How to Communicate With PC World Editors

Part our job as editors is to gauge readers' interest in products that are pitched to us. This kind of estimate is usually made based on information presented on behalf of the product, the publication's research about its readers' interests, product demonstrations, staff discussions, and other factors.

At its best, this process is almost scientific in its precision and quickly uncovers a perfect match between product and reader. But it can go awry for all sorts of reasons. To minimize miscommunications, here are a few hints for communicating effectively with us about products or services you'd like PC World to cover, either in PC World magazine or on PCWorld.com. (See How to Submit a Product for Review for details on product reviews and testing.)

A Few Do's

1. Keep our reader in mind. The great majority of PC World readers are PC-proficient managers. The nearer the mainstream your product is, the better. Office business applications, operating environments, utilities, and other major application classes are almost certain to interest us; as well as desktop PCs, notebook computers, PDAs, printers, hard drives, and other personal technology products.

2. Rely on benefits, not buzzwords. Readers like ours care less about underlying technical architecture than about what a product does for them and how well. Although object-oriented architecture has its advantages, if these advantages don't provide tangible benefits to the user, they're not worth mentioning.

3. Tell us as early as you can. There is still a substantial lead time between the close of the magazine and its appearance on the newsstand. For review and feature coverage, we can do a much better job if you let us know about products long before they are ready to ship. We can publish much more quickly on the Web, but we still prefer to have some advance planning time, especially if you're asking us to cover an event.

4. Contact the beat editor first. The best person to contact first is the beat editor for your product. However, don't hesitate to call one of our senior editors if you're in doubt or if you think the beat editor may be overlooking an aspect of the product that makes it interesting to our reader. See our Beats by Category list to find out which editor covers your product area.

5. Let us know when we make mistakes. If you think we've made a mistake, please let us know. We strive always to be accurate, fair and considerate in our coverage.

A Few Don'ts

1. Don't confuse editors with venture capitalists and financial analysts. Surviving the start-up phase of a business requires numerous presentations in search of investment dollars. These presentations identify potential markets, present revenue expectations, and try to convince investors of the strength of a business plan. While essential in raising capital, these presentations miss the mark at PC World. Our readers are focused on how new products can help them in their businesses and their personal productivity. Presentations to our editors should focus on productivity-enhancing benefits, not financial data.

2. Don't make the same presentation to every publication. Experienced marketers know that making the right presentation for each magazine is an essential part of positioning a product in its target markets. If you're giving the same presentation to the editors of every magazine, you're missing a golden opportunity to show just how well your product can serve the particular needs of one audience.

3. Don't feel that being small is a disadvantage. It's a little-known fact that most editors identify with the underdog. While we'll judge all products in a category by the same criteria, we'd be delighted to give a "Best Buy" to even a very small company if it's deserved.