Editorial calendars plan upcoming topics for magazines and newspapers, mainly for advertising purposes. They attract advertisers by appealing to the target audience and establish submission guidelines for writers. Press releases promote a company and can be used for major topics. Planning takes several months and considers the time of year.
An editorial calendar is a plan of upcoming topics for a magazine or newspaper. Editorial calendars are mainly created for advertising purposes. For example, if a topic relevant to certain advertisers’ products is used for a story, the company is more likely to want to place an ad in the publication as readers will be interested in the topic. For example, an in-depth report on teenage pregnancy can help sell ad space to home study schools and baby product companies. Using an editorial calendar to plan story ideas also allows for the time of publication to issue a press release of the next story to attract potential new readers.
A press release is news that also promotes a company by making it publicity. Media outlets cover the story in print or television if reporters and publishers feel the publication is newsworthy enough for their readers. A major topic like teenage pregnancy that will be reported in detail could warrant the media accepting a press release about the upcoming story in a newspaper or magazine. Not every article in an editorial calendar will be acceptable as a press release.
The primary use of editorial planning calendars is as an advertising sales function. Magazines and newspapers thrive on advertising sales and constantly have to attract advertisers to buy advertising space in their publication. Advertisers can’t just spend their advertising dollars placing ads randomly, but they have to get their promotional messages out to a specific target audience interested in their types of products and services. Readers of certain publications are considered qualified sales leads, as they typically fit the demographics or personal statistics of the target market such as age, gender, and income. An editorial calendar theme must appeal to the publication’s target readers and advertisers.
Another way an editorial calendar is used is to establish submission guidelines for writers. Most publications include writer guidelines asking for articles on topics they have set in their editorial planning calendar. Editors instruct writers interested in working on an article for publication to first query or submit the completed manuscript for publication.
How much an editorial planning calendar is set up depends on each specific publication. This often takes several months as the advertising sales department will need time to sell ad space and the editorial team will need to choose the best author for the story and create a sufficient writing deadline. The time of year is also an important factor in preparing issues of magazines or special sections of newspapers. For example, a camping feature that will be produced and distributed in a spring issue is likely to start as a project the previous fall or winter.
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