Episode 200: How to Get Featured in Gift Guides and Magazines as a Product Owner w/ Kim Bezhadi
In this episode of the Small Business PR Podcast, I sit down with Kim Behzadi, founder of Read It & Eat—a purpose-driven food and book subscription box that fights hunger with every purchase.
Launched from her bedroom after losing her job during the pandemic, Kim bootstrapped her business with no investors, no PR background, and no big-name endorsements. Today, she’s been featured in Women’s Day, local magazines, and podcasts—without spending thousands on PR retainers or flooding the media with free samples.
If you’re a product-based founder who wants consistent, cost-free press, this episode is your blueprint.
How Kim Built a PR System That Delivers Year-Round Features
After joining the PR Starter Pack, Kim learned to:
Pitch with purpose, not desperation
Build relationships with journalists through LinkedIn, Instagram, and even Twitter
Adapt pitches for national vs. local media to maximize relevance
Plant PR “seeds” months in advance to secure Q4 gift guide placements
Her Women’s Day feature led to:
A 40% increase in website traffic
Local partnerships like a Buffalo book club and tea shop collaboration
Invitations to vend at book fairs and community events
A direct connection with a Harlequin author for a special edition box
Why Serving (Not Selling) Gets You Featured
Kim stopped leading with “Here’s my product” and started pitching with “Here’s a story your audience will love.” This value-first approach helped her:
Land coverage without sending dozens of samples
Get invited to collaborate with brands and authors she once thought were “out of reach”
Build a press system she can run in just two dedicated nights per week
Kim’s PR Tools & Strategies
LinkedIn & Instagram to find and connect with journalists
Email + social media follow-ups to stay top-of-mind without spamming
Seasonal pitching calendar to target: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Back-to-School, Holidays, and themed brand roundups
The CPR Method (Credibility, Point of View, Relevance) to craft irresistible pitches
Common PR Mistakes Kim Avoided
Overspending on product samples before confirming interest
Waiting for the “perfect” moment to start pitching
Relying solely on social media for visibility
Final Takeaway
You don’t need an expensive PR firm—or a massive marketing budget—to land in national gift guides. What you do need is:
✅ A clear, value-driven message
✅ A repeatable system
✅ The courage to hit “send”
If Kim can build Read It & Eat from her bedroom and land Women’s Day, so can you.
Resources Mentioned:
Join the PR Secrets Masterclass
Join the Small Biz PR Pros Facebook Group
DM the word “PITCH” to us on Instagram to get a pitching freebie https://www.instagram.com/gloriachoupr
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaychou
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/428633254951941
Learn more about Kim Behzadi:
Website: booksnbread.com
Instagram: @readitandeat and @bookmarksandbreadsticks
Additional Resources:
Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Platform
Join the PR Secret Masterclass
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TRANsCRIPT
00:00:00 Gloria: Alright, everyone. I'm so excited for this episode of the Small Business PR podcast. Now many of you have done the courageous thing. You have started a business against all of your family and friends' advice and done the brave thing. But today, we have someone who literally lost their job during the pandemic and bootstrapped their business in her bedroom. So this is Kim Behzadi. She is here on the show with us. She is the founder of Read It & Eat, a food and book subscription box. It's so awesome. I cannot wait to tell you all about it and to tell you about the amazing journey she went to defy the odds, get organic PR wins, and gain the confidence to really make an impact. Welcome to the show.
00:00:35 Kim: Thank you so much for having me.
00:00:38 Gloria: So we came across each other not very long ago. You are new to this, and you found the starter pack, and you got all these press ones. But before we go into the PR side, I want to ask you about your business because I just think it's so courageous what you did after you got separated from your job during the height of a pandemic. You decided to start this. So can you first tell us a little bit about your business and the mindset journey you went through to do this against all odds?
00:01:03 Kim: I am very proudly the founder of Read It & Eat. It is a culinary journey all in a box. My job is to help you taste the world one story at a time by pairing food related books with food items. The food items are tasty treats always from small businesses, never found on Amazon. The books range from a variety of genres. Maybe you want a romantic comedy a la The Great British Baking Show, but with a love twist, or maybe you want something in the nonfiction space like a chef's memoir. My job is to bring those pairings together for you. And for every box sold, there is a portion of the proceeds that goes to fight hunger where I'm based in Buffalo, New York.
00:01:41 Kim: That mindset and that journey, a lot of different things helped make the decision to help launch the business. But one of the big things I saw during the pandemic was hunger became much more visible because there were shutdowns everywhere. There might have been people suffering looking for their next meal. You probably felt it too. Support local, buy takeout, get it delivered to your front door, and all of that partnered with small single packages. There's a food hunger element, which is that social good part of the business I'm passionate about.
