Should You Be Famous? How Editorial Calendars Can Help

“It is just the little touches after the average man would quit that make the master’s fame.”
--Orison Swett Marden

Those of you who would welcome media coverage of your company but are not sure how to get started, let me give you a great tip: editorial calendars.

What's an editorial calendar? Simply a written plan of topics a media outlet will be covering in a given year. Many of the publications you read most often have editorial calendars they work from, as it gives them a structure to plan their content.

What can this mean for you? Well, if you can get your hands on a media outlet's editorial calendar, you can scan it to see where a story that mentions your company would best fit. So if you manufacture silk, you'd be a good candidate for planned coverage under manufacturing companies, home décor or maybe a fashion feature.

The media is generally more receptive to story ideas that fill their needs. If you can call and say, "I've got an idea for your June issue on fashion about special silks being manufactured here in Pittsburgh, Kansas," you will stand a better chance of capturing their interest than if you called and said “Hi I run a silk manufacturing firm here in town and think you should do a feature story on my company.” Remember the old adage, WIIFM, or “what’s in it for me?” Editorial calendars give you a shortcut to exactly what a media outlet is looking for, so that you can help provide it.

Many publications post their editorial calendars online. If you don't see it there, call and ask if they can email or mail it to you. Look for places where an upcoming topic matches your product or service and make your pitch.

Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html

This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
©2010 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.