If you’re a freelance writer looking to break into the magazine industry, you’ve probably heard of fillers. But what are they? Simply put, fillers are short pieces that magazines use to fill any empty spaces in their pages. This could be a few lines between two articles, or an entire page with no content. In either case, magazines need something to make sure all their pages look complete. That’s where magazine fillers come in! Let’s dive in and learn more about these unique writing opportunities.

Fillers come in all shapes and sizes. They can be anywhere from a few lines to half a page, depending on the needs of the magazine. As they’re not the main attraction they can be difficult to spot, so when searching, make sure you are reading magazines thoroughly. The most common types of fillers are jokes, puzzles, quotes, anecdotes, mini-profiles, polls, trivia questions and answers, and listicles (lists). Fillers are typically related to the topic of the magazine—for example, if it’s an outdoor lifestyle magazine then one type of filler might be nature-related jokes or quotes about life outdoors.

Writing a filler requires some skill since it needs to fit perfectly into whatever space it’s designed for. It also needs to keep readers engaged while still fitting within the theme and flow of the magazine as a whole. Some tips for writing effective fillers include:

-          Keeping it short and sweet

-          Making sure it’s interesting

-          Using humour when appropriate

-          Thinking outside the box

-          Making sure your grammar is spot-on                                                                                                                                         

Fillers are an essential part of any magazine publication. They help keep readers engaged while filling out any extra space that would otherwise look empty or incomplete on each page. Writing them is not always easy but with practice, you can become proficient at creating high-quality content that fits perfectly into whatever space you have available. Whether you're writing jokes or puzzles or advice columns, remember that your goal should always be to provide readers with something valuable and entertaining. If you would like to learn more about writing for magazines, check out our Article Writing Course.