Episode 59: Pitching Holiday Gift and Product Guides with Reporter Victoria Giardina
Is there room for small and bootstrapping businesses to get featured on the gift guides and product lists?
What odds publishers will include your products in those highly coveted lists, especially if you compete against the big players?
At the onset, it seems discouraging to think that you have little to no chance of reaching your customers on a broader scale with the help of trusted publishers. But, truth be told—it's even more challenging now because there are so many aspiring founders like you.
Unfortunately, pitching the same script all over again to different publishers may not be the only answer.
You may need to seek insider information on how publishers select the best products for their holiday gift guides. That's one way to get you ahead of the game of PR.
But the question is, where do you learn the right information on how journalists and publishers identify the gifts that suit their best product lists?
The most straightforward answer is to hear these insights straight from the journalist.
Yes, they may not always respond to your pitches and emails. It's rare to hear from them because they're all busy with their work. That's why you may feel lost on exactly what to do to optimize your chances of having your products featured.
Worry no more, for I've always got you covered in your PR journey!
In this episode, it's your turn to discover the pitching and publication process for gift guides straight from the words of Victoria Giardina. She is a seasoned commerce reporter and knows what small business founders like you should do to succeed in pitching holiday products and gift guides.
"My biggest advice is not to lose hope because in some way, if it appeals to that audience, then it's a good chance that it will work out in the end. If it's not a fit for one publication, it may be a fit for another. So that's also something to keep in mind."
-Victoria Giardina
Victoria Giardina is a commerce reporter at New York Post Shopping with a strong background in the commerce editorial space. Previously, she reported for Business Insider and CNN. She is also the author of two books, Work of Art and Sailing Home, both contemporary fiction. She works closely with brands on content strategy, communicate with PR, and has an eye on trends at all times.
There are several unconventional but proven ways to get you featured on these holiday product and gift guides! Discover these methods and nuggets of PR wisdom from the experts, so you can successfully pitch these journalists and land that feature you truly deserve.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
Discovering the ocean of opportunities to get product features
An insider's view into the business of gift and product guides
Why small businesses should continue pitching
How business founders can leverage organic coverage
Optimizing your PR pitch with new approaches
The PR relationships that matter when pitching
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
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community: Small Biz Pros: By Gloria Chou
Follow Victoria Giardina on Instagram: @victoriagiardina
Get Victoria Giardina's books now: Sailing Home and Work of Art
Consult Victoria Giardina: victoriarosegiardina@gmail.com
Additional Resources:
Join the Small Biz PR Pros FB group
Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Platform
Follow & Review on Apple Podcasts
Are you following my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today so you don’t miss any future episodes!
I would also appreciate it if you would leave me a review! Reviews help me make sure I am providing the content that you need! Plus, you will be entered to WIN a 1:1 pitch writing session with me where I will help you find your press-worthy angle! Click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”.
Here’s a glance at this episode…
[8:38] After a while, when we have written about so many of these popular brands, we're looking for new brands. It's a perfect time for those small businesses and those lesser-known businesses to really make their mark to pitch and to make connections with a lot of the media industry representatives.
[12:11] For a small business, if they have a website, the best thing is to have that affiliate network on boarded. However, if they don't, then that may be a larger discussion with partnerships. Maybe there's more of a direct model that they can follow.
[13:11] I would say for smaller brands to definitely keep pitching. The more that the brands pitch, the more we recognize the name, even if we can't respond to your email every single time.
[20:07] I think some people on both sides, both reporters and public relations, it may make sense to continue the email in one chain. Sometimes starting a new email with maybe a more optimized approach may be best.
[23:26] If it's of interest to our readers, or if it seems to be a good fit for our audience, we definitely want to put that product on the radar, of course, from both a personal and professional standpoint.
-
Victoria Giardina 0:00
The more that we receive emails, the more that we recognize names, we recognize smaller businesses, we recognize brands and just it's so interesting to see how that relationship develops over time. So I've actually had a lot of contacts from my time at CNN my time at Business Insider that I still talk to you this day.
Gloria Chou 0:21
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. Alright, everyone, welcome back to the small business PR podcast. I am so excited today to have our special guests. She covers all things shopping and commerce, we're going to dive into it with gift guides, how they plan for seasonal stories. So this is one not to be missed. So welcome to the show. Victoria Georgina. Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Victoria Giardina 1:10
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
Gloria Chou 1:13
I'm so glad you're here. Now, I know that in your bio, you told me you're a commerce reporter at The New York Post shopping and you have a really strong background in the commerce editorial space. So can you tell me what that means? Like in terms of like covering shopping versus commerce?
