How to find press contacts for the Christmas gift guides
The Christmas gift guides are the number one place where consumers discover gift ideas, so this is why you should be prioritising your Christmas PR, stay ahead of the competition and get your products featured in the Christmas gift guides. So, how do you go about getting your eCommerce business and products featured in the Christmas gift guides?
Having the right press contacts for the Christmas gift guides is absolutely crucial if you want your product to be featured - but also if you want to build great and long-term relationships with the press. As there is no rhyme or reason as to who is chosen to compile the Christmas gift guides each year, it is a difficult and extremely time-consuming process to locate all the correct contacts. Sometimes there will even be multiple people working on various different Christmas gift guides within a single publication.
However, at PR Dispatch, we have done all of the legwork for you, so you don't have to. We have the correct and up-to-date editor and gift guide details included in the contact database section of our Christmas gift guide membership, meaning you can use all of your precious time for what counts, pitching to the press and gaining coverage.
Would you rather spend time doing your own research and finding all the Christmas gift guide press contacts yourself? Here we show you the steps to take.
Compile a publication list
First things first - compile a list of the relevant publications and newspapers. Once you’ve got the list together, you then need to find the relevant contacts for each publication. Please note that you can’t get in touch with any random contact at the publication - the contact needs to be someone who will be relevant to your query and who will be able to assist you.
Once you know which person to get in touch with, send them an email and ask them who’s compiling their Christmas gift guide this year. Some contacts may also be approached through the phone.
Most publications will have multiple gift guides often with different editors working on the different gift guides. And often, one gift guide will also have multiple editors working on it. One editor might cover food and interiors, while one editor will cover fashion and beauty. Missing a crucial contact means missing a crucial opportunity so it’s important to get hold of the key contact details.
2. Find out what themes the Christmas gift guide press is working on
The Christmas gift guides cover a whole host of themes and categories. This can range from anything from price bracket to recipient's hobbies to quirky gifts. So in addition to tracking down the correct contact details, you will also need to ask the relevant contacts what themes/categories/products they will be looking for this year.
Normally it's impossible to predict the chosen themes, but with the help of a Christmas gift guide database you will be able to tailor your pitches to suit exactly what the Christmas press are after, therefore greatly increasing your chances of your products being featured in their Christmas gift guides.
3. Pitch to the press and be in the editors’ inboxes
Once you have tracked down the correct Christmas press contacts and found out what themes they are working on, you will then need to ensure that you start pitching and getting all of your product suggestions in their inboxes.
The first thing the Christmas press will do when compiling a gift guide is to search their emails for relevant suggestions. At this time of year, editors want and start looking for new and exciting products and brands in order to capture the interest of their readers. Going through their emails is the primary way editors discover new products and brands for inclusion in their Christmas gift guides. This is why a good email pitch showcasing what you have to offer is so important, especially for eCommerce businesses.
4. Know when the editors are compiling their Christmas gift guides
Long-lead publications (such as Red, Elle Decoration and GQ) start compiling their Christmas gift guides as early as July, so it is important that you start to prepare well in advance of this to secure the best chance of getting your products featured in the Christmas gift guides.
However, there are also opportunities later on in the year too. Short-lead publications and newspapers (such as Grazia and The Guardian) usually start compiling theirs around September time. The highest number of Christmas press opportunities are with online publications - in total last year, there were over 7000 products featured in online gift guides alone. Not only do online publications offer the highest number of opportunities for Christmas press, but most also compile their Christmas gift guides later on in the year. In fact, in some cases, online publications compile right up until Christmas Eve in order to offer inspiration to those last-minute shoppers.
So, although the opportunities are there from July through to December depending on the publication, this does however mean that finding the right Christmas gift guide contacts is lengthy and an ongoing process, as they always become available at different times of the year in the lead up to Christmas.
5. Utilise the power of social media
Whilst email pitches are the best way to get your products featured in the Christmas gift guides, it is not the only way editors find eCommerce businesses to feature. Press also discover brands, products and eCommerce businesses via Instagram, so be sure to interact with editors where relevant.
One key thing to remember, it’s extremely important that you only approach the relevant Christmas press contacts for the magazines and newspapers you want to pitch to. PR is all about relationship-building, so who you get in touch with and how you approach them is key in order to stand the best chance of getting your products featured in the Christmas gift guides.
Want to access more free tips and advice on how to get your business featured in the Christmas gift guides? Head to our downloads page: https://www.prdispatch.com/downloads
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