Craft

15 AI prompts for magazine editors (copy and paste)

Fifteen ready-to-use prompts for headlines, summaries, proofreading and fact-check lists that help an editor work faster while keeping control of the writing.

3 min read

How to check AI-assisted writing: the six-point review before it goes out

AI mistakes arrive in good grammar and a calm tone. Here is the human check for facts, quotes, names, tone, originality and privacy before anything reaches your members.

3 min read

Designing your magazine in Canva or InDesign (no designer needed)

You don't need a design degree for a magazine that looks tidy. A handful of rules for fonts, colour, white space and images, whether you use Canva or InDesign.

3 min read

Editorial calendar for a member magazine: never scramble at deadline again

Most member magazines don't fail for lack of ideas. They fail three weeks before publication. Plan a year of issues so you know what's coming, who's writing it and when it's due.

2 min read

Headlines, standfirsts and pull-quotes: win the first two seconds

Readers decide in about two seconds. How to write headlines that promise something, standfirsts that add to them and pull-quotes that stop the scroll.

3 min read

How to get members to write for your magazine (and edit them kindly)

A call for submissions gets you two replies, and one is from someone selling something. How to recruit contributors, brief them, handle late copy and edit so they'll write again.

3 min read

How to interview members: get past "I just do my job" and into a story

Members say "I just do my job" and then go quiet. How to prepare, ask better questions and shape the conversation into a profile people read to the end.

3 min read

Make every issue work for six weeks: how to repurpose a member magazine

An issue takes weeks to make and ten minutes to read. A routine for turning each one into emails, posts, short videos and web pages that keep working.

2 min read

How to write a magazine feature people finish

The piece readers remember is the one writers dread. A step-by-step method for a clear, readable feature, from the angle to the final edit.

3 min read

How to keep one voice when several people (and a tool) write for you

How to make a member magazine sound like itself when volunteers, staff and AI tools all contribute, using a short voice guide and a light editing pass.

3 min read

A one-page magazine style guide that ends the "email or e-mail?" debate

Organisation or organization? Email or e-mail? A one-page style guide that settles it once, with a template to fill in.

2 min read

Should your magazine tell readers when it uses AI?

A practical way to decide whether, when and how to disclose AI use in a member magazine, with sample wording you can adapt.

3 min read

How to use AI to proofread your magazine without losing your voice

AI can catch typos and tidy grammar in minutes, but it can also sand the personality off your writing. Here is a simple method that keeps your voice intact.

3 min read

What to hand to AI and what to keep for yourself when making a magazine

A practical rule for deciding which magazine tasks suit AI help and which belong with a human editor, so you save time without losing what makes your magazine yours.

3 min read

Where to find story ideas when the contents page is blank

Four weeks to deadline and an empty contents page. Ten reliable places to find stories inside an association, and a habit that keeps ideas coming.

3 min read