Victoria Giardina 1:27
Absolutely. So my current role at New York Post shopping is content strategist and commerce reporter for the section of the New York Post that specifically covers all commerce and shopping related efforts. So basically, if you're looking for the best gifts for your mom, the best gifts for your best friend, and you type that into Google, chances are some of our gift guides will appear. And that is basically what we cover. We cover products services. It basically is a branch of service journalism, which is super important to me, as I just love helping people through products through the best, you know, smart skills to buy or the best protein bars to buy. So a lot of it is definitely rooted in service journalism. And it's super fun. We get to work with a lot of really cool brands for product reviews for certain items that we test. So I remember last year, I was testing 30 or so eye creams, which was great for my skin, but super informative for our readers who are seriously looking for one. So it definitely spans throughout a lot of different sections. We cover beauty, we cover home style tech, the works, of course our tentpole events are Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, and just a lot of different holiday shopping events. So I'm excited to speak more about that with your audience.
Gloria Chou 2:46
Ooh, I'm so excited. So by the time of this recording, we're in q4, biggest buying season of the year. Gift guys holidays like this is the time right. But arguably, there is an opportunity to pitch all year round for a shopping or a summer or whatever it is. So can you tell me about how you structure and like do your planning for the year, whether it's for holidays, or Father's Day or Mother's Day or Valentine's Day.
Victoria Giardina 3:07
Of course. So pitching is super unique, because we started getting Father's Day pitches as early as January of this year. So a lot of public relations executives are super adamant about pitching things super early, which is great for us. Because we plan year round, we have all quarters of the year in mind all year round, just for our planning purposes. So a lot of my role as a content strategist is really looking to see what what holes we have an art coverage. So for example, I look at other publications, publications. And I would say you know, maybe we don't have this specific article, but maybe we can make it work. And then I would look into Search interest, I would tag or SEO team. So especially with q4, we're definitely starting that right now. And I think each year I've been with the New York Post for a little over a year now. We're constantly looking to see how we can repackage our content in a way that's super relatable and super engaging. So that looks like a lot of gift guides. We have way over I would say 50 gift guides slated for this season. So we already have our assignments. They're not completely finalized as of yet, but you can expect like a main gift guide post best gifts for boyfriends, best gifts for girlfriends, best gifts for coffee lovers and things of that sort. So it's basically what's trending in search and also what has performed super well for us in the past and both on both revenue and a pageview standpoint.
Gloria Chou 4:39
Wow, that's amazing 50 Gift Guide just for this season. Now in a gift guide. How many different products would you cover on average?
Victoria Giardina 4:46
So we don't have a hard and fast rule as to the amount of products and services I would say for gift guides we definitely want to aim for a bit higher than our usual round up simply because a lot of competitors bulk up their gift guide so we definitely want to rank on the first page of Google, we want to have a high traction with our readers, both homepage and social. So it's definitely important for us maybe to aim for at least 20, I would say our gift guides typically can look anywhere from 50 to 100 products, which seems like a lot. But for new coverage, the product count is typically a little bit less. But if we're updating a gift guide from last year, we already have some amazing products that we recommended last year. And of course, our recommendations are going to change from year to year as new products develop. But for the most part, we know our audience loves the ArtPlace. Always pan we know our audience loves brooklinen sheet sets for a nice splurge for your bedroom. So it definitely is a case by case basis. If there is a gift guide that happens to be expert backed, then the amount of products will basically depend on the expert and what they choose. So for example, I ran into this with rowing machines where I was interviewing a professional rower about what to spruce up your home with and as far as those machines go. And although there aren't even 15 products in that round up, it's one of our top performing pieces. So I would say for any public relations executive who is looking to pitch stories to reporters, I would say it's definitely quality over quantity. That's something that we really value at the New York Post. We love having really authentic product recommendations. We don't like the cookie cutter gift guides that we see everywhere. While those are great, we definitely want to have somewhat of an original approach as well.
Gloria Chou 6:40
Yeah, I love that. How are you different, right. And that's what I teach as well for to my small business peer community. But I wanted to talk about numbers. So you said, you're doing 50 gift guides, just for the New York Post alone this season alone, let's just say there's 50 products. So that's 50 products in 50 gift guides, that's 2500. It just means that there's such a blue ocean of opportunities for founders of every industry, right to get featured.
