work from these publications.
You Can be a Stormwater Expert
Freelancers sometimes worry that they don't know enough about a particular industry to write about it. This is rarely true.
Writers may not know anything about the landscaping business. But this doesn't mean that they can't write for Lawn & Landscape. The stories writers take on for these publications will involve interviews with industry professionals. These professionals are usually happy enough to talk about their industries that they don't mind answering what may seem to them like obvious questions.
As writers conduct their interviews, they'll be learning on the job. It's fairly easy to pick up the basics of most any industry quickly in this manner.
The Work is Steady
And once freelancers establish themselves at a trade magazine, they'll find most often that editors will happily assign them stories on a regular basis. Trade editors, like all editors, like working with writers they trust. Once they find these writers, they'll send along story ideas on a regular basis.
Best of all, trade magazine stories often pay quite well. There are lower-paying trades, just as there are low-paying consumer magazines. But there are also plenty of trade publications that pay solid, respectable rates.
Writers, though, must take care to put as much effort into writing a trade magazine story as they would when working for a consumer publication.
Trade editors want stories that are not only informative, but that are entertaining, too, and well written. Just because a magazine focuses on erosion control, that doesn't mean its editor will be satisfied with dry, hastily written copy.
Those writers who haven't considered trade magazines, should Google any industry. With a little research, they'll find a trade magazine serving it. And if these writers are interested in picking up steady work, they need only write a letter of introduction outlining their backgrounds, attach a writing sample or two and send it along to a trade editor.
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