PR Challenge Starts Today :: Member's Only TuneUp

PR Challenge
Members-Only TuneUp

When:Wednesday, May 8th
Time:12pm EST
Where:At your computer or on your phone.
How: Follow the directions on this page to get the registration link.
All Access Pass Membership Level 4 Required

Today is the first day of Tin Shingle's PR Challenge!

All-Access Members of Tin Shingle are challenged to come to this 1hr Power Hour with 1 PR Goal. We are going to pull focus on it, and revisit it for 4 weeks.

How It Works:

1. Media Outlet: Pick 1 area where you want the press: Magazine, TV, Blog, Podcast. We are going to look ahead to plan out what would be timely for your pitching.

2. Business Angle: Pick 1 aspect of your business you want to generate PR for.

3. Story Angles: We are going to think up story angles, and you are going to start writing the pitch.

Meanwhile, you are going to submit your email pitch drafts to Tin Shingle's Pitch Whisperer in our forums, called the Community Boards.

For the next 4 weeks, we will revisit these themes, and look at who you pitched, and how to follow up with them.

Join in! Membership required. Activate membership first, then hit this link to get the registration.

To activate your Tin Shingle All Access Membership, click here.

Happy Tuesday: This Day Will Not Take Me

Yesterday was a tricky Monday. Filled with feelings of kicking booty butt, accompanied by all of the necessary visions for doing so, there were monkey wrenches about. Tuesday is a new day, often one that allows for a pulled focus on the top priorities left over from Monday.

As a business owner, you’re the only one making it happen. Meaning, there is no boss setting the rules for you. There is no formula you can step into. You are making the formula. Triggers can set this out of whack, and just know that you will bounce back.

Yesterday, despite feeling actually great, the childcare trigger tilted me. I made the choice to pull back on childcare, and it is currently smashing me. Yet I find hope in it. Yet it’s like water skiing, straddling the wake of each side instead of parallel skis.

It’s also tax season for some, those of us living in Extension Land. The last years I’d been an A student for this, but didn’t call my accountant for 2 things, and those things bit me (mistakenly taking out IRA contribution pre tax from paycheck, and not trusting Quickbooks automation for reconciling...instead opting to search for needles in haystacks...apparently their automation tool is good! So am getting a lesson in how to use it.).

But the silver lining is this: many are apparently getting audited this year, for expenses claims vs the new standard deduction. This gave us a chance to omit some personal expenses as freelance based people, to hopefully not trigger an audit. Nothing actually bad happened yesterday, and in fact good news was delivered, and problems solved. But the headspace of distraction tilted the day.

New day! Stay the course. Keep the focus. Go back to work. You know what you need to do. You’ve got this, Business Owner, Artist or Maker.

Pro Tip: Try filing. If you’ve got a buildup of papers not filed, take yourself to Target or your local paper or stationery store right now and buy some pretty file boxes (for the guys...whatever suits you). Buy yourself a pretty file cabinet from Pottery Barn if you need something sturdier. Start filing. This can trigger the completion energy in your brain, allowing you more fluidity in your thoughts to complete what you need to. Even folding and putting away laundry could have the same affect. 

Happy Monday! Today You're Going To Kick Booty Butt (but actually this...)

Photo Credit: Katie James, Inc.

Happy Monday!
Simple message for you today. Today you are going to kick bootie butt. Here's what we're working on for you at Tin Shingle:

• Updating Media Contacts for O, The Oprah Magazine, the digital version.
  

• Updating contacts for Women's Day Magazine (a great source for health, fitness and wellness experts, as well as gift guide and product roundup opportunities).
  

• Gathering juicy highlights from Facebook's annual announcement platform, referred to as the F8 developer conference, where they announce where they say they are going in the year ahead...

Stay tuned to your inbox!

Updating Woman’s Day Magazine in Tin Shingle’s Media Contact & Idea Library

Have you considered pitching Woman’s Day Magazine for your outreach? You should. Woman’s Day speaks to a wide range of women and champions healthy living in their pages, as well as food, fitness, environmentally friendly living, Kid life, mom life, and more. Often a popular drugstore find, there are a lot of ideas for how experts can get quoted or be used as an expert source in this magazine. Tin Shingle is updating our Media Contact & Idea Library with people who may be good fits to receive your pitch as you’re doing outreach to the media to get the word out about your business.

National Geographic 2019 Editorial Calendars and 2020 Publication Dates Added To Tin Shingle's Collection

This just in…updated 2019 Editorial Calendar items added for the National Geographic family of print magazines. Consider it a bundle! Except that you’ll find each title as it’s own listing in Tin Shingle’s Editorial Calendar Collection. National Geographic continues to show us the world through the iconic lenses of the National Geographic explorers, photographers, journalists and filmmakers committed to exploring and protecting our planet. These are trying times for our planet. As we try to scale back the damage by limiting plastics and try to live more of a sustainable lifestyle, National Geographic continues to document our living history while preserving the past.

