If you want to earn articles in magazines, this can be a very lucrative industry if you do everything right. Some magazines pay hundreds of dollars (or more) for a good, well-researched article.
But before you attach a pen to paper (or touch your fingers to the keyboard), you need to know the basics of writing quality journal articles.
First of all, you need to know your market. This means that you know what type of readership the magazine is focused on.
For example, you can write an article for a women’s magazine. But first, you need to know which women read the magazine.
Are they professional women? Moms stay home? A young woman? Older women? Big women?
You know, sometimes it’s not as easy as you think to know exactly which readers are reading which magazines.
There are even magazines designed for writers, but some are aimed at science fiction writers, while others are aimed at medical writers, nonfiction writers, online writers, SEO copywriters, editors – and this list is long.
That’s why it’s so important to know which readers the magazine is focused on first.
Then you need to read at least one number. You can do without it by reading a few articles online. But nothing beats having a paper copy of a magazine in your hands to get a good idea of what a magazine is.
If you don’t want to go out and buy a magazine, see if there’s a problem in your public library, or chat at your local newsagent and browse a few magazines. Or, if you need to fly somewhere, airport logs are a great place to look.
Then you need to decide what you know (or can explore) what the magazine editor will like.
But make no mistake about coming up with an idea similar to the types of articles that are already published in the magazine. Instead, come up with a much better idea.
When it comes to creating stories for a magazine publisher, it’s best to come up with something that stands out rather than something appropriate.
But don’t be too different. Just be better.
Let’s take a look at what the magazine lacks. Perhaps there is another angle that is not considered in this and previous articles. Sometimes articles that open the proverbial “worm box” contain a lot of comments, and that’s what editors like.
Or consider writing a series of articles of two or three articles on the current topic. Editors also appreciate this type of article because they encourage readers to buy the next issue and then the next one. Make sure your articles end in a hook that will make your readers learn more.
And finally, what you need to do is find the recommendations of the authors of the magazine and follow them to the maximum. If you can’t find instructions anywhere, write to the editor and ask.
All magazines have rules for submitting materials and questions, and they expect to be followed. They don’t like working with hard writers (and there are quite a few) who don’t follow the instructions. And if you don’t get your job done properly, they won’t want to do business with you.
So you should search the Internet for websites that list magazines and newspapers from around the world, or go to your local library and take a handbook of writers and artists or current digest writers. Or better yet, read a few magazines while you do it.
And look for ideas for articles.
You can also search for letters from the editor, helpful tips, jokes, flash fiction and other short materials that are looking for magazines because they can bring you good hourly pay for such short articles.
In some magazines, a reader’s letter earns up to $100 after publication, which is a good payback in just 5 minutes of work.
So, start with the questions. Try posting 5 articles every week, and then you’ll quickly become a full-time freelance writer.
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