Episode 52: Most Commonly Asked Questions About Getting into a Gift Guide or Product Roundup
Have you ever wondered how to get your product or service into one of those coveted gift guides or best product lists?
As a business founder, you definitely want to answer this question if you're going to zoom ahead of all the holiday competition and craze.
Landing a media feature in any gift guide or product roundup is not just about public exposure. It's, more importantly, concerned with your business benefiting from all your PR activities. At this time of the year, nothing moves your business and revenue more than getting into even one of these game-changing lists.
And this reality applies to all businesses regardless of the season.
But like many other business owners, starting the process of having your products featured on gift guides eventually leads to one question after another.
More often than not, if you've been searching for answers or referring to PR agencies, you end up confused or overwhelmed. Despite doing some PR activities already, you feel it's not enough.
So, if there's one thing in PR you can do to level up your game and land on that gift guide, then you'll have to listen to what I'll have to say.
The key is giving value to the journalists.
Yes, you heard me right! But what does that exactly mean?
Simply put, giving value to the journalist through your pitch means that you, as the business founder, have to leverage on pitching with the right angle at the right season, work along with the journalists' timeline, and demonstrate how your products or services can help the journalists' readers.
Now that is genuinely giving value to the journalists!
And that is exactly how you increase your chances of becoming more visible and landing that gift guide feature you've been hoping for all along.
In this episode, I will specifically answer more of these detailed questions on how you can get into the most well-known gift guides and product roundups.
"The point of the pitch is not the story. You're not writing the story and outlining the article in your pitch. The whole point of the pitch is to get the journalist to make a decision. That's it. Don't think about five steps ahead. Just think about the next step."
-Gloria Chou
If you have plenty of questions about landing that feature on gift guides and product roundups, the chances are you'll have your questions answered in this episode. So get your holiday gift guide checklist ready because this is an episode that will surely help you get the recognition your business truly deserves.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
Keeping an open mindset for pitching in all seasons
The right angles that matter in this season for the journalists
Working around the timelines of journalists and publishers
How to best demonstrate your product/services
Expert PR tips to attract journalists to read your pitch
If you want to land your first feature for free without any connections, I want to invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought-after industry expert. Register now at www.gloriachou.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn: Gloria Chou
Small Business PR Podcast-Episode # 1: How to Get into a Gift Guide
Additional Resources:
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Here’s a glance at this episode…
[1:17] There are opportunities for PR all year round, and what you pay attention to grows. So make sure that you keep an open mind and know that although Q4 is the biggest buying season, there is no shortage of times and seasons that you can pitch to get featured.
[2:18] You really need to give value as opposed to just giving the journalist the same thing that you would tell, like an advertiser or a newsletter for marketing because journalists are not going to buy your products.
[3:34] Think about the season and the holiday that you're pitching, and pick a product that's best for that. If you try to pitch all of your products, then it's really just going to turn the journalist off.
[5:22] Focus on digital publications. Digital publications can be shareable. You can create content, reels, and blogs in a way that, being in print, you can't really write because it's not really shareable.
[7:05] You want to plant your seeds early, you want to cultivate them, you want to nurture them; you never know what will sprout or what's going to bear fruit.
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Gloria Chou 0:00
Have you ever wondered how to get your product or service into one of those coveted gift guides or best product lists? Nothing moves your business and revenue more than getting into even just one of these game- changing lists. So this episode is all about how to get your business featured in a gift guide or a product guide.
Gloria Chou 0:18
Hey friends, I'm Gloria Chou, small business PR expert, award-winning pitch writer and your unofficial hype woman. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people get the recognition they deserve. And that starts with feeling more confident to go bigger with your message. So on this podcast, I will share with you the untraditional, yet proven strategies for PR marketing and creating more opportunity in your business. If you are ready to take control of your narrative and be your most unapologetic and confident self, you're in the right place. This is the Small Business PR podcast.
Gloria Chou 0:50
This is a question I get asked all the time from both service providers, coaches, consultants, and my founders who make physical products. They say that they're getting ready for the holiday season, and they really want to make sure that they set themselves up for success to get featured, especially around Q4. We know that Q4 is the biggest buying season. But before I get into this episode on how to get into a gift guide and the different types of gift guides and timelines, I want you to keep one thing in your mind, which is there are opportunities for PR all year round, and what you pay attention to grows. So make sure that you keep an open mind and know that although Q4 is the biggest buying season, there is no shortage of times and seasons that you can pitch to get featured. Whether it's Mother's Day, or sustainability gifts for Earth Day or Father's Day, or even gifting a training or a book to a new grad around graduation. The more you keep an open mind and know that the world is your oyster when it comes to opportunities, the more of these opportunities will flow your way. You're probably going to want to grab a pen and paper because I'm going to run through quickly one on one about gift guides and the most commonly questions that I get asked about getting into one.
