A holiday blog post? In September? Yes – you read that right. While most people are focused on Labor Day BBQs and football tailgates, we’re thinking about gift guides and stocking stuffers. Because when it comes to product PR, holiday gift guide planning starts now.  

Discover how early pitching, personalized product samples, and strategic influencer partnerships can make your brand shine in gift guides and holiday shopping lists. Dive into our holiday PR strategies and transform this season into your most successful one yet.

Make Your Product the Star of the Season: Start Holiday Gift Guide Pitching Early

Why so soon? It’s all about volume. The media churns out hundreds of stories during the holiday season, offering gift ideas in every category, at every price point, and for everyone you know – including family, friends, kids, coworkers, and more. To create all that content, they’ll start gathering intel as early as September, and won’t stop till the holidays are over (which of course is also when they start planning for the new year). 

The key is to get in front of them early and often, with timely pitches, creative hooks, and seasonal story angles that keep your brand top of mind for relevant holiday features and roundups. 

Shoppable Content: Why Affiliate Links Are the Key to Holiday Press

Holiday media stories are all about shopping, and they use affiliate links to make their content shoppable. An affiliate link is a special URL that lets media earn a commission when someone buys a product through it. Gift guides are packed with these links, so when you buy from one, the media outlet gets a cut, usually between 5-20%.

For brands, using affiliate links is crucial for holiday press coverage. They not only boost media revenue but also help drive more sales for your product.

Setting up affiliate links is straightforward with platforms like ShareASale or Impact, or through major retailers like Amazon. On Amazon, the media even earn commissions on the whole cart, making it a prime opportunity to get featured in holiday gift guides.

This has created a tremendous new revenue stream for the media, making affiliate links an absolute necessity for brands who want holiday press coverage. The good news is that it’s also a win-win for brands, who can now leverage press coverage as an additional channel to drive clicks and sales.

Take Sampling a Step Further: Creative PR Boxes for the Win

Sampling is always an important part of the media outreach process, allowing journalists to test your products to ensure they meet editorial standards. But you don’t need to provide samples to anybody and everybody who asks for one. We typically recommend setting aside a few dozen samples for top-tier press, and then offering high-quality, high-resolution images (usually a simple shot of your product on a plain white background) for everyone else. 

Want to make your product stand out from the crowd of holiday gift ideas? Build a top ten list of your highest priority media contacts, and build a super customized, highly creative PR package just for them. We’ve sent everything from banana pinatas for a monkey-themed product, to a DIY coffee bar for a new drink launch, and more to grab the attention of our favorite editors and make sure our clients are top of mind for holiday PR features.

Amplify Holiday PR Reach With Strategic Influencer Engagement

It’s no secret that social media influencers are increasingly becoming a go-to resource for product recommendations and gift ideas. Consider extending the reach of your holiday PR campaign by identifying a short list of influencers to engage for earned or paid coverage. 

We have found that a creative PR mailer, affiliate links, coupon codes, and other incentives are a great way to build strong influencer relationships that can increase brand visibility and credibility, as well as potentially drive additional clicks and sales for the holidays.

Holiday Gift Guides Made Simple

If you’re ready to kick off your holiday PR strategy, start by researching the media outlets and influencers that align with your target audience and product category. Look for guides that have featured similar products in the past, and analyze their style and tone to align your pitch. Consider reaching out to editors or contributors who specialize in your product’s niche.

To increase your chances of getting featured in a gift guide, a good rule of thumb is to pitch the media early, and often. Since the media will start writing holiday stories in the late summer/early fall and continually nurture them all through the season, it’s critical to follow up regularly with new and interesting pitching angles before, during, and after the holiday season to create multiple opportunities for coverage.

Remember, PR is all about building long-term relationships with journalists and providing them with everything they need to include your brand in their story – from a timely hook to those all-important affiliate links. 

So, when you start, have media samples ready for top contacts. Typically your product against a plain white background will suffice, but select a few images that showcase your product from multiple angles, or include a few lifestyle shots that demonstrate the product in use. Provide detailed product descriptions, pricing, availability, and any unique selling points. And did we mention affiliate links? Make sure those are included in every pitch.

At Resound Marketing, we can provide media outreach, pitch development, and relationship management with editors and journalists. We can also offer strategic advice on positioning your product to create compelling press materials for gift guides.

Let’s make some noise about your brand before the holiday shopping season starts! Contact us to discuss your goals by booking a 30-minute consultation with our CEO. We’ll build a plan, then hustle like crazy to deliver results.