Forward Features
As well as hard NEWS, magazines and trade-portals publish ‘special features’ and, unlike News-items, THESE can be planned well-ahead.
No surprise, then, to learn that most journals draw up a list of what’s going to be featured, week-by-week, or month-by-month. It helps them decide WHICH items they’ll have to farm-out to freelance-journalists and so on. That’s called COMMISIONING. It helps their advertising sales-teams and their customers to plan their ad campaigns.
But, more importantly for US, they are a FANTASTIC way to find PR and article opportunities.
In the US, these plans are called ‘Editorial Calendars’, and in the UK they’re known as ‘Forward Features-Lists’, or just ‘Features Lists’.
Some – not many – are quite comprehensive, giving the name and contact details of the journalist and even a short synopsis of the proposed feature. That’s great. Most, though give you just a title – in which case you’ll have to phone the commissioning editor and ask WHO has been commissioned to write the piece. Don’t be faint-hearted. It’s a perfectly normal thing to ask for – no big deal. And remember, IF YOU DON’T ASK, YOU WON’T GET!
That’s a GREAT maxim for lots of the things you are going to HAVE to do, for yourself or your client, to become a Voice-in-Your/Their-Industry .
In the 90s, you had to phone and ask for hard-copies of the editorial diary or features list, which meant that from that moment-on you were pestered by sales-people trying to flog advertising space. Today, it’s all available online.
Let’s suppose I provide products or services to the CONSTRUCTION industry, in which case a magazine called ‘Construction News’ would be an obvious target publication.
As well as hard NEWS, magazines and trade-portals publish ‘special features’ and, unlike News-items, THESE can be planned well-ahead.
No surprise, then, to learn that most journals draw up a list of what’s going to be featured, week-by-week, or month-by-month. It helps them decide WHICH items they’ll have to farm-out to freelance-journalists and so on. That’s called COMMISIONING. It helps their advertising sales-teams and their customers to plan their ad campaigns.
But, more importantly for US, they are a FANTASTIC way to find PR and article opportunities.
In the US, these plans are called ‘Editorial Calendars’, and in the UK they’re known as ‘Forward Features-Lists’, or just ‘Features Lists’.
Some – not many – are quite comprehensive, giving the name and contact details of the journalist and even a short synopsis of the proposed feature. That’s great. Most, though give you just a title – in which case you’ll have to phone the commissioning editor and ask WHO has been commissioned to write the piece. Don’t be faint-hearted. It’s a perfectly normal thing to ask for – no big deal. And remember, IF YOU DON’T ASK, YOU WON’T GET!
That’s a GREAT maxim for lots of the things you are going to HAVE to do, for yourself or your client, to become a Voice-in-Your/Their-Industry .
In the 90s, you had to phone and ask for hard-copies of the editorial diary or features list, which meant that from that moment-on you were pestered by sales-people trying to flog advertising space. Today, it’s all available online.
Let’s suppose I provide products or services to the CONSTRUCTION industry, in which case a magazine called ‘Construction News’ would be an obvious target publication.
So, how do I FIND their ‘Features List’? It’s not as easy as you might think.
When I go to their website, you can’t find it ANYWHERE. And that’s typical. Magazines don’t want their readers to get into the daily running of the mag – they just want them to read articles and adverts. So, with most journals, you have to go HUNTING.
Sometimes, it helps to find the website’s ‘Site-Map’. You’ll usually see a link at the bottom of the Home Page…
When I go to their website, you can’t find it ANYWHERE. And that’s typical. Magazines don’t want their readers to get into the daily running of the mag – they just want them to read articles and adverts. So, with most journals, you have to go HUNTING.
Sometimes, it helps to find the website’s ‘Site-Map’. You’ll usually see a link at the bottom of the Home Page…
But, even there, this particular magazine doesn’t want readers to find their Features List.
So, our NEXT strategy is to do a Google-search: "Construction news forward features". It works! The Google response includes...
So, our NEXT strategy is to do a Google-search: "Construction news forward features". It works! The Google response includes...
And THIS is the magazine's actual Forward Features list...
In MARCH they’ll be doing a feature on Earth Moving, in APRIL they’ll be featuring Ground Engineering, and so on.
Plenty of time to plan how I’m going to contact them and what particular value I can add for them, while creating an opportunity for a dedicated article, or inclusion in a feature for ME.
By the way, in a later blog, I’ll show you how to Schmooze the press.
Another example of a Features List, or editorial Calendar…
Plenty of time to plan how I’m going to contact them and what particular value I can add for them, while creating an opportunity for a dedicated article, or inclusion in a feature for ME.
By the way, in a later blog, I’ll show you how to Schmooze the press.
Another example of a Features List, or editorial Calendar…
THIS one, from Legal Week, is a downloadable pdf. Now, if my company’s speciality is Intellectual Property – protecting music composers from online piracy perhaps - then I can see there’s an opportunity to get coverage in MAY.
And Features-Lists don’t just apply to PRINTED journals. THIS is a features list from an ONLINE publication dedicated to Supply-Management and Procurement.
And Features-Lists don’t just apply to PRINTED journals. THIS is a features list from an ONLINE publication dedicated to Supply-Management and Procurement.
