June 29, 2007
Interview

PR Interview: How to Market to MarketingVOX

SUMMARY: If you're interested in online advertising, this part trade magazine/part blog is the one to pitch. The publication doesn't just write stories and regurgitate news. They put their own spin on the coverage found in other marketing sources. Sound like something you want to be a part of? You're in luck; they also write original stories. We talked to MarketingVOX' new editor about how you can be featured.
Contact information:
Angela Natividad
Editor
MarketingVOX
Watershed Publishing
1708 Tucker Hill Road
Thetford Center, VT 05075
802-785-4260
Editorial(at)MarketingVOX(dot)com

Background
Natividad graduated from UC Berkley with degrees in English and Communications. True to the nature of the blog she edits, her opinions and work are often “tongue-in-cheek and contrarian” and she is “always open to new ideas and fascinating stories.” Natividad works as co-editor for Adrants and writes for CMSWire.com. She joined MarketingVOX as Editor in April 2007.

Circulation & readership
20,000 daily newsletter subscribers
75,000 unique site viewers
450,000+ monthly pageviews

MarketingVOX is written mostly for online buyers by marketing practitioners. Almost 60% of the readers are involved in the buying decision for email solutions and more than 50% for ad management. The audience consists of leaders from large-budget corporations focused on direct response media.

Editorial coverage
Content categories consist of Marketing, Advertising, Insider News, Segmentation and Markets, Verticals and Sectors, Sales, Beyond Marketing and Big Picture.

By the way, back in 2005, MarketingVOX won the MarketingSherpa “Best group weblog on the general topic of marketing and advertising.”

Web site
On the site, you can subscribe to the newsletter and see the stories first. You can also search for new job openings within the industry and post available positions for a set fee.

How to pitch
Natividad says they look for content “relevant to Internet marketers and media planners.” They enjoy funny articles, and “every once in a while an encouraging story is nice.”

They cannot stand “fodder quotes about how excited CEO X is about the merger with Y Inc.” Another annoyance is follow-up calls. You’ll know whether they are interested in your piece of news by reading the blog on a regular basis.

So, how do you get their attention? We suggest you present a story that relates to a specific trend. Oh, and they love data. More than most publications, MarketingVOX likes to publish relevant graphs, charts and pictures; so, if you have them, don’t be shy.

When emailing, keep it very short. And we mean a few paragraphs at most. If you take a look at MarketingVOX.com, you’ll notice that their stories tend to be exceptionally short or, in their own words, “comprehensive yet succinct.” The longest one you will find might have about five paragraphs. They aren't looking for every detail, just the most vital information that presents the big picture.

A useful tip is to indicate in the subject line that your email is to the editor; it shouldn’t look like your basic run-of-the-mill press release. The best way to accomplish this is to figure out how to tailor your news to MarketingVOX. Don’t say that your company released a new product; instead, capture why this blog’s readers would be interested in knowing about it. In short—personalize!

Also, remember, this is not a boring ordinary site. They like the unusual and aren’t afraid to violate blogging conventions. Yes, there are conventions already.

Regarding responses, Natividad admits that they don’t reply to every query. When they do, expect to receive an answer in 24 hours.

Meet Natividad and the other editors
Natividad says they are receptive to the occasional lunch and attend conferences. So, you can catch them at ad:tech. After all, they produce content for the ad:tech blog along with Adrants.





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