00:02:11 Kim: But what really helped me make that decision was I was at a job that I really loved. I work in food. I work in consumer product goods. So food's always been a part of my life, but here I am grinding every day and got released from a job because I just didn't fit this perfect mold. And I think what makes people unique is the best part about us. And there I am in my room. It's lockdown. And one of the only places I could go was to a used bookstore, and I could only pick up my books on a table.
00:02:42 Kim: So I'm ordering food to support small businesses, and the only place I can walk to is a bookstore. And I thought, these things bring me comfort, and I really wanted to bring that comfort to other people. Reading got me through the pandemic. It was my happy place and also The Great British Baking Show. I had nothing to lose. I was still interviewing for full time jobs, but I was on the floor of our office in our two bedroom apartment in Downtown Chicago, packing boxes, and I bought bread kits that supported a nonprofit in Chicago. We lived there at the time during. We now live in Buffalo, New York.
00:03:13 Kim: And I was just there. I made all the design choices myself. It really just came from my savings and a lot of freelancers all over the world. And I just went for it. Looking back, I know it sounds crazy, but what else did I have to lose? I had a lot of free time. And I think that scrappiness and tenacity… I am proudly the daughter of an immigrant. My dad came from Iran when he was young. He did everything to put my sisters and I through school. He gave my whole family this wonderful life. I think it's in my blood. Why not fight for what you're passionate for?
00:03:45 Gloria: Oh, that is so good. And what you said resonates with so many people. What's special about this audience is that we're not just trying to do a volume game. We're not just on Amazon flipping fidget spinners. We are making very curated, intentional products that honestly, books and food that are perishable, it's not the best profit margins. But you went ahead and you're like, this is what brings me comfort, and this is my way of healing the world. I want to give you props for that. I'm clapping for you for sticking to your why. I know it's not easy.
00:04:15 Gloria: As a founder with really no previous experience in consumer subscription boxes, you had no investors, you didn't have any fancy VIPs vouching for you. At what point were you like, okay. I'm not only just making these boxes. I'm thinking long term. I want to do PR. Because for a lot of founders, that point never even comes because they feel like they're either not ready or that they're just not far enough in their business to do PR.
00:04:39 Kim: The turning point for me, the I've got to level up, if you will. Came after the first year. I moved to New York, set up my house here with my husband, and saw there were lots of other roadblocks coming our way as small business owners. We have the pandemic. We're maybe coming out of it, but now inflation is everywhere. And I am the first to admit that my box, it often suits a gift giving occasion. So now discretionary income is getting smaller, and I can't just rely on word-of-mouth in Chicago because now I'm in a whole new city.
00:05:08 Kim: So I'm in a new city. I've got to meet new people. And instead of just looking at the negatives, it's go big or go home time. I have to have the confidence to look into PR. A big turning point was at the spring of this year, I actually did some crowdfunding for the first time. And what I learned very important in crowdfunding is it's about who you know. And that doesn't mean someone with a lot of purse strings, but just the element of networking and community and connection.
00:05:33 Kim: Well, a big place I didn't have connection was the PR space. I know publishers for book elements, and I know small businesses for the food element, snacks. Well, now I have to talk to other people. And that was the big thing and why I reached out to you specifically. I think that a lot of small business owners probably struggle with this, imposter syndrome. I'm not a PR expert. I know how to do it in my day-to-day job. I paid agencies. I know how much those agencies cost, and it's overwhelming. But I was ready to commit and invest. But that investment is not just financial. It's knowledge. It's being able to do it myself and hopefully one day hire assistance.
00:06:10 Gloria: Exactly. I always say I can tell you everything, but if you have your email drafted, if you're not going to press the send button, there's really nothing I can do. I love that you're tenacious. I love that you're go big or go home. Now you're doing the PR this way. You're realizing that not only can you not afford the $5, $10, $20 a month retainers that your company used to pay, that there's got to be a way for you to disseminate the story. So tell me about the press wins that you've received, whether it's press or other kind of VIP partnerships, anything from the methods that you've learned from either my community or from the podcast?
00:06:42 Kim: The biggest press when I got over the summer is Women's Day had an article of 52 gifts for under $25. And it's just the largest platform I've had. I got on the list. Next year, I want to get higher and higher and higher on that list. But I have seen 40% traffic jump from July to about August. We're in mid-September now. I just continue to see that number skyrocket. And I know as someone who owns just my own website, it's hard to push yourself through all that noise. And having that as one of my first wins was also just a confidence booster. I've also gotten some local press as well, which is another important thing.
00:07:19 Kim: I'm donating to my local community. So building a community and that kind of relationship has also really helped. It led to not only a magazine write up, but also invitations to vend and be a vendor at specific events. There's a book fair for adults next month, and I was one of the first people they thought of. They're like, come vend at this event. I'll be at the Rochester Teen Book Fair next week. And Rochester's about an hour from Buffalo for those who don't know the geography. So I'm at two more events I never was at a year ago.
