When It's Cold Outside, Think Warm Stories for Free Publicity
By Shannon Cherry
The winter season is upon on. Instead of dreaming of a thaw, you should be already working on warmer publicity.
Most magazines are already thinking of stories with a spring/summer angle. So you should be thinking that way, too – if you want to beat the competition and get some coveted coverage. That means start focusing on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduations.
Why so early? Because of many media outlets’ production schedules – most notably magazines – reporters often start working on seasonal stories 4-6 months in advance.
Many late April, May & June magazines are chock full of holiday gift guides and product reviews. So early April is too late if you're seeking coverage in magazines. In fact, a trip to the newsstand in May will provide all the evidence you need: all the May issues of monthly magazines will be stocked and ready for purchase -- some have been there for a week or two.
One way to find out when the media is working on spring stories is to contact the advertising department of the outlet and request a media kit.
This kit tells advertisers what stories or topics will be highlighted in each issue so that advertisers can submit their ads by the proper date. Many media kits are also offered online, so if you have a particular publication with a web presence, you may find what you need at their site.
Follow these tips now to gain more exposure when the warmer weather returns:
1. Create ways that your product or service can tie into spring and summer. For example, a landscaper can offer tips to get a green lawn. An organizer can show how to properly store winter clothes. A fitness coach can provide ways to get fit in a park.
2. Find reasons for gift-giving all year-round. Is your product or service something that would be a great gift for a mom, dad or grad? Find out which media outlets are doing gift guides and how you can get your product or service featured.
Here are some seasonal story ideas to get you started for the late spring/early summer:
May:
Gardening
Mother’s Day
Spring Cleaning
College Graduation
Proms
June:
Summer Travel
Father’s Day
High School Graduation
Weddings
Baseball
About the author
Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get a FREE special report. Go to: http://www.cherrycommunications.com/FreeReport.htm from http://www.FreeArticlesAndContent.com
|
|
Copy This Article
For FREE!!!
You can use this article and copy it on your own website
for free! All you have to do is make sure the article
is copied with no changes and includes the "About
The Author" text. Also please ensure that all url's
are hyperlinked according. Thank you. |
Link To This Article - And We'll
Link Back To Your Website!
You are more then welcome to link to this article! All
you have to do is copy this webpage address from the
address bar and create a link on your website. Please
use the title of this article for your link text. Please
get in contact once you have linked to this article
and we'll link back to you! Thank you. |
|
|
|
Other great articles from this category...
|
Related Sites
|
|
