How to Pitch Mom & Baby Product to the Parenting Press: Guest Expert Magnolia PR Tells All

How do I get my product on Good Morning America?  How do I ethically leverage celebrity pictures wearing my apparel?  Should I send samples or not? 

Knowing the inside scoop on pitching outlets - whether they are parenting, cooking, fashion, business - you name it - is often the key to faster, more powerful success.  Today's inside scoop discusses pitching mom and baby products to the parenting press, but before we dish, I wanted to remind you that the lessons Adrienne Dorsey, founder of Magnolia PR, shares with you can be applied across categories - so whether you work with mom and baby products or men's swimwear, read, take notes and apply it to your own press outreach!

Now let's dish!  Moms are one of the most powerful demographics small businesses can go after - they're buying for their kids, their husbands, themselves, their parents and more.  That said, there is a sea of products out there for them to choose from, so how do you make sure yours stands out?  How can you land that coveted press in the hottest blog or magazine?  How do you get you score a spot on a top morning show featuring your brand?  We consulted with Magnolia PR, a leading boutique agency in Los Angeles that specializes in just this area to give us her thoughts on ten questions we hear the most when talking about this hot category.

If there were two or three things you think are golden rules when pitching the parenting press what would those be?

-Know the media outlet you are pitching and what they cover—be sure to read their publication and get a feel for what type of stories they do—and don’t—cover.

-Make sure you have a newsworthy angle—such as a new spring collection you are launching.

-Keep it short and sweet with all of the information editors need—forget the fluff. Editors don’t have time to read long press releases, so try to highlight your main points and relevant information- what’s new, price points, where to buy, and links for more information. Try to include one strong image.

How important are product lookbooks and line sheets when you’re pitching your mom and children’s products?

It’s important because editors are able to look at these for reference and quickly request the items they would like—rather than having to navigate around your website or blindly asking if you have items that fit their criteria—it saves editors time and hassle to have line sheets and lookbooks readily available.

How do you wade through the many “mommy blogs” and find those that are legitimate and worthwhile to pitch?

I check out their media kits and readership levels, and also see if they fit specific niches that would be appropriate for my clients. There are a ton of mommy blogs, so I prefer to focus on ones with original concepts and content.

Do you always send samples out when they are requested?

Unfortunately samples aren’t always available for many reasons (items may be out of stock, production isn’t quite ready, smaller companies may not have the budget to send to every media outlet, etc.), but if this is the case I try to have high resolution images ready that I can send editors/bloggers in place of samples.

What would you say are some of the most powerful outlets to get products for moms and kids into these days?

Definitely blogs! Celebrity Baby Blog by People.com has a huge readership and my clients report having a great response from being featured, Babble.com is another widely read parents site, and Daily Candy Kids of course. Many of the traditional print magazines also have blogs too, including Parents.com’s Goody Blog and Parenting.com, that have featured our clients with awesome results.

How often do you send out correspondences with editors and bloggers?

It varies depending on what is going on and what new information we have to report, but typically every week we have something to communicate! We also regularly keep editors and news outlets informed via Twitter and Facebook.

What’s the best way to leverage celebrity press (like photos of your product with a celebrity) without offending anyone?

I think it’s important to present the information in a classy, truthful way. Most likely, an awkward shot of a C-list celebrity at a gifting suite with your product won’t go very far, but candid shots of celebrities out and about with your product will be more authentic and press-worthy. I actually started working with Right Bank Babies when their reversible print dress was photographed on Heidi Klum’s daughter, and we were able to leverage the cute photographs with press coverage in Child magazine and Good Morning America for celebrity children style stories. The reversible dress sold out in no time, and this style was later named for her daughter.

What do you think makes you so good at pitching mom & baby products?

Thank you! I think it helps that I have worked with Right Bank Babies for almost four years now, since I launched my company in 2006, and editors/bloggers I’ve worked with trust the brands I represent and that I will do my best to provide them with what they need to do their job. Being reliable, making the editor’s job as easy as possible, and providing them with quality brands is key.

How do you use social media to promote your clients brands, and what would you say are the most vital parts of your social media campaign?

I regularly update our Twitter account (@magnoliapr) and Facebook with the latest information, promotions, and press tears. It’s important to engage your followers and keep up with trends and techniques on these sites, whether it’s replying to an editor’s request for eco-friendly baby brands or using the hashtag to Tweet about the trade show you are attending. I recently did this for the ENK Children’s Club show, meeting up with editors and exhibitors who follow me on Twitter. It’s great for building relationships!

What do you think are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned about PR in general that you can pass on to our readers?

I’ve learned that PR is a marathon, not a sprint. Clients who have a clear understanding that it takes time to establish and build their brand benefit the most from ongoing PR. I have worked with Right Bank Babies and Livie & Luca for a few years, and they have been featured in every major media outlet, opened hundreds of store accounts, and continue to be popular brands with the media and public due to their clear grasp of PR. Red flags for potential clients: simply wanting immediate results without sustainability, micromanaging, and not understanding the value of ongoing PR efforts.

I think it’s important for brands to be PR-friendly—having all of the materials editors need (high-resolution product images, line sheets, where to buy information, etc.) and understand lead times. For example, it’s March and editors are requesting June/July issue samples from me, I even got a request for a December cover! This means it will take a few months to truly see results and be able to gauge how your PR campaign is going. Be ready to invest a minimum of 6 months to launch an effective PR campaign.

Thanks Adrienne!  To our readers:  print these rules out, revisit them and be sure everyone on your team is in tune with these great guidelines, and before you know it you too will be pitching like, and landing hits with the pros!