How might your business or initiative fit in to their pages? You have a few options with National Geographic, National Geographic History, National Geographic Kids, and National Geographic Traveler. A general breakdown of each is below, as well as some hints as to what you’ll find in their editorial calendars. Keep in mind, the year is almost up with Editorial Calendars for 2019.

A Special Note About Editorial Calendars

While magazines haven’t publicly released 2020 yet, Tin Shingle has been working on - at the very least - getting you the publication dates for what production cycle the magazine is in. You don’t need to know the broad editorial theme to pitch any magazine. But what is very helpful is knowing that if the current month is May, that a magazine is actually writing articles and sourcing ideas for their issue that comes out in August. Those publication cycle dates are what you will also find in Tin Shingle’s Editorial Calendar Collection.

National Geographic

First published in 1888, National Geographic is an American media brand that spans across digital cable, satellite TV, and print. They initially had a readership of 165 and is now read by over 40 million people each month. In 1975 it launched the children’s version of the magazine, originally called National Geographic World. Other niche expansions include National Geographic History and National Geographic Travel. (source)

National Geographic

The flagship publication, also known as Nat Geo, is known for its stunning photography and provocative content, focusing on culture, nature, history, biology and science. They examine the loss of biodiversity through Photo Ark, highlighting the species most at risk for extinction.
Editorial Calendar Excerpt: Thinking ahead for an October cover, the theme is slated to be Extinction. “Nat Geo examines loss of biodiversity through the lens of Photo Ark, singling out species most likely to disappear in the coming decades alongside the words of scientists and conservationists who are working to protect and restore endangered populations.” Sea Turtles and African Parks may also be covered. 

National Geographic History

Covering more than 5000 years of people, places, and things, National Geographic History helps you to discover the past via the immersive visual storytelling NatGeo is famous for.
Editorial Calendar Excerpt: “Cover: From cats and dogs to scarabs and scorpions, animals were sacred in ancient Egypt, worshipped as gods and immortalized in art.”

National Geographic Kids

Taking education very seriously, they have two publications under the NatGeo Kids umbrella. National Geographic Kids whose audience is between the ages of 6 and 14, and National Geographic Little Kids which is targeted towards younger children ages 3 to 6. Their mission is to empower kids to succeed in making the world a better place. (source)
Editorial Calendar Excerpt: “Cover Story: Sea Wolves This or That? Amazing Animals – Pet Parade, Sea Wolves, Science of Spooky, History Mystery or Don’t Read This Book Before Dinner”

National Geographic Traveler

Attracting the most readers (10.4 million - source), National Geographic Traveler is backed by more than 100 years of exploration. With the belief that travel changes lives, their unique content encourages their audience to dream, plan, and share. Their main competitors are Travel & Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler.
Editorial Calendar Excerpt: “YOUR SHOT COVER CONTEST Our 1MM+ Your Shot photography community competes for the chance to have one of their photos grace the issue’s cover. ADVENTURES OF A LIFETIME Round-up of the world’s most spectacular adventures and experiences.”

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Members of Tin Shingle at the All Access Level 4 have instant access to ALL of our editorial calendars. We currently have the editorial calendars from over 100 publications for 2019! All searchable by Title and Area of Interest. If you never would have considered to pitch the National Geographic family of brands, how would you think to now? Tin Shingle classifies each of our monthly themes with “Areas of Interest”, so, if you were searching by an Area of Interest, such as “Travel”, then one of these items may have come up.

Browse through and let your inspiration take hold! Join Tin Shingle and start browsing!

Postcards Through The Mail Slot As Effective As 10 Instagram Posts

Giddy to receive this postcard from the Beacon, NY based artist, Anna West, who is such a diligent promoter of her artwork. Anna was a guest expert on a Tin Shingle TineUp talking about how she uses Instagram to sell her artwork using the good old fashion conversation way, not even using the formal Instagram ad tool way.

Anna pays very close attention to the beauty around her and how she wants to paint it. She also pays attention to how her audience responds to which of her paintings, and paints more of what they love. Anna lives in a lot in hashtags to get in front of the right person who would be interested in a type of painting.

Pictured here is the ever-effective postcard that came through our mail door here at the Tin Shingle Office. Anna is a participating artist in Beacon’s Open Studios on May 18-19. One of the best interactive art events of the year in Beacon! While Anna’s painterly face has crossed my eyes many times in Instagram, it is this postcard that left the deepest impression on me. The behind the scenes thoughts of my brain when I received it was: “Oh my gosh, Beacon Open Studios is just around the corner, and Anna has opened her studio!”

Our sister media company A Little Beacon Blog is a proud sponsor of Beacon Open Studios.

This is the actual door of Tin Shingle’s office. We do have a mail slot!

Special Opportunity: Mom Entrepreneurs Who Need Investment

DEADLINE: April 30, 2019

A major morning television show has partnered with a successful female entrepreneur with the hopes to change the businesses of a fellow female entrepreneur(s) who are struggling in their business. This would be for an upcoming May episode, conveniently close to Mother’s Day.

