Dear Sarah,
I would really appreciate some advice. I received an inquiry from the editor of a magazine to have my jewelry included in an editorial. I have a couple of questions:
1. My understanding is that this is not akin to an ‘advertorial’, which I would have to pay for – true?
2. Should I send all the jewelry they asked for, although they indicated it would not be returned?
2. Should I send all the jewelry they asked for, although they indicated it would not be returned?
I would truly appreciate your feedback as I am not sure what the standard procedure is for such magazines.
Thank you,
Lisa Studio Jewel
Dear Lisa,
Congratulations on the request from the magazine. Your jewelry is really beautiful and I love the fact that you use recycled metals.
You are correct, editorial is free and “advertorials” and other kinds of advertisements are paid. That said, not all magazines refuse to return the goods. I’d probe a tad more and ask why they cannot return the merchandise after they shoot it. You can always feel free to let them know you are a small woman run company and cannot afford to give away multiple pieces. Most magazines these days don’t have the budget to return the goods, but will if you include a return-shipping label and send it in a box that can be reused.
In the end, it is really up to each of us to decide how important the magazine is to our sales and marketing plan and if it will bring in the dollars. If you feel it will, then sending a few samples might not make a difference in the long run. There is no “right and wrong” to working with the press about samples, it’s really based on your marketing dollars for the year and what kind of a risk taker you are as no one can guarantee sales.
Go with your intuition and you will make the right choice,
Sarah
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