how to get products in holiday gift guides Archives

Originally posted July 2015; updated July 2022. Pitching Products Holiday Gift Guides.

As you may know, print magazines typically work about four months in advance, so, right now they are planning their December issues (which go on sale in early November). A big part of any December issue is a holiday gift guide. Therefore, if you want your products to be included, you need to be pitching to editors ideally before mid August. Remember, I am just talking about print publications. You can wait until mid to late September to pitch to blogs and online publications.

How to Pitch for Holiday Gift Guides

Email is still the best way to pitch to writers and editors.
Pitch a specific product.
Keep the pitch short and to the point with no more than three brief paragraphs( editors will not read a long worded pitch).
In the email subject line put: Product Submission for Your 2019 Holiday Gift Guide.

What To Include In Your Pitch

Indicate who the potential recipient could be, such as gift for husband, gift for boss, gift for teacher, gift for hostess, and so forth, to match any categories they may be organizing their gift guide into.
Mention the type of person who would like this for a gift, such as the Fashionista, the Fitness Buff, the Geek, the New Mom, the Guy Who Has Everything, the Home Chef, etc.
List the price as a lot of gift guides are categorized as such i.e. Gifts less than $25, Gifts to blow your budget on, etc. For the most success, try to pitch products under $100 unless it is for a luxury category.
Mention if your shop gives back, for example, part of the proceeds go to charity, as again, many gift guides have a category for this.
Tell where your business is located. Most publications want to support locally-made, American-made or specific country-made products, depending on the origins of the publication.
Include a link to the product in your shop, but do not attach photos or you might send the email into their spam folder.
Make sure your product photo is magazine-quality, and preferably on a white background. You do not have to include a photo, they will take one from your site.
Mention what type of business you are, such as an Etsy shop, as a lot of magazines actually have a holiday gift category just for Etsy finds.

Sample Pitch

Hello {name of blog or writer}!

I would like to submit a product for consideration for any holiday gift guide editorial you might be doing this year.

My 3-piece all-natural spa gift basket makes the ideal Christmas gift for woman, especially new moms. Beautifully packaged, it contains bath bombs, bath salts, and a soy scented candle. It sells for $40 at my Etsy shop below:

{link to product}

I even offer free holiday gift wrapping and can send the gift set directly to the recipient.

Thanks so much for your consideration and support of small businesses like mine.

Sincerely

Jane Doe

XYZ Shop

Pitch Your Products For Other Holiday Editorial

The holiday issues are typically the biggest of the year, filled with other editorial that you can pitch to have your products included in, such as:

Holiday Decorating – If you have any products that work for holiday decor, including garlands, tree decorations, pillow covers, artwork – anything goes.
Holiday Entertaining – All those holiday parties require festive food, drinks, serve ware, glassware and table decor.
Holiday Travel – The holidays are high travel times and magazines are always writing about products for the traveller, such as travel journals, luggage, bathing suits, beach coverups, ski wear, etc.
Holiday Fashion – Maybe your products add to the perfect outfit to wear to a holiday party, Christmas day or New Year’s Eve, and this includes clothing, shoes, jewelry, nail and beauty products.
Holiday Cards – Holiday cards, as well as invitations to Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, housewarmings, etc., are obviously in big demand this time of year.
Holiday Photos – Everyone wants that perfect family photo for the holiday card (or Instagram), so it’s a great time to promote any product that will enhance the photo i.e. matching family pajamas, special outfit for new baby, Santa hat for dog, “Happy Holidays” sign to hold up, etc.

In previous years, I have had several customers use my tactics to successfully get their products included in many major publications’ gift guides including Real Simple, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, and Buzzfeed to name a few. Get a full list of 2020 Holiday Gift Guides to pitch to in my 2022 Etsy Shop Holiday Sales Planner.

Good luck!

top holiday gift guides Remember back in July when I told you, Why You Should Start Pitching to Holiday Gift Guides Now? Well, the holiday buying season is upon us and pretty much every online newspaper, magazine and blog will have a gift guide. These are great opportunities for free publicity, so here are 5 holiday gift guides you should be approaching NOW.

Today Show– This is the top holiday gift guide that appears on page one of Google search, with 24 million visits a month.

InStyle – This site comes in second, and covers all kinds of gifts from tech to beauty, with over 6 million visits a month.

Goop – Goop is from the high end lifestyle blog, but it tends to favor very expensive products for its gift guides and typically top brands.

Good Housekeeping – Good Housekeeping is a women’s magazine has been around for decades, but its online gift guides always rank high in search. They like gift ideas for all members of the family and typically under $100.

Your Local Newspaper – Don’t forget your local newspaper. Local media loves local business, so pitch the gift guide idea to the Lifestyle editor today!

How to Pitch to Get Included in a Holiday Gift Guide

You will see the name of the writer or editor on last year’s gift guide. Provided they haven’t moved on from the publication, that is who you should pitch to. Send them an email with “Product Submission for your Holiday Gift Guide” in the email subject line.

A small tip, do not attach anything to the email as this is the quickest way for your email to end up in their spam folder. Instead, include a link to the product, pricing and contact information. Keep it short and sweet, they don’t have time to read a long-winded pitch.

Good luck and let me know your success at getting your products into the holiday gift guides!

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