00:07:47 Kim: That's incremental sales, but also shaking hands, meeting local vendors because right now I'm ecom, but I would love to be in bookstores too. So to shake hands, to meet people, and also be inspired by other small businesses. So I've worked with a tea shop now locally that knows me from press, and they are big on giving back to their community. We curated a whole book club. So we've launched a book club in Buffalo for October, November, December. A portion of the proceeds for the box, which is curated with tea items from the tea shop and my books and snacks, we still are fighting hunger. And if you come in person to the book club, which is one night a month, we're also collecting food for a canned food drive. So multiple ways to give back. And all of that from a press article in a paper, like a local magazine. Women's Day, it led to a book club.
00:08:35 Kim: And fourth big thing that's happened since we started working together, having the confidence to speak to people. I had an author DM me who said, “I love your mission. I'm a debut author. My romance book comes out in July. Let's work together.” We curated a whole box together. The book is called For Butter or Worse. It's a romantic comedy. I love the pun. She reached out to me. To me, I look at writers and they're, like, sensational. I was like, New York Times bestsellers, and there's just me in Buffalo, and she wants to work with me. And because of that box, I now have a relationship with the in-print Harlequin.
00:09:08 Kim: It's not a guarantee by any means. I still have to work hard to sell every box, but it's fun. People who to me seem larger than life, editors and publishers, want to work with me because they believe in the mission. So having the toolkit to be able to articulate to press this is worth your time. Open this email. Let's talk. I now have the confidence to even start those conversations. I think hitting send is the hardest part sometimes. Now, just by hitting send, since let's say we worked together in July, it feels like hundreds of emails at a time. But then lightning strikes, and I have this magical relationship now with an author and what? She's already working on her next book. It might not always be food. I can't demand authors write about food, but she's like, I'm keeping you in mind. I know friends.
00:09:50 Kim: These small little wins have huge ripple effects. And that's what I want to emphasize to the listeners of the podcast and those tuning in because you have to start. And that's sometimes the hardest part for people is, like, the jump off the cliff. But those ripples can have really big impact.
00:10:05 Gloria: Yeah. I love that so much. And everything that you said, it's not even about you. You always said, this is the impact. We're partnering. Everything that you're saying is from that value driven conversation, and that's what editors love. Because they're not going to buy your product. You're not selling to the editor. The fact that you've already done the mental gymnastics to speak in a way where you're always asking yourself, what's in it for the other person? I can tell that's why you've had so many fruits of your labor.
00:10:29 Gloria: Now I want to go back to the fact that founders are wearing a lot of hats. And to this day, I get people all the time. They're like, PR is nice. We just don't have time. We're already on social media. We're already doing all the other things. How did you think about prioritizing? Because as we know, a hallmark of success is not doing more things, but doing things in the right order.
00:10:48 Kim: I'm going to probably steal something you told to me, but working smarter and not harder. I'm like many small businesses. I don't have the revenue yet to hire someone part time, but what I have started to do is… I wouldn't say make a checklist, but dedicate a night or two night. I work full time. Disclosure, I still have a full time job, everyone. I'm still bootstrapped. But I pick two nights a week, and all I focus on is press. And one night might be pitching, scheduling as we've been coached with the perfect windows to reach out to people, looking at databases and then it is a lot of research. There's one night a week that's just research where I'm googling articles, top 25 subscription boxes, top 25 book boxes, finding that author, using the starter pack to see if I can find that author, and building from there. That's the best advice I can give people. We have to wear lots of hats, but I don't think you have to wear them every second of every day.
00:11:39 Kim: Tonight is Thursday night. It happens to be my social media night because I have a little volunteer now, a student volunteer who wants to work with me. So that's what I wear this night. Monday and Wednesday nights are PR nights. And if you break it down into those moments and buckets, it makes it, for me, at least, a lot less overwhelming. And by breaking it up into nights, if something does come up where I have to pivot, okay, I'll slot around my schedule a little bit. And then I also… work life balance. Small business owners, you have to have a life too. I think that's super important. I've also built date night back into my life with my husband. I still want to date my husband, and I think that's a really important thing too because it makes the business fun again because you get to walk away from it too. And let it breathe and let your own mind and thoughts breathe as well.
00:12:20 Gloria: Oh, I love that so much. I can tell that you're just fun person, and I cannot wait to meet you the next time we have our PR starter pack meetups. Talk to me a little bit where did you learn how to delegate so effectively. Because a lot of times, it's, like I said, one day, someday. Almost every single person I interview who's in our community, they always say brand awareness and visibility is the foundation for more revenue. But they always just resort to social media. They get sucked into these reels and trending audios and templates. How did you decide to not allocate your budget to doing more of social media and then to PR, which presumably is a lot more complex and maybe nuanced?
