Three tips from an editor on how to get into the Christmas gift guides
Rachel Edwards, Style & Interiors Editor from Country Living and House Beautiful, joined us in our recent workshop, where she shared her insider tips on getting featured in Christmas gift guides.
Gift guide coverage is your key to getting products seen and reaching more customers during the busiest retail period of the year.
We’d never done this before, and we don’t know when it will happen again, so here’s the lowdown from an editor so you can secure that Christmas coverage.
Rachel’s top three tips:
Pitch your feature ideas
With the amount of pitches editors receive, it can be hard to cut through the noise. Go in sideways and use your expertise to stand out - because the press always want expertise. For example ‘I’m a florist, here are 10 steps for creating a festive floral display’ or ‘A guide to buying affordable pieces for your art-loving friends’.
TIP: you don’t need to write the article, you just need to pitch the idea.
Shida Flowers featured in Absolutely London
Know the magazine and its ethos
By understanding the publication’s readership (for example, House Beautiful is modern, and affordable. While Country Living is slow manufacture and artisanal craft) you’ll easily be able to pitch relevant products to the relevant magazines.
TIP: Online can be broader. So if you think your product might not be right for a print magazine, try online because you might be right for their digital counterparts.
Go after those updates
Online gift guides are regularly updated with items. If you see a guide that your product would fit with, pitch for an update so the publication knows your product is a go.
TIP: make sure you’re pitching to online gift guides, even when they’re published. Online publications want to send their readers to items that are in stock and ready to buy.
Rex London featured in Women's Weekly
A huge thank you to Rachel for joining us and answering so many of your questions.
Get all the tools, templates, and contacts you need to secure coverage all year round, and take PR into your own hands with PR Dispatch.