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Same Time Next Year: Using Editorial Calendars as Part of your PR Efforts
Copyright © 2005, Shannon Cherry, APR, MA
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It's the time of year when calendars crowd out the books and
magazines in bookstores and are even on sale at reduced prices.
But there’s a special kind of calendar that all good public
relations professionals use – the editorial calendar.
According to Shannon Cherry, using editorial calendars is one of
the most effective, yet most overlooked tool in a publicist’s
toolkit. “Most people avoid using editorial calendars because
it takes some time to research and compile,” she says. “The top
PR professionals do this every year and I’ve personally found
that outcomes are well worth the time – especially when you end
up getting featured in a key article in a major publication.”
Cherry is the president of Cherry Communications
(http://www.cherrycommunications.com), a public relations and
marketing firm which helps small businesses, consultants and
entrepreneurs to be heard.
Except for the year and the names of the months, these calendars
bear little resemblance to the glossy hang-up calendars in the
stores. No swimsuit-clad models, lush scenery, puppies, kittens
or cartoons of Dilbert. Editorial calendars are usually
bare-bones lists of upcoming issue topics and major features
– or at least the cover stories or special sections. Not much
to look at – unless you're a PR pro trying to crack that market.
“That's because knowing what publications have in store allows
you to tailor your pitches, news releases and articles to
particular issues,” says Cherry. “Helping editors and journalists
by providing the stories they need earns you goodwill and
increased attention.”
Editorial calendars are basically telling you exactly what
information they need for each issue. “If you can spin your own
story to match what the media is looking for, then you have a
great chance of being featured in that publication,” she says.
A current editorial calendar can usually be found in the
advertising section at the publication's website. If you
can’t find it there, contact the publications marketing/sales
department and ask them to email/snail mail it to you.
Here are some examples of editorial calendars:
• Choice: The Magazine for Professional Coaching -
http://www.choice-online.com/calendar.html
• Small Business Technology Magazine -
http://www.sbtechnologymagazine.org/write/SBTM_Editorial_Calendar_2004_2005.pdf
• Fortune Small Business -
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/mediakit/editcal-targeted.html
Not all publications have editorial calendars. “Really small
magazines – the many labor-of-love kind of magazines published
by enthusiasts – usually don't.” says Cherry. “Magazines, which
don't accept ads, may have one but they don't publish it.
Totally reader-contributed publications don't. New magazines
generally don't because the content is so often changed and
tweaked as the publication searches for its voice.”
Even some large, national magazines don't have calendars. News
weeklies like Time and Newsweek don't. Neither does People or US
Weekly. “They are steered by what news hits that week and that
is, of course, something you can't predict months in advance,”
she explains.
Cherry suggests, after reviewing the calendar, you can decide
which stories you can offer to be a source or expert for, or,
in the case of trade publications, which months you could offer
a written expert-opinion piece.
“Remember that editorial calendars can and do change, so check
for updates regularly,” reminds Cherry. “Also, pay attention to
deadlines. Article queries and pitches especially should be sent
to the editors well ahead of time. And if they don’t have
deadlines, assume that the media need the information about
four months out.”
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Writer's Resource Box:
About the author: Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses,
entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She’s a
marketing communications and public relations expert with more
than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications.
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