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SERVE UP SIDEBARS AND BOOST YOUR SALES
By Phyllis Edgerly Ring
Readers expect two things when they page through a magazine:
easily accessible, worthwhile information and an appealing
layout easy to read. Editors count on writers to help provide
these, and sidebars are a very effective tool.
Typically between 100 and 500 words long, these shorter pieces
accompany and complement an article on the topic. Sidebars
usually have their own headline, are set off from the main
article in a box, and share information in a condensed way,
frequently through listed or bulleted items or very short
paragraphs.
In the course of researching an article, you often uncover
information that may be too lengthy, or too marginally related
for you to incorporate into the main text itself, yet it may
prove too interesting to leave out. Sidebars help you corral
the information. They are also a fast and easy way to increase
your publishing credits, since they take less time to write.
Suggesting a relevant and appealing sidebar when you query an
editor about an article often boosts your chances of an
assignment, and may even increase the payment.
When I wanted to add value and interest to a piece about girls’
susceptibility to eating disorders, I included a 275-word sidebar
of bulleted tips how adults could help young people avoid this
trap. When the editor wondered whether boys might also struggle
with this issue, I had a whole new sidebar possibility. At a
little more than 300 words, “What About the Boys?” netted me
an extra $150, and ultimately helped me land more sales of this
manuscript, too.
Dish out an appetizing sidebar
Readers like sidebars because they provide information that’s
digested easily, something they often clip out for future
reference, making them what one editor I know calls “refrigerator
material”.
Magazine editors love sidebars because readers do. They expand
on the article’s take-away value and break up long, uninterrupted
(i.e. boring) blocks of text. Sidebars help editors design more
attractive page lay-outs, just like photos, graphics, and other
artwork. Editors also know that a sidebar’s “bite-size” content
lets readers sample an article’s topic and may whet their
appetite for the article’s “main course.”
Obviously, a sidebar should complement or expand the article’s
focus or theme, but it should also stand on its own without
readers having to read the main article to understand it. Ideally,
a sidebar’s content is factual, abbreviated, and delivered in a
more direct voice and pace, with briefer wording, shorter sentences,
and active verbs. This is often a place for the writer to address
the reader with such directive guidance as, “check out” this
resource or “avoid” making that mistake.
Stand-alone sidebars, especially those in list format, can break
you into magazines, including larger markets, since these have
more need for pieces of this length. One sidebar that I wrote
about how mothers can quit smoking was featured in a parenting
magazine alongside another writer’s full-length article about
preparing to have a baby.
A menu of possibilities
A sidebar’s content can be anything from a more in-depth
exploration of something you’ve mentioned in the article to a
quiz designed to tease readers’ attention. It might be a mini
article or a simple list of related tips or resources. An article
I wrote about vision care needed to address how computer-use
affects our eyes. The information didn’t fit easily into the
article’s format, so I turned it into two sidebars. For another
health feature, a five-question quiz based on material developed
by a national diabetes association was a great way to make readers
curious about the disease.
Sidebars also localize an article for a regional publication by
providing a list of local resources. A story whose topic and
interview sources have a more national focus can also be
localized with a sidebar about local efforts, organizations, or
people associated with the topic, while a more regional story can
have its audience broadened with a sidebar or two about national
trends.
Sidebars can also include straightforward kinds of information
such as instructions in a how-to piece. Many editors also want
sidebars that provide a resource list of where to find more
information on the topic, such as publications, organizations,
or web-site URL’s.
Sidebars prove that good things come in small packages. Become
adept at crafting them and your freelancing possibilities may
grow a whole lot larger.
RECIPE FOR SIDEBAR SUCCESS:
-Choose a topic sufficiently related to the main article.
-Give your sidebar an eye-catching title
-Double-space each sidebar manuscript on a separate page.
-Include your name, contact information, and sidebar word count in upper-left
corner.
-Calculate sidebar’s word count separately from that of the main article.
-When possible, list, number, or bullet a sidebar’s content to make it more
accessible.
Bio: Phyllis Edgerly Ring’s articles and essays have appeared
in a variety of magazines that include New Hampshire Home, Family
Business, and Writer's Digest. She is also a columnist for United
Press International's
www.religionandspirituality.com forum.
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