Unless you have a good relationship with an editor, finding out what publications will be covering can be challenging for a public relations professional. With a little research, however, you can find an outlet’s editorial calendar, which lays out all the topics and stories they plan to cover for the next year. We’ve rounded up a few ways [SD1] you can use these calendars to score great press for clients.
Finding Editorial Calendars
First off, you need to find the calendars in order to start brainstorming how you want to pitch that publication. Most of the time, outlets will include their editorial calendar on their website, but it’s usually going to be found under tabs like “Media Kit” or “Advertise With Us”.
Study the Calendars
Once you’ve found the calendars, it’s important to look through them and start thinking of where your clients could fit into what they’re writing about. You want to make sure that your pitches line up with what they are already thinking about, otherwise you’re probably wasting their time.
Brainstorm a Pitch Timeline
Think about the editorial calendar and decide when you want to pitch your clients for the publication’s stories. You’ll want to pitch clients to fit into certain stories months before the story is actually published, so be sure to put together a timeline that will make sense with their calendar.
Start Pitching
When you have your timeline together, start crafting the first pitches that will match up with the first stories on the outlet’s calendar. The editors will notice that you have taken time to research what they’re writing about and will be more likely to use your pitch in their stories.