Editorial Overview
Welcome to the online home of Smart Business Network’s editorial team. Here are some answers to some commonly asked questions we get about our publication:
How is Smart Business different from the other business publications out there?
Our tagline is: Insight, Advice and Strategy. That’s what we want to provide with our stories. We’re a management journal published for corporate presidents and CEOs. We don’t want to just tell people that your company is great. We want to tell them how the CEO worked with a leadership team to make it great. We want to look at how the CEO identified that one thing that was holding the business back and then developed a plan to conquer that challenge. The idea is that other CEOs have probably gone through the same kinds of challenges, so we provide a forum for that advice to be shared with others who need it.
How do you pick which leaders to talk to?
We regularly review annual rankings of fast-growing and successful companies. We talk to PR and marketing contacts who are seeking publicity for the companies they represent. We also keep our eyes and ears on the news and look for leaders who stand out and deserve the opportunity to share their expertise on what it takes to succeed.
What is it going to cost to be in the magazine?
The answer is it’s not going to cost your company anything. All we ask for is the time for an interview. We don’t ask for vendor lists, don’t require your company to buy an ad and we won’t ask anyone to buy copies of the magazine.
Will we get a chance to review the story before it appears in print?
As an editorial publication, we don’t provide drafts of our stories for review prior to the time they are published. We do, however, strive for 100 percent accuracy with each and every story we publish. We record and transcribe each interview to help us consistently meet this goal. We also review and double-check all facts and names with the company to ensure accuracy.
Can you provide a list of questions to help our CEO prepare for this interview?
We can provide you with a series of talking points that hit at common leadership topics that are addressed in our publication. We want to talk about the principles of leadership that your CEO feels are most important. We want to convey those principles in an interesting and informative way. So whatever we can do to help our subjects prepare for the conversation with us, let us know.
Why should CEOs share all their best leadership secrets with the competition?
We strive to make our advice relevant to leaders from a broad range of industries. Our stories are not about sharing trade secrets. Rather, we operate under the assumption that everybody has been in a tough spot at one time or another. It can be lonely in the CEO chair when sales are down and the budget needs to be cut or layoffs need to be considered. How great would it be to have a place where CEOs can read about what other leaders have done to overcome adversity and achieve success? How great would it be to know that someone out there used your CEO as a model to turn around their business? Our goal is to be that place.
Why don’t you guys have a national magazine?
Extensive market research has shown us that our readers are most interested in management strategies and advice from their highly successful local peers. Leaders want to read about other leaders who are going through the same challenges and working in the same economic environment that they are. And they want that advice to be presented in a short, concise, easy-to-read format that won’t take up too much of their busy schedule.
Where will my story be seen?
Your story will be seen by thousands of other CEOs and senior-level executives in the magazine and will also be featured on our website, www.sbnonline.com, which receives more than 80,000 unique visitors each month. We also produce content for our blog, www.smartbusinessblog.biz, and we’re constantly feeding our followers on Twitter and Facebook with new insight, advice and strategy.