DIY PR Tip: How to Find Any Local Media Outlet Faster

Part of every PR campaign will inevitably mean reaching out to local press.  This could mean telling your success story to your hometown press, or it could also mean that you're planning to visit cities other than your own and you need to figure out what outlets there need to be pitched.  Publicists do the same thing, if we have a client doing a media tour in a city we aren't familiar with we need to quickly figure out the press outlets that are located there, determine which ones are relevant to our campaign/client/pitches and begin outreach. 

Here's another time you should begin to think about media outlets in diferent cities:  anytime you are visiting one.  If you are an expert or entrepreneur with a story or tips to share, and you find yourself in another city for a few days, why aren't you trying to reach out to the news media there and tell them your story?  There is no reason you shouldn't be spending a little bit of time allocated for PR outreach to see if you can do a segment while you're in town.  Okay scractch that, there is a reason:  if you have nothing relevant to share with them, don't reach out to them.  If you're in Dallas and you run a company that does NYC bus tours, this may not be your scene.  That said, if you are a home organizer and you can take your tips on the road, it's worth a try!

Often the first step here is the hardest - which outlets do I reach out to?  Well long story short, that's the point of this blog entry.  Even though publicists have access to great databases filled with names of outlets that span from newspapers to radio shows for nearly every geographic location in the country (which we pay for), we still need to start somewhere.  I personally often struggle with hunting down the tv stations for different cities - in New York City local NBC is WNBC - what is it in other parts of the country, like Columbus, Ohio?  Detroit, Michigan?  Atlanta?  Sure I can seach within databases but I want a quick lay out of all the tv stations in a city at once and I want it fast.  Sometimes I want to see every newspaper in Miami, or another time recently I wanted to find every Home Decorating & Design media outlet that was a national outlet. 

Where do I go for these things?  I go to the Mondo Times website.  It houses over 27,670 outlets in over 212 countries!  Now it's not going to specify which reporter you should call or their contact info but it will tell you things like what it covers, a description, how often it comes out etc.  It's the best place to start, especially if you don't have access to a fancy media database.  Several entries even take you to the outlet's website where you can find more contact information.

Keep this website in your back pocket, it's worth it whenver you need to find outlets locally, nationally and even internationally!  Sure you can pay for fancy contact lists but wait for the time when you can really spend your overhead on that.  For now, use tools like this to get the job done!

What's a Magazine Deskside and How Can I Land One

Deskside appointments.  You may or may not have heard of them, but chances are if you are a product based company whether it's food or baby toys or fashion-based or a beauty product, you'll need to conduct them at some point during your quarterly pr outreach. This article provides you with an overview of the Desk side. Then, we've written another article on how to land a desk side appointment, and what your desk side appointment will be like.

At its most basic, a deskside is when you make an appointment and visit an editor or journalist at their office (and often times in the lobby of their publishing house) and have a short amount of time to share your products, give your pitch, and as I always recommend, begin creating a relationship with someone who  could impact your brand for years to come. 

So why would you want to take the time to conduct a deskside?  For anyone, and especially those who don't have a showroom to take appointments in, it allows you to get  to know the editor or writer covering your beat or product category, you go to them (rarely does a media person have time these days to come to your office or a coffee shop to meet), and if done well and for the right reasons (with the right people) it can create lasting relationships.  Remember, at its most basic, public relations should consist of great stories and products and experts (all of you) going to people (the media) who will then share it with an appropriate audience (their readers/viewers/listeners).  Because of the nature and fast pace of media, desksides tend to me more rare in television or blogs, but magazines still conduct these meetings regularly. 

Though pr firms often conduct desksides for clients, and often take in a few brands at a time in some cases, there is no reason why you as a business owner can't schedule and execute them yourself.  And don't just take our word for it - Tin Shingle member Stefany DiManno of DiManno Designs recently followed some tips and combined them with her own growing public relations DIY skills and booked appointments with editors from Lucky Magazine to Redbook that she found in our member-only Media Contact Lists.  Again, though nothing is guaranteed at a deskside appointment, what is guaranteed is human interaction, and these days when we communicate so much via email, phone and text, a little face to face time can be just what your pr plan needs.  With that in mind, let's first talk about how to know if you should go on a deskside, how to land one, and what you need in order to execute a successful meeting that is worth both your and your media contact's time.

DO I NEED A DESKSIDE:

Though the temptation of meeting with an editor can be strong and exciting, don't schedule these appointments unless you have samples and products available not only to bring in, but that will be available to sell and for readers to access in the time frame for which the editors are pulling.  In other words, if you are going to a monthly magazine, remember that they are working 3-6 months ahead, so you should be bringing in products that will be available on that timeline.  If you are going to a shorter lead (a weekly magazine, newspaper, television, or blog) keep in mind the product must be available immediately.

Is your collection organized and ready to be viewed?  In other words, whether you are creating a line of brownies or a series of finance tutorials, is the product line totally thought out, the packaging and pricing done and organized, sales set up (or at least online)?  Don't ever take editors "works in progress".  Value their time.  They are on a massive time crunch to execute issue after issue, and many are short staffed.  This means every second of their time counts, and that deskside better mean something.

HOW DO I LAND A DESKSIDE:

In my experience and the experience of several publicists & Tin Shingle members , the fastest way to land a deskside is to reach out to the correct editor at the magazine you are reaching out to via email.  Don't know who this may be? Use the Media Contact Lists at Tin Shingle to help do your research! Once you find an editor that would be a good fit for your story, follow this step-by-step guide to getting that Desk side appointment, and what to expect while you're there.