Back-to-school ideas that are fun, helpful and that your sales team can monetize

Back-to-school season is right around the corner and with all of the talk about Google’s focus on answering reader questions, it’s got me thinking about all of the ways that media companies could be helpful for their audience while also giving a big boost to their SEO.

Back to school coverage has long been something media companies offered readers through special themed sections and in some places, special events. But thanks to the evolution of digital products, there are so many cool ways to help your audience, ask them to participate with you and drive revenue.

Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

1. What’s changing for schools this year?

Throughout the last school year, there were probably a lot of things that either your local school boards or state legislature approved when it comes to school policy.

But do your readers know or remember all of those things? Probably not. That’s why it’s a good idea, even if you covered it already, to repackage content into a things to know list of those changes.

Think about including these things in your list: cell phone rules, state testing changes, dress code tweaks, or shifts to the school calendar. 

Here’s an example on how you could approach this.

Tip: Write it like a parent would Google it. “Are phones allowed in school this year?” And build it in an FAQ-style format so parents can find answers fast. Also, Google will favor this approach for indexing.

2. Meet new teachers and principals

There are likely some new faces around your kids’ schools this year, so take a moment and round them up.

This again, may be an aggregate of stories you wrote last year, but based on the size of the district, you may be able to include other employees like assistant principals or if your district is quite small, maybe even new teachers.

Tip: Come up with a consistent format you can use for each of these educators that works on their professional and personal side: Name, past jobs, their new role, favorite part of teaching, funniest thing a kid has said to them. 

3. The apps, tools parents will be searching for

In a few weeks, parents will be drowning in information from schools: Emails from the school, teacher introductions, apps they need to download, setting up their kids’ grade portal and more.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could provide a little organization in the middle of all of that chaos? Well you can.

Round up all of the things parents need to find into a single place(s). These are the things that parents will be searching for so this is your chance to become a go-to destination for this information. If you build a section with all of these answers, seek out someone who can be the lead sponsor and feature them not just in the section but in each story as well. This also could make a great ongoing newsletter.

Tip: Don’t just create one story with a giant list. Break it up into individual stories: “How to find your child’s bus route” or “What time does school start?” Again make it easier for parents to get access to this information.

4. Build a checklist parents can use

Help out families and drive sponsorship revenue by creating useful checklist guides for busy parents in areas like school supplies, lunch schedules and after-school activities or chores. 

Distribute the checklists through email newsletters, websites, and social channels. Make sure the sponsor gets appropriate branding within the checklist.

Families often start off the start of a school year with goals to do all of the right things like meal prep for the week, healthy lunches and chores, so having a handy guide they can use offers utility for families and great exposure for an advertiser.

Tip: Add a printable version of the checklist and encourage sign-ups for an email series.

5. Bring some joy to the first day of school

There’s something special about the first day of school. So why not have some fun with a host of call to actions.

Here are a few ideas that all can be sponsored:

• Best first-day of school photos
• Best backpacks
• Best first day outfits
• Best first day signs
• Best decorated lockers
• First day photos of famous people in town (when they were young)

Tip: These are great contests or even quizzes and using the power of print to display all of the submissions you receive, can be really effective.

6. Don’t forget after school opportunities

Before school even begins, parents need to consider the activities their kids are going to do after school. 

Create guides that help them discover local after-school programs, tutoring services, dance classes, art programs and sports-related fun. These can all be sponsored guides through featuring the businesses that are paid at the top, clearly labeled.

Also consider highlighting meal programs or services that support working parents like laundry drop-offs or rideshare options for kids.

Tip: Put together a “Parent Survival Guide” with one section just for after-school help. Add links to registration pages, contact info, and key dates.

More content that you might like from us

If you like this newsletter and want more content like it, here are a few links from my LinkedIn, where I share insights each week and stories that are in our blog:

What first-party data to ask for from readers

Instagram posts are now indexed by Google

GEO for SEO and what media companies should know

Why story length doesn’t matter to Google