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Perhaps because I worked in consumer publications for 20 years, I tend to reduce tasks to the level of coverlines on supermarket checkout stand magazines. The logic behind, say, the Men's Health teaser "Lose 30 Pounds in 3 Months!"--make any problem solvable in a simple way in a short period of time--can apply to anything.

For example, take the problem of getting our readers to care about what we association editors and publishers take great pains to produce.

Here's the coverline-format formula: README.

R: Make it Relevant

Readers want information that is immediately useful and practical in their professional lives. Recently I did a survey for an association magazine in which we asked what changes would make the title more useful. Endless variations of "make it practical" came up again and again. Readers asked for "Information that is applicable to the work setting," "Practical info we can use each day," and "Practical information or examples of how other professionals have used their skills."

E: Make it Enjoyable

Whether you are writing about high fashion, or a trade like construction or electronics, make it interesting. Readers simply don't connect with your message if they--excuse me while I yawn--are bored. Whatever the subject, inject peronality, use colorful quotes, rely on surprising statistics, and get rid of unneeded jargon. Write for the person who is reading in bed just before going to sleep. It's your job to keep him awake to the end of the article. When the readers snooze, you lose.

A: Make it Actionable

Readers should come away charged up to take a specific action to better their professional or personal lives. If they instead walk away with the thought, "That was interesting, but I can't see how it applies to me," or "It's interesting what that association is doing, but it would never work here," your publishing efforts, and the readers' time, have been wasted.

D: Make it Detailed

Often the most useful take-away messages from articles are the details about specific resources. Rather than talking in generalities, list Web sites, documents, telephone numbers, or guides that the reader can use right away in everyday practice. In the survey I mentioned above, the most common action taken after reading the magazine was to visit the association's or another Web site.

M: Make it Mission-related

If you write for the Journal of the Association of Poultry Coroners, then everything must relate to the improving the science of investigating dead chickens. Trends in feed or feathers might be interesting, but more appropriate to Feed and Feather Forum. Your association has a mission; let the publication advance it though every story.

E: Make it Evidence-based
With the Web, information is cheap these days. This is the first time in history when people who have essentially nothing to say and no effective way to say it can share their empty thoughts with the world. And do. There is a way to distinguish yourself from the sea of platitudes and opinion on the Web: present hard data and facts. The plural of anecdote remains data.

Once, anyone who truly cared about an industry had to belong to its trade association and read the association's magazine. Today, however, there are no such captive audiences. Competing information is everywhere. So if you want to keep your readers happy and coming back for more, nothing beats a publication that is relevant, enjoyable, actionable, detailed, mission-related, and backed by solid evidence.

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