The Media Loves These End-Of-Year Pitches

You might be stitching in the last details of your Halloween costume, but it’s already time to start wrapping up Christmas, make a New Year’s resolution and planning your Valentine’s Day.

That is if you want to get some holiday-relevant PR for any of these occasions.

As the year comes to an end, it’s hard to find a balance between finishing strong, preparing to start the new year right and enjoy the holidays at the same time. It’s a lot. But don’t worry too much. I believe in you, and I’m here to help you get the media placements you deserve along the way.

Before the new year, I recommend taking a bit of inspiration from the following story ideas and pitching your product for the upcoming holidays.

And if you want a little more help with how to pitch, check out my workshops!

The Final Sprint to Get in Holiday Gift Guides

I’ve been talking about holiday gift guides since spring. So, if you’ve been following along, you know that you have a better chance to land the most coveted gift guide placements when you start pitching in the summer. National print magazines work with a four to six-month lead time, and that ship has sailed.

However­, not all hope is lost—you still have a chance for last-minute placements on online, daily publications and TV.

You can still pitch and follow up on your pitches all the way up until December 25th. So, if you are just getting started, start! And if you began months ago, keep following up.

The most important part of a holiday pitch is that you are specific about both the product and who it is for.

“The Perfect Gift for Anyone” is a boring story.

But “Gift Ideas for Your BFF” is leaps and bounds more engaging.

In your pitch, don’t get bogged down in the details of your product. That information should be on your product page. Instead, write a few story ideas that your product fits nicely in.

And follow up! Send a follow-up email and don’t be afraid to pick up the phone to see if your email was received. It often makes the difference.

How You Help Accomplish New Year’s Resolutions

As soon as the gift-giving season is over, it’s time to work on New Year’s resolutions. You can set a few of your own on January 1, but right now, you can start pitching how your products help others accomplish their 2019 goals.

In your pitch, explain how your products help change people’s life. A good place to start is to look at the most popular New Year’s resolutions for 2018. Then, put your own spin on how your product or service fit’s into that story. I picked a few from the Statista list for inspiration.

1. Eat Healthier & Get More Exercise

This is an obvious one, so be creative. Since diet and exercise top this list year after year, if this is your field, you need to work hard to stand out. Position your healthy solution as the best at something, unexpected, or for a very specific consumer base.

If you are a nutrition coach, sell food items, or whatever, don’t limit your pitch to “My product/service will help people eat healthier.”

Instead, target niches like “…will help busy moms eat healthier” or “helps people who love sugar forget they are eating healthy food”

2. Save (More) Money

Not all New Year’s resolutions are about shrinking your waistline. The third most popular resolution is about expanding your wallet.

A lot of different products can help people save money. Even if you’re selling something like homemade, organic soap, it could be a concentrate that is surprisingly cost-effective.

Try positioning your product as a penny-pinching alternative to achieve a common goal. Everyone needs soap, some people want organic soap, so maybe your story is “How to Buy Organic and Save Money.”

3. Focus on Self-Care

I love this one. Especially as entrepreneurs, it is really challenging to turn off “work-mode,” unwind and get enough sleep, so this one really speaks to me.

So many products and services can help people focus on self-care. If you’re in the business of saving people time, it’s a way to promote self-care. So are products that help build people up, be kind to themselves, and indulge in relaxation and rejuvenation.

Valentine’s Day is For Everyone

Honestly, Valentine’s Day is about way more than romance. There’s a lot of flexibility in how it’s celebrated.

Think back to when you were in preschool: there was hardly any romance in handing out tiny paper valentines and eating chocolate. And if you watched Parks and Recreation, then you are probably familiar with Galentine's Day on February 13th, which is the perfect time to buy all of your friends something fun.

So even if what you sell isn’t directly related to romance, you still might have a good shot of getting Valentine’s Day coverage as long as you can pitch a good story explaining how your customers celebrate the holiday.

And if you are related to romance, this is your moment! If you are a relationship expert, be the expert the media needs. If you’re a wellness coach, explain how to take care of the stresses of being single.

As a publicist, I love Valentine’s Day because there are so many fun and creative ways to pitch my clients.

So, if you want to be featured for Valentine’s Day, start pitching before the new year. The best spots in long lead magazines are being considered now.