00:12:55 Kim: I made the decision not to invest everything in one basket. I don't believe in put your eggs in one basket, especially in social media. I will admit I'm at the advantage of having a background in social media coming out of my MBA program. I've seen those algorithms change. It reminds me of rent. Before you own, you rent, and you pour money into a garbage can, and you light it on fire. And right now, I'm just going to make the bold statement, Meta doesn't care about small businesses. It might tell you it does. I don't believe it.
00:13:24 Kim: And I just found, well, that's not working. So you can keep banging your head against the same door and hope to break it down, or you can build a doorknob and a keyhole. And that's what I really decided to do. And I looked at PR as how do I look for items as a consumer? Yes. I know a lot of people are searching for things on social media, aggregated feeds, things like that. But I'm someone who still relies on Google, and I very much am so trained to look at top 25 boxes or top book boxes. And then I would click on the first three articles. And I was like, well, wait. If I was on one of those first three articles, that could be a game changer.
00:14:03 Kim: The right person has to see me just like that author who saw me and wanted to work with me. And that was the big pivot there. I think it is easy to say social media is the key because it is everywhere. It oversaturates our lives, but every competitor is there. And not just us small businesses. That's where McDonald's is. That's where the big players like Unilever are. And they have millions of dollars. That's like a David and Goliath that I'm not going to be the hero of.
00:14:28 Gloria: I mean, funny story that you said that I got married in the desert two weeks ago. And when I came back from happiest time of my life, no WiFi, I get a string of frantic panic messages, email threads, everything, and turns out that Meta shut down my Facebook ads account for no reason at all. They said I violated one of their policies. My ads manager spent a whole week trying to talk with 10 different people on chat. No availability. I had to pull some strings and get someone that I knew who worked at Meta on the inside to fix it, and then my account was back up. No reason. No “I'm sorry.” No “Thank you for being a good patron and giving us tens of thousands of dollars.” Nothing.
00:15:08 Gloria: So what you said so resonates with me. Look. We're not against paid advertising here. We're not against PR agencies. I just want everyone who's listening, our audience are bootstrapping entrepreneurs, to do things in the right order so that you're not $20,000 in the hole and being wondering why is it that I don't have an audience. And I think it's so much easier to post on Instagram than to do what you're doing, which is roll up your sleeves, look at the CPR method, go in the starter pack to figure out who are the contacts I need to contact. It's so much easier to just download a trending video and repost something. I could do that all day.
00:15:38 Gloria: I admit that it's easier. But what are the things that are really going to create a sustainable assets in your business? Because a reel is not searchable. Your social media is not searchable. But getting on one podcast, that's SEO, that's six pieces of shareable content. I'm so glad that you made that decision early on. But let's get into the actual pitching. Now you've had success pitching. You've done the research. Do you have anything to share with the audience in terms of what you've learned about journalists and follow ups and emails and DMs?
00:16:06 Kim: Follow-up is key. And I'll admit that is probably the hardest learning curve for me. I have to say I have to check myself. Kim, when you're at your regular 9-to-5, how many follow-up emails are you sending to someone? It's almost a respect thing. I am worth the time and worth investing in that follow-up on. And I, before your coaching, never thought, oh, I should just comment on a picture and say, I DMed you when it's relevant, not totally out of the blue. I've had that work with people at BuzzFeed, I'm someone who grew up watching BuzzFeed. I never thought someone at BuzzFeed would ever write back to me.
00:16:37 Kim: And just because you get a no, which you get tons of them. I've gotten no's… not, this is not the right time. And that's one part of it. And then zooming out and looking at the calendar, I started pitching in July. It's one of the quietest times for books and subscription boxes because it's not gift giving season. Now we're in gift giving season. Now I'm circling back to all these people and being like, Hi, let's talk again. Have you seen the holiday box?
00:17:01 Kim: Which the third piece of advice I'd say besides following up and not getting discouraged by the no is adapting to not only the time period, but just adapting in general. I have stories and connections in that pitch, but let's look at the holiday trends that I'm seeing. Part of the reason one of my holiday boxes involves hot chocolate is hot chocolate sales spike in the fall and winter. So why not books and food? Hot chocolate's my food. Okay, well, how do I make this plus up even better? In one of the holiday boxes, you get a hot chocolate bomb DIY kit. I could connect to that to a trend of let's look at how many TikToks are coming out right now, YouTube reviews. People love to make things, especially chocolate related things. So you can make your own hot chocolate and cozy up with a book, and then the book connects back to that relationship with Harlequin.
