End of the Year PR Planning

It's November 1. How did we get here already?!

The year has flown by but rather than panic about what has yet to be done, it is important to focus on what can be accomplished with the remaining two months of the year as well as what can be prepared for the year to come!

• Review previous plans. Did you complete a mid-year review or create a plan for the second half of the year? Go back to those discussions and documents to see what boxes still haven't been checked or what ideas can still be executed upon quickly.  
• Consider "best of", "year-end" and "new year predictions" round-ups. Some people roll their eyes at this one but it is a tried-and-true PR opportunity that happens every year without fail. Outlets and readers love these stories because they are not super difficult to compile or consume. It is an opportunity for you to get some extra cycles out of positive news from earlier in the year or a chance to let your executives test their thought leadership.
• Ignore the calendar. Yes, 2017 is technically coming to a close and there are some news cycles that are still limited to season or time of year. But most of the time you can and should ignore the calendar. The end of the year typically creates an unnecessary panic to get things completed. Don't force programs or stories out the door just so you can say it was done in 2017 when you could wait until 2018 and do a much better job and tell a much stronger story. 
• Start planning for 2018. Why wait until it is 2018 to start planning for 2018? Assess all of the work you've accomplished in 2017 and see how you can build on it for 2018. There's no point in recreating the wheel for your plans.