Silver & Gold Editorial Guidelines:
Would you like to submit an article? At Silver and Gold Magazine, we pride ourselves in the quality of editorial we publish. Our goal has always been to educate, entertain, and inform our readers through editorial that speaks to their interests and lifestyle.
We are often asked about our editorial – from our clients to our readers - who are wondering how we come up with our stories.
Q - Who selects the article topics?
Ultimately, our Editor and magazine Founder, Suzanne Soto-Davies (left), will most often choose what the overall topic of each issue will be, and what the seasonal 'feel' for each magazine will offer. Often, however, our clients contact us with ideas for articles they feel would be of interest – and we love receiving their input and feedback! Our clients are experts in their field – whether they are Chiropractors, Financial Planners, Nutritionists, etc. – and we feel this experience is greatly welcomed; we love receiving their article ideas as well.
Q - I'm not a professional writer, but I have an awesome idea for an article you MUST have. Should I submit it for consideration?
Yes! We are open to receiving editorial ideas. We may not always publish them and we prefer to receive our articles either from our writers or from our clients, but we will always consider a new or fresh topic.
Q - Why do you publish articles from your advertising clients?
Our clients are specialists in their field, and as such, they offer insight and experience which we do not offer. We welcome the opportunity to work together with our clients to reflect on this experience, and are very open about this with them at the time we plan their strategy. We feel that as media, we can gift our clients more than the space of an ad – we can gift them the attention of our loyal readers.
Q. Are articles from clients considered Advertorial or Editorial? What's the difference between the two?
Editorial submitted by our clients is not considered Advertorial, so long as the article is written in a generic format – which means, it does not talk specifically about them and their place of business/service, but it talks about a specific topic. Advertorial, on the other hand, IS permitted, however, it's chargeable ad space.
The difference is as follows:
Editorial – Generic
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A Chiropractor may write an article about how chiropractic treatment can benefit posture.
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A Nutritionist shares a recipe that is low in fat and high in protein.
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A Financial Advisor submits an article on how renting vs. mortgage may benefit some people.
Advertorial – Chargeable
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Chiropractic business states that theirs is the only practice you need to visit
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Nutritionist mentions the name of her practice, stating phrases such as "we are the only ones you need" or "visit us at ABC Health for more"
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Financial Advisor shares his experience while using phrases such as "next time you need financial advice, John is the one to call."
Q - Do you only accept editorial from advertising clients?
Certainly not. As mentioned above, we are open to suggestions or ideas from the general public, and we gauge whether they're a good fit for our readership and whether the topic is one we have recently published. Whether submissions come from our clients or not, is irrelevant for submission purposes – although we do love promoting our clients' expertise!
Q - What kind of article submissions are you interested in receiving?
We are looking for interesting articles that have a good fit for our niche market (mature adults 45+, Boomers Plus!), and ones with an interesting 'angle': For example, we prefer not to advise our clients to drink water and exercise, but we prefer to share tips on how they may be reminded to drink water on a daily basis by having a water filter and glass in their bathroom, or perhaps it's a "Top 10 benefits of fitting in a 10-minute daily walk".
With each issue, we publish articles in every one of our sections, and these are what interest us the most:
Community
We are a community magazine, so interesting topics and happenings surrounding our Southern Ontario community, are of high interest to us.
Home & Family
Articles in this section may include:
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Seasonal - Gardening, winterizing, clean-up
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Home decorating / Home renovations / Home improvement
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Family matters / advice / children + grandchildren
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Real Estate - tips, news, updates
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Faith / culture / hobbies / crafts
Health + Nutrition
Silver and Gold Magazine prides itself in providing our readers with excellent editorial that speaks to the prevention of illness. We are a "aging-gracefully" magazine, not an "anti-aging" one. This section is highly important to us and love to receive editorial with topics including:
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Natural remedies for healing and illness prevention
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Healthy, easy, inexpensive recipes
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Memory improvement / Mental strength
Travel + Outdoors
Let's get out there – whether we are promoting an exotic getaway or a local "stay-cation":
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What to do this season
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Interesting places to visit; where to / stay / eat / play
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Mental benefits of getting outside
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Products and innovative technologies for outdoor time
Money Matters
Topics of interest include:
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Investment advice – locally and abroad
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Taxes
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Retirement
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Supplemental income ideas
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Business / succession / exit strategies / advice
Q - How long should my article be?
Before you set out to submit a full-blown article, we suggest getting in touch with our Editor to ensure your topic will be admissible – sometimes your article will already have been published and will not be of interest, or sometimes there will not be a fit with our topics of interest or out guidelines. Once we agree that an article will fit with what we're looking for, the length will usually be anywhere between 300 and 500 words, and no longer.
If you're interested in submitting an article, please get in touch – we'd love to hear your ideas!