This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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There's nothing like a holiday feature in the month of June. And that's right, I am talking about end of year holidays. Why am I doing that now? Is this just like how the shopping season continues to get earlier and earlier, retailers putting on Christmas music in October? No, not really, but we do have a question from a listener about how to get featured in holiday gift guides because these guides, websites, directories, and so on, they can bring a flood of new customers in the end of year shopping season, but only if you get featured, of course.
And a lot of the deadlines for these gift guides are actually coming up. They set their catalogs and features and such in the summer, typically. Sometimes some of them will work a little bit later these days, but historically, if you wanted to get featured at a holiday gift guide, you gotta start thinking about it sooner, or at least you wanna start pitching for it. So today's question comes from Rachel in Philadelphia. She wants to get her home goods business featured in some of these gift guides, which, as I say, can be life-changing.
I've heard some incredible stories over the years of businesses that will do more than 70% of their operating income in a month or two because of being featured in one of these guides. So for the right business, it's huge. Let's talk about the best ways to increase your chances of getting one of these features later in the year when everybody's buying stuff. What can you do to lay the groundwork? Detailed question from Rachel and my answer coming right up.
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Hi, everyone. This is Rachel from Philadelphia. I have a small business selling handcrafted home goods, and I've heard that getting featured in holiday gift guides can be a great way to boost sales, but I have no idea how to actually get my products included in one of these lists. Do I pitch magazines, bloggers, or big websites like BuzzFeed? And, I mean, when should I start?
I don't wanna miss out on the holiday rush, but I also don't wanna waste my time if my chances are slim. So what's the best way to get my products featured in gift guides? [Music]
Rachel, you're smart to be thinking about this early. A lot of traditional media outlets, like magazines, certain websites, they plan their holiday content months in advance, sometimes as early as June or July. So if you wait for the holiday season, you're too late, at least for those publications.
Now, some online media is kind of mid-lead, like traditionally we have long-lead and short-lead publications. Long-lead is four to six months in advance. Short-lead could be weeks before the holidays. Mid-lead are websites like BuzzFeed, Wirecutter, PopSugar. They usually plan their holiday lists two to four months ahead.
So you've got a couple months. August through October is the prime pitch time. And so you wanna figure out, first of all, who to pitch and when. And if you're aiming for that big name media, as noted, start now. Next, craft a strong pitch.
All right, the editors and writers get tons of pitches, so make yours clear and compelling. Include a short, friendly introduction, no long paragraphs. Just write something really short and friendly. What makes your product special? Does it solve a problem?
Does it have a unique story? Does it fit a trending category? And make a direct ask, like would you consider including this in your upcoming holiday gift guide? Make sure to include a link that goes to high-quality photos. Most gift guides require professional high-res images with a white background.
So you wanna have those anyway for e-commerce, right? Like if you have an e-commerce website, you definitely should have really good photography of your products anyway. And then just do what you can to make it easy for them to say yes. If they have follow-ups, make sure you respond quickly. You can follow up with them politely if you don't hear back in a week or two.
Offer to send samples. I mean, obviously depending on what you sell, but if it's possible to send samples, if they need to test your product, just make it easy. And then next tip is you probably want to make a list of these holiday gift guides. So if you're not getting traction with national media, try smaller guides first, mini niche bloggers, Instagram influencers, small business directories, they put together holiday lists as well. And those can also have an impact.
Getting featured in these kinds of gift guides is not just about luck, it's about pitching early, making it easy for editors to say yes, and having the right assets prepared. So good luck, the sooner you start doing it, especially for those bigger ones, the more likely you are to be included. And as noted, it can make a huge difference for some businesses. I encourage you to give it a try. Listeners, always wishing you the best.
I hope you take action today. I hope you do something small or big to get closer to a goal you believe in. And I hope you'll subscribe or follow wherever you listen. New episodes coming up every single day. My name is Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School.
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From the Onward Project.
