How To Get Booked On Entrepreneur Magazine

Baby Got Booked The Podcast

Ray Hennessey is editorial director of Entrepreneur.com, and has worked as director of business news at the FOX Business Network, where he managed day-to-day editorial operations for the channel. Ray spent a decade at Dow Jones in a variety of positons, notably editor of SmartMoney.com and news editor for Dow Jones Newswires. He's been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and appeared daily on CNBC television. He was also a regular on-air contributor to CBS News. And, he's a really cool guy!

In this week's podcast, we get everything from fixing toilets (Ray is a former plumber!) to whether you can make a sales pitch in your Entrepreneur.com column.

Entrepreneur magazine: is the leading title for stories on entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial experience. They like to hear about people who are doing new things and innovating. The website has more than 15-16 million unique visitors each month.

The definition of "entrepreneur" has evolved! It used to describe anyone who started their own business. Now, anyone who is innovating (even if they work within a larger company) are seen as using entrepreneurial principles. Think: disruptors. Innovators. People that are changing industries and companies.

For Ray, the best part of Entrepreneur is: The audience! Smart, engaged, and active participants in the conversation.

What sets Entrepreneur apart from Inc., Forbes, and other business magazines?

• It focuses not only on businesses and business owners, but also on their attitude, needs, and philosophy. It's about what drives people.
• It's less stuffy!
• Let's be honest: entrepreneurs are a bit nuts, but they are awesome.

"We try to be as opinionated as our audience." -Ray Hennessey

The biggest mistakes people make when pitching Entrepreneur:

• They don't build a relationship; Ray deletes most emails from names he doesn't recognize the name (Ray gets 1000s of emails a day)
• Pitching a story is like finding a job or a customer: it's about networking and building a relationship. This could be as simple as sending a LinkedIn request, sending a tweet, or sending a follow-up note after meeting at an event.
• Too often, people get in touch only when they need something--this does not bode well.

Pro-tip: Get to know the magazine and show that you know what they do when you pitch.

An expert is:

• Experienced! Track record is key!
• Someone who have new ideas

Entrepreneur's stance on content marketing:

• Content marketing is about educating the marketplace about where your product fits in.
• There are real benefits to content marketing, and Entrepreneur has benefitted as well.
• An example: a divorce lawyer talking about a new trend in custody.
• It is a subtler sell, and is a great way to generate leads
• More heavy-handed content marketing (Eat at Joe's! It is the only good restaurant) doesn't fly on Entrepreneur.com (and also isn't very effective). Customers can sniff it out, and bring the torches and pitchforks.

What about putting a link to a product or a freebie at the end of an article?

• This is tricky for editors, especially when it comes to webinars etc.
• On a limited basis, Entrepreneur has let some authors promote events
• They would like to find a way to reward good contributors and benefit the audience. However, they are still collecting data, and keeping quality as the #1 priority.

What does it take to become a regular Entrepreneur contributer?

• Every contributor must apply by contacting an editor
• They are evaluated
• Content is then monitored
• Pieces are then edited for both style and content--not all pieces make it to the audience

Entrepreneur's stance on copyright and exclusivity:

• Entrepreneur owns all pieces
• Contributors are allowed to write for other publications (although this might change)

An example of a pitch that got deleted immediately:

• Someone who started an email with "Dear Richard, I know you write frequently about the military"
• Robo-pitch or cut-and-paste pitches

Pro-tip: Pitching is like asking someone out on a date. Find out what they are into before suggesting an activity. (Do your research. Personalize your pitch).

Advice that Ray got to take him out baby pool and into the ocean: Stop thinking that you're smarter than everyone, because you're not. Go into everything with an open mind fills every day full of the joy of learning.

How to pitch Entrepreneur magazine: here!