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.aspfor 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

In The News:
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Homestyle-Holidays-Rachael-Ray-Returns/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BC29A9102-9D89-4F0A-AA05-F53CAFE7D7D6%257Dcid=1277231563ei=2Eo3SfKeCYrFmQeI5pmiDwusg=AFQjCNFVjKxbIN3n9_e0IDB_O4z9BxT5MQHomestyle bHolidays/b! Rachael Ray Returns to QVC with Her Signature b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Now, just in time for the bholidays/b, she is returning to offer even more pieces from the line, including the Round Grill Pan, 10-Piece Porcelain Enamel b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/BagPoint-USA-Unveils-New-Website/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B04EE73BE-EE7A-473F-BE9E-A6EEF90B1B2C%257Dcid=1277176248ei=2Eo3SfKeCYrFmQeI5pmiDwusg=AFQjCNE_yOjHmHzk6cvazaj6a4Xj17Hv3QBagPoint USA Unveils New Website in Time for the bHolidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1SARASOTA, FL, Dec 03, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- BagPoint USA, a Sarasota-based high end online retailer of discounted, Imported Italian shoes and b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.ibtimes.com/prnews/20081202/fl-astronautscholars.htmcid=1276948143ei=2Eo3SfKeCYrFmQeI5pmiDwusg=AFQjCNHv33fLnGGVFcg_r6ygG0hqbdOuRgHero Astronauts Offer Out-Of-This-World Club for the bHolidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fInternational Business Times,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobrDec 2, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Unlike other #39;flavor-of-the-month#39; services, the Astronaut Autograph Clubmakes for the perfect gift that will be long-treasured after the bholidays/b andfor b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-fitness1204.artdec04,0,5604036.storycid=1277294373ei=2Eo3SfKeCYrFmQeI5pmiDwusg=AFQjCNH6FStKhfzm22fCJ14gG_bHCkPEzgTips For Staying Healthy, Sane During bHolidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fHartford Courant,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Drs. KAY JUDGE and MAXINE BARISH-WREDEN | McClatchy Newspapers The winter bholidays/b are upon us, and many of us yearn to create a picture-perfect scene at b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Car-Thieves-Work-Year-Round/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BF5FC5259-46A8-4ED5-9D58-B97ADC251079%257Dcid=1277223823ei=2Eo3SfKeCYrFmQeI5pmiDwusg=AFQjCNGk7y4QMEFPCoDmVqQVLMQ6kZB7yACar Thieves Work Year Round, Even On bHolidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Even though the weather may be cold in much of the country, vehicles are still a hot commodity during the bholidays/b. quot;Thieves never seem to miss an b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
holidays - Google News


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