Episode 62: End of Year and Beginning of Year Angles Anyone Can Pitch to Media
All endings are just new beginnings.
That's why the end and the beginning of a year are two sides of the same PR coin.
In business terms, the end of Q4 signifies more than just facing the end of the year. It also means looking ahead to Q1 and the rest of next year.
But here's a disturbing observation: many small business founders feel the overwhelming pressure of simultaneously finishing the year right while thinking of pitching angles for Q1.
Because of this divided attention and effort, several founders are stuck in this cycle every year.
They fall behind their year-end targets. Worse, they come unprepared for next year.
The new year has come, but it’s still the same you.
Sounds familiar, right?
Fortunately, this vicious cycle can stop with changes in how you approach your PR efforts at this crucial time of the year.
The first step you can take is to lean on some inspirations for pitching and add points of credibility and relevance. From here, your pitch ideas can surely flow.
And this is not just randomly searching for ideas. Instead, you can always use these unconventional yet proven strategies during important events of the year when you pitch to journalists.
By approaching this PR game in this manner, you'll be ahead of everyone else for the first quarter and even maybe for the rest of the year.
As to how you can pitch these end-of-year and beginning-of-year angles, I've covered it all in this episode. Whether you're a service provider or a product seller, all it takes is a deeper dive into your business and how you can serve people well.
"I really think all of the founders in my PR community. Yes, they make products, or they have services. They might be bootstrapping, and they might be just starting off. But they're not just here to make a quick buck. They are filled with mission and purpose. As long as you remind yourself of your 'why' and keep going down that rabbit hole, I promise you will never run out of ideas to pitch."
-Gloria Chou
Get ready to take the next step to make this year the time that you really go from unknown to being seen, heard, and valued. Tune in to this episode, and discover the end-of-year and beginning-of-year angles you can pitch to the media, so you can start the new year as a new you!
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
Why the end and beginning of the year are all about PR opportunities
Pitching angles that matter in Q4 to end the year right
How planting seeds early in the year helps your business grow
The many facets and reasons for pitching as early as Q1
A new perspective on serving your customers
If you want to land your first feature for free without any connections, I want to invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought-after industry expert. Register now at www.gloriachou.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn: Gloria Chou
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community: Small Biz Pros: By Gloria Chou
Small Business PR Podcast: Episode # 55-Get Your Product in Gift Guides
Additional Resources:
Join the Small Biz PR Pros FB group
Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Platform
Follow & Review on Apple Podcasts
Are you following my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today so you don’t miss any future episodes!
I would also appreciate it if you would leave me a review! Reviews help me make sure I am providing the content that you need! Plus, you will be entered to WIN a 1:1 pitch writing session with me where I will help you find your press-worthy angle! Click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”.
Here’s a glance at this episode…
[2:24] Predictions are an incredible PR tool for any small business to use when it comes to picking an angle to pitch because no one has a crystal ball. Predictions are a great way to position yourself as an authority in your niche and get away from the very salesy marketing speak that will turn a journalist off.
[8:34] It's never too late to start pitching for Q1 in Q4. You really get to plan out your pitching angles for the rest of the year.
[9:45] Another thing about Q1 is that there are a lot of different stories around economic predictions— where is the market going to go? Consumer trends, social media trends. Also, for Q1, you have a lot of important holidays.
[11:43] Q1 is a great way to give people a step-by-step or framework of how you can become a part of the solution.
[13:18] Think about what your customers want from you. It's so much more than just the product. You're creating a moment. You're there for their happiness. You're making a connection.
-
Gloria Chou 0:00
Hey, small business heroes, as you know, the end of year is a really special time for all of us, right? And they always say that everything is two sides of a coin. So end of year, and beginning of year, the cycle of something ending is also the cycle of something beginning, right? And so I wanted to record something about end of year and New Year angles, because they really, although they seem different, they're really two sides of the coin. And if you are in Q4, or Q1, you know that this is an angle that you might come up with. So listen in, I'm going to list out all the different angles, you can pitch for Q4 and Q1 and beyond. So I'm gonna dive right into it.
