Sending samples

[raspberrybloom]

Hi,

I am going to send some pieces of jewellery to national magazines.

What should I send with them...press release?

Has anyone got any other advice?

Thanks in advance.

Lou

[clairemackaness]

A postcard style flyer

[Robert]

A self-address envelope. Have they requested the samples?

A magazine contacted me recently and asked for samples OR 300dpi pictures.

Make of that what you will.

[MorethanWords]

Hiya,

I would not recommend sending out too many samples without them being requested as you won't get them back!

I'd send just a release with images on (low res) and say that samples for photography and hi res images are available.

Make sure that if you do want them back, you make up a return sheet so that when they've finished with the item they can send them back to you. This is standard for magazines - save giving out freebies for when you've ended a line and are launching a new one. That way, you can hold a launch event, keep media types in favour by giving them a freebie at the end of a party (along with a press pack) and not do yourself out of too much money!

Hope that is of help.

Lu x

[mr.steve]

Hi Lou

It's a very good idea to "court" the ladies and gentlemen of the press.

You can get a lot of publicity that way.

But as Morethanwords rightly mentions... Sending unsolicited samples might mean you don't get them back! :oops:

Might be better to send a great press release. Find some newsworthy item to link to your product, and editors will be much more likely to tale notice. Editors are pretty savvy at seeing through someone looking for free publicity.

And don't forget... it might be better just to concentrate on pitching to your customers. After all... they put the cash in the bank.

BTW, are you solely web-based?

Cheers

Steve

[Magsite]

Magazines get loads and loads. Don't forget some of the morning shows such as this morning.

Might lead to the break you need!

Lisa

[directmarketingadvice]

I am going to send some pieces of jewellery to national magazines.

Why? What do you expect them to do with them?

What should I send with them...press release?

I don't know how anyone could really answer this question without knowing what you expect to happen as a result of you sending these samples.

Has anyone got any other advice?

Stop and think about what you're doing.

Clearly you want to get some free coverage in these magazines, but that seems to be as far as you've thought.

The harsh reality is that these magazines don't give a monkeys about your desire for free publicity.

What they care about is the goals of their magazine.

Before you send anything to them, sit down and work out how you can help them achieve these goals while mentioning your products at the same time.

If you can figure out an answer to that, you should have a pretty good idea of how you want to present your jewelry to these magazines, which magazines are the best ones to contact and what information you should send them so they are most likely to understand the advantages of featuring your business.

Sure, it's going to take some work and some thought, but your chances of getting coverage (and meaningful, helpful coverage) will be massively increased.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[Rob Holmes]

Can I add if I got some jewellery through free - it would (in my mind) reduce the value to that of a bit of jewellery from a christmas cracker.

Have some value for your own product!!

I would keep the freebies back for the one to one meetings where when they are handling the jewellery and looking at it and you notice they are 'falling in love' with a piece then consider this option of giving it away (or offering it cheaply).

Rob

[creacom]

Hi Lou

I agree, save your samples and instead send out an excellent press relese with some great photos of your products.

This will have a much greater impact.

Best of luck

Jacqui

[WakingDragon]

Hi,

I am going to send some pieces of jewellery to national magazines.

What should I send with them...press release?

Has anyone got any other advice?

Thanks in advance.

Lou

hi.

It depends on the cost of the items and who is receiving them. As many have already mentioned, your ultimate objective must be clearly defined, but quite often samples will work very well even if unsolicited as long as you have put some work into finding out what is likely to trigger a response.

As part of the comms strategy, you should probably contact the people to find out who the fashion editors are. Then see if you can track down any pix of them from google, and try to get an idea of their sex/tastes etc. Then you might be able to get some samples that will personally appeal to the recipient.

Put your product in some form of topical context. What is fashion doing? How do your products accessorise designers, high street brands and mid-level aspirational brands? Is your stuff similar to something much more expensive?

Put together a "story" based upon this. You know what fashion editors write like, and you should do a press release tailored for each editor ideally. Try to write something that they could almost print without doing any work at all - they are more likely to print it then.

If you have any fairs coming up in the vicinity of the journo's offices, why not invite them along and offer them a free drink. Don't expect them to be nice people, but they will often say yes to a drop of free booze.

It seems a bit OTT but this kind of thing can be done every now and then rather than in a big campaign. Its pretty easy and does bring results. You might also consider spending some money advertising if you get some good PR - the two together are always more effective.

[raspberrybloom]

Thank you for your replies :D

You have all given me a lot to think about!

Lou

[Janebert]

I have to agree with Steve. If you don't have a proper plan and strategy, then it's a bit like Nelson firing cannons off into the sea somewhere hoping that he'll hit the French. Rather than hitting anything other than an unfortunate porpoise or whale, he's just wasting time and resources, and whilst his attention is diverted with speculative activity, the real action is happening on the other side of the ship.

Dig?

Jane