How To Find Evergreen Content to Cure Your Holiday Writing Blues

There’s typically no vacation until you’re done writing every single holiday feature assigned to you.

Unfortunately, holiday deadlines don’t always lead to your most creative writing.

Thankfully, you’ve got a place to go: Start with using the advance search tool on PR Newswire for Journalists and drive compelling content into those empty website spaces.

Keep these five things in mind, when readying your news organization’s site for the holidays.

News Releases Get Creative.

Thanks to the rise in content marketing, news releases have become great vehicles for storytelling. Marketers and publicists know you’re pressed for time and low on staff through the new year, so they’re making releases easier than ever to use.

In fact, we’ve noticed a boost in blog and lifestyle releases.

A quick search of recent releases uncovered these gems, which can be used as stand-alone holiday pieces:

• Santa’s Home is Now on Zillow
• Santa’s Reindeer Cleared for Flight After Annual Veterinary Exam
• Celebrations of the Season Open the Door to Holiday Hazards for Homeowners
• The Holiday Office Party Conundrum: Women Worry More About the Office Party Than Any Other Holiday Event
• SiriusXM to Launch Eight Holiday Music Channels

Many releases come with art or graphics.

Stop searching for high-resolution images and/or videos – many of our releases come with multimedia elements, making them easy to upload.

Feel free to publish photos, logos and videos without worrying about copyright issues. Everything on our newswire is fair game for use.

Recently, we carried the release about a Voluntary Recall of Riveted Blades Contained in Cuisinart Food Processors. The recall is expected to affect about eight million units; the release features several photographs as well as consumer contact information.

Need more multimedia elements for your site? Many releases also cross the newswire as a complete press experience.

For example, are you thinking about attending the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas?

We’ve got an entire portal dedicated to CES 2017.

Advance the story.

If you covered the election this year, you know this is a story that will play out way past Inauguration Day.

Recently, President-elect Donald Trump made headlines over the federal government’s contract with Boeing. Boeing responded.

Follow our Policy & Government or Defense news to stay on top of breaking political and defense news.

Other recent headlines that crossed the Policy & Government newsfeed include:

• DCNR Announces $45 Million Investment to Improve Recreation, Community Revitalization Across Pennsylvania
• AFGE Strongly Supports Rep. Ellison for DNC Chair
• HHS’s Burwell to Defend Obamacare at Jan. 9 National Press Club Luncheon

Who doesn’t love that evergreen copy?

Say you’re a magazine and you’ve already closed your holiday gift-giving guide or round-ups months prior. You likely must continue updating your website.

So unless a major news event occurs, you’re probably still recycling the same ideas, tweaking them a bit, and adding a 2016 or 2017 label.

Need some evergreen ideas to start from? Try these:

• CDC in 2016: Keeping America Safe From Health Threats New and Old
• Keep Pets Safe During Dangerous Cold Snap
• Most Popular Surnames in the US
• 2017 Global Air Travel Outlook: Expedia and Airlines Reporting Corp. Release Report on Worldwide Air Travel Trends and Pricing
• The Truth About Holiday Spirits: How to Celebrate Safely This Season

Need to follow up? That’s easy.

OK, so the newsroom’s quiet and you have more than a minute to complete the task of updating the site. You decide to make a few calls to add to and/or change some of the site content.

Finding a source to interview isn’t hard.

Every release that crosses our newswire comes with a media contact at the bottom of the release. Email and phone numbers are standard, and these folks are ready for your questions.

Finally, if you’ve not already tried our ProfNet or HARO services, give them a try. There are thousands of sources available for interview at any time.

Want to get started? It takes only a couple moments to register for our media services at prnmedia.prnewswire.com. If you have questions or would like to learn more, you can also drop us a line. We’re always happy to help!

Note: This post is an updated version of a post that originally appeared on Beyond Bylines in December 2015.

Christine Cube is a senior audience relations manager with PR Newswire and freelance writer. Check out her latest on Beyond Bylines or follow her at @cpcube.