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Planning Your Publicity

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



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