Editorial Calendars

Tin Shingle Is Hiring: Research Assistant for Editorial Calendars + Media Contacts (Part Time)

It is with a heavy but excited heart that I let you know that Tin Shingle Team Member Ashley Cox is letting the wind blow her abroad to Warwick in order to volunteer to help build structures to help people. Little did you know that Ashley is actually trained in construction things, and can drive a bulldozer.

Ashley is like a Mary Poppins to me. She blew into my life when my first child was born, and has blown in and out of it ever since. Part of her working for Tin Shingle includes knowing that she can be accepted into a volunteer program at any time, and we are fully supportive of that. Ashley is a Super Sleuther, so we will miss her time away!

The move gets me into a discomfort zone, but it means I get to meet someone - or someones - else - which grows Tin Shingle all around. Don’t worry - Ashley hasn’t completely left Tin Shingle. We are all remote workers around here. She will be on top secret missions for Tin Shingle from time to time.

Please see below for the job information if it is a fit for you or someone you know.

ABOUT TIN SHINGLE

Tin Shingle is a training center and community for business owners, artists and makers who are promoting their brands. Tin Shingle puts the power of PR, Social Media, SEO, eNewsletter and Design theory directly into the hands of creators with resources they can tap into any time. Crafted by business owners for business owners, Tin Shingle's programming trains people in how to get publicity, how to have sha-zam social media streams, and how to master newsletter marketing. Tin Shingle offers a subscription membership where people can access different resources to improve their outreach. You can learn about that here.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The person who is the right fit for this assignment loves to dig online, research who‘s writing what in the media, and can’t help but get sparked with article ideas from the research. If you don’t know what an Editorial Calendar is, but you want to learn, that is great.

This Research Assistant position will be hunting and gathering for two of Tin Shingle’s resource databases made available to our business and artists members who are pitching the media with article and story ideas: Editorial Calendars and Media Contacts.

Editorial Calendars: These are PDFs put out by magazines that present what a magazine will be generally about for each month. It’s a great way to know when a magazine will be doing their Back to School issue, or the big Gear Guide, or The Innovator Issue. The Research Assistant Googles and finds these PDFs online (usually found in Media Kits), or emails sales reps in the advertising department of a magazine to ask for the latest plans. Monthly themes are then typed up by the Research Assistant and imported into Tin Shingle’s database.

Media Contacts: Basic contact information for people who work in magazines, TV, podcasts, radio and blogs are available for Tin Shingle’s members to search through in our Media Contacts database. We start our research in a bigger media database called Meltwater, and then whittle down that list by our own cross-checking research to make sure a person still works there, or works in a different capacity (maybe a top editor moved from a full time position to a part time contributing writer at a publication). Job assignments will be to take a deep dive into a media outlet (Vogue) or a subject (Spirituality) to gather or update fresh information.

Please Note: This is a not a free ride into Meltwater for a PR professional looking for contacts for their clients. This is a research position that involves cross-checking and communication with Tin Shingle’s owner Katie to make sure we are updating people correctly. If you are a PR professional who really wants this gig, you can apply, but know that there are deliverables for each assignment and you won’t be pitching the media for this.

Skillsets Needed for This Job:

  • Fast Typer: You will be copying and pasting a lot, and may be re-writing in order for Tin Shingle’s members to get a better read on a person or magazine theme.

  • Fluid In Social Media: While researching a media contact, you will know how to Google and search to verify where someone is working, and what they tend to write about.

  • Excel Nerd: Everything we do at Tin Shingle is in Excel. Information you find is typed into Excel spreadsheets, and uploaded into Tin Shingle’s database by you (don’t worry - we have step-by-step directions!). Our systems to keep track of when a media outlet was updated is also in Excel in Google Drive so that we can stay coordinated and work together from the same document.

  • Communicator: You will be working directly with the owner of Tin Shingle, Katie, with updates of what you are finding, and any questions or judgement calls you have along the way.

Location

This position is work-from-home (or wherever). You can live in Beacon or California or Colorado or Georgia. Tin Shingle does share an office with A Little Beacon Blog on Beacon’s Main Street, but our Open Hours are irregular. So it’s work-from-wherever to start.

