Pick up any national magazine, flip through the pages, and count the number of short articles you see. They can include those little 3-inch fillers, short quizzes, 400-word “how-to” articles or resource boxes.
Editors love them. And you can generate some fabulous publicity for yourself by writing them.
1. Because they are so short, editors often rely on them to “fill a hole” on the page. A 75-word brief stands a much better chance of being published than a 750-article.
2. Briefs help portray you as an expert in your field.
3. They appeal to readers with short attention spans and can be skimmed quickly.
4. They’re easy to write. And you don’t need to submit a query letter to editors. Simply snail-mail, fax or e-mail the copy.
5. Unlike a story idea pitch, or a longer article you are submitting, you can usually submit briefs to editors at a variety of non-competing publications at the same time. Editors don’t expect exclusivity on these items and usually don’t care if they appear in other publications.
6. You can promote yourself, or your product, service, cause or issue much more in a brief than you can in an article you would write.
7. Briefs are an excellent way to promote a new book, particularly if you are willing to give away free advice in the brief that ties into the book. You can include a web site URL or contact information where readers can buy from you.
Types of Briefs
Briefs come in all shapes, sizes and formats. They include how-to articles, tips sheets, quizzes, new product announcements accompanied by a photo, and polls and surveys. If you work within a particular industry that has its own jargon, you can also supply a list of industry words and definitions so readers can better understand your industry.
Sometimes all you need to do is provide editors with a list of resources on a particular topic. If you write books on marketing, for example, you might provide a list of the top three marketing web sites, top three marketing magazines and top three audio tapes on the topic of marketing for small-businesses. This brief can be used as-is, or it can be used as a sidebar to accompany a longer article on marketing that someone else has submitted.
