Well, Christmas is over and Christmas trees–having served their purpose–are already starting to appear at the curb waiting to be picked up.
This image is almost perfect in explaining what's behind our new Editorial Calendar format for 2007. That's because our previous calendars had started to look like Christmas trees with special focus topics, i.e., ornaments, stuck on every conceivable branch, i.e., each and every issue.
What we've done this year is streamline, streamline, streamline. Yet, paradoxically, you our readers will get an even broader, more kaleidoscopic picture of the life insurance business than ever before in these pages.
Actually, this is the kind of thing that readers generally don't pay much attention to, as any number of surveys suggest. But it's the kind of thing that tends to shape perceptions below the surface.
If you remember back to last year, you'll recall that any particular week would have a focus topic that was usually the cover story and any number of other articles that fed into and elaborated on that topic. Take annuities, for instance. Last year's February 6 issue had 10 articles on annuities. This has its plusses and minuses. On the plus side is concentration of topic. On the minus side is that if you are not particularly interested in annuities, then a lot of the issue didn't mean much to you.
So, here's what we've done. Our focus section will henceforth be divided into four broader weekly tracks–1st week, Retirement Security Products and Planning; 2nd week, Estate Planning and Advanced Markets; 3rd week, Core Protection Products; and finally, 4th week, Business and Practice Management. Then repeat.
What you'll find in every issue that has the Retirement Security Products and Planning track, for instance, are articles about annuities, long term care insurance, income planning, life settlements and senior market products, among others.
Similarly, every issue with the Estate Planning and Advanced Market track will contain articles about the upscale market, succession planning, trusts, charitable planning and executive benefits.
