Holy Moly I have a ton of Calls for Sources Packed into this Substack
Plus: A ton of resources + the ultimate workshop to help your holiday gift guide pitches break thru a busy writer's inbox this season (Writers are averaging 500 emails a day right now!).
Hi all!
Pre Substack warning: I went to bed at 1 a.m. last night and had a toddler who would only “sleep” in my bed rolling around all night so I’m writing this on very little zzzs and hopefully it’s in English. :-p
Also hi from the Emmy’s a few weekends ago! It’s been a busy busy month but oh so fun!
Anyway here goes:
Sending out a Friday afternoon edition, which I know is a lame time to send out a call for sources but hoping this break through since all of our inboxes are all nuts right now.
It’s officially holiday gift guide pitching season and I’m averaging at least 500 emails a day!
Please know that if you’re sending me pitches, I am reading them. I just don’t even remotely have the capacity to answer all of them — let alone sneak in a workout these days, prepare many home cooked meals (Uber Eats has become a great pal this month. And big shout out to Sweet Green who has a bowl I love called the Shroomami and some delicious new air fried fries with garlic aioli and no seed oils!) or get my very neglected dogs out for a walk. ‘Tis the season, right?
I have TONS of assignments I’m going to be sourcing for this week. Stay tuned to hear about those, but first I wanted to make a couple of quick announcements
If you’re not a subscriber to the Top Tier Consulting Substack, you’re definitely missing out!
While I keep my personal Substack newsletter free and use it as a tool to connect with publicists to find the best sources, I do have another endeavor with fellow writer Jill Schildhouse. The two of us have been in the game for a combined 50 something years and have been published in practically ever top tier outlet under the sun (hence our cheesy company name :-p).
We put our heads together to bring publicists weekly newsletters that dive deep into our best strategies for helping your pitches to break through BUSY inboxes and to catch the attention of writers and editors to land top tier coverage.
Here’s a FREE POST to give you a taste of what we offer weekly (and our most popular to date):
Our TOP Tips from 2022 (spoiler: they ALL still apply in the new year!)
A few other greatest hits:
8 Things You Need to Do to Help Prep Your Clients for Interviews
PART 1: A Look INSIDE the Process of How Writers Handle an Inbox Full of PR Pitches
The Right And Wrong Ways to Handle Your Clients' Titles When Submitting Them As Sources
How to Make YOUR Product Stand Out From ALL the Other Product Pitches In a Writer's Inbox
In-Person and Virtual Events, Client Desksides, and Others Ways to Network with Journalists
Speaking of Top Tier Consulting, Jill & I are doing a 1-hour workshop coming up on EVERYTHING (and we do mean EVERYTHING - No stone will be left uncovered) you need to know about ROCKING Holiday Gift Guide pitching this year
Here is more info on that:
Back by Popular Demand: TTC’s 2024 Rock Your Holiday Gift Guide Workshop
Date: Wednesday, October 16
Time: 11 am PST/2pm EST
Note: If you can’t make it live, no worries. We’ll record it and you can watch on your own time. And you’ll even have a chance to submit a Q&A ahead of time to make sure you get your questions answered.
During this one-hour session, we’ll cover:
HGG best practices pitching tips from 2 journalists who write holiday gift guides for top-tier publications all season long (and have for years!)
Examples of sample subject lines that were SO good, we opened those emails (and we receive 500-1,000 pitches a day)!
A checklist of everything you should include in your HGG pitches
Advice for how to make YOUR pitch stand out in a writer’s crowded inbox
Tips for getting your SOURCES included in holiday gift guides (great for clients who don’t have products!)
A discussion of what’s trending this year and what we’re seeing in terms of themes for holiday gift guides
Examples of HGG pitches we’ve received that hit the mark — use these as your inspiration for format, content, etc.
Open Q&A session where we answered about a dozen questions
In the spirit of the holidays, we’re making this one our LEAST EXPENSIVE session ever!
Rate: $29 Paid TTC Substack Subscribers; $49 Free TTC Subscribers
(you can always upgrade for the discount AND it’ll give you access to our weekly paid posts and monthly Top Tier Talks, too)We did a 2023 version and boy did we get some great feedback on how it made such a difference in people’s holiday pitches!
Hope to see you there!
More links to get yourself Holiday Gift Guide Ready:
From the archives of Top Tier Consulting, here are all our resources to help with your holiday gift guide efforts:
Christmas in August Zoom Q&A with Affiliate Marketing Expert Sarah Karger (this will answer ALL your affiliate-related HGG questions!)
A Real-Life Example of an HGG Product Pitch Format that Most Writers Will Delete (hint: Don’t do this!)
What NOT to Pitch in a Holiday Gift Guide (seriously, save these pitches for another time)
A Handy-Dandy Checklist of 10 Things to Double-Check Before Sending Your Pitch (don’t send another pitch before making sure you’ve included everything a journalist needs!)
If you’re clients aren’t on affiliate programs, they are probably not making it into holiday gift guides this season. Here’s a great course I recommend by affiliate marketing guru Sarah Karger:
Ultimate Masterclass Introduction to Affiliate Marketing:
Here comes a ton of sourcing needs.
Taking a deep breath at how much this is going to make my inbox explode haha. And of course a huge THANK YOU in advance for submitting your sources.
NOTE: Please send potential sources to NCPajer@gmail.com in a separate email — if you reply to this substack it will get lost in my inbox. Thanks!
AARP
Looking for experts to share their expertise and real people ages 50+ to weigh in with their experiences:
Note: I cannot promote any specific products
Things to consider when dating someone younger. Dating someone a decade younger or even more? Here’s how to navigate that.
The most romantic thing he/she has ever done for me: Looking to talk to to real life couples who have been together for a long time (ages 50+)
How to renew your vows later in life – Looking for experts to provide some really creative and affordable ways to do it.
5 questions to break the ice when find a potential partner on a dating app
The trend of seniors living apart from each other when married - I’d like to talk to some people who do and get tips on how this is ok and why
Senior dating influencers share their best dating tips: Please send candidates!
How to throw a milestone birthday (50th, 70th, 100th and beyond)
Gift Guide for Great grandparents: Looking specifically for things they can buy for the kiddos but leave at their homes to make their visits easier/fun
Gift Guides: Best electronics of the season to buy for 2024
GREAT PET CARE
Looking for veterinarians to talk about:
Did you know that pets can suffer from the same joint disease as millions of people?
Preventing dogs from overheating
Homing instinct in cats and how they are able to find their way home, even a long distance?
BROOKDALE
(Largest senior housing company in North America with 700+ locations. This also goes out in their email newsletter to ALL residents and family members of residents so lots of eyes).
Bring on the DIY gift experts, registered dietitians, chefs, food experts and finance and retirement experts
What to Know about Your Finances When You Retire
Feeling behind on retirement planning? You're not alone. Prepare for retirement and set your future self up for success with this list.
Healthy Warm Drink Recipes
Stay warm and cozy this fall and winter with these healthy drink recipes.
Heart Healthy Holiday Menus
Food is one of the best parts of the holiday season. Here are a few heart healthy twists on some holiday favorites.
Under-Consumption Gift Guide
The idea of under consumption is trending on social media. What is it and how can you incorporate it into your holiday gift giving?
Thank you, thank you, thank you to my fabulous publicist community for always having such great sources ready to send my way. If I haven’t worked with you yet, hope to soon. And hope to see you at the upcoming holiday gift guide workshop or to have my Top Tier Consulting Substack land in your inbox.
ox, Nicole