It’s officially-the 6 week holidays have begun!
Now I know not everyone who reads this newsletter takes the summer off or juggles business with kids-but there’s no denying most of us are keeping on top of client calls, business projects, holidays, and the millions of other things you think you need to be doing right now-all whilst the weather lurches between extreme heatwaves and torrential rain (and nothing in between-not ideal when you’re as pale as me).
You’re not alone.
Every year, I hear from people who feel PR should just pause during the summer. But here's why you shouldn’t. Fewer people are pitching in July/August, but journalists are still publishing. Which can mean:
Less competition in inboxes
More room for evergreen features
Time to nurture long lead coverage (now is a great time to look at gift guides and expert September content-like back to school transitions).
You’re going to get to your launch in September and realise you needed more visibility.
So here’s some quick tips for keeping up with PR over the summer.
Batch Summer headlines now and read what publications are running-think money-saving tips if you’re a money expert, keeping kids busy if you’re a parenting expert and beating burnout if you’re a mental health expert. Anything that solves a summer problem-we just need to find your audience’s problems that we can solve.
Send 1-3 pitches a week. Set a “Pitch for 15 mins” timer once a week and get a few pitches done- then set a note in your diary to follow up. Journalists are still working. They still need stories.
Swap your beach read for some magazines-grab a post it note and flag relevant sections that could work for you to pitch when you land! Make a note of the style and tone of the section-how do you fit in?
Use Chat GPT to research publications: Okay, this one is a bit hit and miss to be honest-but it’s better than nothing and might spark a few ideas. Tell chat GPT what you do and what type of publications you’re looking to write for and what about-and see what comes up. Warning, this is no replacement for the real thing (and less fun that flicking through the magazine aisle) as some suggestions are generic (it suggested the BBC to me which is hardly new information!) but it's a start.
DO IT: I want you to follow up from a pitch you sent in the last week or two. I recommend giving it at least 3-7 days and then emailing this ‘Hi, just wanted to check if this could work for you? Do let me know if it’s of interest (and then add an extra part such as: would like to try samples/want more information/need images/would like to chat on the phone. then hit SEND.
PITCH IT: Checkout Business Age’s contributor guide.
Until next week,
Jenna