Get Featured in The Topeka Capital-Journal

Space in a local publication goes first to public affairs, emergencies, schools and sports. That leaves little room at The Topeka Capital-Journal for a business owner or professional who sends in a story idea cold, even when the story has a real local tie. A guaranteed placement works differently: it is arranged with the publication before any writing starts, you sign off on the draft, and it goes live on cjonline.com within a window stated in writing, usually one to two weeks. It is a real article on the site that you can put in a proposal, a deck or a profile.

What The Topeka Capital-Journal covers

What does a local news publication cover? Whatever matters to the people nearby. For The Topeka Capital-Journal, that means news for readers in Kansas: the kind of reporting on local government, business, schools, roads, real estate, events, sports and community life that larger outlets leave alone. A story earns its place by being relevant to the area, not by being big. Its reporting is published at cjonline.com.

Business and community stories sit comfortably beside civic news. A local publication is where readers expect to learn about a new restaurant, a practice adding a location, a contractor finishing a visible project, an artist’s exhibition or a company setting up in the area. The writing is plain and factual, the local connection is stated early, and the subject is someone or something readers can find nearby.

Who reads The Topeka Capital-Journal

A local audience is small compared with a national one, and far more relevant to a local business. Readers of a publication like The Topeka Capital-Journal live, work, shop and vote in the community it covers in Kansas. Many of them are deciding where to spend money, whom to hire and which organizations to support close to home.

That matters for anyone whose work depends on local reputation. Real estate agents, advisers, physicians, attorneys, contractors and restaurateurs all win business through familiarity and word of mouth. A story in The Topeka Capital-Journal adds to both, and it can be shared on your site, in your office, in proposals and across your social profiles.

Why coverage in Kansas matters

A business that serves Kansas benefits from being seen where people in Kansas already get their news. A feature in The Topeka Capital-Journal places your name in front of nearby customers, suppliers and referral sources who can act on it without leaving the area. It also adds a local reference point for anyone in the state who researches you before making a call or signing an agreement.

Coverage in Kansas is commonly sought by service businesses, restaurants, medical and legal practices, real estate professionals, contractors and nonprofits that depend on local customers. It also suits companies from other states that are opening an office, a store or a franchise location in Kansas and want to introduce themselves to the community.

Out-of-area companies and longtime locals face the same test: is there a reason for people in this community to care? For a newcomer, it may be jobs, a new location or a service not offered nearby. For an established name, it may be growth, history or community work. Either way, specifics carry the story.

We start by choosing one of the angles below. Most businesses and practices have two or three that would work, and the best choice is usually the one with the clearest local connection and timing.

What weakens a pitch

• No local connection. If the story could run unchanged in any town, readers of a community publication have little reason to stop on it.
• Sales copy presented as news. Readers come for information about their community, so a list of offers and slogans reads as out of place.
• Vague claims. “Best in the area” and “top-rated” mean little without something a reader can verify, and everything we write must be true.
• Too many messages. One opening, one milestone or one person, told clearly, is stronger than a tour of every service you provide.