Episode 154: Why It's Never Too Late To Pitch Gift Guides w/ Shopping Editor Victoria Giardina

 

If you make a product that needs to get into the hands of more people, getting featured in a gift guide, product round up, or shopping "best of" lists can be a game changer for your business by skyrocketing you sales, SEO, and authority. Just one feature in Oprah's favorite things or NYTimes can catapult your business into a household name, and the best part is that it is NEVER TOO LATE to pitch for gift guides. Journalists write gift guides ALL YEAR ROUND, even one week before Christmas and even AFTER Christmas, so do not delay and start pitching your product now for gift guides to get the same incredible results as our PR members! Hear it directly from a journalist the who, what, when, where, and how of all things gift guides!

Here’s What We Cover and More:

  • Importance of service journalism in product reviews 

  • Planning for seasonal stories and gift guides 

  • Insights on pitching products for various occasions like Father’s Day, holidays 

  • The significance of SEO and content strategy in commerce reporting 

  • Process of curating and updating gift guides

  • Relevance of small businesses in commerce content 

  • Tips on how small businesses can get featured in major publications 

  • Role of affiliate programs and partnerships in securing coverage

  • Timing and best practices for pitching products to media outlets 

  • Differences between organic coverage and paid  placements

  • Subject line and pitch content advice for successful media outreach

Just like last-minute shoppers, editors are always hunting for the perfect pick. Pitching late is like finding the only open spot on Christmas Eve— it might just be the golden ticket. Remember, even Santa takes requests up until the last minute!


Product Businesses! Download my free HOW TO GET INTO A GIFT GUIDE/PRODUCT ROUND UP roadmap for free HERE to get more sales and traffic to your site this season.

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.gloriachoupr.com/masterclass.

 

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Transcript

00:00:00 Gloria: All right, everyone. Welcome back to the Small Business PR podcast. I am so excited today to have our special guest. 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 Giardina. Welcome, welcome, welcome. 

00:00:16 Victoria: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

00:00:19 Gloria: 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 in terms of covering shopping versus commerce? 

00:00:31 Victoria: 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 smart scales to buy or the best protein bars to buy. 

00:01:10 Victoria: 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 tent pole 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. 

00:01:49 Gloria: Ooh, I'm so excited. So by the time of this recording, we're in Q4, biggest buying season of the year, gift guides, holidays. Like this is the time, right? But arguably there is an opportunity to pitch all year round for a shopping or a summer, 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? 

00:02:10 Victoria: 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 goals we have in our coverage. 

00:02:38 Victoria: So for example, I'll look at other publications and I would see, 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 our 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. 

00:03:14 Victoria: 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 a revenue and a page view standpoint. 

00:03:38 Gloria: Wow, that's amazing. 50-gift guide just for the season. Now in a gift guide, how many different products would you cover on average?

00:03:45 Victoria: 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 roundup 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. 

00:04:23 Victoria: 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 Our Place, Always Pan. We know our audience loves Brooklyn in sheet sets for a nice splurge for your bedroom. 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.

00:04:55 Victoria: 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 as far as those machines go. And although there aren't even 15 products in that roundup, 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.

00:05:38 Gloria: Yeah, I love that. How are you different? And that's what I teach as well to my Small Business PR community. But I want to just 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 if there's 50 products. So that's 50 products and 50 gift guides. That's 2,500. It just means that there's such a blue ocean of opportunities for founders of every industry to get featured. 

00:06:02 Victoria: 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. 

00:06:35 Victoria: 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 love that personal tie to the gift guide as well. 

00:07:05 Gloria: Oh, I love it. I will definitely be on the lookout for that for my own shopping. So I know you have written tons of gift guides and shopping guides for 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 hurt? Not everyone is a Casper or Bed Linen or like any of those 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? 

00:07:33 Victoria: For sure. 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 a new brand. 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. 

00:08:11 Victoria: So if they're a smaller jewelry brand, let's say today, for example, I actually reported on the best personalized items from Amazon's handmade collection, where, 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. 

00:08:48 Victoria: I don't really like as a reporter to pigeonhole brands and to 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. 

00:09:02 Gloria: Okay. So if they're not, if they don't have an affiliate program yet, let's say they just launched, but it's available on Amazon, they can still have like a very good opportunity to get featured, right?

00:09:11 Victoria: 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. 

