Contribute to Family Business Magazine
Information for freelance writers
Your audience consists primarily of owners and managers of family-owned businesses. Their various needs are covered by many publications; only Family Business focuses on the family aspect of businesses, and the business aspect of families. For example: Succession, estate planning, sibling rivalries, cousin jealousies, attracting and holding non-family talent, compensating family members vs. non-family employees, raising capital without giving up control. Make these “family business” concerns paramount.
In a family business, many problems that appear to be financial or technical actually stem from emotional roots. Try to delve beneath the surface and get your subjects to talk candidly and introspectively about the human side of the business.
Your readers are busy people. You must entice them to read your story with a compelling lead. Thereafter, you must hold their attention. Any one of the following devices will probably suffice:
- Dramatize your subject. Ask yourself: What’s the problem here? How was it solved—or, conversely, how was it fumbled?
- Humanize. Wherever possible, illustrate your general points with specific examples, either from your own research or from business news or history. Pseudonymous examples are better than none, but real people are preferable. That’s what readers can relate to.
- Paint word pictures. Visual words and images stick to people’s minds. Ask yourself: Would you rather attend a lecture or a movie?
- Your article must have a compelling point. Before you plunge too far into the details of your story, ask yourself, “So what?”—and answer that question in your text.
E-mail is the preferred method for submitting queries. Freelance writers are encouraged to propose article ideas. Identify the family business owners you plan to interview.
Have a question? Contact:
Barbara Spector, Editor-in-Chief, Family Business
1845 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: (215) 405-6084. Fax: (215) 405-6078
e-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Information for company/public relations representatives
General business success stories are covered in numerous business publications. Family Business is a niche publication that focuses specifically on the family aspect of businesses, and the business aspect of families. The story we’re interested in is how the business leaders at your company have resolved issues of succession, sibling or cousin compensation, family conflict, governance (e.g., inactive vs. active shareholders), raising capital without relinquishing control, employment of family and non-family members and other concerns involving the connection between family and business.
Members of your organization must be willing to speak candidly and introspectively to our reporters about areas of family disagreement and the ways in which these issues were resolved.
Please send a press kit or e-mail query to:
Barbara Spector, Editor-in-Chief, Family Business
1845 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: (215) 405-6084. Fax: (215) 405-6078
e-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Contributed articles from family business advisers
Family Business accepts contributed articles from attorneys, accountants, M&A specialists, organizational psychologists and other family business advisers. To be considered for publication, articles must explicitly address the concerns of family business owners. Wherever possible, please try to cite real-life family business examples, using real names. (One suggestion: Use famous names drawn from your own research or from the news—or cite historical examples.)
E-mail is the preferred method for submitting author inquiries.
Have a question? Contact:
Barbara Spector, Editor-in-Chief, Family Business
1845 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: (215) 405-6084. Fax: (215) 405-6078
e-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