Victoria Giardina 7:04
Absolutely. And something that we do as far as we're concerned, I like to plan ahead for a lot of our roundups and a lot of our gift guides. So I actually have a list of products that I'm looking to include, of course, nothing is definite, and nothing is guaranteed. But throughout the year, I'll take note of really original products I'll see. And really unique products that maybe aren't talked about as much. And alongside my list, I also receive so many pitches from small business owners from super big brands from department stores. So it definitely varies. And we definitely have a lot of wiggle room with what we can choose which I love. I love how much autonomy we pretty much have, as reporters to curate gift guides exactly how we would recommend those products to people in real life. So products that I have purchased for my boyfriend for my father, for my mother, those products are actually in a lot of my gift guides. And we'll have some testing notes like I gave this to my mom, she loved it. And our readers really eat that up. And they they love that personal tie to the gift guide as well.
Gloria Chou 8:08
Oh, I love it. I will definitely be on the lookout for that for my own shopping. So I know you've written tons of gift guides and shopping guides for you know, places like Business Insider and CNN all super top tier places. I guess my question is, Is there room for a bootstrapping small business to get her not everyone is a casper or bedlinen or you know, like any of those like huge venture backed businesses. So what is the opportunity for, let's say, a brand that's just starting out. But with a really cool and unique approach to get featured, for sure.
Victoria Giardina 8:36
It's actually super interesting that you ask that because after a while when we have written about so many of these popular brands, we're looking for new brands. So it's a perfect time for those small businesses and those lesser known businesses to really make their mark to pitch and to make connections with a lot of the media industry representatives. So as far as small businesses go, we typically ask that they do have an affiliate platform that they use, which maybe is a deterrent for some smaller brands. But in retrospect, if they are sold on Amazon, that's also another great route that we can take. So if there are a smaller jewelry brand, let's say today, for example, I actually reported on the best personalized items from Amazon's handmade collection where you know, as a small business owner, you can basically start a shop similar to Etsy. So that's a great way is to be on Amazon. Another way is to onboard the affiliate program. But we also do have paid placement opportunities in addition to organic coverage. So if a brand really wants to get in there, but maybe they don't have a super big budget then depending on their goals and our goals, we can perhaps work with them in some capacity. I don't really like as a reporter to pigeonhole brands into having an affiliate network. It's just the structure of the business unfortunately But we're always open to hearing pitches. And we're always open to hearing what the brand has to say.
Gloria Chou 10:07
Okay, so if they're not, if they don't have like an affiliate program yet, let's say you just launched, but it's available on Amazon, they they can, they can still have like a very good opportunity to get featured, right?
Victoria Giardina 10:16
Absolutely. As long as you know, we can link to them in some way. And we can track the revenue and the performance of that particular item, then it's pretty much a green light. But that kind of all depends on a lot of different factors, especially on the partnership side. So as a content strategist, I pretty much straddle the line between editorial and partnerships, which is really interesting. So aside from reporting, and pitching and being creative, and making the art for a lot of these articles, I'm also reaching out to a lot of brands, I'm spearheading some of our exclusive shopping events where we host brands that are paid opportunities that are organic opportunities. So there's definitely a lot of excitement. But I would say as far as for small business, it definitely just is more of a case by case basis.
Gloria Chou 11:09
Yeah, so let's get into a little bit more, I think a lot of people don't really understand like the two different sides. Now, obviously, for me, a lot of the founders aren't in a place where they can partner but they have really good, you know, products that people love. But maybe they're you know, they don't have a great website. So let's talk about the organic first, can you tell me more about what that looks like? How can you get featured if you are a small brand, but you're not looking to partner you're trying to get an organic reach. But you're you don't have like, let's say a huge following, you know, yet.
