1. Don’t try to do everything. Focus on your strengths. Maybe you can’t cover a story as fast as your competitors, but you can add a different twist or bring a unique perspective to the subject that your audience will appreciate. When National Geographic started planning its special issue on China, “we looked for stories that illuminated the headlines—stories for readers who wanted to dig deeper,” Appenzeller said. Rather than focus on the Olympics and China’s booming economy, the magazine looked at how the country’s ambition and opportunities affected its culture, environment and people. Even if your audience is diverse, you can find your niche. Though The Scientist’s subscribers are varied—readers range from research scientists to venture capitalists—Gallagher focuses on making his academic journal lively and approachable. “It’s about telling a story no one else can tell,” he said.

2. Pay attention to pacing and story mix. The way stories are arranged within your magazine might be an afterthought or a matter of convenience, but the packaging is a crucial part of engaging your readers. Stories with similar underlying themes should be placed close together to create a sense of continuity. National Geographic followed this philosophy in its special issue by opening with a piece on China’s journey from past to present and closing the issue with the critical questions facing the country’s future. If your publication contains lots of in-depth feature stories, readers need relief from the seriousness from time to time—so break up some of the longer pieces with shorter, lighter items. The Scientist tries to mix “a good coverage of hot topics in the scientific community with off-the-wall material that surprises and delights,” Gallagher said.

3. Find a guiding voice that resonates with readers. Your content shouldn’t all sound alike, but it should present readers with a particular perspective they can’t find elsewhere. If you want to emphasize a subject or devote an entire issue to it, National Geographic’s Appenzeller suggests finding an overarching voice to set the tone and help guide readers through the information—as his magazine did with its China issue. “We chose writers who know China and could write eloquently about it and tell stories in their own unique voice,” he said. That even carried through to the images the magazine used. “We wanted photography that does more than take people there; it helps them see the story in a new way,” he added. In The Scientist, readers find a variety of voices, but each article shares a few common characteristics: attention to detail, a spirit of curiosity and a belief that even the most level-headed, serious scientists still have—as one of its writers noted—“tear ducts, tempers and beating hearts.”

*Bonus Tip: As you approach your print deadline, be willing to rethink, rework and rethink again—even if your edit and production teams balk. Because stories in magazines are planned (and written) so far in advance, revisiting your content in light of breaking news and developments is crucial to keeping your publication fresh. A secret to achieving this—without driving your fellow editors crazy—is to overproduce in the early stages, so you can have plenty of pieces to pick from later. For example, National Geographic editors came up with ideas for about 40 “shorts” about China for its special issue—but used only eight. The ones they chose reflected readers’ most timely concerns (China’s appetite for oil, how political activists are treated, ect.)