If you work in ecommerce, DTC commerce, or any other gift-able fields, Q4 gifting holidays can be some of the biggest opportunities of the year. Participating in Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other promotions can be a game-changer, helping end your year on a high note. But while it might seem as though you have plenty of time to decide on the kinds of sales, discounts, and promotions you’re going to run during the holiday season, it’s critical that you make sales decisions as early as possible if you’re hoping to catch editors’ eyes.
Why? Simply put, media members work on a different timeline than the average shopper, meaning to make sure that your products, deals, and gift bundles are featured in their sales write-ups, you have to get them the information well in advance. Though plenty of writers and editors are busy updating articles and writing away all through the end of the year, a good rule of thumb when trying to get press attention is: the sooner, the better. The earlier you can give them the information they need (with all details included!), the better the likelihood that your offering will make their final article.
Here, a few more do’s and don’ts to help you navigate the holiday season:
DO: Send emails with images, price, discount or promotion, retailers, affiliates, and more.
Your promotions stand the best chance of being featured if you include all the information journalists need and make it easy and painless for them to pull the details quickly while compiling their piece.
DON’T: Leave anything out.
Leaving out information makes for more back-and-forth between journalists and brands or publicists. The more work they have to do to verify information during an already busy time, the less likely they are to include it.
DO: Prominently call out national retailers and affiliate networks.
Catch editors’ attention with the names of national retailers and affiliate networks, plus affiliate rates. Not only will these details help you make it into bigger listicles, they’ll also allow you to fit into retailer-specific articles that you’d otherwise miss out on.
DON’T: Wait until the last second.
While it might seem perfectly fine to wait until the week of a holiday to release details about your planned sale, doing so means missing out on lots of press coverage. You may find yourself included in a last-minute update, but you’ll miss the attention (and promotion!) paid to these articles when they first come out, as well as throughout the season.