Victoria Giardina 11:35
Right. So for an organic coverage opportunity, it still kind of holds the same weight, we do request that the brand has an affiliate program, that's typically the first question that our partnerships team will ask just because a lot of the brands that we promote our affiliate backed, and we do have that affiliate disclosure on all of our articles. So we're pretty transparent to our readers saying that if you click on our links, if you shop through our links, there is a chance that we may receive a commission. So even though that's not guaranteed, on our end, we are super transparent about the nature of the business. So for a small business, if they have a website, the best thing is to have that affiliate network on boarded. However, if they don't, then that may be a larger discussion with partnerships, maybe there's more of a direct model that they can follow. But I would say as far as pitching, when I receive a pitch from a small business, the first question I'll ask is about the affiliate platform number one, number two, I'll ask them about, you know a little bit about the business, a lot of times that's in the pitch, but I like to look for products that are super out of the box. And you know, especially if it's something that's oversaturated, maybe it's an electric toothbrush, why do I have to include your electric toothbrush, in my article, I love to kind of differentiate the brands. So for the most part, it depends on the reporter, I would say, if a reporter works super closely with brands that they have an eye for that, you know, smaller business 24/7. But if you're a reporter who's just kind of following the protocol, it's easy for that smaller brand to get, you know, slipped through the cracks. So I would say, for smaller brands to definitely keep pitching, you know, the more that the brands pitch, the more we recognize the name, even if we can't respond to your email every single time, I actually had a conversation with someone in the public relations industry about, you know, the cadence for emailing and best practices. And she said, You know, it's so it's so horrible when we reach out when we reach out to these journalists, and they don't respond. And what's funny is I told her, I always like to think of it if the roles were reversed, were reversed. So if I was the PR executive, and I was sending the emails, I wouldn't really want to get ghosted by a reporter, I'd at least want some kind of, you know, it's not the right fit at this time. But I would definitely say it kind of depends.
Gloria Chou 14:03
So when you say keep pitching, what do you think is for yourself or for other people? What is the right way to like, follow up? So I know you get tons of tons of stuff in the emails, right? So sometimes it's just a gentle reminder or nudge, what's the cadence and the right way to follow up? You think?
Victoria Giardina 14:17
So, in a reporter's inbox, sneak peek, we not only get pitches, but we also get event invites. So it's super saturated at all times. I don't think a lot of public relations executives necessarily understand that we got so many emails, I know they're pitching all day long. And we're actually pitching all day long, because a lot of those email subject lines will, you know, inspire a new idea. You know, maybe a brand reaches out to me about a new lip liner that hits the market and we don't have a gift guide or a roundup on that particular subject. I will pitch that. So I would say for following up. It's always a good idea to follow up at least once a week. At least for me, what I do is if I can't follow up at that time, or if the brand is super interesting, but maybe it isn't a fit right now maybe it's more of a seasonal pitch that comes too early or too late in the year, I'll actually write the name and the brand down on a spreadsheet, I have a whole PR context spreadsheet that is super organized divided by category. And I feel like if I sold it in this industry, it would be worth so much just because it's so crazy organized. But I would say following up at least once is a good idea. A lot of the times the publication will actually reach out to the brand, which I find super interesting, because we're always looking for creative ways to partner. So my biggest advice is not to lose hope. Because in some way, if it appeals to that audience, then it's, it's a good chance that you know, it will work out in the end, of course, every publication has their own unique audience, which is something to consider, especially coming from Business Insider. Last year, I definitely had a little bit of a learning curve with where the New York Post audience is compared to where the Business Insider audience is, in case your listeners don't know, Business Insider has a style editor, a tech editor, they have very established and robust sections. Whereas the post, we don't necessarily have sections, but we cover those, those topics on a regular basis. So we're a team right now have four writers one editor, so we are hiring or are we're always expanding, but it's just a little bit different. I'm on a smaller team, and we're still producing the volume that these larger publications are producing. So if it's not a fit for one publication, it may be a fit for another. So that's also something to keep in mind.
Gloria Chou 16:53
I love that. Thank you for giving us hope and validating the fact that there are there is room for the small business Mainstreet heroes to get a feature to and just keep following up. So you said something that if it's too early or too late, it might not be a fit for right now. But you'll kind of go back to your inbox. So let's talk about timelines. Just for you. I know every calendar is different for each person. What is your what is the best time to pitch for, you know, Black Friday.
Victoria Giardina 17:17
Oh, yeah, I feel like people start thinking about Black Friday, as soon as Amazon Prime Day ends, I think it's kind of like an inside joke among the industry where you know, Prime Day is closed. Now we're on to Black Friday, we're on to the next bigger and better thing. For planning content, I would say that, as reporters, we like to look at least a month ahead. So for PR, it may be helpful to pitch two months ahead of time. If you pitch too early, it's not necessarily a bad thing, because we just keep that email on file. For example, I have different tabs on my inbox where one is labeled holiday one is labeled Black Friday, one is labeled Labor Day. So it kind of depends on the reporter, but I would say from a sweet spot angle two months before the tentpole event is probably a great idea, because it's not too late, where it's not like that same month, but it's not too early, where we're not really thinking about it quite yet.
