Wow, this morning I got an email from a pr gal pal, Jayne, about the possible shuttering of People in print. So, before we go any deeper… I know shifts happen in every industry, but I think we should all pour one out collectively for the People team. This underscores precisely what I’ve said all along: digital is the way, and affiliate is a paved path.
What I’m working on now:
Reader’s Digest: Sheeeeet, I did end up turning this into an article! Told the team I was testing a bunch of mattress protectors out on my kids/myself and then they were like “that’s a story.” So now I’m rounding up the 10-15 best mattress protectors on the market and try/touch/feel ‘em all. Pitch me your best, but need affiliate-friendly. bryce@theluxuryspot.com
Taste of Home: Need a few more MDW sales specifically on KITCHEN items. All done with other verticals, but holler if you’re discounting your blenders/food processors/dining wares, etc. for the long weekend. bryce@theluxuryspot.com
Jobs:
Musings:
Updated the Amazon links for the last couple days — major transition in both spending and direction, but outdoorsy and gift items are tops.
I get a lot of questions about how well product stories perform and WHY they’re important (and why the formatting I use is so particular). To give you an idea, I don’t write product features or roundups unless I’m fairly confident that readers will genuinely love the item and that at least 100+ products will be sold in the first few days. Otherwise, it’s not worth the edit budget/formatting, etc right? It’s not worth your time, either. I’ll delve into this more for tomorrow’s Affiliate Tribe newsletter, but here’s an example of an oil spray bottle I covered for TOH. Seems like NBD — cheap, useful, and everyone can probably use it. And that’s exactly why 400+ sales happened in a matter of hours (and counting). If you’re pitching into the abyss and don’t confidently see your product solving a real issue or helping an editor solve a real issue, you should be reformulating that pitch.
Finally, I’ve gotten a few dozen event invitations this week (mostly in Manhattan). I’ve said no to each because I can’t really justify losing an entire workday to travel to a 1-hour cocktail party for *anything* (almost all the big publishers are all still remote till probably forever, and most of us left the city). It’s also like $150 in gas/tolls/car parking to contend with even if I was in the mood to lose an entire day of work, and I’ve conveyed this as kindly to PR friends as possible. I know you’re in similar boats. Anyway, what’s interesting is that every single time I’ve explained why I would be declining, PR wrote back “Actually, we’re having a hard time getting anyone to come. We invited 100 and only 5 said they’ll come. We don’t know what to do. Please pass the invite on to any local colleagues. Even from the art dept.” …so I think we should sit down as a family and discuss the path forward in coming days. I know it’s hard out there for publicists, and just the same — eds and freelancers need to protect their jobs, health, and work. Open to everyone’s commentary, obviously.
Trending on Skimlinks data for this week:
Not sure what this data means? Please refer to last week’s for a refresher.
Align™ High-Rise Shorts: 15% (a bargain Lululemon find + prob driving the massive sales uptick)
Dynacraft 26 In. Men’s Aftershock Bike: 11% (cheap!)
Plunge Twist Gown: 20% (GASP! so pretty)
Organic Popcorn in Himalayan Pink Salt: flat $ bounty
Apple AirPods w/ Wireless Charging Case (2nd Generation): 8% (cheap!!! will sell out)
Till tomorrow, friends! <3
Hi Bryce. Is it possible to connect with you via email outside of the newsletter? I'd appreciate it. Thanks/GeriR