How to Make the Most of Editorial Calendars

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By Kristina Houck, Research and Online Content Specialist

Most reporters receive dozens – if not hundreds – of press releases and story pitches every day. So how do you get your release noticed? Send it when you know a reporter is seeking stories on a related subject. That’s how editorial calendars can help.

Editorial calendars are a great tool for public relations professionals to use to learn what types of stories media outlets publish and when. Editorial calendars outline the major editorial features that are planned for upcoming magazine and newspaper issues. If used correctly, they can help PR pros increase their chances of coverage.

It’s important to note that not all publications issue editorial calendars. But the ones that do are free and easy to obtain. Many publications have PDF versions of their calendars that can be downloaded from their websites. Editorial calendars are often found in the “advertise with us” section and included in media kits geared toward advertising and marketing professionals. If you don’t find the editorial calendar you’re looking for online, contact an editor at the publication to request one.

Once you obtain an editorial calendar, review it to decide when you should pitch your story idea. Look for issues that will feature topics related to those in your press release or pitch.

Ensure your pitch is truly relevant. Don’t pitch a publication just because your news is slightly related to the topics in the upcoming issue.

Also be sure to pitch with the publication’s deadlines in mind. Knowing the publication’s deadlines is one of the benefits of using editorial calendars, so remember to plan ahead! Pitch at least three to four weeks in advance for weekly publications and three to four months out for monthly publications.

Lastly, pitch your story to the appropriate person at the publication. Even if you pitch relevant news for a specific issue ahead of time, your release can be overlooked if you send it to the wrong contact. If you are unable to determine which editor or reporter to pitch to, contact the media outlet and ask to be directed to the appropriate contact for your story.

So for quick review, here are three tips when using editorial calendars to pitch:

1. Pitch relevant news

Use editorial calendars to learn when publications plan to publish topics related to your story.

2. Be aware of deadlines

Plan to pitch at least three to four weeks in advance for weekly publications and three to four months out for monthly publications.

3. Contact the appropriate person

Determine which editor or reporter would cover your story.

Happy pitching!

What’s the Benefit of Newswire Distribution Anyway?

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By Chancelor Shay, Account Executive

If you’ve worked in PR for more than an hour, you’re probably familiar with “the wire” and services that help move your news across it. And whether you’re with an agency or working in-house, your clients or CEO are probably familiar with it as well. What they don’t understand, and even some PR professionals don’t get, is that distributing press releases over the wire typically does not drive meaningful coverage.

Gasp.

Bummer, right? I’m sure every PR pro would love to craft a magnificently worded and poignant key message-riddled news release and then simply press a button to have their news covered by every outlet reaching their target audience. But as it turns out, the media are in the business of making money by providing content their audience will value and your release announcing that there will be an announcement typically won’t cut the mustard—unless you happen to be Apple, the White House or Charlie Sheen.

With that said, wire services should be looked at as another tool in the PR pro’s toolbox that, when utilized properly, can still provide value to your client. Here are three tips for understanding why wire distribution may or may not be in the client’s best interest.

1. Relationships still rule

Each day, journalists receive hundreds of highly targeted and personalized pitches from PR professionals they’ve already developed relationships with. This provides them with plenty of potential content for stories. Unless your news is earth shattering or is a larger announcement from a global brand (Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Toyota), it’s highly unlikely that your impersonalized news release blasted over the wire will cut through the hundreds of tailored pitches the journalist received to spawn a story. If your client wants coverage, explain to them that the resources spent on wire distribution would be better used developing relationships with targeted journalists and working with them to develop something useful for their outlet.

2. Bigger doesn’t mean better with distribution circuits

Clients will often suggest they want their news distributed across a large circuit because they think the more outlets it’s sent to, the more coverage they’ll get. It’s our job as PR professionals to explain that wire distribution doesn’t work like a batting average, where the more opportunities at the plate you get, the greater likelihood you’ll get a hit. To the point above, where’s the value in sending the release to more journalists who will completely disregard it? Online outlets are no different. As PitchEngine Founder and CEO Jason Kintzler points out, you must also evaluate whether the downstream sites where your release is posted will be visible to your audience. Most likely the answer is that it won’t, but the value of those sites is...

3. SEO

That’s right, even if no reporter or buyer ever happens upon your news release hidden away on Yahoo! Finance, the mere fact that it’s posted to a live web page with inbound links to your website provides search engine optimization value for your news. This is especially important for industries where executive level decision makers are actively looking for news on industry trends, topics, players and rumors. Choosing your keywords strategically is essential to realizing the wire’s biggest benefit and there’s a definite science to why you’d choose one key word over its synonym, so do your research. Nobody knows exactly how the algorithms employed by Google and the other search engines work, but as long as you’ve done your key word homework and are following SEO-friendly news release best practices, you should be in good shape.

When some PR pros get the phone call from a client wanting to blast news over the wire, they feel like they’re walking the plank, but hopefully with these tips in your pocket, you’ll feel like you’re balancing on the wire.