Gloria Chou 18:17
So for example, for Christmas, right? Here's a lot of these like last minute things, because I know I'm a last minute person. So let's say if I wanted to find a last minute Christmas gift for you, like would pitching even in like November, would that suffice? Or is that too, like.
Victoria Giardina 18:33
That's actually a great time for last minute gift guides, we actually have one that is our last minute gift guide. And the funny thing and the ironic thing about that is we are planning for last minute gifts, not last minute. So we have a whole spreadsheet on, you know, mostly services, I think at that point, because we want to make sure that whatever our readers purchase will arrive in time for December 25. So we're really looking at the Amazon Prime items, we're looking at the master class subscriptions, the streaming subscription. So it's a little bit of a different angle. I know sometimes. And I believe we may have done this in the past where we transformed our main holiday gift guide the best gifts of 2021 into a last minute gift guide as we approached December 25. So different publications have different strategies. But I would say for last minute kind of pitches, it's okay to be last minute about that approach. But for more of the Evergreen articles for more of the roundups, I would say two months ahead of time is probably a really good timeline to follow and then maybe following up a month before that event.
Gloria Chou 19:43
Yeah, that's great. So let's talk about the following up if it's something that could be gifted all year round, let's say I pitch something for I don't know, Labor Day, end of summer and then I don't get a response from you but it's great for holidays. So what I use the same email and just change this subject line, or do I just send a completely new pitch?
Victoria Giardina 20:02
This is a tricky question, because I think it depends on preference. I think some people on both sides, both reporters and public relations, it may make sense to continue the email in one chain. So all of the information that was issued originally is still there. But other times, it's all in the subject line, right. So I think sometimes starting a new email with maybe a more optimized approach may be best. But I would say from just like a best practices rule, it may be better to start a new email, then to follow up on a pitch because I think it can clutter a reporter's inbox, especially if we have a million subject lines that say follow up or following up here or RSVP needed. So just to kind of stand out a little bit more, I think a brand new email, and maybe just a brand new approach is definitely recommended, as well as images, we love to see product images and emails, I think it definitely makes the pitching process easier on both ends when we can see the physical product and not spend too much time digging through the email to go to the link and go to the page directly.
Gloria Chou 21:13
So you talk about product photos, that's obviously so true, because we're visual people, right? But what about like the whole, like, attachment thing I always teach in my PR masterclass, don't add these attachments, but put like put a link to a high res photo of the price point. Is that true? Or do you actually prefer them to actually put the attachment in the email.
Victoria Giardina 21:32
I would say both work, we do like to see everything laid out like kind of a template. So as long as it's not too crazy on prs. And to put together, I think that would be wonderful. Also, something that I would recommend, and that would be super helpful from a journalist standpoint is if you're a brand, that, you know, maybe you're a PR executive, for example, and you have a few different brands that you represent, it's always really helpful to have a complete client roster attached to the email. Because if I'm hearing about a brand for the first time, or if I'm meeting someone over email for the first time, I want to know, are you representing more brands? Is there another thing I can keep in mind throughout the year if maybe this isn't the appropriate fit right now. So just being mindful of providing the media contact with everything that they may need, whether it's for that specific brand, or for every brand in general that you may be representing?
Gloria Chou 22:30
Yeah, really good tips for people who have PR, I would say 90% of people listening are probably doing it themselves. And if they were to, you know, pitch, obviously, you've given us some great gems about timing. Do you have any other things about subject line tips? Or how do you go about offering a sample? Like, what's the right way? What's what's the most cost effective? Because let's say if I have something very expensive, right, I might not be able to give you a sample. So in that case, what should I do as a founder?
