Tin Shingle's Community Boards are the focus of a few breaths of fresh air and makeovers this week, from the production team of Tin Shingle. Design changes have descended upon the dedicated newsletter that members get, announcing new conversations and updates to existing ones, as well as restructures to the boards themselves. Members now have four major types of Boards to communicate in:

Workshops
Challenges
Feedback
Guidelines & Account Help

Our most popular thread has been the Pitch Workshop, where members can submit their hopeful pitches to the media before they send them. Fellow members from the community chime in with useful feedback and their impressions. Results have been astounding, with major clarity given to pitches that were going un-addressed before. So popular was this board, that Press Releases were also getting submitted here. So we created a new Workshop board dedicated to Press Releases so that everyone is clear on what type of email it will be - a pitch or a press release.

As for Feedback, this is all the rest of the boards members want feedback on, such as Advertising, PR, SEO, Connecting and Growing, and so on. Inside of these boards, members now have a dedicated area to Introduce themselves, in the new "Introductions" board. Members are encouraged to say hi, and also to share what their goals are and why they joined Tin Shingle. The more members share, the more everyone knows what they want, and the foundation is created for how they will succeed here.

Are you a member of Tin Shingle yet? Fully activate your membership, and start growing with us!
 

Back by popular demand, Editorial Calendars are now in your PR Center with your subscription membership to Tin Shingle! We have offered Editorial Calendars for years, yet took a hiatus as we re-systemized how we gathered them for you. There are quite a few publications in the the PR Center now, and more are being added weekly!

What Are Editorial Calendars?

Only some of the best idea generators ever! You know when you are relaxing on a Sunday, reading magazines, and you see the Inc. 500 issue, or the Women to Watch issue of your favorite magazine, and you think "Dang it! I wish I knew when they were putting that together! I should have submitted!" Well now you have the heads up - via an Editorial Calendar. Magazines put them together so that they know the theme of each magazine each month, and how the stories will fit together.

This is also a heads up to the advertising department so that they can approach the best fits for advertisers for that month. These can include special inserts and, big page fold-outs, and print opportunities for certain magazines. We know that you pitch the press for PR, but that you also may pay for advertising. Included in these editorial calendars are special promotional opportunities as well.

What Does an Editorial Calendar Say?

Be ready to experience a ton of ideas flying around your head when you browse through our collection. A story idea in an Editorial Calendar in Tin Shingle's PR Center will read something like this:

Cosmopolitan

It's back to campus time! Cosmo has all the denim trends and all the ways she can make them her own. And with tips and tricks for rocking the hottest fashion and beauty trends, she'll own the scene, on the town or on the beach.
Submission Deadline: 5/24/16
Newsstand Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Esquire

The Fall Entertainment Guide. Special Section: Fall Television Preview; Fall Reading List; The Esquire Fitness Challenge
Submission Deadline: 5/10/16
Newsstand Date: Tuesday, July 5, 2016

So Two Things...Timing and Search by Relevance!

As you can see, those are two pretty sweet issues coming up at Cosmopolitan and Esquire. And their deadlines are approaching fast! You'll also note that the newsstand date is quite later than the submission deadline date. That is because national print magazines work 3-6 months in advance. So you really want to get up on this.

In your PR Center, you will be able to search by title of a magazine, and also by category, like "Aging" or "BFFs" or "Amazon TV" or "Vacation"

Have Fun! Where to Find Editorial Calendars

If you activated your member subscription, you'll have a special navigation at the top of the website. Click on PR Center, as shown below. If you are subscribed to Tin Shingle's free newsletter, and think you are a member but don't see the PR Center shown below, then you actually need to upgrade your subscription! It's easy, just click here to pick a commitment-free payment plan.

In our live TuneUp on March 16th at 12pm EST, Tin Shingle co-founder Katie Hellmuth Martin will be joined by special guest, attorney and professor Eve Brown of Bricolage Law, LLC

Eve will be talking to us about trademark bullying, common sense approaches to starting your business, and intellectual property (IP) issues you'll face in the course of growing your business.

Katie has all the juicy details for this can't-miss live training in the video below including:

• Inexpensive ways to get legal advice for your business
   
• Six tips to avoid common mistakes when starting up
   
• Steps to protect your intellectual property
   
• Best practices for crafting your business name to avoid trademark bullying
   
• and more!

Watch this quick video we pulled from Periscoping to get the inside scoop and to hear Katie's current pet peeve with a corporate bully! You can click here to register.  The recording will also be available for download (free for members) on our Classes Page.

A big welcome to these new members of Tin Shingle! Sometimes we know folks who join Tin Shingle and we know what their goals, and sometimes we do not! Everyone's buzz-building story is different and uses Tin Shingle in unique ways. Our favorite part is watching the growth that involved members' experience as they work it to empower themselves and grow their brand!

Angel West
Angel has been a fan in Tin Shingle TuneUps, learning all she can. With her premium membership, Angel can now press play on all TuneUps at any time!

Garry James
Tin, a New Media Company
www.wearetin.com
We are looking forward to discovering the goals of Garry James! Their new website looks pretty neat - and hey - we like that name! LOL

Christina Faraj
The Bra Fit Expert
www.thebrafitexpert.com
Christina, also known as Tina, has been a listener/viewer on Tin Shingle TuneUps, is active in her and my hometown of Beacon, NY, and I happen to know on of her first goals - which I will keep secret for now because it involves national television and I know that she can do it! Christina's personality and her expertise are a perfect placement for the media outlet she is targeting. Fingers are crossed! Christina activated her subscription membership after attending our latest TuneUp that focused on building upon your expertise.