TO APPLY:

Please send cover letter and résumé to katie@tinshingle.com addressed to Katie Hellmuth Martin. Email is best - no need to telephone in.


PAY RATE:

$20/hour, Part Time

About 10 hours per week

Thank you!

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Happy Money Monday! Here Are Money-Themed Editorial Calendars Coming Up...

Happy Money Monday!

We dedicate this Money Monday to Editorial Calendars having to do with money. What is an Editorial Calendar? It's the magazine's plan for how they are putting together their upcoming issue. This is your big chance at knowing when the coveted "Best Colleges" issue is, or "Ultimate Guide to Retirement". It's your big clue and helps you create relevant pitch ideas to email into these publications. Tin Shingle Members with the All Access Pass of Membership at Level 4 get instant access to these Editorial Calendars that Tin Shingle goes out and collects for you. Makes your research much zippier!

Maybe your business is a fit for one of these themes, and if it is, you should spin yourself up an angle and come up with a great reason why a feature on your business would fit well in these print magazines!

Coming up at Bloomberg Businessweek:

  • Focus on Security
  • Focus on Small Biz/ Pursuits: Fall Fashion
  • Double Issue: Cities
  • Problem Solvers
  • Focus on Retirement/ Pursuits: Skiing
  • Focus on Manufacturing
  • Focus on Small Biz
  • Focus on Wellness
  • Focus on Cloud/ Pursuits: Holiday Gift
  • Focus on BSchools


Coming up at Money Magazine:

  • Best Colleges + Paying for College
  • Best Places to Live
  • Ultimate Retirement Guide
  • How to Make More Money in 2019
     

Sneak Peek at Tin Shingle's Editorial Calendar Database

You too could be sifting through these database for ideas. Here's what it looks like when you're looking for what we have for a particular magazine. Upgrade now to our All Access Pass of Membership at Level 4 get instant access! You can always downgrade to Level 1 Community to stay hooked in with our private community group to chat with each other.

Every week, Tin Shingle adds new Editorial Calendars and updates names in the Media Contact Database. Here's what happened lately:

New Editorial Calendars:

Natural Solutions
First for Women
Health
Arthritis Today
The Atlantic
Bloomberg Businessweek
Paste
Fortune
GQ
Inc
Men's Journal
Vanity Fair

Updated Media Contacts:

Having names of writers and editors at your fingertips makes your research that much easier. These are available to Tin Shingle Members with the All Access Pass of Membership at Level 4:
Glamour
Fast Company
Fortune
Inc.
Elle
Fortune Magazine
Men's Journal
...and others

Snow Day! Snuggle Up With Editorial Calendars

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I stepped a booted foot here in the office as it began to snow just a half hour before our school’s canceled After School Program (translation: Early Kid Pickup) and probably a school snow day tomorrow!

Had to at least set foot in the office before the bump in the road, but I did hear from a Tin Shingle member, after we sent out the email alerting everyone to the rescheduled TuneUp on SEO,  which made it all better, because we are all in this together! She said: “I had three contingency plans today for no early dismissal, no after school sport and early dismissal – we got early dismissal 😃”

So Happy Snow Day everyone! We knew this was going to happen - snowdays slowing everything down for business in January. We talked about it during the TuneUp on Hibernating Your Business in December. Use this day to browse through the content ideas in Tin Shingle’s Editorial Calendar Database. What are editorial calendars? Here's a whole entire article on it, and even an article about how to pitch a magazine based on an editorial calendar, but in short, they are the yearly projections of what a magazine is working each month for the coming year. It is a general declaration, like "In June, Men's Health will be working on the Best Grills issue!" Things like that. They are a great resource to get your wheels turning. We research dozens of magazines for these editorial calendars, and put each one into Tin Shingle's private database that only our All Access Members can search through at any time.

We have PLENTY of Editorial Calendars for you to browse and get dynamite ideas for! Log in to get in our private collection. You’ll need to All Access Pass of Membership to get them, which you can learn about by clicking the Membership tab on the website.

Cheers to your hot chocolate today! 

2018 Editorial Calendars Available in Tin Shingle's Database

UPDATE: We have a list of over 80 current Editorial Calendars for print magazines that you can access instantly with an All Access Pass Membership to Tin Shingle.