Victoria Giardina 22:57
That's a great question, I would say that for the most part, samples are definitely not essential. Like we can basically put a story together if it's of interest based on the website based on the product based on the pitch in general. So if it is a super highly priced item, and the brand really can't afford to ship something out, or they prefer not to ship it out unless coverage was guaranteed. In that instance, we would still consider the product of course, because if it's of interest to our readers, or if it seems to be a good fit for our audience, we definitely want to put that product on the radar, of course, from both a personal and professional standpoint. And then as far as the the gifting, it can get a little overwhelming. I know it sounds super glamorous to receive boatloads of beauty products every day and to get shipments from all of these expensive clothing stores on a regular basis. But truth be told, my closet is not that large, my room is not that large. I feel like having a lot of items can actually be pretty distracting, because it can be difficult to kind of assess what you're working on. Right, because you have so many things staring at you in boxes. So for gifting, I think if there is a particular angle that the PR executive is pitching, so for example, maybe there is a new bath towel, and the subject line is the best bath towel you need right now. That's something that would capture my attention. And that's something I would click on to read more about that specific towel. And then usually for PR what I see in emails is, you know, shipment is granted upon request. So that signals to the journalist that I could ask for samples, it's definitely in the realm of possibility. So I would say for PR to be a little mindful of just the framing of the email. I think for the most part, it's usually pretty straightforward, which is really great for us. And I think if it's a large ticket item, we'll definitely We keep it in mind. Because we do have gift guides that are luxury focused, we do have splurge gifts for moms splurge gifts for your wife. So I feel like if a, if a PR person were to kind of craft that pitch into an email, then it would signal to us, you know, maybe including that in a future update, perhaps, or pitching something along those lines.
Gloria Chou 25:23
Yeah, I love what you said about just being straight to the point in the subject line. We all know that you're only as good as your subject line. So if it's a really long subject line, and it has nothing of relevance, then it doesn't really make sense. But I do feel like the best blank you need right now is something that everyone is pitching. So how can we even get one step like a little bit beyond that. So we're not competing with everyone's subject lines.
Victoria Giardina 25:44
I know from just receiving emails that a lot of them are framed best, whatever it is, right now samples available. So sometimes that's attractive to media, because it signals to us that this may be good for a review, and may be good for keeping in mind and actually testing it ourselves, even if it's not a really formalized approach to if it's just to keep in mind and to use it organically, for the most part. But I don't think there is a right or a wrong way to pitch I think, the more that we receive emails, the more that we recognize names, we recognize smaller businesses, we recognize brands. And just, it's so interesting to see how that relationship develops over time. So I've actually had a lot of contacts from my time at CNN, my time at Business Insider that I still talk to you this day. And you know, maybe they're representing new brands at the time, maybe they've kind of fading out former brands. So just kind of keeping the relationship there maybe scheduling a 15 minute virtual coffee chat is always great to kind of put a face to the name and to kind of talk face to face. For the most part. I know, during the height of the pandemic, we kind of relied on virtual video calls, we still do to an extent. So having that personal touch to a PR person is always something I value as a journalist and something that I would appreciate. Even if it's only for 1015 minutes, it's not that long of a stretch of time for your day, we still get things done, we still get gift guides, movin and groovin. But I would say to make the email as personal as you can, while also getting to the point of the product and the products value. Most importantly.
Gloria Chou 27:27
Right. And even if it's not a PR person does Isn't it refreshing to get an email directly from the founder, especially if they have like a really interesting story like a mother and daughter duo or you know, like something like that, or, you know, we have, for example, people who have overcome cancer, right, and they've formulated this own thing that's toxin free. So things like that, would that be something of interest to you?
Victoria Giardina 27:48
Absolutely 100%. This actually happened to me recently where I've been using a certain skincare brand for years, and they actually are sold at Sephora and the founder reached out to me and said, I love your coverage, I mean so much that you are representing my smaller skincare brand. And I just wanted to reach out as the founder and tell you that and that meant so much to me, it kind of put a face to the name where you know, coverage is impacting people. It's not just recommending people to buy things during this crazy time of inflation, it's actually providing a service to our readers, whether they're buying the product, whether they're learning about products. So I actually keep in touch with that founder to this day. She's the sweetest. And I think it just goes to show you that those relationships will always continue to grow. And as long as you're kind of realizing that we're in this industry, but we're also trying to grow individually as well. We're trying to improve our quality of life with certain products with certain services. I think it's such an interesting industry to kind of share that, especially with mental health with all of these other factors. For example, I reviewed headspace, which is a meditation app, I was actually offered to have a yearly subscription for obey fitness which really revolutionized my at home fitness routine, because I was able to take those classes at home. So really keeping in mind I know I'm going more of a health angle here, but the products actually can help people one way or another across different demographics and across, you know, different all different types of people.