Gloria Chou 0:40
Hey, friends, I'm Gloria Chou, small business PR expert, award winning pitch writer and your unofficial hype woman. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people get the recognition they deserve. And that starts with feeling more confident to go bigger with your message. So on this podcast, I will share with you the untraditional, yet proven strategies for PR, marketing, and creating more opportunity in your business. If you are ready to take control of your narrative and be your most unapologetic and confident self, you're in the right place. This is the Small Business PR Podcast.
Gloria Chou 1:12
When I think about Q4, right, no matter what industry you're in, there's always this feeling of what have we learned this year. What has changed this year? What breaking news trends and stories have happened? Where a signal that our industry is changing, our sentiments are changing, the consumers want something else. So it doesn't have to be your predictions or your insights you can literally do a recap of here's what we learned about social media or here are the best clean beauty trends that will be big next year. Or better yet, here are the three things that are no longer working for X, Y, & Z. Right? I once wrote a pitch for a content marketer who does viral videos. And it was about three things that the social media gurus were teaching that no longer work that year. You can really repurpose that. And if you are pitching for Q4, you can still pitch that in Q1. Come the New Year by simply changing the angle and saying this is what I believe will happen for this year. And the best thing I love about prediction that if you've ever watched my PR Secrets masterclass, which you can go to www.gloriachoupr.com/masterclass. And that's spelled c-h-o-u, gloriachou.com/masterclass. I always say that predictions are an incredible PR tool for any small business to use when it comes to picking an angle to pitch, because no one has a crystal ball, no one knows exactly what's going to happen. So predictions are a great way to position yourself as an authority in your niche and get away from the very salesy marketing speak that will turn a journalist off. Remember, you're not selling to the journalist, you want to position yourself as someone that has insight that has a point of view, because experts have point of view. So let's get into specifically Q4. So I talked about recapping what we've learned. Q4 is also a time of practicing gratitude, right? You have Thanksgiving, Indigenous Day, you have your time with family, people, maybe that you haven't seen all year, maybe there's something around vulnerability, connection, and catching up and quality time. Another thing that is big in Q4, and we really dive into this in my PR starter pack, our end of year shopping guys, gift guides, beauty, fashion products, anything that's gift giftable whether it is a product or a service, right, this is big on giving. Not only just giving as a gift, but also giving back, right there are so many angles about charity. Good, the good things that we've learned this year, really acts of kindness. Those are really great things to pitch for Q4, especially if you have a business that is giving back to the local community. Right? You can talk about the ways that you have given back this year, and how you and other strategic partners in your community have actually contributed to X, Y and Z impact. Right? Whether it's number of books donated, or dollars that you have donated back to local schools and shelters, whatever it is, definitely a local angle to pitch to local media.
Gloria Chou 4:11
Another thing about Q4 and also Q1 is it's wintertime, it's cold, right? So if you're in fashion or beauty or fitness, maybe it's cold weather trends, right? Maybe it's ingredients about skincare that's going to allow you to get rid of that dry skin, right? It's going to allow us to stay moisturized, to stay comforted, especially if you have something that fights eczema or skin irritation. Now in terms of fashion, it's all about comfort in clothes, loungewear, things like that. In terms of wellness and travel, right, It could be things that make you feel comfortable, whether it's something that's an herbal tea, or something that allows you to have rest and relaxation, whether it's a bathtime routine or a CBD bomb, all of these angles and stories I have pitched for before and we have founders in the PR Starter Pack come from every single industry. And they all work for Q4. Another fun angle for Q4 is really about warm weather getaway. So a lot of people are thinking, well, travel season is really in the summer. And so if I do something in travel or hospitality, I really don't have an angle. And that's really not true, because a lot of people are still packing up for the holidays, whether it's getting that swimsuit ready, or trying to find out how they can get on the go skincare, or they're just trying to get away from a cold. And maybe they're looking for something that's cute to wear, right. So think about that angle for summer, for travel to a warmer destination, even though it's not summertime. Another thing that's really good that most people don't think about is last minute gift ideas. We have so many people in the PR Starter Pack who are thinking, okay, I want to pitch for a gift guide, but maybe it's too late. And from all the times that we've interviewed journalists inside of our PR Starter Pack, which is something that we do. We get journalists to actually come into our community and meet virtually with our members. And one of the questions we ask is, when is it too late to pitch a holiday gift angle? And she actually said and she is, she writes gift guides. She says it's never too late because even after Christmas, there are still so many articles being published about what to spend your gift cards on. And also even the last few days before Christmas is last minute, last minute gift guides, right? Raise your hand if you've ever been there. Because I certainly have, I have definitely been the one that was shopping very very late in the game and needed to come up with last minute ideas. Right? So just it's just your reminder that it's never too late. Another thing you might think about for Q4 is something around holiday recipes, right? So it could be holiday recipes if you're in the food and wine or drink industry. And even though you might not offer something that is specific for holidays, you can still give your touch, personal touch or insight or commentary on what you think people are loving for the holidays.
