Imagine if tens of thousands of people could see your products all at once. They can if you’re featured in a magazine’s holiday gift guide. While getting your products in magazines may seem difficult, I can tell you from first hand experience that it’s actually very simple once you know how.
You might think the holidays are far way, but in fact now is the best time to get started. Here are 3 simple tips to get you on the right path!
First, make a list of story ideas. Magazines receive mountains of product pitches every day. Stand out from the crowd by sending a story, rather than a sales sheet. Tell the story of a problem your product solves or an event that involves you. Whatever your story, make sure it’s catchy. Journalists and editors are busy people, but if you can hand them a fully formed story, they’ll be interested.
Next, make a list of magazines. Make the most of your time by choosing only magazines that are suitable and have holiday gift guides. You can search online for last year’s gift guides, visit the library for back issues or search Google for the magazines editorial calendar, which lists the topics that will be featured in each issue.
Find the contact information for the appropriate editors and journalists by looking in the masthead (the long list of names usually just before the table of content), the editorial calendar or simply call the magazine’s main number and ask. Sending to a specific person gives you better odds than sending to a generic info@magazine.com address. Make notes and keep track on what you sent, to whom and when because you’ll need it for follow up.
One of the biggest mistakes artists make is assuming that no response means no interest. Journalists are busy people, and may need a little reminder. Follow up by email if you haven’t heard back within a week, and again in another week if you haven’t heard anything from your first follow up.
One last tip, start now! It's not too early, in fact summer is the best time. Most magazines start planning their holiday gift guides in July and August, and have them wrapped up by September. So, start reaching out now and good luck!
Be sure and let us know if you get listed so we can help spread the word!
Andreea Ayers works with creative entrepreneurs to help them get media attention for their products and to increase sales by getting their products in stores. For advice, insight and lots of free resources, check out her site LaunchGrowJoy.com
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