00:17:46 Kim: So without giving too much in the pitch, just trying to show whoever I'm trying to reach out to, I've done the effort. I'm looking into things that I think your consumer wants to read about, which is cozy books. It's winter. Put that blanket on, but also something really fun that's also trending. So that adaptation. Maybe if I'm talking to someone who specializes in the media about food, I'm going to lead more with that hot chocolate DIY kit element. Or if it's someone who's a huge book person, I'm going to talk about the new October release I have that's a story which is… who doesn't love a holiday foodie romance? Like, a Hallmark card movie with food. And a gift. So adaptation is key.
00:18:26 Kim: I'll admit, going back to the first one, it's hard not to get discouraged, especially as a small business owner. Like, everyone out there, I feel you. I could tell you how many rejection emails there are, or no one says anything to you at all. But they also have their own jobs, and that's something that you coached in a lot of the videos is they get thousands a day. It might just not be the right time. It's the wrong Tuesday to talk to them. And if you are persistent and believe in what you're doing, it goes back to that ripple effect I mentioned earlier. A couple of really strong hits can be game changing.
00:18:57 Gloria: I love that. It’s all about planting the seeds. If I'm looking at your subscription box, I would think you can just take the summer off. Don't pitch. You're like, no. I'm going to start to plant the seeds now in July, which is the quietest time for books and travel and subscription boxes. That way when it gets to Q4, I can return the email and be like, hey. We talked in July. By the way, we have a new holiday box. So my next question is, do you put that in the same email as the same thread, or is it a completely new email? How do you finagle, like, the subject lines?
00:19:28 Kim: If it's someone who's actually responded to the email chain, I will keep it in the family because they took the time to engage with me. If it's someone who I've just… we'll call it cold shouldered politely, I'll start with a fresh email headline because they might be in a different mindset. My pitches in the summer were things like, this gift box or this box could be the best gift for your travel loving friend or foodie. Well, I don't know how many people love traveling in the winter, especially if you're from Buffalo, New York. There's a lot of plane delays because of snow.
00:19:58 Kim: So that headline might not resonate in that mindset or in that time period. So I know it's a little bit of a wish-washy answer to say I do a bit of both, but I think that's important. You have to think strategically about who you're talking to. I definitely have had authors and press from the book space that said, not right now, but I know what they're gearing up for a holiday book giving season. A lot of books, I've also learned, continually do your research, everyone out there.
00:20:24 Kim: Book selling for the holidays starts October. October has a huge public. Two weeks where all the new releases come out, and they come out in October so that you can buy them for December because of the shipping delays. That's what the game is going back to why I was talking in July. Let's do back to school and talk about it in July. It's all about being strategic.
00:20:43 Gloria: I think a lot of times we trip ourselves up and we give ourselves reasons to not start. Now is not the right time. It's too early. It's too late. But instead of thinking about what's the right time, you're like, I'm just going to pitch this subscription box in July, and you planted the season and they got back to you. And now you're already well on your way to, like, a really well positioned Q4. I love that because a lot of founders now are like, how do I get into gift guides?
00:21:04 Gloria: And, yeah, you can still get into gift guides, but you've already done the kind of the messaging work. So that's really awesome for you. I'm so glad that you came into the starter pack early. In terms of the actual follow-up, did you follow-up once a week? Did you follow-up with email and DMs? How many times did you say you follow-up in order to get some of the media wins that you have received?
00:21:22 Kim: Usually, it's in sets of three. So I've sent out that initial email. I'm going to give it twenty four to thirty six hours, and then it's at least two social media platforms. I'll admit before we started coaching, I don't like Twitter as a consumer. Twitter really stressed me out. And I looked around, and as I started to research these authors and writers I wanted to talk to. A lot of them, I might go to their Instagram first and they say no DMs, on Twitter or in a different email address. It might be a different email address than, like, what I had started with.
00:21:52 Kim: That investigative work is really important. It's usually, I'd say, a trifecta. I start with the trifecta within the same week. And then if I have something interesting to say, I'll also still try and follow-up. I'm still honing that craft. And I think that's a craft that everyone develops. So I know I start in threes, but for some people that might have put me on read in their DM. Oh, I see you. I'm coming for you, but in a polite way. But, like, I've seen that you acknowledged me. You just didn't say anything yet. Other people have told me “I'm on vacation. I'm in Cabo for two weeks. But I'll send this off to someone in my team, and then I'll come back and follow-up too.”
00:22:24 Gloria: Yeah. That's amazing because the fact that they even respond to you gives you that little boost of confidence. And the fact that they say, I'm in Cabo. I'm not doing anything, but I'm going to send it. Then guess what? You have a reason to follow-up and say, hey. You said this, and they're on the hook. So I love how you turn everything into an opportunity, whereas a lot of people would turn everything into a reason to not believe. I love that. So let's say now you got an interest. What was the actual interview like? Was it, like, over phone, DM, texting? How did this story actually get published?
