WORKING WITH MAGAZINES: TOP TIPS

WORKING WITH MAGAZINES: TOP TIPS

It’s not unusual for us to be briefed to launch a report with a couple of weeks’ notice. Or to develop a campaign ready to be rolled out in a month or so.

That’s fine; it’s always do-able.

But we are currently working on an initiative with a much longer lead-in. There are many benefits of course. Honing the strategy, creating plenty of content, working in different mediums, involving a wider range of partners.

And working far enough ahead to tie up long-lead features so that their publication coincides with short-lead coverage, for maximum impact.

If you’re targeting weekend supplements, consumer magazines or professional titles, our team’s top tips will help:

  • Long-lead content is written weeks or months in advance of publication, so get your planning done and allow yourself plenty of time
  • Check lead-times, deadlines and publication dates, to make sure you integrate all your coverage to appear at the same time
  • Think carefully about the content needed by long-lead titles, as it’s very different to newsier, more immediate dailies, online and broadcast media; you’ll need to do more than circulate a tweaked version of a news release
  • Your approach needs to be different too; this is about discussing ideas and working with the features commissioner, then generating content to fit
  • And remember, no two magazines are going to run identical features, so find out what works best for individual titles and their readers, and tailor your ideas accordingly

More tips and guides on our website. Contact us via the blog or on Twitter @amzpr.