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Ghostwriting. Just because executives are busy doesn't mean they (and their organizations) can't benefit from the visibility of a well-timed op-ed in the local paper or a thoughtful article in an industry publication. They tell me what they want to say and to whom they want it said. And I say it for them! Please review the following summaries of articles I've "ghosted" for other clients. Then, click on the image to read the entire article.
American Re-Insurance, Princeton, N.J., spent millions developing interFIRE VR™, a CD-ROM-based training program for the nation's 1.1 million firefighters. The goal: to reduce the insurance industry's estimated $2 billion annual arson bill. But American Re's ambitions required broad support. As a re-insurance company, it insures other insurers. This meant that interFIRE VR™ needed to be part of an industry effort, not simply the bright idea of one company. I identified Business Insurance, a twice-monthly journal read by virtually all property-and-casualty insurers. Then, I worked with BI's editors to craft this piece which both met the magazine's editorial needs and deadlines and communicated American Re's message. The article ran under the byline of Ed Noonan, chairman/CEO. Click here to read the article.
A family gathering may be the key to its survival Ben Benson is a consultant specializing in family-owned businesses and the foibles of people who work with relatives. Foibles that help kill the vast majority of privately held firms. Foibles that Benson could help cure if he can just get these folks to sit down and listen to him. But how does one communicate with a group as amorphous as "family owned businesses"? They located literally everywhere. Moreover, their managers are notoriously hard to reach because they're starved for time. They don't watch much television and, often, don't even read their local newspapers. But...but...they always, always read their industry trade magazines. New York Times? Fuhgedaboudit! But if they're in, say, the pest control industry, Pest Management is viewed as a more productive read. I took three steps. First, I devised a program that identified several dozen industries dominated by family-owned firms -- the exact sort of people Benson wanted to reach. Second, I wrote this article -- based on conversations with my client -- in a fashion that allowed trade editors to customize it for their industries. Third, I sent the article to each of the trade editors on my list. In addition to Pest Management, versions of this article appeared in 21 other magazines -- among them Hardware Age (71,000 circulation), Pharmacist / Entrepreneur (85,000), Tile & Decorative Surfaces (15,000) and Vineyard & Winery Management (4,000). It also produced several original staff-written articles. Click here to read the article. And don't miss Benson's "paydirt" memo at the end!
United States Let's say you're in a capital-intensive business. Your company purchases MRI machines, CAT scanners and other expensive medical diagnostic equipment that can cost well over $1million per unit and leases them to hospitals, physicians and other health care professionals. To do business, you need ready access to capital from lenders who don't understand your industry. Think it would help to have your executives chosen* to interpret current trends in the U.S. health care equipment leasing industry for their peers around the world? And to have that expertise showcased in the standard sourcebook for the asset funding and leasing industry? Well, executives at Copelco Leasing (since merged with Citigroup) and I thought so, too! This article was based on trends identified by the company's executives and backed up with data from my own research. (*Actually, "chosen" isn't quite the right word. No matter how smart you are or how much you know, editors seldom call out of the blue and ask for an article. Most contributed articles -- including this one -- appear because an aggressive communicator went to the editors and proposed it.) Click here to read the article.
How does the leading hospitality consulting firm stay top-of-mind among the hotel investors and operators who use its services? By staying constantly in their faces, that's how. And what better way that cutting a deal with the editors of a top industry trade magazine, Hotel & Motel Management, to give them regular, insightful copy on emerging hospitality industry trends? That's how hotel consultant Laventhol & Horwath handled it -- and why I wrote this and other columns that ran under the bylines of L&H partners. Click here to read the article.
 Mark
E. Dixon
757 Upper Gulph Road
Wayne, PA 19087-2022
USA
610-971-0649
dixon_mark@verizon.net
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Tip:
Never write on spec! First, call the editor of your target publication to
describe the article you have in mind and ask his or her reaction. The
editor may not like the idea, or may ask that the article be written
differently.