If your product or service makes a great holiday gift, send the media a photo of it, along with a brief.
During a teleseminar I conducted called “Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: How to Write Them and Why Editors Love Them,” I explained that briefs can take one of several formats. They include:
–A one-page news release.
–A short list of questions and answers about a problem your product or service solves.
–A quiz.
–Tips on how to use the product.
–A resource box of places where the product or service can be bought.
–A list of definitions that pertain to a particular product or service.
–Statistics related to the problem the product solves.
Editors love briefs because they fill odd-size holes on a page and need little editing. The media aren’t likely to devote an entire story to your product unless it’s very unusual. But between now and Christmas, they’ll be collecting short items that can be included in their annual round-ups of the most popular, practical, expensive or inexpensive holiday gifts. Briefs are also one of the very best ways to get into big magazines.
Here’s a tip regarding photos:
In my ebook “How to Use Photos & Graphics in Your Publicity Campaign,” I explain that newspaper and magazine editors often want close-up photos that show your product standing my itself.
So don’t take a picture of someone holding your product in your hand if the product is so small that it is barely visible.