Gloria Chou 6:59
We had someone on the PR Starter Pack, Kim Behzadi, who bootstrapped her company during COVID. And she was able to, with no PR experience, get into five plus gift guides just within a couple months of joining our program. And one of the angles that she pitched was one around hot chocolate season, right even though her products were seasonal. So she had different things for, you know, summer, she had like a hot sauce thing. But she did have something around hot cocoa. And she also had a subscription box that was offering stuff for mixology. So it's all about thinking about if you have a lot of products, what's the one that's most relevant for right now? Right? Again, you don't want to pitch every single item, you want to pitch the one that's most relevant to right now, if you're running a special, if it's something that you're partnering with someone else to do a promo, maybe that's really interesting as well. And it doesn't matter if you're from Canada or Australia, as long as you can tell the journalist in your pitch, if you ship to X, Y and Z countries, and how much it is, right, so they can figure out if they're gonna put you into a gift guide, if it's a luxury gift or if it's a more accessible gift, or if it's a stocking stuffer. So I've given you a lot of angles. Another one that I actually just wrote a pitch for is its engagement in cuffing season, right? So that is also really big as well, if you're in jewelry, or if you are in bridal or event planning or photographer, that could be interesting.
Gloria Chou 8:21
Now remember what I said about how everything is really two sides of a coin. So with the year ending, and us ecapping what we've learned, you get into Q1. And it's never too late to start pitching for Q1 in Q4. I actually love the season of Q4 because you really get to plan out your pitching angles for the rest of the year. So in Q4, what I like to do when I have some downtime is really map out what does my year look like. And what are some of the stories that I can pitch, right? One of the things that we've just added to our PR Starter Pack is a month by month pitching ideas calendar, where we come up with all different ideas, and I just listed some of them right now. But so many more with holidays, and different days where you can think about pitching and you want to start pitching early. It's always better to pitch early and plant the seeds early.
Gloria Chou 9:09
So let's get into Q1. Alright, so Q1, there are so many stories. What I love about Q1 is everyone is kind of trying to figure out where the year is gonna go. Right? And what better way to insert yourself in the conversation than one about predictions. Something about what I think, you know, my industry is going to do this year or trends or happenings or how X and Y affected something. Right? New Year is all about New Year, New You. So new practices, new products, regimens, activities, habits, choices, items to purchase to solve a problem, so that the person can become a better version of themselves, whatever that might look like. Another thing about Q1 is that there are a lot of different stories around economic predictions where the market is gonna go, consumer trends, social media trends, and also for Q1, you have a lot of important holidays, such as you have Black History Month, you have International Women's Day, you have all the stories about celebrating diversity and marginalized voices, really great time to pitch that in Q1. Also, don't forget for Q1, you have a lot of shopping and gift guide opportunities with Valentine's Day as well. Right? Whether it's Valentine's Day gifts for yourself, right? There's a movement about champagne for one, which is celebrating yourself or just something with you and your girls, which is Valentine's Day, those are all appropriate for Valentine's Day. I think as we break out of the tradition of what we think a gift season could be, people are becoming more and more creative with the ways they want to gift an experience, right? Whether it's gifting an experience, or gifting a physical products, it's okay to think outside the box. And especially with so many experiences going online, you could definitely widen the story angle about what you might think, traditionally, you might not fit as a gift for a certain occasion, but it actually might be able to fit, you just have to be creative and come up with different points of relevancy.