00:09:37 Victoria: 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. 

00:10:04 Gloria: Yeah. So let's get into a little bit more. I think a lot of people don't really understand 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 products that people love. But maybe they don't have a great website. So let's talk about the organic first. So 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 don't have like, let's say a huge following yet? 

00:10:30 Victoria: 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 are 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. 

00:11:05 Victoria: So for a small business, if they have a website, the best thing is to have that affiliate network onboarded. 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 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. 

00:11:47 Victoria: For the most part, it depends on the reporter. I would say if a reporter works super closely with brands, then they have an eye for that smaller business 24/7. But if you're a reporter who's just following the protocol, it's easy for that smaller brand to slip through the cracks. So 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. 

00:12:16 Victoria: I actually had a conversation with someone in the public relations industry about the cadence for emailing and best practices. And she said, it's so horrible 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. 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. 

00:12:53 Gloria: 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? Because I know you get tons of tons of stuff in the emails, right? So sometimes it's just a gentle reminder or a nudge. What's the cadence and the right way to follow up, you think? 

00:13:06 Victoria: 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 inspire a new idea. 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. I would say for following up, it's always a good idea to follow up at least once. 

00:13:47 Victoria: 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 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. 

00:14:19 Victoria: 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 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.

00:14:58 Victoria: 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 topics on a regular basis. So we're a team right now of four writers, one editor. So we are hiring, 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. 

00:15:38 Gloria: I love that. Thank you for giving us hope and validating the fact that there are, there is room for the small businesses mainstream heroes to get featured too, 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, for example? 

00:16:02 Victoria: 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. 

00:16:36 Victoria: 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 tent pole 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. 

00:17:02 Gloria: For example, for Christmas, right? There'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 November, would that suffice or is that too late?

00:17:17 Victoria: 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 25th. So we're really looking at the Amazon Prime items. We're looking at the master class subscriptions, the streaming subscriptions. So it's a little bit of a different angle. 

00:17:53 Victoria: 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 25th. 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. 

00:18:28 Gloria: Yeah, that's great. So let's talk about following up if it's something that could be gifted all year round, right? 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 when I use the same email and just change the subject line, or do I just send a completely new pitch? 

00:18:46 Victoria: 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 at 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 role, it may be better to start a new email than 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. 

00:19:31 Victoria: 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. 

00:19:56 Gloria: So you talk about product photos, that's obviously so true because we're visual people, right? But what about the whole like attachment thing? I always teach in my PR masterclass, don't add these attachments, but 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? 

00:20:14 Victoria: I would say both work. We do like to see everything laid out like, kind of a template. As long as it's not too crazy on PR's end 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 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 wanna know, are you representing more brands? 

00:20:53 Victoria: 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. 

00:21:11 Gloria: 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 pitch, obviously, you've given us some great gems about timing, do you have any other things about subject-aligned tips? Or how do you go about offering a sample? What's the right way? What's the most cost-effective? Because let’s say if I have something very expensive, I might not be able to give you a sample. So in that case, what should I do as a founder?

00:21:38 Victoria: That's a great question. I would say that for the most part, samples are definitely not essential. We can basically put a store 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. 

00:22:16 Victoria: And then as far as 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. 

00:22:49 Victoria: 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. 

00:23:11 Victoria: And then usually, for PR, what I see in emails is shipment is granted upon request. So that signals to the journalist that I could ask for samples. It's definitely in the realm of possibilities. 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 keep it in mind.

00:23:39 Victoria: 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 PR person were to kind of craft that pitch into an email, then it would signal to us. Maybe including that in a future update perhaps or pitching something along those lines.

00:24:00 Gloria: 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 a little bit beyond that so we're not competing with everyone's subject lines?

00:24:24 Victoria: 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, 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. 

00:24:52 Victoria: 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 this day. And maybe they're representing new brands at the time, maybe they're kind of fading out former brands. 

00:25:20 Victoria: 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. 

00:25:38 Victoria: 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 10, 15 minutes. It's not that long of a stretch of time for your day. We still get things done. We still get gift guides moving and grooving. But I would say to make the email as personal as you can, while also getting to the point of the products and the product's value, most importantly.

00:26:03 Gloria: Right. And even if it's not a PR person, isn't it refreshing to get an email directly from the founder, especially if they have a really interesting story like a mother and daughter duo or something like that? Or 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? 

