Overview
Local newspaper and magazine (often referred to as simply “print”) reporters like to know what’s going on in their community. So reach out and introduce your business and products.
Whether you’re a restaurant, retail store or spa, this is a great way to build local awareness of your location and your offerings, and build relationships with the local media.
And in building the relationships and demonstrating you’re an expert in your specialty (wine, spa, burgers, cocktails, etc…), the media may come to you the next time they are doing a story on wine, spas, burgers or cocktails.
Details
The goal of print product sampling is to get your product and/or service information in the hands of the print reporters, so they will be aware of you and when you reach out to them about covering your upcoming event or promotion.
Once they know you, they may even reach out directly to be part of stories they are doing, for example: a round up on the newest restaurant trends, what’s hot in retail now, what are people doing for Valentine’s Day, etc…
One thing to also note, unlike product sampling to Radio and TV, many print reporters are not allowed to accept free product over a certain value. Take that into account, based on your offerings.
Identify the Publications & Reporters
You probably know the key newspapers and magazines in your local market that you can target…the ones you read, and most importantly, the ones your customers and potential customers read.
If not, here are a few tools to help identify them.
Once you know the publication, you’ll also want to identify the right reporter to whom to send or deliver your product/service information. Many “Contact Us” pages tell you the appropriate person by department. You can also read the sections that would cover you and look for the reporter’s name or just call the publication and ask for the appropriate person.
Delivering Your Product
Once you’ve identified the publications and reporters you want to deliver your product to, the best thing to to is contact them directly (via phone or email) and offer to drop off your product.
With the product samples you are taking, make sure to also include …
- information on your product
- menu or list of services
- new promotion or event postcard
- gift cards/certificates with notes, addressed to the reporters
Also see Media: Press Release as another way to contact print reporters.
