{Yes No Maybe original illustration by The Little Canoe}
I’m rushing around NYC this week meeting with editors at Real Simple, Lucky, Harper’s Bazaar, Family Circle and more. While I know most editors really well and know what they want, it’s always good to get some face-to-face time with them to learn what they’re currently working on and help solidify the relationship.
It’s always interesting to SEE someone’s reaction to a product as opposed to hearing it or reading it on an email. I can tell immediately when an editor is totally jazzed about something, and can also tell immediately when they are bored and ready to move on.
The question I get most often from small business owners and designers is – how do I know an editor will like my product?
The answer is: you really don’t know unless you ask them directly. Which can make it really hard, because they aren’t always accessible, nor do they have time to give feedback to every person that pitches their product.
So, I’ve decided to put together a short checklist of things to consider before pitching your product to the media straight from the editors themselves. Enjoy!
Wow them with something new
Hands-down, the best reactions I receive are when the product is truly something new that they haven’t heard of or seen before. Maybe your handbags are woven from a material that’s rarely used for accessories or you infused a new ingredient into your homemade bath salts. Innovation will always pique their interest.
Make sure it is as exceptional as it sounds
I’ve seen it happen before. You talk up a product that gets an editor bouncing out of their chair. Then they look at it or test it, and it just doesn’t live up to the hype. I’m talking about candles that melted and leaked out of the container, pump cosmetic bottles that didn’t pump out the product it should have, extraneous threads hanging off a handbag that, when pulled, unraveled half of it.
Before sending anything off to someone in the media, test everything. Mail one to yourself to see how it holds up. Hold it up against other products that are featured in that magazine (is it just as good, if not better, than what is on those pages?)
Share a story
The media always wants to know the story around the product. Where did it come from? Who is the owner? What was the inspiration? A great story can sometimes make a product go from drab to fab in the media’s eyes. For example, you show them a necklace and they say “that’s cute.” Then you tell them that the necklace was inspired by a trip to a foreign country and crafted with a special stone from the region that’s not found anywhere in your country. NOW you’ve got their attention. Your “cute” necklace just moved into an exclusive, multicultural category of fashion.
Want to know more about how to get your designs into national magazines? I’m offering Oh My! Handmade readers $100 off of my National Magazine Publicity program. Just visit www.magazinepublicity.com and enter the code SAVE100 at checkout. Happy publicizing!
