The different types of feature you could contribute to
My initial plan in this newsletter was to go through the key ingredients in the different types of article that you could contribute to or be featured in, but then realised that to do this in just one article would be a disservice to you!
You know me - I'm not a gatekeeper and I want to ensure you have all the information you need to go out there and make an impact in the media. There's a lot to go into on this topic, so I'm going to break it down much further than I'd initially planned.
So. Forget about the ingredients for a moment... what are the actual different types of article you'll see in the media that you can contribute to in the first place?!
Let's break it down...
Full feature centred around you & your story
This is obviously the holy grail and is usually reserved for celebrities or those who have already established a movement and gained some national or international recognition in another way. Whether a question and answer format or a long form prose style, it'll usually dive quite deeply into the person's personal thoughts, experiences and reflections that have led them up to this point.
Example: Jennifer Aniston's famous Allure mag interview last year.
Problem solving feature
A fantastic thing to aim for, this is the kind of feature I typically write for Forbes. It's where there is a main expert sharing their experience, expertise and advice on a particular topic.
Example: all my Forbes pieces!
Feature on a trend/ topic with expertise
In this kind of feature, the journalist typically takes the lead, exploring a particular topic or trend in their own voice and bringing in experts to help them corroborate or challenge it. You'd expect to find more than one expert involved in a piece like this, in order to give balance to the reader, as well as possible case studies. This might look like an investigation, or it might be a trend-led piece - this is often the sort of story you'll find in journo requests.
Example: This piece in Stylist about men.
Bringing a trend to the masses
Not to be confused with the article above, this is where something is trending in popular culture and an expert in that field finds a way to translate it or make it attainable or palatable to the general public. These sorts of pieces often sit within fashion or beauty, but also the wider lifestyle and wellness sections too.
Example: Any piece along the lines of 'how to try the X trend' or 'how to attain X celebrity's Met Gala beachy waves' fits here.
Expert commentary on the news
Typically found on news sites or sections, this is where there is a report of something happening in the world and a quote is included from someone who works within that field to provide depth, nuance or perspective.
Example: An example of this might be an article updating the case of the murder of Jordan Neely on the New York subway and a D&I expert commenting on the underlying racism that motivated the crime.
Listicle
Quite simply, this is a 'Best of' list in which your product or service might be mentioned and given the success of such pieces, you'll find them moving beyond just fashion and beauty now.
Example: Anything from this section of the Evening Standard!
