Last year, it was estimated that Americans would spend $1 trillion on Christmas gifts, averaging a spend of over $400 per person. As millennials move into their prime spending years, that means small businesses have a huge opportunity to capture a market that has proven to prefer shopping small when finding unique gifts for their loved ones.

But how do they know what to look for?

Annual gift guides are what people consult when shopping for that perfect present, and now is the time to get your business featured on those quintessential lists.

Holiday gift guides gain you not only major exposure but exposure at a critical time when people are most active as consumers. It’s also a competitive time to get press as other businesses are pitching to be featured in holiday gift guides, making it that much more important for you to be on top of your game.

While it might be too late for national print magazines (they usually work about 6 months ahead), there is still opportunity out there. You can look at national online outlets and regional newspapers, TV, and magazines.

Below are a few tips for pitching your product to holiday gift guides:

1. Find the most giftable items in your collection. You want to suggest things that work for a wide variety of people. For example, you don’t want to pitch makeup items in various shades or clothing in different sizes. The reason for this is it is hard to determine sizes when buying gifts for people. Instead, pitch universal items that can work for everyone. If your company offers gift sets, that is always a good way to go because people can get a sample of what your company is all about.
2. Make sure the products you are pitching are available in December. If you are pitching now, you need to make 100% sure that those same products will be available in December, when most gift guides come out. If they are not available, you will ruin your relationships with the editors because they look bad for including things their audience can’t even buy. It will also look bad to your customers who are trying to buy your products.
3. Think about gift guide categories. If you do a quick Google search, you can see what national publications used as their gift guide categories last year. Try to fit your products into some of those categories. It makes it easier for the editors if you point out which products are good for which category. Here are some categories to think about:
   • Stocking stuffers,
   • Gifts for foodies,
   • Gifts for the fitness fanatic in your life,
   • Gifts for mom (dad, sister, husband, etc),
   • Gifts under $25 ($50 or $100)
   • Splurge gift items.
4. Keep your pitch short. When sending your e-mail pitch, you want to make sure every word makes sense. Being short & concise is the key to PR pitching because media contacts are in a hurry, so you have a very short amount of time to grab their attention. As a rule of thumb, you need to include which category your gifts fall into and a few sentences about your brand and why it is different/special. If you are a visual brand (clothing, food, home décor, etc.), it is smart to embed images into the body of the e-mail because pictures can catch someone’s attention more than words. Also, as a side note, if you are pitching local media make sure you mention that you are a local company.
5. Explain the why behind the brand. I can’t express this enough. The ‘why’ behind your brand is usually the thing people remember more than your actual products. Especially as a small business owner, there is some reason that you are putting your heart & soul into this company. People can really relate to the why behind the business, which will cause them to remember you and your products. Make sure you are including these things in your pitch because they can also help you stand apart from all the products out there.

Hopefully, all of these tips can help to get your products into gift guides during the busiest shopping season of the year. Also, fifteen media does offer a one-hour one-on-one gift guide workshop. It can be done in person (in Austin) or virtually. The workshop is customizable to your brand. If you are interested in setting one up, please e-mail rebekah@fifteen-media.com.