Check out the magazine’s media kit
Easily available online, media kits are marketing tools
meant for prospective advertisers. But what they list, including the editorial
and reader profiles as well as an editorial calendar or “general themes” for
each issue, make it easy for you to know exactly what editors are looking for
and and how to tailor your pitch.
Work with the editorial calendar
National magazines are produced six to seven months out.
Regional publications are pulled together three to four months in advance. Online
magazines and bloggers generally require only a few weeks or less notice. Pitch
accordingly.
Tie-in your idea to a
current trend
What’s trending now? The popular British melodrama, Downton Abbey, has made Edwardian grandeur
an easy fall/winter fascination among editors. And you can bet that the
much-anticipated The Great Gatsby has editor’s composing product roundups with
Art Deco twists.
Give your pitch a
subject or intro line
Like a handrail for your idea, this gives editors—at a
glance—the skinny on the story you have in mind. A little teaser for a bright red umbrella like (Cool
Wet Weather Gear …….for under $25) helps the editor realize that there
are more places than one where your product could fit before they even read the
pitch. It also signals to the editor that you have done your part to make a
good fit for their publication and that you are ready for press.
Send print-ready
images
The single most important component of a product-driven
pitch is the image you send with it (and that photo should be embedded directly
into the pitch as a low-resolution image, never attached) How do you know
what’s good? If it looks as if it could be plugged directly on to the page you
are pitching, you’re on the right track.
Don’t style the products with a pretty backdrop or props, which only
serves to distract from it. Editors prefer a well-lit picture of the product
against a plain white backdrop.
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