Would your book make a good holiday gift?\u00a0Now\u2019s the time to start thinking about how you\u2019ll pitch it to annual holiday gift guides that run in newspapers and on websites and blogs.<\/p>\n

These holiday gift guides are often built around a theme \u2013 gifts under $20 or $50, or for the person who has everything, runners, romance readers, knitters, and so on.<\/p>\n

This type of article is often referred to as a \u201cround-up.\u201d A \u201croundup\u201d usually gathers up the best, worst, most, least, newest, top, funniest, etc. products related to a specific category or theme.<\/p>\n

Remember that roundups can be broader than books. In fact, if you come up with a \u201cgifts for\u201d or \u201cbest gifts of\u201d topic that includes a wide range of product types, you might\u00a0be more successful than if you focused only on books.<\/p>\n

Here are the steps to follow to pitch the press on a holiday gift guide that includes your book.<\/p>\n

1. Create your roundup topic and title.<\/h3>\n

Examples include \u201cBest holiday gifts for writers,\u201d\u00a0\u201cTeen gift ideas,\u201d \u201cGifts for sports fans,\u201d and \u201cTop gifts for the health-conscious.\u201d Written a mystery set in the Berkshire\u00a0Mountains? Get regional publicity with a roundup on \u201cBooks that showcase the Berkshires,\u201d or “Best Massachusetts-made gifts” or even “Best gifts\u00a0for mountain hikers.”<\/p>\n

(To get more gift guide topic ideas, read \u201c6 ways to promote your book as a holiday gift<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p>\n

2. Understand which media outlets are the best fit for your holiday gift guide idea.<\/h3>\n

October is probably too late to get into a magazine\u2019s holiday gift guide because they started planning them weeks ago, but the timing is perfect for newspapers, websites, and blogs.<\/p>\n

Decide if you want to contact just a few daily newspapers, most of them in a region, or most of them around the country. If you\u2019re sending your idea to just a few of them, you can pitch via email. If you\u2019re sending them to all daily newspapers with a circulation greater than 50,000, for example, you\u2019ll want to use a press release distribution service<\/a>\u00a0(that’s an affiliate link for my favorite service).<\/p>\n

Identify the websites and bloggers that reach your target audience and use this type of content. Consider TV talk shows in your local market as well, particularly noon news options\u00a0and network affiliate morning programs\u00a0that air in the early hours before the network morning shows (Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This \u00a0Morning).<\/p>\n

3. Be clear on where your holiday gift guide\u00a0fits into the media outlet\u2019s content.<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re pitching a TV talk show, watch a few shows to see if they usually do demonstrations, \u201con location\u201d segments, or studio sit-downs where you chat with a host. If you\u2019re going after daily newspapers, know which section is most likely to use your idea \u2014 business? Lifestyle?<\/p>\n

4. Figure out who you should pitch at the outlet(s).<\/h3>\n

When you\u2019re pitching just your local media outlets, you can gather that information easily through each outlet\u2019s website or by calling. Here\u2019s a quick cheat sheet:<\/p>\n

\n
• For TV talk shows, contact the producer.<\/li>\n
• For TV news programs, contact the assignment editor.<\/li>\n
• For daily newspapers, contact the section editor or the reporter who covers your gift guide\u2019s topic. For example, if it\u2019s a \u201cbest gifts for foodies\u201d idea, you would contact the food reporter or food editor. If it\u2019s \u201ctop 10 gifts for small business owners,\u201d it\u2019s the small business reporter or business section editor. The right title depends on the newspaper size \u2013 the larger the newspaper, the more likely it is to have topic reporters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  5. Write and e-mail a great pitch letter.<\/h3>\n

  <\/a>A pitch letter is a sales letter that needs to convince an editor, reporter, or producer that your idea is a good fit for that outlet. Learning how to write a solid pitch letter is so important that\u00a0Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms & Templates<\/em><\/a>\u00a0has a fill-in-the-blanks form that walks you through the process and\u00a0a sample pitch letter so you know what it should look like.<\/p>\n

  Describe your topic and offer your book as a suggestion as well as several other recommended gifts. Offer to send a copy of the book.<\/p>\n

  When you offer other gift ideas for the round-up, you’re doing two things for the journalist. First, you’re helping do some of the work. Second, you’re showing that you understand how these things work — that gift guides offer multiple gifts, not just yours.<\/p>\n

  PRO TIP: Use a search engine to look up a few gift guides from previous years. It will help you see how various media outlets handle them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

  What would be a good <\/em>holiday gift <\/em>roundup topic for your book? Tell us in a comment.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  <\/a><\/p>\n

  Would your book make a good holiday gift?\u00a0Now\u2019s the time to start thinking about how you\u2019ll pitch it to annual holiday gift guides that run in newspapers and on websites and blogs.<\/p>\n

  These holiday gift guides are often built around a theme \u2013 gifts under $20 or $50, or for the person who has everything, runners, romance readers, knitters, and so on.<\/p>\n

  This type of article is often referred to as a \u201cround-up.\u201d A \u201croundup\u201d usually gathers up the best, worst, most, least, newest, top, funniest, etc. products related to a specific category or theme.<\/p>\n

  Remember that roundups can be broader than books. In fact, if you come up with a \u201cgifts for\u201d or \u201cbest gifts of\u201d topic that includes a wide range of product types, you might\u00a0be more successful than if you focused only on books.<\/p>\n

  Here are the steps to follow to pitch the press on a holiday gift guide that includes your book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,20,11],"tags":[163,174,770,771],"class_list":["post-8829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-publicity","category-news","category-tactics","tag-book-publicity-2","tag-books-as-gifts","tag-gift","tag-holiday-gift-guides"],"yoast_head":"\n