Gloria Chou 29:26
Yeah, 100% I mean, I really feel like it's like a human right, you know, like wellness and taking care of that health is wealth. So another thing is, you know, let's, let's say, you know, I teach in my program, right I have this pitching method that I came up with called the CPR method, which means I want your pitch to have three things see as incredibility P does P as in point of view, and are as in relevance and relevance is the most important thing and actually recommend them opening the email with that relevance. So for example, if Rihanna or something or if a celebrity had like a certain trend All right, and you have something in that style, like put that there. Another thing is like, if there's a season, like if it's back to school put that there. Another thing people ask me all the time is how can I leverage data, you know, or surveys? Is that something that you cover? Like? How does data impact your review or your choice of who to cover.
Victoria Giardina 30:18
We actually receive quite a few pitches, revolving surveys. And personally, we don't cover it as much. I think just the nature of our publication that would typically fall under the feature section as opposed to shopping because within features, we have entertainment, and we have lifestyle and real estate, so a lot of those data driven insights are pretty much directed toward those reporters and those editors. From just a trending standpoint, trends are something we always look for, we're always on TikTok, we're always looking at what's trending in search, what's trending on Instagram. You know, we had a whole series dedicated to linen because linen was trending, the summer linen pants, linen dresses, the coastal grandmother trend that was huge. All over pr lists, Pumpkin Spice was recent. So there's definitely a lot of a lot of inspiration that comes from those random spur of the moment ideas. I will also say that publications are getting super innovative of how they approach those certain trends. So for example, I wrote about the best snowblowers to buy last year. And when we had a huge blizzard warning, I don't remember what month it was, but we actually updated that article. And the headline actually said the best snowblowers to prepare for the New York storm or something like that. So that instantly drove so many clicks, so many conversions, because people were like, oh, no, I need a snowblower because I need to plow. So that's just one example of how a an evergreen pitch can turn into a timely pitch, you know, at the drop of a hat. So I think it's super fun. And that's one of my favorite parts of being in this industry is that we get to kind of revamp older ideas, and we got to package them in very unique and different ways.
Gloria Chou 32:11
I love, I love that you can cover so many things. And you have insight on so many things, you've probably tried so many different products.
Victoria Giardina 32:18
Oh yeah, we, we test a lot of products, not just because we love receiving products from these brands, but because it's really difficult to buy something online. And I still run into this where it's hard sometimes for me to buy a dress online, if I'm not trying it in stores. And it's really hard for you know, a man to buy a tuxedo if they have to get it fitted. So that's actually one of the reasons why we're not moving forward with, you know, the best men's tuxedos right now, because we just came to the realization that a lot of people are buying those specific styles and stores getting them tailored to themselves. So it definitely is a hit or miss depending on the angle, I would say for beauty. We love beauty. We're a shopping team that is all girls right now. So we love reviewing blow dryer brushes, and Velcro rollers and face masks. Sometimes we include video in our reviews. So I think it definitely adds a personal touch. I know in the past, and this is super interesting how I landed in this field. Now, I used to watch YouTube videos so often from these makeup artists from these lifestyle vloggers. And I still do to this day. But it's so interesting how, you know, as a teenage girl, I was so influenced to buy this makeup palette because this person used it. So I learned early on that adding that relatability like you mentioned is so important and to acknowledge that, you know, maybe it is important to show people exactly how you use the product. We actually ran into this during Amazon Prime Day. Because given the state of the economy right now, I actually pitch to my managers I said, you know, during 2020 2021 People were sprucing up their home gyms, they were buying outdoor patio furniture, they were buying all of these big ticket items that I think 2022 Prime Day is going to look just a little different. I don't know if those will sell as much. I don't know I might be wrong, but that was just my gut instinct. And very last minute, we put together a best Prime Day essentials under $25 for readers to shop for to combat inflation. So we rounded up paper towels on sale, diapers on sale, household essentials that people just wanted a good value on. That's kind of the state of the world right now if people just want a good deal, they want an item that is not only affordable but also have good quality to an extent. So having that in mind and having those retail insights in mind as a reporter is so important and also in PR it's important to acknowledge shopping trends and what people are buying right now because if your content isn't relatable, if your Having roundups where you're, you know, promoting 300 ollar coats, I mean, people may be looking at that for holiday gifting, I think but having a range of price options, having a range of size options, if you're reporting on style, especially for petite sizing and plus sizing, it's so important to really relate to the average consumer wherever they're at.
Gloria Chou 35:21
Yeah, I also think it's important to put like a price point, right, like in your actual pitch. So like best gives under $50. But here's another question that a lot of founders get stuck with? What do they have a really wide range of products ranging from $10 to $300? How do they know which one to pitch?
