The Costco Connection Freelance Market Guide
Revised July 2, 2021; checked for accuracy November 28, 2022.
Fees: $1.25 per word. Stories run 350 words or less for shorts and up to 1,500 words for cover stories. Typical length for a one-page piece is 500 to 600 words, including any sidebars.
Submit to: Tod Jones, managing editor, U.S. tod.jones@costco.com or Stephanie Ponder, managing editor, international magazines, sponder@costco.com.
Website: https://www.costco.com/costco-connection-online-edition.html
Owner: Costco Wholesale
Readership demographics: With a 15 million monthly print mailing in the U.S. and a 2.2 average “pass along” rate, more than 30 million people read the magazine each month, with significant online traffic as well. Two-thirds of its readers are women, one-third men. The median age is 58 and more than 60 percent of readers graduated from college. More than 80 percent of Costco shoppers are married, and their median household income is $120,000.
Frequency of publication: Monthly (U.S.) bi-monthly (UK, Canada), mailed to home and businesses of members and available online.
What they look for in a pitch: Queries should be brief, to the point and always note the Costco connection. That connection “means it ties into products or services offered at Costco, or highlights a Costco member,” Jones says.
The magazine welcomes pitches about health. “Health stories are mainstream topics with well-supported studies and solid takeaway advice on identifying, preventing and treating health issues,” Jones says.
Cover stories often feature a person of national prominence who can serve as a role model in some way. “This can be someone from almost any walk of life, as long as their contribution has been broad based and enduring. We are more interested in achievement than in celebrity,” according to the writers’ guidelines, which are available from an editor. “In most cases, the subject should be a member or supplier of Costco.”
Most common mistakes seen in pitches: Not having researched the magazine and its goals; not understanding that any pitch must have a connection to Costco in some way (member, supplier, product, service); pitching ideas for topics they have just covered. “Costco.com has several years of the magazine archived, so it’s easy to see what’s been covered and what our approach is to health topics in regard to tone,” Jones says.
Lead time for pitching: At least three to four months. Costco Connection features at least one or two health topics in each issue with expanded health coverage in January and June’s “special section.” Each issue includes a special section.
Best place for a freelancer to break into Costco Connection: “If the writer doesn’t have clips or a website with writing examples, short member profiles are the usual place to start. Solid clips and strong pitches will gain entry on health pitches,” Jones says.