| Now that we're at the end of the year, it's a great time | | | | weight loss stories, as well as New Year's resolutions, |
| to plan your publicity for 2008. | | | | getting organized and of course - the looming tax |
| With all the talk about the immediacy of a story, and | | | | season. This is a very "anything goes" time of year, so |
| the unbelievable speed that news pieces make it onto | | | | if you weren't able to sell fluff pieces during the |
| TV and radio, we often forget that for most media, | | | | holidays, you might want to try and repitch them now. |
| lead times are crucial. Lead times can vary from a day | | | | April - June |
| to six months depending on the media you're pitching. | | | | With major companies releasing their first quarter |
| Generally women's magazines have the longest lead | | | | earnings (and hogging all the news space) this could be |
| times, sometimes as much as four to six months. | | | | a tough time to get in. As April 15th looms out there |
| If you want to find out what magazine lead times are, | | | | you'll see a lot of stories addressing taxes, saving on |
| call their advertising department and get a copy of | | | | taxes, and everything financial, but once that date |
| their media kit. This will not only tell you when | | | | comes and goes the media will start looking ahead to |
| advertising deadlines are (signaling your submission | | | | summer stories and "spring fever" pieces. |
| cut-off) but it will also show you what stories to pitch | | | | July - September |
| when. Generally magazines will try and coordinate | | | | With summer in full swing we'll see a lot of lighter |
| advertising to coincide with their themes, so if you | | | | business stories, celebrity stories, trend pieces, and |
| have a story about the benefits of yoga, you might | | | | back to school. This is a fantastic time to pitch since |
| want to dig through the advertising calendar and see if | | | | many pr firms and media folk are on vacation. They |
| they're planning to address it in a future issue. | | | | still need stories but have less people pitching and less |
| Once you define your publicity targets and get an idea | | | | folks to field those pitches so if you can get your story |
| of what to pitch when, you'll want to open up a | | | | in and it needs very little work you could be a shoe-in |
| calendar and start circling dates that will matter to your | | | | to get some coverage. |
| story. Get creative with this! Often dates are | | | | October - December |
| overlooked because they may seem too small (like | | | | Many pr people think that this is the heaviest time of |
| peanut butter and jelly day) but everyone's competing | | | | the year, but I tend to disagree. I think that the media is |
| for the biggies: Valentine's Day, Christmas, etc. so why | | | | hungry for anything related to the holidays, end of year |
| not add some off-beat holidays to your pitching | | | | perspective, getting your life in order, New Year's |
| calendar and see what happens? If you're looking for | | | | resolutions (yet again) as well as the next year's |
| every holiday under the sun (including international | | | | prediction stories, etc. You'll also see a lot of best and |
| ones) try downloading the Calgoo calendar - this is a | | | | worst of for the prior year. Relationship experts - now |
| free program used to sync Outlook with your Google | | | | is your time to shine! With all the family gatherings |
| calendar - but an additional benefit of it is that it comes | | | | there's a big call for getting along, making family |
| loaded with every imaginable holiday. A great tool to | | | | relationships better/stronger as well as navigating the |
| start your planning session! | | | | busy holiday season and still keeping your sanity. |
| Once you define holidays/seasons/events you want | | | | Keep in mind that while we've only addressed media, |
| to pitch your story to, you'll also want to be cognizant | | | | these rules apply to online media as well as events |
| of the appropriate seasons and what the media is | | | | you might do. It's much easier to get someone |
| looking for. Here's a brief outline of all four seasons as | | | | interested in something they're already interested in, |
| well as suggested targets/pitches. Keep in mind that | | | | and by coordinating your efforts, you'll have a much |
| breaking news stories and global events may slant | | | | stronger and focused campaign. Planning your media |
| these times considerably, but barring that, the seasonal | | | | for the upcoming year is one of the best things you |
| angles tend to remain fairly consistent. | | | | can do before the clock strikes midnight on December |
| January - March | | | | 31st. It'll not only keep your campaign fresh but also |
| The first season of the year is pretty quiet. The | | | | tightly focused. With a plan in place, you'll be ready to |
| holidays are over and much of the media is looking | | | | hit the ground running after January 1! |
| ahead and looking to summer with getting fit and | | | | Wishing you a super-successful New Year! |