The entrepreneur working with the show on this project is a mom who turned a small financial gift from a family member into a multi-million dollar business. She is hoping to impact and invest in other mom-run business owners. Applicants must be a mom (or mom-to-be) to apply for this opportunity.

The ideal candidates are moms with product-based businesses who are struggling to "make it" with their business. Single and/or struggling moms come from a situation similar to the show's successful mentor and she's drawn to support them. Your business must have a need and desire for an investment of financial support. Maybe you're running out of money to keep the dream alive, or you've realized that if you don't get help soon you'll have to dip into your savings.

To submit, you'll need to supply a 20-30 second light and cheery video of you stating why you need this. Contact Details are available to All Access Members of Tin Shingle.

The Dude Was Right: Cannabis Is Thriving: Magazines Publishing In The Cannabis Space

Happy April 20th (4/20)

For those of you selling product and services in the cannabis space, you’re having more options of what magazines will feature your business. Tin Shingle has the Editorial Calendars for a few Cannabis publications, and wanted to give you an overview of some of the larger ones.

For over 40 years, High Times has become the most regarded source of authentic cannabis culture. They have led the fight for legalization and have supported the industry’s legal businesses.  There is considerable monetization opportunities available with their growing audience. Over 30 million Americans are marijuana enthusiasts, medical and recreational combined.

Over the past year, High Times has acquired several properties, including Dope Magazine, Culture, and Green Rush Daily (MediaPost.com). While Culture focuses on medical cannabis news, Dope showcases the cannabis lifestyle across many industries. Green Rush Daily is a digital publication presenting cannabis content across different subjects ranging from politics to art. Green Rush Daily will continue to operate independently as part of the High Times family. Upon acquiring these properties, High Times launched music, live-events and online video.

“Culture has created a publication and online presence that complement the iconic High Times brand and its many related ventures,” said Adam Levin, CEO of High Times. “We’re building a broad collection of different Cannabis-related publications to offer to our many advertisers who are seeking the highly sought demographic of Canna-users. Culture is a natural fit as we continue to expand.” (LA Cannabis News)

"As states continue to legalize and Cannabis becomes more and more ingrained into American society, the desire for Cannabis-driven content is reaching an all-time high," High Times' CEO Adam Levin told Benzinga. "With that in mind, we're very excited to welcome Green Rush Daily into the High Times family to help us further satisfy those cravings. We've respected their digital and journalistic capabilities for some time, and are looking forward to sharing best practices and growing these brands side by side." (Nasdaq.com)

"Dope is a strategic acquisition for our portfolio, offering key complementary assets to our existing platforms, and opening the opportunity for economies of scale to improve performance of all our publication group," said Adam Levin in a statement published by Forbes.com. "What Dope Media has built in such a short time is not only impressive, but needed, considering the difficult landscape and legislation (that) brands are faced with today. We look forward to not only combining our resources but expanding them." (Forbes.com)

High Times revenue generating plans include monetizing their most popular articles, expanding beyond “stoner culture,” and launching 420.com (touted as the “Amazon.com of cannabis).  (Nasdaq.com)

Using Tin Shingle To Research Ideas for Cannabis Based Publications

As you are research media outlets for the great fits for where you should get the word out, Tin Shingle has the Editorial Calendars for these publications, and the Media Contacts to give you an idea of who to pitch.

UK Passes Horrible, Harmful, Anti-SEO Legislation That Will Hurt Media, Businesses, AND Makes No Sense

Oh no...I didn’t think this would actually happen. That the UK passed a requirement for Google to have to pay publishers to show news snippets. The whole point is to show that content to help people find what they are looking for. May the best writer win.

The legislation is written in the name of protecting and promoting businesses and media by way of paying them to display their content, but is all backwards. We LIKE showing up in Google search results! No need to pay us! The point is for readers and customers to hit our websites. We don’t care that this is Google’s way of making money - that they post ads against the content. Paying us to show that content to display ads against is just chump change at best, bottlenecking and mayhem and Google pulling out at worst!

This is bad for publishers. Both in news media and for businesses who use content strategy to rank in Google. Enforcing this is too difficult. Illogical. How will Google get the payment information from every single little and big website it displays? As a little website at Tin Shingle (in the grand scheme of things), we have outranked lots of big websites. So this is not a David and Goliath game. Don’t let this happen in the U.S. !

A proper article is to come about this as we dig into what was passed and how it is supposed to work. But we wanted to let you know about this now. It has been kicking around since at least the time that Zuckerberg appeared before UK and US lawmakers. And a year later, has been voted in.

Quote: “I Can Do This”

A key to success is telling yourself out loud: “I can do this.”

Clear you head in the morning. Tell yourself that you can do this. Visualize it. Deserve it. You have built this. The time is now.  

Until the next time, and the next “now!”