WHAT DO PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE SAY ABOUT ENERGY|MC ?

Alayne Reesberg
Chief Executive Officer • World Design Capital Cape Town 2014
"It has been a pleasure working with you – a true professional."

Alayne is referring to my interactions with her and her team during the World Design Capital 2014 project last year, when I covered the main events for the magazines I consult to; namely -
To Build Magazine - www.tobuild.co.za
SA Building Review - www.sabuildingreview.co.za
You can read some of the articles online at the following links, or read the e-books:
• http://www.tobuild.co.za/viewonline/articles/284/company-news/world-design-capital-cape-town-2014-s-lasting-legacy
•   http://www.sabuildingreview.co.za/viewonline/articles/119/advertorials/water-essential-for-the-future
Note these were commissioned articles and photography, not sponsored editorials.

Cecil Homan
Founder •  Eco-Insulation • Ultimate Climate Comfort
"Eco is flying high with the jet stream. Thanks for article sent and posted."
"World class editorial - world class service"

Cecil is referring to the full agency, editorial and technical writing support service that his company enjoyed since it's inception in 2007.

Marilyn Luchtenstein
Sales Manager • Brits Textiles
"Thanks and well done"

Alexis Sacks
Partner • MD Accountants and Auditors Inc.
"Thank you for the tremendous corporate profile brochure. It really is outstanding and we are proud of the final product..... It has been a pleasure working with you".

Professor John Smallwood  
Head: Department of Construction Management •  NMMU
"Given the number of errant advertisements and my intimate involvement with construction H&S through contracting, consulting, research, publishing and community services, the (mentioned) advertisement is significant in that it probably contributes one of the few, if not only material advertisements that makes proper reference to the subject. It was certainly eye catching ...."

An advertisement written and designed for leading insulation provider, Brits Textiles received accolades in the construction sector.

Billy Perrin
Publisher • Trademax Publications - SA Roofing, SA Affordable Housing, Timber IQ
"Always a pleasure working with you - a true professional".

Wayne Miller
General Manager • BlueScope Steel Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
"You've done great work for us".

Carl Nortje
Managing Director • Rawson Developers
"Thank you for the great article".

DOUBLE YOUR ADVERTISING RETURN

As the editor of a popular magazine on building, I receive dozens of press releases from the market.

Many press releases do not stand a chance of being published in the media because the sender does not understand how news works.

The problem is how little attention is given to the style of press releases and editorial. The same applies to the quality of photographs supplied. Your editorial stands a much better chance of being published if it is supplied with a good quality image.  But with the era of DIY photography by smart phones and cheap cameras, press releases are often refused by editors due to bad photos.

The fact is: as advertiser you spend tens of thousands of Rands on booking ad space in the media. Does your artwork do this advertising expense justice? Or are you wasting money? As an editor, I can see this is often the case. And often the same advertisers follow it up with poor editorial content that comes with photographs looking like they were taken by a 9 year old. Advertising spend wasted.

Much the same rule applies to non advertisers. If you want your editorial published free in the magazines that serve your market or online, you really need to supply professional content.

It pays back. 

A well prepared editorial with photography could cost you R 5 000 to prepare and distribute. However if editors like what you send, that same editorial could be published 3 to 4 times over in the different media. This means payback by up to 1200% when compared with the cost of booking the page and placing your advert at a cost of R 15 000 for the full page (as an example).

Best you hire a professional in the preparation of such editorials. The stakes are quite high and payback is huge - if you get it right.






"Advertising for Free".

EDITORIAL VS. ADVERTORIAL - THE DIFFERENCE

Clients often get it confused.

Worse, they end up paying for advertising space for advertorial where a well written editorial could do the trick.

In a nutshell, advertorial is paid-for editorial that could normally be substituted with a full advertisement. According to classic media rules, advertorial is meant to be indicated as such by mean of the printing of "Advertorial Feature" or words to that effect, or by placing in a line box.

Advertorial is written to make a hard sell, with the brand featuring prominently in the top paragraph or nearest. It is sometimes possible to insert logos and product photos. the control basically lies with the client but the style may be modified by editors to suit the publication's editorial style and rules.

Editorial needs to be "clean". Well written editorials that comply with the publication's editorial policies and are short and to the point may well be published verbatim. Expect no more than one mention of a brand or company name - and most often only an incidental mention, not near the top. Editorial needs to stress a problem or highlight and issue and then make news about its impact or solution. Editorial may often be rewritten or shortened by the publication concerned - and almost certainly the header will be changed.

The emphasis with good editorial is to write it as news - in which your product or service plays a supportive role.

Contact me NOW if you would like to explore options for getting your company in the News - editorial and not paid advertorial. Tel: 021 789 2560 or email gareth.energymc@gmail.com