00:22:52 Kim: When I do get a hit, a lot of times, the follow-up has been by email, which I'm grateful for because then I can attach high resolution images if they want. I also can then use spell check and Grammarly, and I will sit there and actually read things out loud to make sure they sound okay. That's just been the preference of that author but I will always adapt. If someone says, can you get on a call for ten minutes? Absolutely. I'm actually interviewing for a different podcast, thanks to you in this pitching. I have another podcast next week, and that's going to be just like this. We're going to be talking on Zoom, being recorded, and I'm going to adapt however they want.
00:23:27 Kim: I keep saying the word adapting, and I realize that that's just kind of the trend. You’re wearing multiple hats. You can call it a million things, but as the smallest business owner, you just have to be willing to move back and forth. It's like me joining Twitter. My box is very late to the game on Twitter, maybe 40 followers, but I saw authors were on Twitter. So I'm going to start DMing them on Twitter because if they say DMs are open and they don't want to talk to me on Instagram and they don't want to talk to me on LinkedIn, but they said, knock, knock, the door's open on Twitter. Well, I guess I'm going to Twitter. My personal life might not be on Twitter, but my box will be on Twitter if that's where they're going to talk to me.
00:24:00 Gloria: So I love that you're like, I'm just going to go hit them up. You know that an email is not enough. We teach this in the starter pack. Can you just give me an example of how you would compose that DM on Twitter?
00:24:09 Kim: The DM on Twitter, I always try to bring something relevant to the author and relevant to my box as well. So sometimes I'm referencing an article they wrote recently, which sometimes I'll just say it candidly, is so frustrating when, oh, no. They just published a list of 25 book boxes two weeks ago and I'm late. I'm still going to talk to them about it because I love that article. And it's like, hey. If you're going to do an update on this, because some authors refresh those lists every quarter, every year, I would love to talk to you about this box and Read It & Eat. I sent you more details. And then I'll actually reference the subject line in the DM so that they can go search their DMs and find it.
00:24:46 Kim: You know, you have more space and not a lot of luxury. I know brevity is important in those emails, but you do have an ability to link out to your website, to graphics, and things like that. So give them something relevant that they're… maybe it's their own work. Something relevant, something current or trending. And also reference the specific email. Especially people in the media, they get thousands of them. So give them the bread crumbs. Make their lives as easy as possible while still making it enticing.
00:25:11 Gloria: Yes. That's exactly what I teach in the starter pack. I'm so glad that you took that to heart. Now my next question is, you make something that's a physical box. It's delicious, but you don't have a lot of budget to be sending out tons of samples. So how do you get around the whole samples, not sending samples? What's your take?
00:25:26 Kim: It's something I have to think about as… even right now. I have holiday boxes ready, and I'm going to forecast next year. I actually work it into my budget, my cost of goods sold to have a certain amount allocated that are going to press and media. At the end of those emails, my usual closing is something like, if you'd like more information, images are linked here, hyperlinks, and things like that, and I'm happy to send you a box, X, Y, and Z. It's maybe a 60-40. Not many people actually need the box. Maybe if it's something like the autographed box. I've had people who want to have a… who doesn't want to have an autographed book from an author?
00:26:02 Kim: Usually how I approach it is I try to build in bandwidth and buffer in my bootstrap business. It goes back to that statement of investing. I'm investing in my business by using PR. Part of that investment is setting aside boxes. And I know for me, those boxes are expensive. The COGS are not cheap on those, but it's worth having them if it means someone from BuzzFeed wants to open the box and not only writes about it, but posts about it on their own personal channels. So it's building that piece in. There are definitely different publications where you can get blasts for people who are pitching, and they want you to pitch to them for their holiday gift lists. There, I’m much more particular. I will go do my research. So it's a lot of research and some little bit of preplanning.
00:26:44 Gloria: Well, I love that so much. And would you validate it when I say you do not need to give something for free to get featured? It's not a requirement.
00:26:50 Kim: Definitely 1000% agree. You do not need to always give away product to be featured. A lot of my local press, especially, people are just so excited that you're part of their community that they just want to champion you. It goes back to what you are providing. It's not me, me, me. It's this is doing good. It's out there in the world to help people or solve a problem for your consumer, which my consumer wants to go on a culinary adventure and doesn't know how.
00:27:17 Kim: When we were back in the pandemic, a lot of people started ordering DIY kits and learning to cook. Remember the era of sourdough bread? Everyone wanted to learn how. And my first box I ever launched that sold out was a bread baking kit because people wanted to learn how to bake. You don't need to give things away. It's okay for reviews, but it's not a “I must do this or nothing will come.” I am a product of plenty of nice, wonderful press without ever having to send the item.