Gloria Chou 2:01
So if you've listened to this podcast for a while, or you've been in my PR Starter Pack, you know that my proprietary CPR pitching method that stands for credibility, point of view, and relevance, that is usually not about selling your product. And in fact, I always say on my masterclass that you really need to give value as opposed to just giving the journalist the same thing that you would tell like an advertiser or a newsletter for marketing because journalists are not going to buy your products. But when you are pitching a product guide or a gift guide, you do have a little bit more wiggle room to focus more on what you're selling. That doesn't mean that you should be salesy. Because remember, the more you come off as salesy and you give the journalist a product catalog or a coupon code, the more they're going to ignore you and tell you to either buy an ad, or they're going to be turned off because you're using them as a vehicle for free advertising. So even though the journalist is not blind to the fact that you want to sell more product, because we're all in business, you want to still leave with value. You still want to give an angle to pitch. What does that mean? Things that you can pitch is highlight why your product is different, and not giving them an order form or a brochure of all of your products, but pick the one that is most relevant to right now.
Gloria Chou 3:17
So if you are pitching something in Q4, and you do skincare products, it might be about winter eczema or winter skincare. If you do something that has to do with travel or summer or something like that, then it might be something around minis or TSA approved things. So think about the season and the holiday that you're pitching and pick a product that's best for that. If you try to pitch all of your products, then it's really just going to turn the journalist off. Because again, you do not want to give them an entire product brochure. So maybe pick one or two bestsellers, or one or two products that really relate to the season and holiday that you are pitching. And I know it's hard because all of your products are your babies. You want all of them to win. But if you want to push all of them, then it's really not going to appeal to anyone. You really want to speak very specifically about what is the product that you're pitching and why it's unique. What is the trend that's happening? So that's just one thing is you still, even though you're pitching a product, you need to have an angle.
Gloria Chou 4:18
In terms of timeline for to pitching. This is another FAQ I get asked all the time. People are wondering what time should I start pitching? When is it too late? When is it too early? And the answer is, there is no crystal ball. We don't have the editorial calendar of an outlet, but here are some general rules to follow. So national magazines have the longest lead time. You should pitch these in about six months in advance. So what I'm talking about here, it's mostly print publications. So if you want to get into a Christmas gift guide, you're probably going to want to start pitching in June. Now if it's something that's a daily publication, like a local newspaper or a website that publishes digital articles daily, like a Forbes or Refinery or Well+Good, which is ding ding ding 90% of our founders in the PR Starter Pack. Then you have a little bit more wiggle room.
Gloria Chou 5:09
In terms of getting on to a digital publication, and I recommend everyone to get onto a digital publication, because that is searchable. It's SEO. It's driving traffic back to you. There's backlinks. So think about that. Focus on digital publications. Digital publications can be shareable. You can create content, reels, blogs in a way that being in print, you can't really because it's not really shareable.
Gloria Chou 5:32
Let's talk about 90% of what I get asked all the time, which is a digital publication. Some journalists that write for digital publications like a Buzzfeed or a Forbes or Fast Company, Allure, and Well+Good. They say that even September to pitch for a gift guide might even be too early. But again, there's no hard and fast rule. I definitely think that if you're pitching for a Christmas gift guide in August, it's a little bit, a little too soon. But I think September is a great time for you to visit this podcast to learn the methods, maybe get into our PR Starter Pack and start fleshing out your pitch that come October, you'll be in a great position to pitch confidently. So September is when should you should definitely be switching gears, thinking about your angle, your pitch your subject lines, getting that totally dialed in. So that October and November, you are in heavy pitching mode. So that's pitching in email, pitching in DM and doing your necessary follow-up so that you can keep getting to the top of their inbox. Journalists know that this time of year they are flooded with pitches. They know that they're getting pitches left and right from founders or assistants, aggressive PR agencies. So just know that you are competing with very aggressive people who are going to be really pushy, so don't worry about pissing them off.
