AdAge has been tracking media usage by way of the Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer, a survey of wealthy Americans (in this case, those making above $100,000 a year in household income) conducted by market research company Ipsos. It turns out that wealthier Americans use mostly traditional media: newspapers, magazines, and TV.

Source: http://adage.com/article/adagestat/affluent-americans-print-media-tops/229002/

The obvious first reaction is to say that most affluent Americans are likely to be older, more advanced in their careers and therefore earning more money. And these same older Americans are less likely to grab the latest app for an Android instead of picking up the newspaper off the porch. However, when AdAge examined media consumption among young affluents (ages 18-34), the numbers weren’t all that different:

Source: http://adage.com/article/adagestat/affluent-americans-print-media-tops/229002/

So what gives? Why would wealthy people—young or old—cling so strongly to traditional media? I can picture a young lawyer being the subject of some ribbing from the senior partners at a stuffy law firm as he checks stock quotes on his iPhone or a 30-something banker feeling like she needs the print copy of the Wall Street Journal under her arm in the morning to feel dressed. And maybe that’s the kind of thing that’s going on—young affluents model themselves after old affluents and are less likely to be found reading Slate on their tablet at the local coffeehouse.

Without some comparison data of young and old “less-than-affluents,” it’s really hard to say. But what we can take from this data is that the death of traditional media hasn’t happened just yet, at least not among the wealthy.

1. Contact them on deadline. It’s a little like asking to speak with a restaurant manager during the lunch rush. Find out when the publication goes to print from the editor’s assistant or the receptionist, and don’t call at those times.

2. Know your stuff. Didn’t expect the editor to answer the phone? Don’t have a clear idea of your story idea, or don’t have your notes in front of you? When you call editors, you can’t always expect to talk with them then and there. But be prepared if they happen to have a moment for you.

3. We already covered that. Take the time to see if the publication has covered the topic in the recent past. If they have, you’re not likely to score.

And here are six practices to follow that will greatly increase your chances of success:

1. Do your homework. Investigate the publication’s readership profile to make certain the audience is a good match for your story idea. Does the publication accept contributed pieces? What is their editorial calendar?

2. Keep it newsworthy. Make certain your story idea isn’t self-promoting—for example, “XYZ Company provides novel IT solutions to security problems”. Instead, use this approach: “Five novel IT solutions to security problems.” The byline will be all the promotion the company needs and positions the author as a subject matter expert.

3. Use query paragraphs to create interest. Start with a catchy headline, and follow it with a short description of the proposed article. Emphasize what’s new and controversial, and what questions it will answer for readers.

4. Limit the number of topics. Five is the maximum. Editors don’t want a shotgun approach, or “throw it against the wall and see what sticks.” Make sure each topic is coherent and well-thought out.

5. Let them know the company’s reputation and credentials. What makes the company worthy of space in the publication? Let the editor know about the company’s experience in the field and if they have written for other publications.

6. Fulfill your end of the bargain. Turn in a good story, on topic and on time. Follow the publication’s editorial guidelines and whichever style manual they prefer (ALA, AP, etc.). Doing so will place you and the company squarely on the editor’s good side and not in the mix with those other contributors who are always late, sloppy or both.

Following these six steps—and avoiding the three pitfalls—will help your pitch be a success and avoid the editor’s death sentence: the delete key!

The blogosphere reaction has been, as you might imagine, negative. Generally, reaction falls into two camps: those who think that the publishers are missing the point, and those that think, yes, the Internet is indeed killing print media, and good riddance to their exclusive club and their turned-up noses.

A few examples:

Kent Anderson in the blog the Scholarly Kitchen: “With the iPad only weeks away from shipping, it’s an odd time for magazine publishers to spend $90 million to very publicly throw their digital editions under the bus.”

From Kit Eaton in the blog Fast Company: “With the dead-tree publishing industry in a bit of a mess right across the board, and a huge, difficult digital upheaval threatening to arrive any moment, you may well argue that spending a whopping $90 million on a printed-mag advert campaign is a little silly.”

And from Bo Sacks on the Print CEO blog: “Once again, they completely miss the damn target, this time by a mile, a 90 million dollar mile…I guess my complaint is their marksmanship. There isn’t any. The people who put this campaign together to protect print don’t have a clue what they are doing and who to aim at. It is also clear that the instigators of this campaign don’t use the Internet or any digital component therein.”

A rare positive, or at least, non-negative came from Rebecca Chandler on the Real Estate Book Blog: “My experience in our industry has been that most of those who would like you to think that print is dead and ineffective have a stake in influencing real estate agents to invest in online advertising.”

Perhaps the most compelling, and accurate, assessment came from Gavin St. Ours on the Gavin Show blog: “The problem at the heart of their “Internet vs. magazines” argument is that they’ve incorrectly labeled the Internet as a medium. The Internet is a delivery tool for media, like the printing press…Magazine industry leaders appear to not understand the gravity of that idea. You can hear it in the first few seconds of the video…The real discussion is this: In order to stay competitive in a digital world, magazines are going to have to find a way to deliver the immersive experience of their analog versions on digital platforms. That means using the Internet as a delivery tool.”

St. Ours is dead on the money in his assessment, as was Popular Science Editor Mark Jannot, as David Perry discussed in March. At Trade Press Services, we believe there is tremendous value to be found in both traditional print media and emerging, interactive, online media. The key always has been, and always will be, providing value to the user of the medium, whether that means compelling stories, helpful advice, accurate data, or timely reporting.

