How to pitch to Food & Beverage Magazine. Reach more than three million potential customers at once
By Lisa GoldsberryJuly 11, 2014
Michael Politz, executive editor and publisher of Food & Beverage Magazine, wants to build a relationship with those in the industry and help you be successful. To get started, he encourages entrepreneurs, PR professionals and foodies alike to submit information and stories to his magazine.
The opportunity to get your story, clients and products into one of the country’s premiere publications just by sending information doesn’t happen every day. Well, here’s your chance. Politz shared this information in Axia PR’s Meet the Media webinar, where he discussed the origins of his magazine and the best ways to get your stories published.
The dos and don’ts of getting into Food & Beverage Magazine
If you have information, products or clients you want featured in the magazine, here’s what you need to know:
-
Do: Include all social media links for your company in the article. The magazine also favors using the Click to Tweet feature.
-
Don’t: Send information after the event has already happened.
-
Do: Include properly labeled photos. This is a must! Give the picture a title related to the information you’re submitting. For example, if you’re pitching an article about the best restaurants in Timbuktu, you can name your photo “Go to restaurant X for the best Baked Y in the country.” Also, be sure to delete those pesky, unrelated numbers and letters that many cameras automatically assign to each photo.
-
Don’t: Send generic photos. In other words, if your story is about a new winery in your area, don’t include a photo of some grapes or an outline of your state – send a picture of the wine bottle or maybe the owners raising a toast.
-
Do: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Your information should be concise, well-written and preferably less than 400 words. In today’s social media-driven, got-to-get-to-the-next-thing world, with longer articles you run the risk of losing the readers before they get to the good stuff – so make it all good stuff.
-
Don’t: Make things difficult for the editors and magazine staff. Include all necessary information, links, contact numbers, etc. so they don’t have to search for it. If you make it complicated, this will decrease your chances of getting coverage.
-
Do: Send information by email to Michael@fb101.com.
-
Don’t: Submit information unrelated to the food and beverage industry. Even if it’s a great story or has a celebrity component, the magazine and its readers will not be interested unless there is an obvious food and beverage connection.
More helpful information about Food & Beverage
Michael Politz started Food & Beverage Magazine when he saw a need for more information about the industry. The magazine is now exclusively online, where it has 750,000 subscribers who receive the publication directly in their email inboxes, along with approximately three million visitors who visit the website each month.
He got plenty of assistance getting started, first from Robin Leach (of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous), who introduced him to many legends of the industry from whom he could learn and receive guidance. Then there was famed chef Wolfgang Puck, who offered his name to be used as a door opener for Politz. As a result of the critical help he received, Politz wants to pay it forward and show generosity to other entrepreneurs and all the smaller companies that can benefit big from a little push in the right direction.
The magazine is interested in receiving the kinds of stories that inform readers about what’s going on in the industry, such as:
-
Restaurant recipes modified for the at-home cook
-
Major changes to restaurants or menus
-
Chefs on the move
-
Cool trends
-
Those who dare to go against trends
According to Politz, the magazine doesn’t really do much breaking news or pieces about your lobster special this month. Nevertheless, he is eager for information because his staff cannot be everywhere and there are many great stories out there. He advises that you send information, but if it doesn’t fit or isn’t what they’re looking for, they simply won’t run it and you can try again.
About the webinar series
At Axia, we have webinars to connect you with professionals who can provide counsel and guidance to increase your return on investment for PR efforts.
Lisa Goldsberry is a writer for Axia Public Relations with more than 15 years of public relations experience. She specializes in business, higher education and technology PR. Connect with Axia Public Relations on Twitter at @axiapr.
Topics: public relations
Comment on This Article