The Side Note

What franchisor wouldn’t like to have their story published in a trade magazine like Franchise Times? Seemingly everyone would like to have their story published but few stories are ever chosen for publication. How can you set your franchise apart and make your story more appealing to an editor?

Franchise Marketing’s Sean Kelley interviewed the managing editor of the Franchise Times, Nancy Weingartner, in March. The interview was primarily focused on answering the question: How can franchisors improve their chances of getting their story published in trade magazines like the Franchise Times?

Three useful tips from the interview:

•    Editors are attracted to companies that are engaged in innovative activities.

•    Ease up. Avoid being pushy in your attempts to create a relationship.

•    When you have a story idea, send a short e-mail with attached background information.

Below I have included one question and answer from the interview. I found Nancy’s response to be very helpful. I hope you enjoy it as well.

“SK:  What’s the best way for a franchise company to “pitch” their story to Franchise Times?  What format and method should they use to submit their information (Email?  Fax?  Mail?)  Should they follow up?  How often?  What can they do to increase their chances of success?

NW:  The best way is to send a short e-mail message with a file attached with background information. Tell us why you’re different or how you’ve solved a problem others could learn from. While a follow-up phone call is good—it puts a real person behind the e-mail—be careful not to bug too much. Sometimes the lead time on stories is immediate, other times it may take a couple of months for an editor to decide to follow up on something. Always be polite and respectful of the editors’ time and acknowledge that you know he or she receives a lot of requests. One thing to definitely not do is to get snippy with editors or demanding. Remember people like doing business with people they like, and that goes for editors, too—we like writing stories about people we like. So be yourself.  Don’t try to force a relationship.  I’ve had people call me every month with an update on their pitch, and, in many cases, I got around to doing the story because they captured my imagination.”

To read the full interview, click here.