This is one of a series of posts on how Rolling Stone Culture Council members can get the most from their publishing benefits. Rolling Stone Culture Council members have access to a community of expert peers, publishing opportunities, virtual resources, and more. If you're not a member yet, click here to learn more about our member benefits and see if you qualify.
If you’re planning to contribute content to RollingStone.com this year, you’re on the right path. But while the new year is a great time to make plans, all that January energy and enthusiasm can quickly wane.
Our advice?
Don’t let it. Harness it right now. These five tips can help point you in the right direction and put you on the path to great content, all year long:
1. Read our editorial guidelines.
The best and surest way to move your article quickly through the editing pipeline is to get familiar with our guidelines before you write. Don’t skip this step! They cover everything from topic do’s and don’ts to how to handle quotes, links and research. And we update them several times a year — so a refresher is good even if you publish a lot. (You’ll find a link to the guidelines on the same page you use to submit new articles.)
2. Stay in the loop (but skip the clutter).
Follow us on social media and read our community newsletters to see what your fellow members are publishing. Not only is this a great source of ideas, it’s also a smart way to see which articles perform best.
We recommend taking a moment to clean up your social feeds and inbox. It’s important to follow industry news so you can comment on trends and developments that matter to your audience, but be selective. Otherwise, it’s just noise.
3. Find topics in Expert Panels.
If you participate in our Expert Panels often, you’ve probably had the experience of wanting to write three paragraphs in response to some of the prompts. This is a good problem to have! If a topic inspired you that much, consider writing a full-length piece.
4. Check out posts on our blog.
We’ve written about thinking strategically to create a content plan, finding topics, and vetting your topic, among other tips for using your branding and publishing benefits. If there’s something we haven’t covered that you’d like us to, let your member concierge know.
5. Strategize with your team.
Get together with key stakeholders now to plan out a few topics that tie into your broader business goals, and then create an editorial calendar of sorts, no matter how informal. Do you want to be known as a leader in artificial intelligence? Q1 is a great time to discuss upcoming trends for the year. Do you have a brilliant method for overhauling the tired performance review? Plan ahead — it would make a great topic later in the year, when leaders in your industry gear up for similar conversations with their teams.
Since it takes several weeks for an article to go through the editorial process, planning regularly and in advance is the best way to get the most out of our platform. And it ensures you won’t run out of ideas a few months from now when those New Year’s resolutions start to feel like work. Happy writing!