Outreach

Editorial calendar

pitch calendar · outlet calendar

Definition

Editorial calendar is two overlapping schedules: the outlet’s planned packages (special issues, themed weeks) and your own pitch calendar synced to those plus product and seasonality. Pitching a holiday commerce study in June for a December package is calendar work. Pitching it on December 23 is a miss.

Many magazines still publish calendars 6–12 months out. Digital desks run shorter. Keep both.

How it works

Build a 30-day view: what you will pitch, to whom, with which asset, against which outlet theme or news cycle. Leave white space for newsjacking. Recycle lost pitches into the next relevant package, not the next morning’s blast.

Worked example

A home publication’s April “water” issue closes February 10. You pitch a leak-detection data cut on January 20 with photos. That is calendar. Emailing the same cut on April 2 is a leftover.

How it differs

A media list is people. A pitch is one email. The calendar is when. Newsjacking is the interrupt.

Common errors

A wall of launches with no outlet dates. Forcing a product dump into an unrelated theme package.

Sources