Victoria Giardina 35:38
I think four different products may be having something along the lines of You know, if it's a moisturizer, for example, the best budget and the best splurge moisturizer in this email, like something as relatable as that would make me click on it. Because I know exactly what I'm getting into. I know I'm looking at a budget moisturizer, I know I'm looking at more of a splurge. And all of that information is packaged in one. And what we typically would do is look into the brand, first and foremost, if we can develop a partnership there. But also keeping that moisturizer, both moisturizers and mind for budget skincare for high end skincare, it definitely opens a huge door of possibility. So I would say pitch, like you're pitching to a friend pitch like you're pitching the best business idea ever to your mom, because that's exactly how we like to receive emails we love when a person is so enthusiastic about a product or their brand that it just makes us want to write about it. So I would say having that at the back of your mind is super important. Because having a super formal email, just you know, as as direct as it is, it's just sometimes not as appealing because we don't know why it's the best thing on earth. We don't know why we should spend our time looking at it. So having that you know, FaceTime cadence, I would say we're, you're FaceTiming a friend, and you're saying, oh my gosh, look at this new blazer, I just got it Zara. And you're kind of showing them all of the features. Just thinking about how you would tell someone close to you about that product is a good way to start.
Gloria Chou 37:12
Yeah. And then also from talking to people, you can see when their eyes light up, and it's not going to be every single thing about your product is great. I think a lot of founders think every part of it is great. But what is the most unique thing, right? So for example, you know, in my, in my PR class, I always talk about, you know, what, what is the one that's maybe flying off the shelves, right? What is the one that's best for this season, because if you have a product that's for a summer season, and you're pitching it for q4, really need to get down to it. If it's summer, maybe it's something that has a mini right, like a mini bundle or something like that that fits in your in your travel bag? Well, you've given us so many insights, I feel like I can interview you again. And again, again, I'm so impressed by your coverage, like I have been reading your stuff from your previous places like CNN and Business Insider, and all of them are so awesome. So I feel like anytime I need a recommendation, I'm going to just ask you because I feel like you are in the know.
Victoria Giardina 38:03
Thank you ask why, you know, pitch. We spoken a lot about pitches. So definitely a good idea. But I was so happy to answer those questions for your audience.
Gloria Chou 38:13
All thank you so much. And I look forward to having you, you know, for our next call with our PR members to give them actual insight. Can you tell us a little bit about how people can find you the projects that you're working on? I know you're also also an author. So let's talk a little bit about that.
Victoria Giardina 38:27
Yes, so I am a published author, I am self published too, which just means that it takes a little bit more work to get a bit more noticed. So I am on Amazon. My first book was published December 2021 called Work of Art and it is a young adult contemporary romance fiction so inspired by a lot of the reads that I've been picking up on the bookshelves. My second book was actually published last month, it's called sailing home. It is a general fiction book. It's summertime set on a cruise ship, super fun. It's character driven. So it alternates the plot lines. And it's just so much fun coming up with storylines, it definitely is a lot of work, you know, from editing, to sourcing editors to read your work, and then to make the cover art for your cover. And then to kind of package it all onto Amazon. It was so surreal getting the books in the mail. And just to kind of balance reporting for my nine to five with doing more of a passion project. It definitely enhanced my writing career I would say made me think of things in a bit of a different way. So you can find my books on Amazon if you type in my name Victoria, Georgina, and you can also find me on Instagram at Victoria Georgina, just my name and also through my author page, you can type in New York Post shopping, Victoria Giardina and all of my articles will come up as well as my email where you can pitch me which is V Giardina at ny post.com
Gloria Chou 39:57
And that's spelled G-i-a-r-d-i-n-a, yes. Awesome are your DMS open? How do you feel about people following up with you on LinkedIn or Instagram or whatever,
Victoria Giardina 40:07
you can connect with me on LinkedIn again, just my name everything is kind of just my name. But Instagram, you can totally message me I'm open to any and all of our costs.
Gloria Chou 40:16
Well, there you have it. Thank you so much for being so generous for allowing our members to actually DM you and try their shot at pitching. And hopefully after listening to this, their pitches will be much better than what they started with, they'll have a better chance of getting noticed. So thank you so much.
Victoria Giardina 40:30
Of course. Thank you so much for having me again.
Gloria Chou 40:33
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 1000s 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 will 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.