Nudists on Roller Coaster, serial killer swan, and good Samaritan rescuing cat gets stuck up tree– it must be silly season!

School’s out, strawberries, and the wettest July on record – how pleasant to welcome the summer! As most people’s thoughts turn to getting away from it all on some tropical beach, most editors’ minds turn to “how do I fill this page?” It’s what's known in the trade as “Silly Season”. You’ll have seen evidence of it already on the radio, TV and in the papers. At what other time of year (except in the run up to Christmas) would the ups and downs of nudists hit the headlines?

So, before you get too demob happy, think about how you can benefit from this silly season and put yourself one step ahead of your competitors.

Now is a good time of year to exploit photo opportunities. After all, a photograph with a strong caption can say as much if not more than 300 words of pure text.

If you’re celebrating an anniversary, have just a signed a major contract, won an award or recruited an important new member of staff, then this is the perfect photo opportunity. If you’ve a member of staff who belongs to a photographic club, ask them to do the honours. Otherwise I’d advise you to seriously consider using a professional photographer. This may seem like an unnecessary expense for “just a couple of snaps” but if you use their time wisely and listen to their advice to get the best shots, you can create a library of photos for any subsequent publicity.

More ideas. Ask your staff if they’re doing any charity events in their spare time – parachute jumps, sponsored cake baking or even sitting in a bath of cold baked beans all make excellent photos. They get your company name a mention and they give the individual concerned a well-deserved pat on the back. (These sorts of features are also an essential part of your company newsletter, which we’ll look at in more detail another time).

How else can you help an editor fill his white space? We’ve already mentioned things like winning an award, but why stop at a photo? Why not invite the editor of your No1 journal for a site visit. Not only can you show them all your latest innovations but you can give them advance warning of any other momentous dates that are coming up. If the editor agrees to come and see you they’re pretty much obliged to publish something about you, otherwise it’s a waste of their time.

Editors are often thought of as aloof and intimidating creatures. But, if you pitch your story with enthusiastic professionalism, Silly Season is one of the few times when they’ll admit to being genuinely pleased to hear from you (but don’t tell them you heard it from us!)

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