00:26:24 Victoria: Absolutely, 100%. This actually happened to me recently where I have 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. It means 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. 

00:26:47 Victoria: It kind of put a face to the name where 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.

00:27:07 Victoria: 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. 

00:27:33 Victoria: For example, I reviewed Headspace, which is a meditation app, actually offered to have a yearly subscription for Obé 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 all different types of people.

00:28:00 Gloria: Yeah, 100%. I really feel like it's like a human right, like wellness and taking care of that health is wealth. So another thing is, let's say, I teach in my program where I have this pitching method that I came up with called the CPR method, which means I want your pitch to have three things, C as in credibility, P as in point of view, and R as in relevance. And relevance is the most important thing. I actually recommend them opening the email with that relevance. 

00:28:29 Gloria: So for example, if Rihanna wore something or if a celebrity had, like a certain trend, 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 or surveys? Is that something that you cover? Like, how does data impact your review or your choice of who to cover?

00:28:51 Victoria: We actually received 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 features 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. 

00:29:17 Victoria: 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. We had a whole series dedicated to linen because linen was trending this 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 inspiration that comes from those random spur of the moment ideas.

00:29:49 Victoria: 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 snow blowers 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 snow blowers to prepare for the New York storm or something like that. 

00:30:15 Victoria: 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 an evergreen pitch can turn into a timely pitch 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 get to package them in very unique and different ways.

00:30:42 Gloria: I love that. 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.

00:30:48 Victoria: Oh yeah. 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-mint tuxedos right now, because we just came to the realization that a lot of people are buying those specific styles in stores, getting them tailored to themselves. 

00:31:24 Victoria: 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. 

00:32:07 Victoria: 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 pitched to my managers. I said, you know, during 2020, 2021, people were sprucing up their home gems. 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. 

00:32:46 Victoria: 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 is people just want a good deal. They want an item that is not only affordable, but also of good quality to an extent. 

00:33:12 Victoria: 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 you're having roundups where you're, you know, promoting $300 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. 

00:33:49 Gloria: Yeah, I also think it's important to put like a price point rate, 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 if they have a really wide range of products ranging from $10 to $300? How do they know which one to pitch? 

00:34:06 Victoria: I think for different products, maybe 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. 

00:34:30 Victoria: 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 in mind for budget skincare, for high-end skincare, it definitely opens a huge door of possibilities. 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. 

00:35:03 Victoria: 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 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 FaceTime cadence, I would say, where you're FaceTiming a friend and you're saying, "'Oh my gosh, look at this new blazer I just got at 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. 

00:35:38 Gloria: Yeah. And then also from talking to people, you can see when their eyes light up. And it's not gonna 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 PR class, I always talk about, you know, 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 summer season and you're pitching it for Q4, we 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 travel bag. 

00:36:08 Gloria: Wow. You've given us so many insights. I feel like I can interview you again and again and again. And I'm so impressed by your coverage. I've 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 gonna just ask you because I feel like you're in the know. 

00:36:28 Victoria: Thank you. Ask away. You know, pitch, we've spoken a lot about pitches. So, definitely a good idea, but I was so happy to answer those questions for your audience. 

00:36:38 Gloria: Aw, 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 an author, so let's talk a little bit about that. 

00:36:51 Victoria: 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. 

00:37:26 Victoria: 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.

00:37:57 Victoria: So you can find my books on Amazon if you type in my name, Victoria Giardina. And you can also find me on Instagram at Victoria Giardina, 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 vgiardina@nypost.com  

00:38:21 Gloria: And that's spelled G-I-A-R-D-I-N-A. 

00:38:24 Victoria: Yes.

00:38:25 Gloria: Awesome. Are your DMs open? How do you feel about people following up with you on LinkedIn or Instagram or whatever? 

00:38:30 Virotia: Yeah, 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 requests. 

00:38:40 Gloria: 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. 

00:38:54 Victoria: Of course, thank you so much for having me again.

00:38:58 Gloria: Hey, Small Business Hero, did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, the New York Times, Marie Claire, PopSugar, and so many more, even if you're not yet launched or if you don't have any connections? 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 use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought after industry expert. 

00:39:29 Gloria: 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 gloriachoupr.com/masterclass. That's Gloria Chou, C-H-O-U, PR dot com slash 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.

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