If you need help working with the media, we’ve provided links to several educational tools that will help you.

Holiday gift guides are a golden opportunity for you to sell your product to a targeted audience through stories and photos that are yours for free!

With The Gift List for Holiday in hand, you’re armed with one of the most powerful tools of the trade. However, there are some important tactics to keep in mind once you’re narrowed down your short list of leads you want to impress with your product. And it’s imperative that you understand you are dealing with busy media people, many of whom are on deadline.

You will often be asked to initially submit your information to the media via e-mail. Margie Fisher, a publicist who often works with product companies, is offering a free copy of her fill-in-the-blank Gift Guide Pitch, to the Gift List Media audience.

She offers the following guidelines for sending e-mail product pitches:

• Don't send attachments. These clog up the media's in boxes and get caught by spam filters. Include your pitch in the body of the e-mail, and include a link to a photo of your product.
• Offer a personalized greeting. Start your e-mail with "Hi, Jane" instead of "To Whom It May Concern" or not including any greeting.
• Include a call to action. Ask if the media contact would like a sample, for example.
• Give a reason why your product stands out from the others. It could be that it is eco-friendly, ties into a hot trend, or is like nothing else on the market.

For your free copy, just click here!

Time the pitch.
Some magazines have a notoriously long lead time, most with deadlines in July or August. A few need samples even earlier if they need to be tested, such as food products, kitchen appliances, toys, etc. Don’t annoy newspapers and TV during the summer, just because it might be easier to ship everything out at the same time. Our data collection process is timed to target the longest lead times first, and work forward. Our database gives you the preferred date for PR submission.

Gift Guide or Holiday Story?
The Gift List for Holiday will list both gift guide opportunities and general holiday feature opportunities. Don’t assume that every lead is an annual holiday gift guide; many publications prefer not to do this type of feature every year. Sometimes a gift guide is planned, but turns out to be a general product-oriented feature. Don’t assume it’s a gift guide. A year-end round up the best toys, might serve as a gift guide, so could a simple story on holiday beauty tips, but most editors don’t want to hear “I’m calling about your Gift Guide.”

Write a short news release.
Yes, only one page. If editors want more information, they’ll call you. Write a compelling headline that states the benefits of the product, not the feature. The beginning paragraph should focus on a problem that the product solves. Or it should explain how the product makes someone’s life easier. See “How to Write a Killer News Release That Stops Reporters in Their Tracks.”

How to submit the news release.
Don’t assume that all media outlets want news releases via snail-mail. Or by fax. Or by email. Our research team always asks how each contact prefers to receive press releases. If they want it emailed or sent hardcopies, we’ll tell you. If they don’t open attachments, we’ll tell you. We also find out what they will accept and what they prefer regarding photography. If they only want digital at 300 dpi in jpeg, we’ll tell you. If they only want slides or prints, we’ll tell you. Following these preferences will give you a leg up on the competition.

Do your homework.
Editors get too many calls to play nice with every caller, and out-of-left-field calls will be thrown out of the game, pronto. Every outlet in The Gift List lists a website link. If you’re not already familiar with the outlet, at least visit their website to confirm your product is appropriate. If you need a tool to help you pitch convincingly over the phone, see “How to Create the Perfect 30-Second Pitch.”

Think creatively.
There may be more than one “right” placement for your product in a given outlet. Perhaps the technology editor, the children’s editor and the new products editor all would be interested in your children’s computer product. By all means, target all three contacts and do it at the same time so you don’t waste time waiting for individual responses. But tell the other editors if you are pitching your product to other departments.

Know your product.
Before you pick up the phone to call a single editor, know your stuff. That means being well-briefed on the product, knowing answers to all the obvious questions (how it works, price, timing, retail availability, etc.), and being able to provide product samples or photos if requested. If editors ask if you have a media kit, be sure you do, and that you can send it quickly. See “Special Report #8: Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them Without Spending a Bundle.”

Know what’s hot.
Staying informed of current trends will help you position your product as part of that trend. Whether it’s a music trend, clothing trend or technology trend, it’s logical to draw the connection directly to your product. Remember that around the holidays, relaxation isn’t a trend. It’s a gift-giving tradition. Everyone wants to read about settling into a good book, a cozy sweater or blanket, a relaxing bath product, or an engaging videogame. Learn how to piggyback your product off trends and all the other tricks of the world’s best publicity hounds with the ebook “How to be a Kick-butt Publicity Hound.”

Beat the competition.
The competition is fierce all year, and especially around the holidays. Winning awards gives you leverage over the competition by positioning your product as best in its class. One of the best ways to create high visibility and validation of your products or services and your company is by winning qualified industry competitions. Hundreds of award competitions take place each year; find out more about them at the Marketing with Honors website.

Play up your pricing.
Embrace the virtues of your product’s price, whether it’s high or low. Inexpensive gifts are just right for those on a budget. Gift-givers with deep pockets want to know about expensive luxury items. Media outlets will be covering the spectrum of gift costs, so don’t assume expensive items are politically incorrect.

Show respect.
That means respecting journalists’ wishes and their harried schedules by controlling your follow-up calls. Don’t call too frequently or just to follow-up again. Come up with a new angle or new information. Respect their deadlines and ask for a good time to call. Make notes and pay attention to them. Do you know exactly how many times you should follow up with a journalist before you give up? Learn how many with “Failproof Ways to Follow Up After Sending a News Release or Story Pitch.”