Christmas in July? It's never too early to start your PR

There’s often a lot of controversy surrounding when it’s too early to start talking about the festive season. Christmas songs before Halloween? Decorations in November? However, in PR Christmas starts in July. 

Why? Long-lead publications, which are primarily print publications, work 3-4 months in advance, yet start Christmas issues even earlier. While we’re planning our perfect summer outfit, editors will be planning the best Christmas gift guide. Below we created some tips to think about when to start your festive PR.

Meanwhile, why not make profit of Christmas to send your next product launch off the shelf with a winning PR strategy?

Be prepared

Being prepared to start your Christmas PR also means being prepared within your business, understanding which products will work best in Gift Guides or creating a Christmas themed product, as well as understanding if you have a good festive story. To help with this read previous Christmas issues of publications you’d like to target, understand what the publication looks for such as price ranges, types of gifts or case studies. 

From this you’ll also be able to prepare all the information a journalist would need to feature your product. For example, journalists compiling gift guides will need high res images of the product, a description, the price and where it can be brought. Being prepared and quick to respond can often increase your chances of gaining coverage.

Stand out from the crowd

Christmas is a great time to gain coverage, especially when you have a product based, sales lead business. However, this is also a time where journalists will be overloaded with festive themed emails and press releases. Therefore, it is important to stand out from the crowd with a twist on a traditional story or eye-catching headline. Has your business done anything different around Christmas? Have you seen your sales spike out of the ordinary or have you even seen your sales fall? Understand what makes you and your business stand out from others. 

Don’t get caught up in the jargon

Although it can be tempting to get caught up in the festive fun it is important to remember that press releases need be straight to the point so the journalist can understand your story and why you’re contacting them. For example, if a release is full of Christmas lyrics and puns without getting to the story chances are they won’t carry on reading. Therefore, remove the fluff and engage the journalist with a story their readers will love.

Keep on top of your PR

Even though Christmas starts in July it doesn’t end; coverage opportunities from weekly’s to online will be available from now until December. Keep an eye on media requests (especially #journorequest tags on Twitter) for chances to get your business heard, as well as sending more press releases nearer the time.

For help with your Christmas PR, contact mailto:sales@journolink.com