Part 1: 5 Golden Rules of Sending Press Packages
Plus: RSVPs now open for our March "Become a Journalist's BFF" workshop AND next week's Top Tier Talk
Happy Friday, TTC subscribers!
Before we dive into today’s topic on everything you need to know about press packages, we have an exciting announcement!
Our small group Pitch Perfecting Workshop earlier this week was a massive hit, so we’re going to try this format with our second-most-popular workshop next month: Become a Journalist’s BFF: Networking and Relationship Management.
Yes, we offer these as private sessions for agencies or individuals, but now we’re making them more accessible and affordable for freelance publicists and smaller agencies, too!
Here are the details:
What: Some publicists seem to have a transactional “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am” approach to their work, but highly successful publicists know that building long-term relationships with journalists is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Learn how to meet new journalists, and discover best practices for staying in touch, following up, and creating meaningful relationships.
Format: 1-hour workshop via Zoom with Jill and Nicole includes:
45-minute formal presentation of our best relationship-building and management tips
Learn how to meet new journalists and develop a lucrative working relationship with them
Discover best practices for staying in touch
Learn the finer points of following up that will increase your response rate
Discover how to become a writer’s go-to source
Learn how to stand out when answering a writer’s call for sources (whether that’s on HARO, a FB group, Twitter, Substack etc) — there is definitely an art to this and we will walk you through our magic formula!
Discover how to avoid common writer pet peeves that may make someone want to pass on working with you again.
15 minutes for Q&A: Anything and everything is on the table for discussion here and you will walk away with your questions answered.
Opportunity to network with and learn from your colleagues
Date: March 13 at 1 pm PT/4 pm ET
Pricing: $199 per person for annual Top Tier Paid Subscribers; $259 per person for Free Subscribers (prepayment is required to hold your slot)
(Note to free subscribers: The TTC annual subscription fee is $99 — so, upgrading would save you $60 on this workshop, PLUS you’d get access to ALL our paid content — including our vast archive of content — and monthly Top Tier Talks for just $39 more for the year.)
Questions? Ready to sign up? Reach out to us at info@toptierconsulting.net today!
Last chance to RSVP for our next Top Tier Talk (FREE to all paid subscribers!)
As a reminder, a perk of being a Top Tier Subscriber is that you get access to our monthly Top Tier Talks where we both Zoom with members for an hour each month to dive into industry topics and answer all the questions that come up from our community during the month.
Our next one is February 28 at 10 am PT/1 pm EST. Go ahead and save the date on your calendar now and follow this link to RSVP. It will take you to a Google doc, where you’ll submit your questions (we’ll also answer questions that come up live in the session).
Can’t make it? No worries. We send out the Zoom recording link to all of our paid subscribers afterwards to watch at their convenience.
This week’s topic: Press Packages 101
For journalists who do e-commerce writing, “I Tried It style articles,” and gift guides/roundups, sampling products is an almost daily task. Whether it’s electronic gadgets, beauty supplies, fashion apparel, accessories, kitchen appliances, snacks, drinks, or exercise equipment, seeing/smelling/tasting/touching/experiencing a product first-hand is a fun — and very necessary — part of our job. Sometimes, our editors require it. Other times, we want the peace of mind of knowing that the products we’re recommending to readers will be worth their time/money. Afterall, our reputations are everything in this industry, and we want our readers and editors to trust our judgment!
Many of us receive a dozen (or more!) products each month on our doorsteps. As you can imagine, it’s a lot for a writer to manage — we have to track our samples, play around with them, hopefully write about them, and then find homes for them because of limited storage space (read: nobody needs 6 blenders.)
But far too often, press mailers go horribly wrong.
Not too long ago, Jill received what she assumed was a very cutely curated and thoughtful press package from a hotel property … but all she saw when she opened it was what appeared to be a ceramic coffee mug smashed into a thousand pieces, and several glass jars of marmalade and other gooey goodies that had leaked all over everything (ruining the tea towel and marketing materials included). What a shame!
Last year, Jill received another very cute press package that contained a bunch of beauty products and a PINEAPPLE. However, that poor pineapple over-ripened during transit and by the time it got to her had more or less imploded its sticky goodness all over everything. And it stunk SO bad.
But media mailer follies don’t just happen with consumables. Once, Jill received a $350 sleeping bag from an unknown source (and Jill’s idea of “camping” is staying at a 3-star hotel, let’s be honest, so it wasn’t exactly her beat). There was no info on the box, no info enclosed and there’s been zero contact with anyone from the brand in her emails. What a shame, as that was a huge waste of the publicist’s money!
And we know that press mailers are an investment for you and your client … one that you want maximum ROI on. So here are the first 5 golden rules when it comes to press mailers to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth (we’ll send the second half of this list in an upcoming newsletter, so stay tuned for part 2!):
1. NEVER send surprise press packages.
No matter how cool your client’s product is, writers don’t want to be surprised by unexpected press mailers. First, many of us travel a lot and don’t want packages piling up when we’re gone. We’ve definitely had perishables sit on the porch while we’re OOT only to return to sad and spoiled food.
Or sometimes you have to sign for a package and aren’t home, and then we have to do deal with going to UPS or FedEx to retrieve something we didn’t even ask for in the first place.
Also, it could be a package we don’t even want, for any number of reasons (we’ll get into all of those reasons shortly), and now you’ve wasted money sending it to us because we won’t be able to cover it.
But most importantly, it could create an obligation that we’re not interested in taking on … writers resent being sent something they know they can’t place and having that obligation hang over their head.
Bottom line: Communicate your intentions with the writer first and get confirmation of their interest (especially if you already have their mailing address on hand from a previous press mailer. This helps to ensure that the product you’re going to send out is something we realistically think we may be able to work into a story. It saves your client money, you a trip to the post office, and helps us to only have to sift through mailers that fit our beats.
Oh shoot, you’ve hit the paywall? These industry insights are a perk for paid subscribers! As two writers at the top of our games, we put our heads together weekly to write these newsletters for our audience, treating them as we do any assigned article that we write, which means we pour a ton of time into them and do charge a nominal fee to subscribe as a result. Now’s a great time to upgrade your subscription and get in on the conversation: