Magazine article? As a meeting emcee and trade show presenter, let’s face it, I didn’t have the New York Times, USA Today or even the Piquionne Gazette banging down my door to write an article about me and my unique career. So, I found a fun, nifty (a word that’s not used enough these days) and uncomplicated way to have an article written about one’s self and small business. This article can then be used as a marketing device and way to get some free electronic press. I am sure there are other companies you could go through, but the one I found easiest was Voyage Media.
They started in Los Angeles with their flagship publication: VoyageLA. Once they reached a million-page views in LA they expanded to other markets. Let me quote from their corporate page: “Our small team of 40 has been working hard to create a new type of media for our community. As you browse through our stories you’ll notice that many of our interviews aren’t as polished as you’ll find elsewhere in the media. That’s intentional – we believe that far too many in the media filter, edit, and polish away the personality of interviewees and as a result so much of what we see in the media feels like it’s coming from the same person, the same voice, etc. We think it’s important for media to more authentically represent the communities they serve and, so we try to ensure that voices of those we feature jump off the page.”
As of this writing they have 6 e-magazines: VOYAGELA (Los Angeles), VOYAGEATL (Atlanta), BOSTONVOYAGER, VOYAGEDALLAS, VOYAGEHOUSTON and the one I used, VOYAGECHICAGO.
Screen shot: Voyage Chicago
It’s simple and easy to do. To get started Google any of the above names, go to the page and in the upper right-hand corner click on the drop-down menu. Click the tab: “Submit a story idea” and a page will appear stating “We’re always on the lookout for interesting and talented local creatives, professionals, entrepreneurs, businesses, nonprofits etc. If you or someone you know is working on a great addition to our city, please let us know below. Given the volume of submissions we cannot promise to reply to each submission; however, we definitely review and consider every recommendation. Thank you for your love and support!”
There are fields then asking for your name, email address, website (shameless plug: www.RichardLaible.com), social media (and “Your name” if you are “recommending someone other than yourself.”) Then, once you have submitted the above form and are approved, the Voyage team will send you a questioner to fill-out. The form I received asked:
Richard, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Laible Productions, Inc. – what should we know?
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
As well as my contact Info, website address, phone number, Email, Facebook and any other links (I added my Vimeo page). There was also a tab to upload images, which I used 12.
One word of caution: Make sure when you write the answers to the above questions you edit them to your complete satisfaction (and have a person or two you trust to do the same) as what you write is exactly what will show up in the final article that gets posted (I had to write the company twice to clean-up editing mistakes I had made).
Emcee in action
Now, I don’t know how many people actually read the final article online at VoyageChicago, probably very few. But it was a great link for me to post on Facebook and LinkedIn where I acquired 100s of views, and was able to write this nifty (there it is again) blog!
So, check out my article… (http://voyagechicago.com/interview/meet-richard-laible-laible-productions-inc-winnetka-10-miles-north-city/
… and if your so inclined, give it a go yourself. Good luck.
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