Both print and online forms have a place and serve a purpose. While a magazine cannot display video or up-to-the-second reader comments, it is extremely portable, easy to use, inexpensive, and easy to share with anyone, regardless of the user’s technical sophistication. (When $300 book readers and computer pads become so common as to be throwaway items, that may change. Until that time…)

Trade Press Services routinely helps companies place articles in both traditional print journals and online media. At Trade Press Services, content will always be king, and that means well-crafted, thought-provoking, bylined articles submitted to the best publications exclusively for our clients. We look forward to the innovations that online publishing will continue to bring, and also expect that the traditional print magazine will still command a strong position in the battle for readers’ eyes for a long time to come.

According to a press release from the leadership of Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, Meredith Corporation, Time Inc. and Wenner Media, the ads will feature:

headlines such as, “We Surf the Internet. We Swim in Magazines.” And “Will the Internet Kill Magazines? Did Instant Coffee Kill Coffee?” These will be accompanied by iconic images lifted from the pages of America’s best-known magazines. A second phase, which will start appearing in June issues, will embed multiple cover images from widely recognized publications into the ad’s text to convey key phrases.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, magazine publishers are buoyed by a recent bump in print advertising sales and data from Mediamark Research & Intelligence showing a 4.3% increase in magazine readership over the past five years.

The press release states the ads will reach 112 million readers a month, while the WSJ story says the total value of the ads is more than $90 million.

One such ad features Michael Phelps:

Another substitutes popular magazine titles for words:

A YouTube video features the CEOs of the five companies explaining in their own words their rationale for the campaign:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Is this a desperate last gasp? A long-overdue statement of the facts? Or are they missing the point about the future of magazines altogether? (And is it a little odd they’re promoting the virtues of magazines to people who are already reading one?)

In my next post: industry reaction, and my thoughts.

Writes Jannot, “Every time I summon up the vision of a paperless PopSci, my enthusiasm for the prospect inspires a certain horror among some readers, who write to let me know how betrayed they feel at the very notion of us migrating away from the pleasingly physical product that you’re holding in your hands.

“That said, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what makes a magazine a magazine, and here’s my definition: A magazine is a periodically delivered package of stories carefully curated, written, and designed by an expert editorial staff centered on a topic of passionate interest for a group of readers.”

Jannot touches on two very important issues relating to the viability and importance of traditional printed magazines and journals in the 21^st century. First, he mentions a “pleasingly physical product.” The psychological aspect of this cannot be understated. The arrival of a magazine, newspaper or trade journal often evokes the same feelings we experience when we open a gift package or see a mystery unveiled.

The cover of the publication hints at the wonders within. As we begin to proceed beyond the cover, it brings back memories of reading our favorite books or magazines from start to finish, whether they’re Hardy Boys novels or the latest issue of Seventeen, Forbes or Manufacturing Today. There is a very physical ritual involved in turning the pages, scanning the ads, and reading one’s favorite sections over and over.

The other key point that Jannot brings up is the notion of content. The Internet is full of seemingly authoritative content, much of which is unreliable because there are few filters or barriers to entry. Anyone with a PC and an opinion can look as professional as Reuters with the credibility of the New York Post. But when readers open a respected magazine or trade journal, they expect that what they read and see will be factual and accurate. There are high barriers to entry in the production of a publication, which generally leaves it in the hands of professionals, or as Jannot says, “carefully curated, written, and designed by an expert editorial staff.”

All of this suggests that due to the powerful psychological power of the printed word and our cultural tendencies to regard high-quality printed content as expert and factual, the era of the magazine, newspaper and trade publication is far from over. And that’s true. What remains to be seen is how to translate these powerful characteristics of print media to the digital stage. As Jannot says, “A glossy printed page is a great medium—I certainly don’t deny that. But for me, a full-color tablet redefines gloss completely.”

I’ve blogged on Trade Secrets about finding the right media outlets for your company’s press releases. It’s no secret that the trade press offers tremendous value by allowing you to precisely target your message to an audience and establish yourself as a subject matter expert and thought leader.

Odds are, there are multiple publications to which your company can submit press releases and story ideas. These may be trade publications specific to your niche or more general business or management publications, as well as websites. One thing is certain—every one of them has a specific set of rules or editorial requirements that spell out what kinds of writing they’ll accept, story lengths, deadlines and other important details. And unless the publication or website is new, they’ll have a history of stories they’ve already run, contained in their previous issues or archives.

A sure way to turn off an editor and sink any hopes of getting your story into their publication is to not do your homework. Offering to write an opinion piece on trends in LED light bulbs for home applications will not fly in a publication that prints only hard news on commercial and industrial lighting—especially since they devoted an entire issue to LED lighting back in June.

First, download a copy of the publication’s editorial guidelines from its website—and if you don’t see them there, call. Read them carefully and make sure you understand what types of writing the publication accepts. Then, study the publication’s archives and editorial calendars. Find out what topics they’ve covered and how recently as well as what interests them for the future. With a little time and patience, you can identify several publications that will be very interested in what you have to say, and you may even pick up a few new ideas yourself.

Trade Press Services excels at matching compelling, timely, innovative story ideas for businesses with the highly targeted content trade publications seek. To get started, just call Trade Press Services today.