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May 6, 2015 at 2:56 pm #991666Up::0
Hi
There’s lots of great advice on the forum about making PR pitches to magazines, but often the timing is everything , and it seems to me that it might be easier to fit in with the magazine’s agenda….. if I can find out what it is.Magazines often run product features around themes eg.occasions (Mother’s Day, Xmas etc), product categories (e.g. hanging planters this week and placemats next week) or even colours (Indigo). I would like to target these and fit in with the magazine’s agenda/feature list.
So my questions are:
- How do I find out what a magazine’s feature list is?
- Where do the writers/stylists look for products to feature?
I have been looking at sourcebottle (but requests are very sporadic). I have also come across Press Loft where one can upload product photos, and journalists visit the site for images but its very expensive and there isn’t much info on which magazines use the service…..anyone have any experience with them?
Hoping someone can help
Regards
BevMay 7, 2015 at 1:56 am #1182572Up::0Hi Bev,
It can be quite a process sometimes, especially dealing with publications. As you mentioned, they have their agenda/schedule and not too often veer from it. What I would suggest is to get in touch with the publications you’re interested in directly. Send them an email, give them a call – whichever you’re more comfortable with. Better yet, email and then follow up with a phone call a few days later.
Now the question you might have is “Where to find their contact details?” Well, many publications have this listed somewhere within the first few pages of the publication (near contents pages) or at the back of the publication.
Maybe you could even find a “hot button” topic within homewares that a publication would be interested in. You (or have someone) could write a press release where you would implicitly mentioning your product or provide a CTA. This is a glimpse of the power of content marketing used with traditional PR which could have quite a powerful effect if done right. This is a great way to build credibility, and potentially have publications down the track contact you for more articles or to feature your products
May 7, 2015 at 3:58 am #1182573Up::0Hi Bev
As Nik said this can be quite a process, finding the right contact and building a relationship is also very difficult. Relationship building is key as this is what will keep them interested in your business.
You need to ensure that what you are offering them is unique and worthy of their consideration. Do your products have a story behind them, are they fair trade etc. What makes your homewares products so special?
May 8, 2015 at 3:17 am #1182574Up::0Hi Bev,
Sassy & Nik are right, you can go down the PR path and try and develop a relationship with the magazine – or the quickest and easiest way to get featured in any media outlet is with prizes!
I can help you with that. We work with over 100 media outlets sourcing their prizes for competitions – especially home wares and women’s magazines.
Basically we turn your products into incredible prizes and get them featured in any outlet you’d like. My contact details are below if you’d like to chat about how we can help.
Kindest,
Amanda.May 11, 2015 at 5:44 am #1182575Up::0nikmaricic, post: 213098, member: 65566 wrote:Hi Bev,It can be quite a process sometimes, especially dealing with publications. As you mentioned, they have their agenda/schedule and not too often veer from it. What I would suggest is to get in touch with the publications you’re interested in directly. Send them an email, give them a call – whichever you’re more comfortable with. Better yet, email and then follow up with a phone call a few days later.
Now the question you might have is “Where to find their contact details?” Well, many publications have this listed somewhere within the first few pages of the publication (near contents pages) or at the back of the publication.
Maybe you could even find a “hot button” topic within homewares that a publication would be interested in. You (or have someone) could write a press release where you would implicitly mentioning your product or provide a CTA. This is a glimpse of the power of content marketing used with traditional PR which could have quite a powerful effect if done right. This is a great way to build credibility, and potentially have publications down the track contact you for more articles or to feature your products
May 11, 2015 at 5:47 am #1182576Up::0Hi Nik. Thanks for the input. I am familiar with where the contact details of a magazine are and have tried the ‘hot button’ approach – but I think that is a way more ‘hit and miss’ approach than fitting in with their agenda. Will continue to try and build relationships as you suggest.
May 11, 2015 at 5:49 am #1182577Up::0MissSassy, post: 213110, member: 52888 wrote:Hi BevAs Nik said this can be quite a process, finding the right contact and building a relationship is also very difficult. Relationship building is key as this is what will keep them interested in your business.
You need to ensure that what you are offering them is unique and worthy of their consideration. Do your products have a story behind them, are they fair trade etc. What makes your homewares products so special?
Thanks Miss Sassy. My homewares are unique because they are specifically designed for small spaces and this, of course, is something I pitch to magazines, but was just looking for ways to make sure the pitch was timed to coincide with their agenda. Thanks for input.May 12, 2015 at 7:35 am #1182578Up::0If you’re not on it already, get on Twitter. It’s a hive of journalists. It’s a great place to start building relationships by meaningfully engaging with them. But do so meaningfully and don’t be in too much of a rush.
I often get tweets from journos and media types saying “Hey, what you’re doing sounds interesting… email me”. So it’s a useful way of tilting the relationship in your favour.
June 6, 2015 at 11:14 am #1182579Up::0The people who know what themes a magazine has scheduled for the year are their ad sales team. They will know if the March issue has a feature on flooring, for example, and will be calling flooring brands to sell ad space. Editorial will not tell you much, in my experience. They tend to source their own products to showcase when they do a one page feauture on ‘jungle decor’ or whatever trends they’ve observed. Where do they look? Trade fairs like Milan, blogs, Pinterest, press releases, free samples sent to them.
If you can’t afford a specialist PR person or to advertise, your best bet is to package up your content for editors so that it makes their job super easy. Practically write the article (if you can write). Inc,due contact details of people with testimonials, angles, observations about trends, examples of other people’s products that inspire you. Basically, hand them a story on a plate.
June 25, 2015 at 1:40 pm #1182580Up::0Corporate escapee, post: 215131, member: 64428 wrote:The people who know what themes a magazine has scheduled for the year are their ad sales team. They will know if the March issue has a feature on flooring, for example, and will be calling flooring brands to sell ad space. Editorial will not tell you much, in my experience. They tend to source their own products to showcase when they do a one page feauture on ‘jungle decor’ or whatever trends they’ve observed. Where do they look? Trade fairs like Milan, blogs, Pinterest, press releases, free samples sent to them.If you can’t afford a specialist PR person or to advertise, your best bet is to package up your content for editors so that it makes their job super easy. Practically write the article (if you can write). Inc,due contact details of people with testimonials, angles, observations about trends, examples of other people’s products that inspire you. Basically, hand them a story on a plate.
June 25, 2015 at 1:41 pm #1182581October 13, 2018 at 1:06 am #1182582Up::0Hi Bev
I’m late to the table but thought I’d weigh in for anyone else that stumble across this thread. I’ve been using Press Loft for their 60 day trial and love it – I’ve had 2 magazine features and a lot of communication with bloggers interested in featuring our products (both free and sponsored with sample products). The trial includes all the features which gets you attached to them – continue and it’ll be $350/month. Great for large retailers but not tailored to smaller business or creators – but of course, it’s about ROI.
I do recommend at least signing up for a trial but make sure you have plenty of quality, styled product photos to upload straight away to take full advantage of the trial period.
In saying that, the reason I found this thread is because I’m searching for alternatives, perhaps something cheaper but I don’t think I’ll find anything more suited for my genre (homewares and gifting).
Good luck!
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