4 Must-have Elements of Trade Magazine Writing

I love it when people say “Trade writing is boring.”

Actually, I don’t love it.

The “boring” part is not true. What’s boring about finding an interesting angle to a technically challenging topic? What’s boring about making it reader-friendly? What’s boring about making people remember that article because you, the writer, went out of your way to present it in an interesting way?

Well, I guess the “boring” part is true if you’re a boring writer.

That came to mind last week when a friend and I were discussing a mutual acquaintance who is clearly limiting her potential by playing what I refer to as the “snooty artistic writer” card. The acquaintance writes celebrity and community content and gets paid $20 per article. When I mentioned to her that she could expand on those ideas and sell them to higher-paying markets, she said absolutely not.

Because she doesn’t want to compromise her standards.

You know, the standards that have her earning $20 an article and working seven days a week to make rent.

But that’s not the story here.

The story is how my friend reacted when I said that I’d suggested our acquaintance market elsewhere. Her fast response was “Yes, but she doesn’t want to write about risk management” in that tone that suggests 1) all I ever do is suggest people write for my particular niche (I never have), and 2) that risk management is boring.

The first point is her issue to iron out as I won’t enter into that maelstrom of misinformation. The second point is what this post is about.

You may have missed the inference (or the obvious), so let me say it again:

Trade writing isn’t boring.

But Lori, you’re saying. I’ve read some really boring articles!

Yep. You get those. Not every writer knows how to reach an audience. They’re too busy trying to teach an audience by repeating this age-old mistake: the information dump.

It happens in trade writing. It happens in consumer writing, too.

[bctt tweet=”There are no boring trade articles — just boring #freelancers” username=”LoriWidmer”]

So let’s write a trade article that people actually want to read (and finish). Here are my four must-haves for my trade articles:

1. A strong concept.

Here’s a little secret about trade magazine writing: it requires the same strong story ideas that consumer magazines require. They want their readers to be just as engaged in the content as any other magazine. Go figure! Don’t just write to the editor saying you want to write about cyber security; write to the editor and pitch a story about how much the tech industry spends on cyber and why it’s too much/not enough. Write about how cyber threats are impacting the fashion industry, or how shipping companies are planning their cyber security strategies in an age of global trade. Find that angle that interests your first audience — you. Then write that pitch for your main audience — the editor of that particular magazine, who knows their readership. Yep, just like consumer magazine pitching.

2. Great questions.

You who know me know already that my questions become my subheads. It’s a concept I created a decade ago to make the writing process faster and the interview process much more efficient. That means your questions need to be thought out. I come up with about five strong questions that speak to what I know the readers will be asking. How do I know that? I am the de facto reader, and I need to be interested in what this article has to say. If I can’t please myself, I certainly can’t please the other readers. When you’re planning your questions, be the reader. What do you want to know about this? What would excite you or interest you to know?

3. The right voice.

Here’s the part that many writers get wrong when it comes to trade magazine writing. They try to put on this authoritative voice, shove in all the buzz words, and talk at the readers. Know what the right voice is for this trade article? Yours. That’s right — your voice matters in trade writing. If you try to imitate the stale writing you think belongs in a trade magazine, you’re not going to be hired again.

4. An understanding of the trade.

You do not have to be an expert in the trade you’re writing for. But knowing general concepts — what terms (acronyms and buzz words) they use regularly, what topics are most often covered, who’s reading, what their jobs entail — helps immensely. Do your homework. Get a basic understanding of the industry and how it ticks. You don’t have to write about that particular topic or load your story with buzz words, but knowing what each term means gives you a roadmap for what’s important to them.

How do you approach your magazine writing process? What lessons there can you apply to trade writing?
Have you tried trade writing? If so, was it a good experience or one that needed improvement?
Where do you struggle in terms of approaching the trade market?