Article written by Lisa Clift

Know the Chief Editor. Why? Because he or she just might be the right marketing connection to help successfully promote your business and put it into a positive media spotlight—without costing your company a dime.

During a 20-year publishing career, I held the position of editor-in-chief for two well-respected industry magazines, both of which were owned by top 10 business-to-business publishing companies in the United States.  Drawing on this background, this series of articles offers you a unique perspective into the editor’s world and how to play an important role in it—one that will position your company to receive credible coverage through feature articles, interviews, and news columns.

The trade press can be an excellent vehicle to promote your company at no cost—provided your business has something meaningful to cover and you know how to pitch it properly. Your first step on this marketing journey, and our first topic, is how to cultivate a lasting relationship with editorial gatekeepers, which includes understanding the boundaries between advertising and editorial coverage, and then doing your best to show consideration for them. Here are the top three things you need to accomplish to create a lasting bond with the top editors in your field.

No 1: Establish Contact: I know we now live in a virtual business world, one that is quickly becoming dominated by the Internet and online media channels, but I have yet to be convinced that personal contact doesn’t matter anymore. If I can’t look into people’s eyes and experience their personality and interact with their energy, I’m hesitant to make a judgment on whether or not they are credible and trustworthy—and when you are an editor nothing is more critical than guaranteeing the quality and truthfulness of the information you present to an industry. Not only are you liable for the content and its accuracy, you must ensure that you are not playing into and promoting false business claims and marketing hype.

If you take the initiative to meet the editors of your industry’s media outlets at trade shows, conferences, and other in-person events you will have a much better chance of breaking through the barriers that separate the average corporate Joes from the valued industry sources in the eyes of editors. And when you do make connections, be honest, straightforward, and truly interested in the business trends of the day rather than focused solely on pushing for media coverage of a new product or company announcement. Truly exceptional editors do not soley report on industries, they also are active participants within them, and they are looking to align themselves with people who have a similar modus operandi.

No 2:  Be Available, not Arrogant: As an executive or representative of your company, your personality is a reflection of your business image. Don’t squander the headway you may have made through personal contact by being arrogant and not making time to nurture an editorial relationship.  This leads me to the next important point, which is to never be too important to return a phone call or e-mail, or to take the time to offer advice or leads. Editors work on deadlines and they don’t want to have to go through secretaries and assistants to relay messages and receive information. It screams out that you are not interested in helping the industry or giving back if it’s not a convenient time for you.

I always had an A-list of industry executives that I called on a regular basis to hash out economic trends, sort out which acquisition and merger rumors where true and which were bogus, confidentially verify facts, and throw around story angles and coverage ideas. Remember the old saying, out of sight, out of mind. The people I trusted and talked to on a regular basis were much more likely to receive prime press coverage when something big happened at their companies because I heard about it immediately and directly from the executives in charge.

No 3: Respect the Editor’s World: When pitching your company to a trade press outlet for coverage, be aware of the tug-of-war that a chief editor typically endures behind the scenes. Often, there is a constant pull from publishers to support advertisers, and there is a push back from editorial to try to maintain ethical journalism guidelines (which will be the topic of another article in this series). Editors walk a tightrope here, and it makes them very touchy and standoffish when companies that advertise develop an attitude of entitlement when it comes to editorial coverage.

Don’t fuel the fire. Recognize when you are treading on thin ice with the editorial staff and back off with demands. You may win the battle at hand with threats of pulling your schedule, for example, but likely you will lose the war. In the long run, your company will be marked either consciously or unconsciously as unethical in the eyes of editorial, and that will impact your opportunities for coverage in the future. It is human nature to pull away when something is forced upon you, and editors are no exception to this rule. I’ve been there many times myself, and it’s hard to get over resentment in these situations. As a result, your company is likely to get passed over in the future as a quotable source or to be included in subjective editorial coverage on a particular subject related to the services your company provides.

In the editor’s fantasy world, there is a brick wall that separates the editorial and advertising divisions or, even better, these two groups are located at opposite ends of the country. Make no mistake, resentments do develop, divisions occur, and fights happen. It can get even trickier when the publication or media outlet is owned by an association. The politics of the organization can be overwhelming, and it can result in even more drama behind the scenes.

Remember, a chief editor’s reputation is on the line with every issue. If something reported is blatantly untrue or exaggerated claims about a product are made, it will be embarrassing at a minimum and even could be detrimental to the reputation of the media outlet and its editorial staff. Under this pressure, editors do recognize and gravitate toward the companies that are doing everything possible to present their business activities honestly within trade media outlets. No doubt it’s hard to do this when economic times are tough, but there are great payoffs, which include credibility as source and increased opportunities for prominent press coverage and feature articles—and there is no better marketing promotion than a glowing report from a credible editorial source. It’s something you just can’t buy for any price.