be prepared to say yes

{image from the Merriweather Council}

Good press can really help you expand your audience and grown your business.

So, you will want to be prepared to cultivate any opportunities that may come along to get your products into magazines, broadcasts or other publications!

I have been lucky enough to have my work featured in a few publications and I can say from experience, every time I was asked for a sample and the sample needed to be received within 5-6 days. So keep in mind that these things can be very last minute and you want to be prepared!

I’ve written up a short list of things you can do now to ensure you are in a position to say “YES!” when you are approached by editors, bloggers or other who want to promote your work!

One.

Create and save a letterhead document (consistent with your brand, of course) that can be edited to print and put in with each sample sent.

Be sure to include your name, email, mailing address, website and a note about where return shipments can be sent to if possible. Each time you use the letterhead, fill in the address you are shipping to, a short thank you message and a brief description of what is enclosed in your package. Always include a business or postcard as well!

Two.

Probably the most important part of this whole equation: have samples ready to go!

Have at least a few different color ways, sizes, versions, etc, or multiples of your best seller on hand and ready to ship out if needed. Remember, often time requests for samples are last minute and need to be shipped asap, so having them pre made is a huge help. Send more than one sample if you can.

Three.

As stated earlier, requests always seem to come at the last minute. Set some money aside in your monthly budget for expedited and emergency shipments. Since these samples will likely have to arrive within the week, you will want to use a reliable shipper with expedited and tracking options!

Four.

Keep high resolution photos on hand of your best sellers on solid white backgrounds.

Sometimes magazines will ask for samples so they can photograph the items to fit their editorial needs but sometimes they will just request a high resolution image. White backgrounds are best. Keep some magazine worthy, high res images on your computer. Better yet, email them to yourself so you have them in case you are on the road when you get the request…. it happens!

Five.

Speaking of being on the road… leave one or two samples with a friend in case you are planning on being away for a while. Or teach your boyfriend, roommate, mom, dad, cat, whoever, how to put together a sample package should you be unable to due to traveling.

You won’t regret doing these things ahead of time, I promise!

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