Welcome to Part II of How to Pitch Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine. In our first post with David, we shared some feedback from the editor-at-large of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine, Tampa Bay’s monthly parenting resource in print and online. David handles all editorial components of the publication as well as overseeing product features and event coverage in the magazine.
Below you’ll find some helpful hints on how to pitch this publication, plus a video message from David! (Note: His helpful hints do not only apply to PR firms and publicists, but any brand representatives or companies who are actively reaching out to the media!)
What best practices can you share?
Be honest. Don’t fluff a product or feature just to get me to look at it. Tell me exactly what you are pitching and how you think it can work with our publication. If you can find a unique way to incorporate it into Tampa Bay Parenting that we may not have thought of, the better.
What makes a product standout when it’s pitched to you?
We like to feature products in Tampa Bay Parenting that will make our readers lives easier. Being a parent isn’t easy and readers don’t want a product that is going to make their lives and the lives of the kids more difficult. Products that include very long set up or lots of technology knowledge don’t really go over well with our readers.
What is the best way to pitch a product?
The most effective way to pitch a product is to send our office a press release. If we are interested we will contact the PR firm for samples. We must receive samples of a product in order to feature it in the publication. A panel reviews each product to meet certain qualifications. Just because you send a sample it is not guaranteed that your product will be featured.
David Estevez is the editor-at-large of 