Gloria Chou 11:04
If you're in the travel or hospitality space, obviously, there's a lot of things that you can pitch around here are the destinations that I think will be big, whether it's family travel, traveling with pets, traveling with kids, those are all great angles to pitch. And in in terms of activities. It could be you know, beginning of your activities, winter activities, maybe low impact activities, or maybe activities you can do just staying in by the fire, right? What if you're in fitness, or if you're in coaching, those are all great angles that I have written for as well. Another thing about Q1, in addition to New Year New You, is it's a great, a great way to give people a step by step or a framework of how you can become a part of the solution. So if you are a coach or a service provider, it's a great way to come up with. And again, I like threes, and people who have listened to me for a while know that I like threes. In your pitch, you can say three ideas to do X, Y and Z, or three ways to, you know insert, you know how to solve a problem. I like threes. And again, if you can add that, this New Year New You angle, it's probably going to have a much higher chance of getting featured because again, people love to know where their year is going. And they love to just read in the New Year, right? People are consuming information, they want to set the stage of consuming the right information so that they can make decisions on how they can start a morning practice or how they can shop smarter or make better sustainable decisions, or how they can meal prep or whatever that is. So I really think Q1 is such a golden month. Even though Q4 is amazing for gift guides and holiday shopping, it doesn't stop there. So I've given you so many ideas, I've thrown so much at you. And I've written hundreds of pitches. So I'm sorry if my train of thought is kind of all over the place. But I really do believe that, you know, once you change your perspective, everything shifts, right? You can think, well, I only make, you know, beaded necklaces. So I will never be able to be relevant to someone who isn't in the jewelry industry. But that's so not true. Right? You can talk about sustainability. You can talk about new materials, you can talk about trends, colors, gemstones, occasions, connections, things like that. Think about what your customers are wanting from you. It's so much more than just a product, you're creating a moment, you're there for their happiness, you're making a connection. I actually just talked to someone who just joined the PR Starter Pack, and she makes cupcakes. And she has an incredible social media following. And she still felt like she was not sure what her end goal was. And I had to remind her of her why. I said when you started your company, it wasn't because you woke up and was like, I'm just gonna make cupcakes, right? No, you love the smile that you put on people's face when you were there for their kids birthdays, when you were there for their wedding, when you were there for their life's most precious moments. And to be able to provide that, that really is your why. I really think all of the founders in my PR community. Yes, they make products or they have services. They might be bootstrapping. And they might be just starting off. But they're not just here to make a quick buck. They are filled with a mission and purpose. And as long as you just remind yourself of that, of your why and keep going down that rabbit hole, I promise you, you will never run out of ideas to pitch. So I hope that this episode of Q4 and Q1 angles will give you a little bit of a head start on thinking about all the ways that you can be relevant. As always, make sure that you watch the PR masterclass to look at exactly how to write a pitch, word for word. And I welcome you to join us inside of the Starter Pack and meet us to take the next step to make this year the year that you really go from unknown to being seen, heard, and valued. If you have any questions don't forget to leave a comment or DM us, we're always here to support you and I cannot wait to see what this new year holds for you.
Gloria Chou 14:59
Hey small business hero. Did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, The New York Times, Marie Claire Pop Sugar and so many more, even if you're not yet launched, or if you don't have any connection? That's right. That's why I invite you to watch my PR Secrets masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods 1000s of bootstrapping small businesses used to have their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought after industry expert. Now if you want to land your first press feature, get on a podcast, secure a VIP speaking gig or just reach out to that very intimidating editor. This class will show you exactly how to do it. Register now at Gloria child pr.com/masterclass. That's Gloria Chao, CH o u pr.com/masterclass. So you can get featured in 30 days without spending a penny on ads or agencies. Best of all, this is completely free. So get in there and let's get you featured.