Why late Christmas cards work

We got a Christmas card last week. Yes, four weeks after Christmas. And I read every word of the little updates about the family’s kids. Even though it was from a friend of my wife’s from another state, and I’ve never met the kids and probably never will.

When there’s a pile of dozens of such cards, I don’t read all of them. But when there’s only one on the counter while I’m eating my soup? Sure, I’ll dig into little Susie’s newfound fondness for longboarding.

Now think about all seasonal pitches journalists receive pegged to a certain holiday. Like Valentine’s Day in a few weeks. I’ve often argued that Valentine’s Day is actually the WORST time of the year to pitch your floral or chocolate or relationship-coaching clients, because the competition is the fiercest. Maybe you should try being the figurative Christmas card that’s four weeks late. Or pitch around a holiday that nobody is competing with.

Next week I’m going to share a pitch that landed because it was tied to National Banana Cream Pie Day, of all things. And another that took a totally contrarian take on Christmas and therefore got included in everyone’s Christmas roundup.

Those are among the 8 pitches I’ll be breaking down in a free webinar distributed by my friends at Muck Rack. They invited their followers to send in their favorite pitches. I got to wade through them all and pick the ones that best demonstrate actionable best practices you can implement right away.

Join me on Thursday, Feb. 3 – registration details here.