As I type this blog post, it's November 2017, and already February 2018 deadlines for magazines are flying by. Because that's how magazines work: 3-6 months in advance. It's not enough to think ahead about what press coverage you want to try to get in the spring, or hope to get around Valentine's Day. You have to actually email the media (aka "pitch" the media) with these intentions months ahead of time. Think of articles as seeds. They start way early, often germinating in a warm seed container somewhere, before being taken outside to battle it out and survive the elements in the sun. Hence, why Tin Shingle guides you in this PR Planning, to help you know what themes print magazines are working on.

These Editorial Calendars are now active in Tin Shingle's live Editorial Calendar Database (you need to have an Level 4 Media Contacts All Access Pass of membership with Tin Shingle to see these). More are added and updated continuously. 

What are you going to see in these calendars?

Article ideas and deadlines. You're going to get a sense for what the big picture is for a monthly issue at a magazine - like "The Gear Issue" or "Most Powerful Women In Business" - and that will be your clue as to what might be the best time to pitch a magazine with your story angle. Will you have just one story angle? No. You'll have several.

How to Pitch a Magazine Using Its Editorial Calendar

You will spin a different story angle about your business that aligns with the them. Watch our online class about how to pitch the media using Editorial Calendars. Plus, the first week of every month, we dedicate our free online class to PR Planning for that month. You'll get a peek into magazines are working on right now, before their deadlines expire. Get on our mailing list for that free class alert, or activate a Level 3 Online Class membership to watch unlimited past online classes.

Tin Shingle Training in How to Pitch a Magazine Using it's Editorial Calendar

PS: Using Editorial Calendars isn't the only way to cold-pitch the media. This is only one of your strategies. Tin Shingle has several online classes to coach you through how to pitch the media randomly, out of the blue.

As of November 2017, here are the 2018 Editorial Calendars we have. Since this blog post, more have been added:

  1. Better Homes & Gardens
  2. Martha Stewart Living
  3. Martha Stewart Weddings
  4. Bella NYC
  5. Departures
  6. Brooklyn Magazine
  7. Car & Driver
  8. Bridal Guide
  9. Boston Magazine
  10. Boston Home
  11. Saveur
  12. Rachael Ray Every Day
  13. Allrecipes
  14. American Hunter
  15. House Beautiful
  16. Cross Country Skier
  17. Backcountry Magazine
  18. Advertising Age
  19. AARP The Magazine
  20. Pregnancy & Newborn
  21. Backpacker Magazine
  22. Shape
  23. Spirituality & Health
  24. Modern Luxury/Boston Common
  25. Boys' Life
  26. Family Circle
  27. Family Fun
  28. Girls' Life
  29. Traditional Home
  30. Veranda
  31. Atlanta Magazine
  32. New York Magazine
  33. Atlanta's Magazine Home
  34. HGTV Magazine
  35. Woman's Day
  36. Elle Decor
  37. Allure
  38. Better Nutrition
  39. Bloomberg Business
  40. Bon Appétit
  41. Bust
  42. Glamour
  43. BookForum
  44. Clean Eating
  45. More to come!

Inflight Magazines:
This is totally a secret strategy that you competition is most likely not using! Pitch the magazines that are in airplanes.

  1. Hemispheres
  2. American Way
  3. more have been added...we have a special section for these in the database

Sneak Peek Into Themes Planned For February and Beyond

Knowing what direction a magazine is planning to cover is a huge advantage! It allows you to curate ideas that will interest the editor and direct their attention towards your product, service, business, or expert advice. These are some upcoming themes to be printed in 2018.

  • A "GAL-entine’s" chocolate and flowers gathering + date night steakhouse-style
  • The Destination Issue.  The ultimate guide to unforgettable luxury experiences within the chosen destination.
  • Mother’s Day scents and candles + curated gift boxes for Mom
  • DIY IT: Do it or design it yourself. Instant upgrades to elevate your home, meals, and style.
  • Modern entertaining at a “grown-up summer camp” + beachy bashes
  • Girl boss beauty advice + thicker, fuller hair fast
  • 60-second de-stressors

All editorial themes are from editors themselves and are subject to change.

Editorial Calendars are available to level 4 members of Tin Shingle only. Upgrade your membership for instant access. Send in media contact or editorial calendar requests to member@tinshingle.com