Sourcing needs for this week

P.S. If you rep products, you will want to tune in for tips on nailing the press mailer!

Diving back in post maternity leave (survived my first week back! It was a little chaotic but we got it done :-p). Working on some new stories and will have more for you soon but could still use some sources for these (see below). But first, I wanted to also fill everyone in on a new workshop that Jill and I are hosting for Top Tier Consulting coming up. This is something that is especially timely given holiday gift guide pitching season so if you rep a product, you’ll want to tune into this one.

Do you send writer’s press samples? Then you won’t want to miss this!

Publicists who rep brands love to send out samples of products to writers to allow them to sample something to see if it’s the right fit for an upcoming story, like a gift guide. But there is a lot more to sending a sample than just putting your client’s product in a box and taking it to the post office. In this upcoming workshop, we’ll be sharing some perspectives from the writing community on how sending a press sample can lead to more coverage for your clients & how to nail this process! We’ll talk about:

• When and how to send a product sample

• How to vet the editorial opportunity and do your due diligence to make sure you’re sending your sample to a writer who has the potential to write about it (read: avoid unethical writers looking for freebies)

• What writers like to see in the box and what they don’t

• Big bloopers people make when sending press samplers (that they probably don’t realize they are making!)

• Things writers receive that are an automatic waste of your money (avoid these and save your clients some serious cash!)

• What else should be included with the mailing (hint: more than just the product)

• Tips for how to best spend your budget AND get a stronger ROI

• What to say in an email when asking if a writer wants a press sampler (and the number one thing that a writer never wants to hear)

• How and when to follow up to ensure receipt and inquire about possible coverage

Open Q&A at the end where we’ll tackle any other questions that you have.

Date: Monday, October 30

Time: 11 am PT/2 pm EST (this session will last one hour)

Can’t make it live? No worries. Pay now and we’ll send you the link to the recording right after the session — then, you can watch it at your convenience.

Rate: $39 Paid TTC Substack Subscribers; $99 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). To upgrade, just follow the prompts at the Paywall on our most recent post:

When Pitching a Lesser-Known Brand/Company, You Must Also Explain WHAT It Is

For a FREE taste of some of the weekly content our Substack offers, check out these posts:

Our TOP Tips from 2022 (spoiler: they ALL still apply in the new year!)

FREE POST: Part 1 of All Your Questions Answered (aka, July's Top Tier Talk)

FREE POST: Part 2 of All Your Questions Answered

Ready to sign up? Send an email to info@toptierconsulting.NET and we’ll collect payment and send you the link for the Zoom session.

PS: Do you know someone else who could benefit from this workshop? Please forward this to them!

Now on to sourcing needs:

BROOKDALE (Largest senior housing center in North America with 700+ locations)

Senior Gift Guide: Looking to feature

• An air purifier

• Some cool keepsakes that bring on that “aww” factor upon opening

• Gifts for gardeners

• Tech gifts

• Gifts for foodies

• Health nut gifts

• Gifts for entertainers

Gifts for the sporty

Gifts for grandkids (think a Gen Z demographic)

WOMANS DAY (Print Feature)

Looking to feature some women with heartfelt stories about people/organizations who created spaces that helped people (or an individual) find comfort and joy and it must have a charity aspect. For example:

• An organization that built a women’s shelter for a community that needed one.

• An organization that transformed a playground to be more inclusive with adaptable features.

• An interior designer that that created a home office for a single working mother.

• An organization that built a recreation center for kids from a low-income community.

These can be everything from a bingo room in a senior’s center to a space for a passion project (like a pottery studio) that helped someone find joy after hardship.

When submitting, please send me the women’s full names, ages, location, and a photo. We’ll also need good photos of the spaces for the stories to be considered.

That’s it for now but I’ll be back with more next week. And a big thanks to everyone who helped out with the AARP cover story I just wrapped up. Didn’t get to email everyone back about their submissions (even harder than before with an infant) but I read them all and much appreciated!

P.S. Sure there are lots of funny typos in this. Sleep deprivation is no joke!

ox

Nicole