Landing “Best Of” Lists: A Product Placement Strategy for a D2C Brand
Client: A new D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) e-commerce brand in the “smart home technology” niche.
Challenges We Faced
The client had a great product but zero brand recognition, and was invisible in a crowded market:
E-commerce Sandbox
As a new brand (DR 5), their site was “stuck” on page 5+ of Google, invisible to shoppers.
No Referral Traffic
Their traffic was 100% paid ads, which was expensive and unsustainable.
No “Trust” Signals
They had no media mentions, “as seen on” logos, or authoritative reviews, giving customers no reason to trust them over Amazon.
Losing Sales to Giants
They couldn’t compete with Amazon or Best Buy for high-intent product keywords.
Get Your Product Featured
“Want to get your product featured in ‘Best Of’ lists and Holiday Gift Guides? Our Product Review & Gift Guide Placements service gets you in front of top editors.”
Our Approach – How We Solved These Challenges
Customized Outreach Strategy
We identified a “gold list” of 100+ “best smart home” and “holiday gift guide” editors from top-tier tech and lifestyle publications.
Product Review & Gift Guide Placements
This was the core of our pr & editorial outreach service. We developed a compelling media kit and pitched their flagship “smart thermostat” for inclusion in holiday gift guides.
Relationship-Based Outreach
We leveraged our existing contacts at major publications (e.g., TechRadar, CNET, Good Housekeeping) to get our pitch seen by the right editors.
High-Quality Content & Pitch Creation
We crafted personalized, compelling pitches for each editor, highlighting the product’s unique features and value proposition.
Results
| Metric | Before | After | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Gift Guide” & “Best Of” Placements | 0 | 18 (incl. 3 top-tier) | +1,800% |
| Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) | 5 | 28 | +460% |
| Referral Traffic (from media mentions) | ~20/mo | 6,500/mo | +32,400% |
Free Media Placement Audit
“Not sure why your brand isn’t getting press? Claim a Free Media Audit and let our Editorial Outreach Service company find your opportunities!”
Advice for Marketers & Brand Owners
- Product placement is key for e-commerce. One link in a high-authority “Best Of” guide drives more revenue and trust than 100 blog links.
- Timing is everything. A pr & editorial outreach service for gift guides must start in Q3 (July-Sept) to land in Q4 (Oct-Dec) publications.
- A great media kit is essential. Make it easy for journalists to say “yes” by giving them all the photos, specs, and info they need upfront.
Extra Factors That Made It Work
- A great, well-designed product that editors were genuinely happy to feature.
- A highly personalized Manual Journalist & Editor Outreach campaign that didn’t feel like spam.
- Timing the campaign perfectly for the holiday “gift guide” season.