Gloria Chou 6:50
For a lot of founders. I know it's really hard to even press the first send button. So I want my founders who are everyday small business heroes, maybe just starting this for the first time to lean into confidence and be persistent. Think of it as planting a garden. You want to plant your seeds early. You want to cultivate them. You want to nurture them. You never know what will sprout or what's going to bear fruit. But you have to plant those seeds early and often. I have yet to talk to a journalist who said that they've blacklisted somebody or blocked somebody. That's very rare, actually. Because in the world of journalism, they understand that pitching is how people get a feature. They understand that they get pitches left and right. And that's how journalism is. Journalism is not dead. People are looking for different stories, different subjects to interview. And that's just how it is. They just understand that they're going to get pitches, especially around the Q4 holidays. So that is what I have to say about timing.
Gloria Chou 7:46
Now, another thing you should know is that on episode one of this podcast, which is the very first episode I recorded of this Small Business PR Podcast, I interviewed my friend Margaux Lushing, who is a freelance writer for Forbes, Refinery, San Francisco Chronicle, BRIDES, and she writes gift guides. She loves to cover from all founders and travel and beauty and wellness. And she says that she sometimes is looking for last minute stories even two weeks before Christmas. Now think about it this way. How many times have you been in the very last minute to get that Christmas gift for the person you love? I know I've been there. And I've been guilty of it. So there's always an opportunity for you to still get featured in a last minute gift guide, even if you pitch in November and December. Now I'm not recommending that with everything you have going on your business to wait until that time. But don't think that just because October has passed, then you've missed the boat. I can't tell you how many features and articles I see, which is last minute gift guides. And Margaux even told me on the podcast episode, which is episode one of this podcast. If you go to gloriachoupr.com/one, you can listen to it. She says that sometimes she is tasked with all these last minute gift guides. And she is still writing gift guides even two or one week before Christmas. So it happens my friends and there's opportunities year round.
Gloria Chou 9:09
Okay, let's move on. Another thing I get asked all the time when it comes to getting into gift guides or product guides are samples. Do I send my sample? How much do I send? What if I can't send the sample? So here's what I have to say about samples. Here at GCPR, we're all about organic earned media. So I don't teach my PR Starter Pack founders that the only reason that they're gonna get featured is by giving product to the influencer of the week. You really have to lean on your pitch. And if you have a newsworthy pitch, you don't need to be giving tons of product away for free because let's be honest, we don't have money or budget for that. At least not my audience of really scrappy, visionary and bootstrapping entrepreneurs. So here's what I have to say about samples. If your product is low cost to you to give a sample, whether it's a mini size or a trial size, go ahead and in your email that you're pitching, it's a really great closer to say, Hey, this is my best selling product. And I would love to give you a sample so you can experience why this would be perfect for your audience this holiday season. Please let me know the address where to send it to. Boom! It's a great way to finish the email. It doesn't make you sounds desperate. It's a confident way to get them to say yes or no. And here's another thing about pitching, which you might have heard is, the point of the pitch is not the story. You're not writing the story and outlining the article in your pitch. The whole entire point of the pitch is to get the journalist to make a decision. Yes, I want more information. No, not right now. That's it. Don't think about five steps ahead. Just think about the next step. And what I teach in my PR Starter Pack is getting founders confident to write that first pitch, that first newsworthy pitch, that's going to get them that one yes. Because if it's one thing I've learned helping thousands of founders is that press begets press. It's that one domino that seems to just pick up so much momentum for your business. And you're just going to open up an entire sea of opportunities. So that's what I mean by by samples.
Gloria Chou 11:08
Another thing about samples is if you make something that is very expensive, or maybe not able to be shipped or sampled. Whatever the reason, you can still give the person on the other side of the inbox a way to experience it. Maybe it's a video. Maybe it's a reel. Maybe they're beautiful, high quality resolution photos, or a visual narrative that you worked on. Send them a link to that. Just because you can't send people a sample doesn't mean that you don't deserve to pitch. And it definitely doesn't mean you won't get featured. So I have had people in my PR Starter Pack successfully get featured without sending anything. I've also had people send like a link to a video or even your most popular trending reel that visually tells the story of how beautiful your product is, especially if it has really beautiful packaging. If your product is something that needs to be seen to be experienced, and you're super proud of the aesthetics, then give them a link to a high resolution photo. And I know I usually say don't add any attachments, it's gonna trigger the spam filter, this is kind of one exception to that rule. So this is a one exception, where you can actually add one photo to the email. I don't recommend you adding a really big attachment. It's gonna trigger their spam filter, and you're not going to get, your email is not gonna get opened. And if your email doesn't get opened, there is no chance that you'll get featured. So we're all about getting those open rates up. And I talk a little bit more in my PR Starter Pack about how to do that exactly. But back to samples. So you can either embed one photo in the email if it's visually stunning, and then give them other links to kind of entice them. So I'm not saying you can't send any photos, but I probably wouldn't do more than one. Again, it's about the attachment size.
