Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - How to Tap in to the Holiday Publicity Bonanza

If your product or service can be given as a gift, a publicity
windfall awaits at the end of the year - but you need to start
working in June. Each December, media outlets cover the newest,
the hottest and the most unusual Holiday gifts. The reporters
assigned to develop these pieces typically depend on two sources
of information:

1. Phone interviews with local store owners

- and -

2. Press materials that have been sent by publicity seekers.

Let's deal with Point 1. Here's a cool trick: In early
November, write a letter to stores and major websites that carry
your product. Remind them that they may be hearing from
journalists soon about hot gift ideas, and request that they
consider mentioning your product when that happens. Point out a
few reasons why your product is the newest, coolest, best or
whatever. Ask the vendor to drop you an e-mail or give you a
call if a story results that mentions your product.

Now, on to old-fashioned publicity. When to contact the media
depends on the publication or program's lead time (how far in
advance of publication or airing the material is developed).
Magazines like Woman's Day have a lead time up to six months, so
get materials to them now. Newspapers have a lead time as short
as a week for feature material, so send materials in November. In
between are wire services, medium-lead magazines, "in-flight"
magazines and others. To learn the lead time of a particular
media outlet, call the editorial department. If that doesn't
work, try the advertising department.

What you send should be kept simple -- a press release about your
product/service, a pitch letter explaining why it's such a great
gift idea, and, if applicable, a disk with color product photos.
See our articles "How to Write a Great Pitch Letter"
http://www.publicityinsider.com/pitch.asp and "How to Write a
Great Press Release" http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
for more details.

As you craft the materials, think about where your
product/service fits. Based on its nature, cost, rarity or
usefulness, it may work with a variety of typical Christmas Gift
stories such as: Great Stocking Stuffer Ideas, Gifts for
Teenagers, Gifts for the Person Who Has It All, Gifts for
Executives, Gifts that Relax, etc. By suggesting a category for
your product, rather than simply stating "Here's a product that
would make a nice holiday gift", you're making yourself stand out
-- and maybe even giving the journalist an idea for a story angle
that he or she wouldn't have thought about otherwise. Either
way, your chances of getting coverage are greatly improved.

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America's top publicists. Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp ,
he's sharing -- for the very first time -- his secrets of scoring
big publicity. For free articles, killer publicity tips and
much, much more, visit Bill's exclusive new site:
http://www.publicityInsider.com

Jewish High Holidays for newcomers Washington Post (blog) The Jewish High Holidays begin on September 8, and for synagogues, that means undertaking complex logistical arrangements to ... New prayer book opens a welcoming door to the Jewish High HolidaysPhiladelphia Inquirer Temples fighting economic downturn as High Holidays arrivePalm Beach Post Religion ColumnJewish Community Voice all 9 news articles »

Kansas City Star

Jewish High Holidays bring time for reflection Post-Bulletin With the Jewish high holidays and their time of introspection starting tonight, Rabbi Michelle Werner of B'nai Israel Synagogue in Rochester ... Celebrating the Jewish High Holidays in the RivertownsPatch Jewish High Holidays and the Mosque at Ground ZeroSanta Barbara Independent Theme of Jewish holiday meal is sweetnessDaily News - Galveston County Memphis Commercial Appeal -The Patriot Ledger -Arutz Sheva all 314 news articles »

Helping people in need a big part of Jewish holiday tradition Detroit Free Press The efforts also allow them to reconnect with other Jewish people around the high holidays. As the volunteers assembled the gift bags at Temple Beth El, ... and more »

CREDIT MARKETS: High-Grade Debt Surges Post-Holiday Wall Street Journal Tuesday was especially busy because this week--the first after the unofficial end of summer--includes two holidays: Labor Day on Monday and Rosh Hashanah, ... and more »

Legal Week

Brazil Real Opens Stronger As Holidays Seen Sapping Volume Wall Street Journal RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)--The Brazilian real opened stronger against the US dollar Monday as holidays both locally and ... Focus On Inflows As Brazil Real Closes Stronger Amid Light VolumeWall Street Journal all 33 news articles »

Flashing mobile billboard in Bay Area poses questions during Jewish holidays San Jose Mercury News If you're cruising down US Highway 101 or waiting at a stop light near Palo Alto's Stanford Shopping Center, you may notice a mobile ... and more »

Keynote Systems and The Home Depot Team Up to Present Webcast on How Home ... MarketWatch (press release) How to formalize a holiday readiness plan and how to stick to it. -- When to Web load test your retail site for the holidays and when it's too late. ... and more »

Ynetnews

Celebrating the Jewish holidays but with increased security American Thinker (blog) ... that was hit by an attack on January 19. But the holidays are filled with hope and joy, so to all a sweet, healthy year filled with peace and happiness. Parts of the WholeTablet Magazine Biladi, Biladi - what's in a name?Ha'aretz Incorporating Judaism and Zionism into Israeli public schoolsHa'aretz Jewish Telegraphic Agency all 90 news articles »

Dover Holiday Lighting Committee seeks help, meets Thursday Foster's Daily Democrat DOVER — A new committee wants to make the holidays in the Garrison City a little more festive. The Holiday Lighting Committee is seeking ... and more »

CNET (blog)

Apple's Holidays 2010 Lineup: iPod Nano 6th Generation, iTunes 10 Ping, iPod ... LANewsMonitor.com Recently, in one of the biggest events of Apple, CEO Steve Jobs presented Apple's holiday 2010 lineup. The event was organized in San Francisco and is known ... Dr. Mac: Apple lineup ready to sparkle for holidaysHouston Chronicle all 571 news articles »

Home | Site Map

Powered By: Work At Home With Google - FREE!