If you’re representing an innovative consumer lifestyle or technology brand, we have some good news. While gift guides have always been a go-to approach for brands to earn coverage at multiple points during the year, recent data shows that gift guides are increasing in volume year on year, likely as a result of media outlets seeking more regular sources of affiliate income.
According to Max Borges Agency’s 2022 Collective Media Intelligence Report, lifestyle and technology brands earned 25% more gift guide coverage on average, per brand, when comparing 2021 to 2020 placements. With this trend in mind, brands should be capitalizing on these times of year to both maintain momentum and earn spots in articles that tend to yield a quicker return-on-investment. With that in mind, here are a few tips for securing media coverage with gift guides:
Research past gift guides to craft a smart, relevant pitch: Use a search engine or your preferred media database to research writers who’ve historically covered technology and lifestyle consumer products in their gift guides. Pay attention to the price points they typically include, the POS links they tend to feature and the timing of their prior gift guides publishing prior to the specific holiday you’re reaching out about. Keep all of this in mind to craft a smart pitch that goes out with a healthy lead time.
Consider including an added incentive, such as a discount or deal: As more media outlets are looking for opportunities to make affiliate income on their commerce features, the addition of a holiday-specific discount or deal is often a “closer” and can sway writers toward including your brand in their feature. If it’s a key target publication, an exclusive discount sweetens the offer even more.
Take a data-driven approach to your “themed” pitch angles: In many cases, gift guides are built with a specific theme in mind, such as a certain pricing category, an intended recipient or an interest category. When doing your research on past gift guides, use a tool such as BuzzSumo to find the gift guides with the highest share counts as these are likely the ones that will be repeated (in some form) by said publication. Media outlets are increasingly data-driven in their approach, so in turn, use data to inform your pitches aligning the themes that have been successful for the outlets in past. For example, search the top shared articles around “gifts” in a publication like “PopSugar” and you’ll find ideas such as “Best gifts for people who need more sleep” and “Best fitness gifts under $150” – these are great subject lines and angles to start with when pitching PopSugar for their next gift guide.
It goes without saying that timing is of utmost importance when it comes to pitching media for gift guides. It’s best practice to integrate all of the above tips alongside a well-planned editorial calendar that schedules out pitch angles for long-lead and short-lead outreach catering to both print publications (long-lead) as well as web and broadcast (short-lead).