Gloria Chou 12:53
If you have a website that you're really proud of and on the website, there's videos, there's gorgeous photos and packaging, then just embed that link in a hyperlink. You can say here is the photo of this best selling product, like here's a link for it. And I would love for you to check it out, or here is this, here's a video of me demoing this product that went viral on Tiktok for X,Y, and Z reason. Even today, it's getting viral views. Here is the link. Journalists love a good Tiktok or Instagram demo video. It just brings a story to life. Just because you have a product no matter how boring or basic it is, it can, it's always a story. And there's always a reason to show it off. So that's what I mean about attachments.
Gloria Chou 13:38
Now moving on. In terms of how to write the pitch, the timing the subject lines, sending samples, I go way more in depth in my actual PR Starter Pack, where a really big chunk of it is teaching founders exactly how to land gift guides. We have actual worksheets templates, step-by- step. But most importantly, I've built in an updated media database, where you can access hundreds of journalists who write gift guides in every industry. So whether it's tech gadgets, or Father's Day gifts, or parenting books, or wellness or beauty things, I have something in there for you. And that's gonna save you tons of time Googling and not finding the right contacts. It's really just a numbers game from there on out. You can go to a prstarterpack.com to find out what why founders love it and why people are raving about it in our Facebook group.
Gloria Chou 14:28
So here are a couple bonus tips before I sign off. So Bonus Tip one is that you can always kindly ask the journalists who have covered a gift guy last year, if they're going to do it again this year. You might be doing searches on the interwebs if you're not in the PR Starter Pack, trying to gather contacts in a very grassroots way. And if you just read at some of their previous articles, and it seems that they have written a gift guide you would love to be in. It's as easy as emailing them again and saying, hey, I love your product roundup you did for last year's fashion trends or last year's gifts for the pet lover, whatever it is, you are writing it this year. It's a simple yes or no, and it's a no pressure way of connecting with them and getting to know them and getting the conversation started.
Gloria Chou 15:15
Now, here is another tip for you before I sign off. So you want to do your slight research, I don't mean spend hours on every single journalist, but just do a slight research. Before you pitch to them, just make sure that you're aligned with them. What do I mean by that? I mean, you wouldn't want to pitch your beef jerky, or your entire leather bag brand to someone who is an animal activist or vegan. It's just something very simple. Now I know the chances of you offending someone is very low. But it doesn't take very much for you to just do a quick search to see what they cover. Oftentimes, on their LinkedIn or Instagram, they have a short bio section where they talk about who they are and their interests. So that's really easy. It's all public information. A lot of times on Twitter and LinkedIn, there are great ways to know a little bit more about that journalist before you pitch them. Now obviously, if you're in the PR Starter Pack, I have all of this laid out for you, including their email or their Instagram, their DM, their about section where they are what they write for. So that's all done for you. But if you're doing it on your own, just make sure that you do a little bit of research so that you know that this journalist is highly likely to receive your pitch. Now, if you know anyone who can benefit from the tips that I've shared, or is trying to get more confident to say to get that journalist to say yes, so that they can go bigger with their message and get their business featured, please rate and review this podcast. It's going to allow people like you to discover the show and get the benefits from the tips and value that I share. Thank you so much, and I can't wait to see you next week.
Gloria Chou 16:45
Hey, small business hero. Did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, The New York Times, Marie Claire Pop Sugar and so many more, even if you're not yet launched? Or if you don't have any connection? That's right. That's why I invite you to watch my PR Secrets masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses used to have their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought after industry expert. Now if you want to land your first press feature, get on a podcast, secure a VIP speaking gig or just reach out to that very intimidating editor. This class we'll show you exactly how to do it. Register now at Gloria Chou pr.com/masterclass. That's Gloria Chou c-h-o-u pr.com/masterclass. So you can get featured in 30 days without spending a penny on ads or agencies. Best of all, this is completely free. So get in there and let's get you featured.