00:27:45 Gloria: By the way, this press has only been, like, one or two months old since… since you joined. It can happen very, very quickly. And in terms of the actual sample, you know this because you're in the starter pack, but it's not this desperation of, like, please let me send you product. But how do you conclude the sentence and wrap up that email where it's there if they want to take it, but then you're not shoving it down their throats, if you will?
00:28:07 Kim: I always bundle it with I have things that I can give you to help amplify the story, whether you're looking for pictures, here are the links. I don't literally write out here’s links, but links, pictures. And how am I available? I'm available text, email, phone call. It's essentially that ending conclusion is here are all these extra benefits that I can help for this story. You're focusing 90% of that email about the whys, why this is amazing. So it's not a pretty please. I'll give you this for free. Like, you don't need to do that. It's here if you need it along with these beautiful images, along with links, and my own knowledge as the thought leader. I'm here available by phone or text message or email.
00:28:49 Gloria: Oh, I love that so much that you said thought leader because I think before embarking on this PR journey, a lot of people are hesitant. There's they say, I'm not a thought leader or I'm not an expert. But, yeah, it's like if you're willing to take a customer's money, you're ready for PR. You have a point of view. So why not just go for it? I love that so much. Another question that came to mind, what you said is about local community. So many founders in our community who are listening, they make products because of their why. They're not just trying to do a get rich quick scheme.
00:29:17 Gloria: When I think about how you give back to your local community, to me, my first pitch would probably be for local press. So how did you differentiate your pitching between your Buffalo City news versus a BuzzFeed? Did you have to spend a lot of time to tweak the pitches to be completely different, or is it just as simple as a first sentence or maybe a subject line that you change out?
00:29:38 Kim: Adapting my pitch to the local media, I'd probably say less of just changing one sentence. I think, it’s worth investing in a couple different beats. So we have this template. We have our whys and our four C's, and I will adapt it locally because I'm looking at what they're covering. If someone, locally is covering book subscription boxes just like BuzzFeed, a little less adaptation needs to happen in that pitch. But the why and donating locally, sometimes that is the top.
00:30:08 Kim: This problem that it is solving is I want to shop small this holiday season. Here is this box. Here's what it does. But not just the box, but here is how it's impacting your small community. I love when I meet people locally at these local events. It's different kind of pitching. It's not media pitching when you're selling at a local event. But you're still pitching yourself, and you're trying to get people to come to your booth, come to your stand, and look at you.
00:30:32 Kim: And when I talk to people locally and say, did you know the $5 from this box is going to this nonprofit, Big Big Table, for example? Big Big Table is a small restaurant where you pay what you can. So if you are someone with more discretionary income, maybe I will give $20 for my sandwich and a cup of a beverage. But it's designed for that if people who don't have a lot to give, they can still get a hot meal for as little as they can give.
00:30:56 Kim: So when I'm at that booth, again, it's a different kind of pitching. It's a different kind of storytelling. But if I'm saying, hey. $5 from that box is going to Big, Big Table. People go, I know that place. That's down the street. Or, like, my friend volunteers there. I do change the story. I think that's a good thing. I think adaptation is a really good thing. It resonates with people in a different way than maybe BuzzFeed. Because BuzzFeed might only know Buffalo because of the Bills. Like, go Bills.
00:31:21 Kim: But that's a very different story versus someone who goes, oh, I know Feed Western New York. I've been volunteering there for years. So I do adapt, I think, to be more Buffalo first in those local pitches or even more Western New York first in those pitches because that's usually the story they're seeking. But it's really, again, worthy of adaptation. It's a good thing to be fluid, if you will.
00:31:45 Gloria: Yeah. Exactly. I don't know what it is, but it's a couple of words on screen, but the impact is so great. So the upside of me spending an hour to tweak the pitch, I could get featured in my local magazine. And nothing gives you hometown pride like that, right, especially with what you're doing and the hunger initiatives that you're in. By the time of recording, we're in Q4. You joined the PR starter pack just a few months ago. You got tons of press. Let's say you joined. Right? You just joined. What would you tell your, like, self if you had the chance to be in my community in January? Like, what would you have done differently if you started earlier?
00:32:15 Kim: If I had started in January, I'd still be at the tail end of holiday season. So I don't know if I would do anything differently. But if I could tell past Kim something, it… I would double down on being open minded, come in being willing to absorb all that information and be willing to adapt. But also to believe in yourself. I think a lot of us who are small businesses and bootstrap, we live a little bit in our own bubbles. And just even having you as a sounding board, even just having someone who checks in and that really supportive Facebook group, just saying, like, this is a great idea. Like, soak that all in and use it.
