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By Patrick Reilly

Editorial calendars (ed cals for short) have been a staple of PR planning for years. Whether it be when a new year starts or when a new client is onboarded, they are a go-to place for PR folks to gather important information about upcoming editorial topics and deadlines, enabling them to offer valuable content and build meaningful relationships with the editors and reporters with whom they are interacting. Traditionally, media publications will issue ed cals for marketing purposes as a way to showcase advertising opportunities for the year. However, in today’s digital age where news is viral in a matter of minutes, and with the ongoing efforts to go green, many publications have cut down on print issues, thus getting rid of the need for traditional ed cals altogether.

However, not all is doom and gloom for ed cals; many still exist and can be extremely helpful. In some outlets, especially in niche, vertical trade publications, the editorial and advertising staff want to ensure they are keeping up with topics that will always be part of their industry’s discussions. For example, in cybersecurity, there will always be breaches or hacking advancements that a whole niche of outlets will cover. Ed cals in these particular outlets will always have subtopics that relate to these stories, such as “the state of cloud security” or “data breach prevention and response.” Having this information gives PR people the opportunity to discuss POVs with clients and meaningfully contribute to the stories we know that the publication is already planning on writing.

National media like WIRED or the Wall Street Journal will also write features or have entire issues on related topics. Our ability to seed our clients’ unique perspectives in the trades establishes authority, and opens doors to continue these conversations at a broader level.

Learn Your Ed Cals

No media list is complete without doing your due diligence on ed cals. Whether you are building from scratch or making updates to a dated list, rummaging through national, local, and trade publications – and understanding what they are covering – is crucial for finding the correct reporters and editors. When looking to see if the publication has an ed cal, a simple Google Search with the Boolean Operators, for example, “name of outlet + editorial calendars,” can find results for some outlets. However, most of the time the best way to find an ed cal is to go to the outlet’s advertising section on its website and look for a media kit. Sometimes you are able to download the kit directly and other times you may have to request it from a sales representative. Now, you’re probably wondering why would I go to the “paid” section when I work in earned media? These days, media kits tend to be where ed cals are housed because they can be related to how the publication works out its advertising. For example, if cloud security is a focus for a month, getting cloud security providers to advertise during that time is complementary to the content the publication is generating.

Once you have access to the calendars, the next step is to read through all of them, filter out the topics that are most relevant to your client and add them to a section within your media list that you can reference at any time. This should not only include the topics, but the relevant dates that you’ll need to plan for to meet the editorial deadlines for those topics.

Right Time and Right Pitch

Now that you’ve vetted your ed cals, you can start your outreach. In general, pitching ed cals can be done with less haste than your normal pitching practices. However, your planning should never be forgotten. If we go back to the cloud security example, let’s say the April issue of the publication is going to cover cloud security. You should plan to start seeding conversations with reporters in February and March – or maybe even earlier depending on the publication – to ensure you are considered for coverage in that issue. If editorial deadlines are not available, advertising deadlines can also give you a reasonable window of when is a good time to pitch your client for specific issues. Some – like the aforementioned WIRED security issue – have deadlines in May for issues that are planned to come out in January 2025 – so that’s seven months you could have already planned for in advance!

When pitching, you should have a range of topics that would be a good fit for a future issue. However, a major problem is that most, if not all, ed cals lack specifics for what they are looking to cover. For example, the topic of “artificial intelligence” is extremely broad. What is the publication looking to cover when they say AI? Are they looking for AI in consumer goods? AI in robotics? AI in driver safety? Or maybe something that covers a smattering of everything? There is no real way to know unless you ask. By reaching out to the editor, you can establish rapport in ensuring that you aren’t going to waste their time if your clients’ topic doesn’t align with the focus of the issue. Something as simple as, “Hey, I am reaching out to you to offer a conversation with my client that is using AI to change the way drivers behave, helping to reduce collisions. Let me know if this topic aligns with your coverage for the month and we can arrange a time for you to speak with them” goes a long way.

A good subject line to grab editors’ attention can be as easy as, “Per your ed cal in [publication name] on the [X] topic.” This will help them weed through the thousands of emails they get daily when looking for emails specifically related to their ed cals. It is sometimes hard to find the right editor who is working on a particular project from the calendar itself, so do your homework and use your best judgment for who might be aligned with the topic when reaching out. In some cases, emailing the managing editor or editor-in-chief could be your best bet, especially if the publication is small.

Keeping Ed Cals Alive

While the world of media is not ironclad and nothing is guaranteed, you may be surprised that paying attention to ed cals can help nab new opportunities and build relationships. The media needs good sources as much as PR professionals need reporters to include clients in stories. On many occasions, I have reached out to editors for ed cals that weren’t quite a fit at the time, but as soon as there was an opportunity that was spot on, the client was considered. Proactivity around ed cals is essential. They are not dead, and they could be the vehicle that lands you your next feature story.

If you’re ready to take the next step in accelerating and expanding your online presence as a thought leader, 0to5 can help. Contact us today.