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.

I’ve blogged before about press releases and how important it is to find not only the right contacts within various media outlets, but also the right media for your message. It’s not uncommon for business owners, managers and even public relations professionals to have unrealistic perceptions about the media. (Media, by the way, is plural for medium, and should always take a plural verb form: The media are biased, but television is a vibrant medium.) Some may have no idea where to start when it comes to identifying the proper media to receive their message or assume they have no story to tell, while others may assume that any media outlet, from CNN to the Peoria Journal Star, is interested in what they have to say. The truth lies somewhere in-between.

To start finding answers, look to customers for guidance. Gather data. Find out who is the market for your product or service? Who buys your products? Who do you want to buy your products? And most importantly, where do they get their information? You don’t have to guess. Call your customers and ask, or work with a professional who can identify what your target audience is reading, surfing, watching or listening to.

Once you know the answer to these questions, the next step is to determine the best media outlets to target. In the case of most B2B (business to business) companies, the mass media are not going to be a wise choice. Not only is news time or news space scarce on television, radio, and mass-market magazines, it’s simply too broad an audience. Unless you’re IBM pushing very generic IT consulting services to hundreds of thousands of businesses across the country, you’re going to be lost in the crowd.

For this reason, trade publications are a viable option. They make sense for companies that really want to get the word out about their products, services and solutions. Think of trade publications (both print and online versions) as precision laser guided missiles, as opposed to a clumsy 10-ton mass media bombs. These are the publications that zero in on your audience—the folks who want and need your skills and expertise. By getting bylined editorial coverage (articles with your name on them) in these outlets, you can establish yourself as an industry expert, marketplace leader, and the first place your potential customers will look when they need something.

Trade publications—use them to increase visibility, credibility and name recognition in your industry. Trade publication coverage—editorial content that gets your message across. That’s what Trade Press Services does best. Call or e-mail us today.