How to Get Your Product Into Holiday Gift Guides

Every fall, brand founders ask us the same question: how do we get into the gift guides? Here is what actually decides it, from years of pitching shopping editors.

"The pitch that gets picked is the one that answers 'who is this gift for?' before the editor has to ask."Michelle Fox Sawyer, Fox Group PR

1Pitch the gift, not the brand

A gift guide is a shopping list with a byline. The editor is looking for the right gift for a specific person: the host, the runner, the dad who has everything.

So skip the brand story. Tell the editor who the gift is for and why it works for them, in one or two sentences. "The gift for the friend who cooks every weekend" gets read. "We're a family-owned company founded in 2019" does not.

2Lead with one product

Editors have room for one line and one photo. Pick the single product that makes the best gift, and pitch that. A giftable set or a hero product at a clear price point works best. Sending your whole catalog makes the editor do the choosing, and most won't.

3Have an affiliate program ready

This is the part most brands miss. Most shopping editors work on commerce teams, and their pages earn money when readers buy through their links.

A product with an active affiliate program on a network like Awin or Impact is easier to include and easier to keep in the guide. Set a competitive commission, and make sure editors can find your brand in the network before you pitch.

4Know the calendar

Most gift guides live online now, and editors are still building them in October and November. Many keep adding picks right up to the holidays, then put together separate Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals roundups.

So it's not too late. But earlier is better, because the first guides go live in late October and the best spots fill first. Load your holiday promotions into your affiliate network so editors see them when they build their deals pages.

5Don't stop at gift guides

Gift guides are seasonal. Best-of lists, like "the best pasta" or "the best massage chairs," are updated all year and show up when someone is ready to buy.

Pitch both. The gift guides bring the holiday spike. A spot in a best-of list keeps your product in front of shoppers in March and July.

What to have ready before you pitch

• One hero product per guide, with its price and a one-line reason it makes a great gift
• High-resolution product photos on a white background, plus one lifestyle shot
• An active affiliate program with a current commission and any holiday promotion loaded
• Samples ready to ship the same week an editor asks
• A clear answer to "who is this gift for?"

Gift guides aren't luck. They come from giving editors exactly what they need, when they need it, in a form that works for their business.

Want to be in this year's gift guides?

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