00:32:48 Kim: So on the day where things feel like, man, I just got 10 rejections or an item in my inventory has appeared damaged. Like, on the down days, I can look back at our conversations and conversations in that community and use that as like that… I hate this phrase, pull yourself up by the bootstraps. But, like, this is a support system. And it's also it's knowledge. You have given me so much knowledge. And it's my job to continue to hone my craft, but I was approaching everything so wrong with PR. I was, like, DMing influencers, and I did. I was saying, like I was desperate. I was like, take this. It's free. Talk about it.
00:33:26 Kim: You taught us unwind and how to approach with the why, that purpose driven, being that thought leader. It has been such a game changer, so I wouldn't do anything differently. Maybe that was not the answer you were expecting. But just to encourage all the listeners out there, come in open minded. And even if it's the slow season, you can do so much learning and pitching and planting those seeds now. Plant the breadcrumbs now. So in the holiday season, when they are getting inundated with emails, they'll remember you. And, like, I think I remember this person.
00:33:55 Gloria: I think you learned that journalists aren't biting your head off. They're not sitting on these thrones looking down and judging people. I don't know what it is. I think it's decades of conditioning that the industry has taught us that you have to pay someone else for their privilege and access, and there's no chance for us to get featured. And we, me, and you, we're living examples of we don't need them to allow us into the gate. We can bust the gate wide open because we deserve to be seen, heard, and valued. So that's, I think, what I really want people to take away with as they start pitching all the stories you make up in your head. Like, yeah. Maybe you got a few no’s, but did any of them, like, really hurt you? No. Right?
00:34:30 Gloria: I feel like we get more trolls on Instagram who are, like, just random people than journalists. Like, they're busy people. So that's definitely something that I want to leave our audiences with. You've given us so many gems, by the way. Thank you so much. Is there anything else that we didn't cover?
00:34:43 Kim: I think I would just like to double down to everyone that silence is not the no. It's something you said, like, they're not behind this giant gates or on a pearly throne. Just to double down on what your statement. Don't worry, guys. Like I could have worked in PR if my career had gone a different way and I think I come off as a fairly approachable person. It's all about timing in that – and sometimes in that moment, they're just not looking at that at that moment.
00:35:05 Kim: The other piece of advice is looking at the PR starter pack, looking at your small business, you are worthy of the investment, and it can seem very scary as a bootstrap person. Oh, well, if I just keep putting it towards ads, something will happen. But I invested in knowledge with you in this coaching, and not only has it brought results in terms of increased sales and increased traffic, but also confidence up here. It's been a big game changer for me. And I think I've said that to you a few times in DMs. It has lifted that imposter fog in a way.
00:36:37 Kim I think people understand, but it's hard to put into words. But sometimes, if you get bogged down and you only focus on the no’s and you don't do anything to change yourself, well, you're going to get stuck in those no’s. And you've given us knowledge and confidence and also that support community. So those were the two big ones. I know that was a very long answer. But I could sing praises all day because it really just has been such a game changer. You don't need the million dollar retainer. Like, guys, it's going to be okay, and I could not thank you enough for that.
00:36:03 Gloria: Oh, you're going to make me tear up, Kim. I'm so proud of you. Can you please tell people a little bit more about how they can find you and why every single person needs to get a box from you? Read It & Eat. Because I really think what you've combined are really interesting and delightful elements for people.
00:36:20 Kim: You can find me at my website, booksnbread.com. And you can find me across various social media channels @readitandeat and on Instagram specifically @bookmarksandbreadsticks. Right now, by the time this has gone live, I have a couple different holiday boxes out, including the hot chocolate bomb DIY kit. If you want, that's great for all kinds of different ages. I grew up making Christmas cookies in my family, so making hot chocolate bombs sounds great. I have a peppermint box where you can have peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint pretzels. Again, all of these are from small businesses. And to throw another curve ball, you want someone with spice in your life? I have a winter hot sauce box, and the hot sauce has come from a small business in Brooklyn and is women owned. So those are three big ones.
00:37:05 Kim: And coming up in the spring, I have a doughnut box. So you're going to learn all about federal doughnuts. And you're also going to make your own doughnuts, which I learned to make my own doughnuts for the first time because I was testing the box. I didn't realize how much I loved having doughnuts, like, fresh from the oven. Like, this was wonderful. But in general, those are tons of different ways you can explore and go on your next culinary adventure. But also just remember that for every box that’s sold, you are helping to fight hunger. And especially around the holidays, I think that is a hard time where a lot of traditions are curated around food. So why not do something for the world and know that you're helping someone with their next meal?
00:37:38 Gloria: Oh, thank you so much for being such a purpose driven leader. I'm so thrilled that the universe connected us. And I cannot wait to see how far you go with the press. So thank you again.
00:37:49 Kim: Thank you so much.
00:37:53 Gloria: Hey, Small Business Hero. Did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, The New York Times, Marie Claire, PopSugar, and so many more even if you are 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 thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought after industry expert.
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