Christmas in July

The most wonderful time of the year is almost upon us. With only 163 sleeps until Christmas, it is time to start thinking about Christmas Gift Guides.

Top items are often ‘revealed’ a few weeks before the big day, but in reality the top sellers are pitched to the publishing world a lot earlier. If you want your product or service to be among the Christmas ‘must buys’, then now is the time to act. Some deadlines are almost upon us.

The 2013 Christmas Gift Guide is free to download. It lists a sample of CisionPoint’s contact and outlet profiles putting you in touch with the right people for the festive season. They also reveal submission deadlines, though in nearly every case the rule is: The earlier the better.

Katie Marshall, editorial assistant at Waitrose Kitchen, said: ‘It’s good to have stuff on file to bear in mind. It’s a shame when good products come in too late; they can’t be included because we’ve already done the photo shoots and written the copy.’

It’s also important to know the magazine’s target audience and work out what kind of products they include. Waitrose Magazine obviously only publishes content on products that Waitrose will stock. You’re unlikely to still have last Christmas’ magazine, so check out current content to work out how your item would fit in.

Standard pitching advice also applies for the Christmas Gift Guides; supply pictures of the product as a reference, contact by email and be receptive to editorial requests.

For detailed information about Christmas Gift Guide contacts, download Cision’s profiles now. Full listings of editorial contacts can be found in the CisionPoint Media Database.