Proven Tactics for Getting Your Product Placed in Prominent Gift Guides and for Maximizing that Great Opportunity

Intrigued by the prospect of getting your fantastic product included in a high-profile gift guide in prestigious media outlets such as Parade, Today.com or Reader’s Digest?  Securing coverage, while it can be challenging, is an excellent way to differentiate your brand, drive visibility, increase social media engagement, and build sales.

The real benefit of appearing in a gift guide comes from the implied third-party validation that comes from being showcased by a trusted or highly unique media outlet. Rather than promoting your own product’s value through advertising, gift guides offer a credible source of curated products aligned with the interest of their readers; that’s why consumers love them. Any way you look at gift guides, they can be a huge win.

However, landing that coveted placement can be extremely difficult. There’s an art and science to catching an editor’s eye and getting that elusive “yes.” It takes careful planning, targeting and timing.

And what you do after securing your spot in the guide is vital. These kinds of opportunities don’t come along every day, and it’s important to maximize your season in the sun.

In this guide, we’ll highlight proven strategies for gift guide placement. We’ll also offer solid tactics for maximizing the opportunity.

It’s about grabbing that brass ring and then turning it into gold.

Getting to Yes: 7 Tips and Tactics For Gift Guide Placement

Success starts with a strong and compelling pitch, followed by great connections, perfect timing and — the holy grail — a product that’s on trend. How to achieve that success? Follow our expert advice, tips and tactics for securing that coveted gift guide placement.

1. Know your ideal target audience

You already know your target consumers. Now think about the types of gift guides and publications they are most likely to read.

2. Home in on your ideal media placement

Identify key blogs, magazines, newspapers and online outlets that publish gift guides. Focus on those that most closely align with your product’s unique brand and value proposition.

3. Segment that list

For example, if you sell a high-tech flashlight for camping, your target publications are going to be different than those that feature a luxury brand of jewelry. Target your outreach to outlets that typically feature products aligned with yours (e.g., tech gadgets, luxury items, culinary tools, unique specialty food items or eco-friendly products).

4. Refine even further

You’ve built your list of publications, blogs and websites. Now, go even deeper. Find the relevant editors, journalists and creators who are responsible for creating the gift guides. Tools like Cision, Muck Rack, or even LinkedIn can be useful. Or go old school. Read the publication and check out the masthead to see who does what.

5. Craft your pitch

Concise. Compelling. Relevant. On trend. Attention grabbing. Easy to use. Your pitch has to be all of these things, and then some. Here are some elements it should contain:

• A killer subject line. You’ll be emailing this pitch, so your subject line needs to grab an editor and drive interest.
• Address your email to a specific person. Tailor your pitch to the needs of each journalist or creator, referencing their prior work and highlighting how your product would appeal to their audience.
• Clear reasons why. Include three to five reasons why your product should be featured in the guide. Include a concise, attention-grabbing description and, if appropriate, includes a little humor, especially if the publication is known for it.
• All relevant product information. Price, where people can buy it, if it comes in multiple sizes — everything a shopper needs to know.
• High-quality images. Link to high-resolution, publication-ready professional product photos in landscape format and include compelling social content that can be easily used in a gift guide.
• Product samples. Offering to send a free product sample significantly increases the likelihood of your product being featured.
• An affiliate program. (Tip: If your product is sold on Amazon, you already have an affiliate program baked in.)

6. Timing is crucial

You can find gift guides for every holiday, occasion or season. Plan your timing strategically. For print publications, editors start compiling those guides as much as six months in advance. For online guides, lead time is shorter; two or three months. The delicate dance of timing is crucial. Too early, and you can wind up lost in the shuffle. Too late, and you’ve missed your chance.

7. Send a follow up

Haven’t heard back in a few days? Ping the editor again with a follow-up email, asking if you can provide any additional information.

Following these strategies and with a little luck, you get that coveted “yes.” Your brand is being featured in a seasonal gift guide in top-tier media. The impact this kind of coverage will have on your brand can’t be overstated. Spoiler alert: Your retail partners will love it. So will your bottom line.

And if you play these cards right, it will last long after the gift guide has gone out of season. That’s why it’s so important to shift your time and effort now to maximizing this opportunity.

5 Ways to Maximize Your Gift Guide Placement

When you get that coveted “yes” from your ideal publication and have delivered your info and images, you may think your work is done. It isn’t.

When that guide runs, it’s time to amplify the coverage. Shout it from the rooftops! Don’t let the exposure go to waste.

Here are five ways to get the most out of your gift guide placement.

1. Share media coverage on social channels

No, you can’t make your posts go viral. But you can do everything possible to amplify your coverage and pave the way for that magic to happen. Here’s how:

• Create a series of social posts showcasing and linking to the coverage. Make sure all of your followers know it’s out there. Encourage them to share!
• Tag journalists and media outlets. On those social posts, be sure to tag relevant journalists or media outlets in a friendly, non-intrusive way to increase the chance of them taking notice.
• Use relevant hashtags. Trending seasonal or gift-guide-related hashtags will enhance the visibility of your posts. #FathersDay #GiftsforDad. This will help your content reach a broader audience, including those who are searching for the latest gift ideas.
• Thank journalists. In your post, always thank the journalist or the outlet. Sharing the spotlight with the journalist builds positive, long-term relationships that can lead to more opportunities down the line.

2. Include media coverage in your brand newsletters

Your stakeholders are always excited to see your company’s products featured in media coverage. Share your successes in your employee newsletter as well as in external consumer-facing communiques. Be sure to include a link to the story along with a simple image of the media outlet’s logo and impression numbers to showcase the importance of the audience reach.

3. Share coverage with your sales and broker teams.

Don’t forget to include your sales team and brokers in distribution of stories that feature your products. Encourage them to share the coverage in their sales decks and other presentations with retailers and key customers. What better endorsement than having respected local and national media outlets telling readers your product is the one they selected for their gift guide? Any time you share the coverage make sure to provide appropriate credit to avoid copywrite infringement. Live links are always the best.

4. Don’t forget SEO

Media stories that include your brand and product’s key words are certain to strengthen your SEO. Make sure to work with your SEO team to alert them to when stories are coming out along with information about what kind of reach the story enjoyed. In the past, we have successfully moved brands from the second or third page on Google search to the number one spot through a steady stream of favorable media coverage across trade and lifestyle outlets.

5. Get it on your website, pronto

Finally, make sure you prominently display media stories on your website. Listing them on your website’s news page is just one step. Consider featuring links to prominent stories on your home page so that visitors can easily access coverage about your brand in top-tier outlets. If you are successful in generating a large volume of media gift guide coverage, consider setting up a rotating carousel on your home page that moves through the various stories, further amplifying the reach and engagement such coverage can generate for your brand.

If you’ve been considering gift guides as part of your marketing strategy but don’t know where to begin, our expert team at Wilks Group is ready to handle the heavy lifting. Ask us about the importance of affiliate programs to the success of your program.

With over 30 years of experience working with gift guide media, we’ve helped our clients generate billions of impressions and drive sales success with them.  We’ll help you amplify the media coverage beyond the impressions the story itself provides.

Book a free 30-minute consultation call here: 👉 Calendly