In order to help an editorial team come up with article ideas, many editors use an article planning worksheet. It is a great tool to use during team planning meetings.
Get started with this article planning worksheet. Adapt the questions to the kind of articles you are looking for, and give this sheet to your staff members to help them prepare for planning meetings.
Tips for a successful planning meeting:
- Ask your staff to prepare for the meeting and give them plenty of advance notice—at least one month.
- Give them a list of questions to answer (see Article Planning Sheet). Or, have them ask questions of people they know who are similar to your readers.
- Get away from the office. Hold your planning meeting in a conference room in a hotel. Or meet in someone’s home, or a local church, or even go to a park. It is important to get everyone away from ringing phones and the pressures of immediate responsibilities. A new environment promotes creative thinking.
- Consider going on a field trip. Take the staff to a bookstore, a library, or a newsstand for one hour. Ask them to write down 10 ideas that could be adapted for your magazine.
- Ask the staff to pray ahead of time for God’s wisdom, guidance, and creative ideas in the meeting.
Related posts
Magazine Training International’s mission is to encourage, strengthen, and provide training and resources to Christian magazine publishers as they seek to build the church and reach their societies for Christ.
