I received an email from a large-ish Bridal magazine in my captial city, which I presume is asking me to supply a free cake in exchange for publicity? Has anyone ever had one of these, and how did you proceed? Am I right in feeling skeptical about their intentions? My first instinct was to send them a quote for how much it would cost them for me to make them a cake (dummy or otherwise) in the theme that they requested, or simply to ask them their budget...but now I am curious about whether this is standard practice for bridal mags. Its suspicious to me as nowhere does it mention supplying free cake = magazine publicity. She emailed me a follow-up email again today - equally curt, equally baffling and lacking detail.

What do you guys think?

Hi,

Hope you are well.

I am working on the next issue of ********* and I would love if you could create a ********* wedding cake inspired by the attached photos.

I will be shooting on the 5th of April and can organise a courier to collect.

I look forward to hearing from you.

**********

Junior Fashion Editor

****************** BRAND EXTENSIONS

*************

*************

*************

Sydney NSW 2000

Australia

I rec'd a call like this before - they wanted a cake (2 cakes if you can do it!) for the annual weddings edition of a huge local mag.  I was super excited and said sure I can do 2 cakes!  And of course they needed them like asap.  When the mag came out my cakes were no where to be seen, even though they were (imo) nicer than some of the ones that made it in.  I was pi**ed!!.  All that time, money and work for nothing!  My husband went to pick up my cakes the day after and said there were tons of fake cakes there, and only 10 or so made it into the magazine.

I would ask them what recognition you will be getting and if they are guaranteeing they will use your cake.  I definitely do not think they expect to be paying for the cake, and I am sure that most cakers jump at the chance to be in print, so would do it for free (well, as long as their name is attached!).

Not a lot of detail and not a lot of notice is it? As they haven't put anything about a fee, I expect they want you to do it for free. My experience with mags so far has been if they approach you, you will get paid (not that much) and if you a approach them then it's free.

I would call them and ask them for more details, any other cakes on the shoot, is the feature guaranteed etc.

If the email is legitimate, and you can make it work with your schedule, in my opinion, yes you should do it.

It is quite common to create a cake for a magazine for the purpose of photographing it, and not be paid. Most magazines (even the really big ones) shoot on very tight schedules with little notice to the vendors.

To touch on some of the other comments, it's OK to ask for clarification on the details, to ensure you are delivering exactly what they are expecting. (More details are definitely in order as that email was quite vague)

Do not expect any guarantees from the magazine on your inclusion/feature.

Being featured in a magazine is a great opportunity for many reasons, but here are some of the immediate benefits:

• Publicity
  Getting your name out there, it's not just brides or potential customers you can reach by being in the magazine, this could very well lead to other opportunities.  For example many cake decorators featured in Cake Central Magazine, are discovered by TV talent scouts, other media publishers and online class providers, ultimately leading to television and other lucrative video/book deals. 
• New Customers
  Reach new customers when the magazine is published 
• Networking
  Get to know the magazine publishers/editors, and if you can.. other vendors involved in the shoot. (Media Industry people are good to have in your contact list)
• The prestige:
  You can tell your clients that you have been featured in a prestigious bridal magazine. And use that as a marketing tool for your business. The fact that you have this credential, is likely to be the deciding factor for at least a few potential customers

Get out there and promote yourself! Don't be shy about it, show up on time, and be professional.

At the end of the day if this doesn't lead to new revenue channels for you.. it's still likely to be a great experience!

Thank you Erin, Sugared Saffron and Jackie. That certainly helps with my thought processes. I have sent her an email asking for clarification. We'll see what happens :-)

AIf I were you I would follow up with a phone call as well, based on your first post it didn't sound like the editor was providing a lot of info via email.

AThanks Jason and Irene :-)

I emailed her back and asked the relevant questions. She replied saying they expect cake dummies, that they cover the costs of a courier to and from, and that they give "page credit" for items shown in the spread.

The timing is not great for me, but I said for her to contact me for future editions if she'd like. Irene - great questions about final edit rights and contracts. I wouldn't have thought to ask that.

Well at least you got a good response back!

I don't think a bridal magazine would be too happy to write up a contract for a feature, or even give final edit rights. That's more something I'd expect from a publisher, a bridal mag is always inundated with free shoots, PR companies etc, being 'inflexible' will get you nowhere fast with them.

That's common practice, most magazines give you squat. There's no guarantee that they'll get your cake in there, but if you're willing to do it you should, why not. Even if the magazine stinks you can claim that you were in such and such a magazine. Remember, PR is professional lying, and marketing is booze and guessing