How to Land Your Product On This Year's Holiday Gift Guides
Holiday Season is here, which means editors are receiving pitches and selecting their “best products” or “gift guide” list for the 2021 holiday season.
This is the #1 busiest season for media features and visibility opportunities, which means this is also the #1 opportunity for YOU to get your business in front of MILLIONS of people--without ads!
Small business owners are often confused when it comes to pitching holiday gift guides. When is the best time? How many should you pitch? What do they entail? The answer depends on what your product is about, but in general, now is the time. I recommend that folks get their foot in the door with publications like Forbes or Entrepreneur by pitching them now- not just because it gets you started early (or so you can say), but because timing matters.
This blog post shares tips for when to correctly pitch a holiday gift guide so as not to get lost among all of the others that are being pitched this time of year.
Create a genuine connection with editors
Sometimes you can appeal to the editors on a personal level by investigating who they are and what their interests may be. Check out their social accounts, see what inspires them! When pitching your idea or product, use that info in order to connect with them sincerely- say for instance an editor of yours followed someone famous (or perhaps just seems like somebody very interesting) who has an impressive collection growing things indoors too; maybe point this person's attention towards some plants specifically tailored toward those interested only outside spaces?
Research the type of products that are included in Gift Guides
Pitching gives your brand the opportunity to trim away the fluff and consolidate what your product and brand are trying to accomplish. The way you market your product to people can be a huge factor in whether or not editors choose it. Nowadays, more than ever before--it's all about being genuine and thoughtful with gifts; which means that if an idea occurs while writing up these pitches- don't forget them!
Find out which publications typically include your product category
As a small-business owner, you know how hard it can be to keep up with all the news in your industry. With so many magazines and newspapers publishing lists about what's new every day of the week, I thought someone should make things easier for you! The following is information on where these publications get their content from - who publishes them or which editorials they trust most. Need a shortcut? Get the specific GIFT GUIDE editors list that I JUST uploaded in the PR Starter Pack Portal. Make sure you pitch the right editor and see if there are any themes or trends. If there are no themes/trends, suggest some that align with your product.
Follow up with editors to make sure they received your email, and follow up again after a month or two if you don't hear back from them.
Don't wait until the holidays come around before making yourself known! Editors usually just do not think about deadlines—they also need time in order to get acquainted. Make sure you know the publication's lead time on gift guides. Many publications work on gift guides well in-advance of the holidays and on separate deadlines from regular features. Most importantly, Be patient - it can take time before someone responds to you!
When contacting editors, be sure to send them samples of what you're selling so they can get an idea of what the product is like before deciding whether or not they want it featured in their publication.
OK, so it’s possible that some guides are not yet finalized — note that most require a physical product in their hands before they’re featured. If you're selling something on your website, be sure to send samples so the editors can get an idea of what their readers will experience before deciding whether or not they want this product featured in their publication. This user experience is optional and totally depends on your budget!
Have a question about holiday gift guide outreach? Let us know in the comments below! Want to join a supportive community of 900+ small but mighty businesses on the same PR journey as you?
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