Submitted by Sabina Hitchen on | 0 Comments
I can't tell you how many times I've heard business owners say that by the time they get to (more like "make it to") November they're more focused on sales and end-of-year tasks than their public relations and buzz building. Does the PR world stop as the holiday season rolls in? Anything but. In fact there are short and long lead stories (short: online, TV, newspapers / long: monthly magazines) opportunities that are open for your products and services and need to be filled all year long. The news doesn't stop because it's Thanksgiving people!
To help you focus your pitching energies in the right direction, we bring your our monthly "Pitch Now" column that's packed with story ideas that the press truly are looking to fill that should get your pitching brains going in November.
SHORT LEAD:
Thanksgiving (Everything but the Sales)
You’d be surprised how many topics can be spun off of the foundational theme of Thanksgiving. To get you in the spirit here’s a PR-themed “free association” of mine for stories related to Thanksgiving: Recipes and food-related stories; Gratitude: how to get it, show it, why we need it; Health & Thanksiving: How can we maintain our health during this food-centered holiday; Family is visiting, how do you cope mentally? Thanksgiving crafts for kids; Hostess Gifts for Thanksgiving; Travel tips – with kids, on the road; Exercises you can do anywhere while traveling for the holidays; How to create new family traditions...Yup, the list is basically endless. Get into the Thanksgiving spirit in your own PR mind and pitch out some ideas. Here's a fun fact: these are often less competitive stories to land for two reasons: there are more of them available because the media will want to talk this holiday to death to fill air time, pages and web stories. Also, because people are traveling, on vacation and taking time off at this time of year, the competition is less fierce.
Black Friday Cyber Monday & Small Biz Saturday
Should you be pitching your holiday sales to the press? Heck yeah! Though I personally think that social media will give you the most oomph in terms of reach and impact where sales promotion is concerned, there will still be outlets covering these three major holiday sales days that begin around Thanksgiving. So who do you reach out to? Try doing a Google search for Black Friday/etc. sales and see which short lead outlets covered it last year. Most likely it's going to be blogs, websites, newspapers and even some TV shows. Your local press is probably just waiting to hear about how small biz owners in the area are preparing for this big shopping season. Do your research to get yourself started and then just pitch short lead outlets in general. The worst they can say is "no" and this is a great excuse to get your brand and business in front of the press!
What are We Celebrating this Month? Turn it into a Press Story!
Every month the country "celebrates" or honors different holidays and observances, from the mundane to the wacky. Find one that relates to your business and you'll be able to create some clever and catchy press pitches as well as great social media and blog themes. Here are a few that may work for you, and if not a quick Internet search will help you find one that will!
- Peanut Butter Lovers Month
- Veterans Day
- National Diabetes Awareness Month
LONG LEAD:
Spring is in the Air!
When the seasons change, the editorial world goes nuts and creates endless stories (that can be pitched by experts, products and services) about them. Because long lead works 3 to 6 months ahead of schedule, right now they're working on stories that talk about must-have spring fashion, how your fitness and wellness routines change for spring, spring break travel tips, the healing power of seasonal spring foods - you name it! Do you have new products for spring? Do you have spring-focused tips? Take some time to figure out what your spring offerings will be and pitch them out now - the early birds get the worms!
Valentine’s Day
I write this holiday in here as a reminder that though holidays like Valentine’s Day seem ages away in our heads, they’re actually already being worked on by several long lead publications as we speak (remember the rule: long lead outlets tend to work 3 to 6 months ahead ). This means that in truth, some magazines may have already "closed" their Valentine's Day coverage, but some are still searching for everything from love and romance related experts and tips to must-have gifts for every budget and style. The fastest way to find out if your target magazines are still working on these stories is to ask! If they are - get a solid pitch together and work hard to get yourself featured. Holidays like this are powerful for visibility and sales and worth the effort!
