Everything You Need to Know About Long Lead vs. Short Lead Pitches

In the world of a publicist, we start celebrating Mother’s Day in February and Christmas in July. Why? Because that’s what we’re pitching during those months. Public Relations media outreach strategy is divided into two categories: Long Leads and Short Leads.

Long Leads: National Print Magazines, Holiday Gift Guides, Regional Print Media

Long-lead media hits around 4-5 months ahead of an issue hitting the newsstands and take a lot of time to plan out. That’s why editors map out Christmas and Holiday stories in July. Additionally, a helpful note to remember is that print magazines usually hit the newsstands the month before the issue. For example, a print magazine’s November issue will be available on newsstands mid-October.

When it comes to Holiday Gift Guides, if you want your brand’s product included in a publications holiday gift guide, you should ideally start pitching five months before the December issue, which hits newsstands in November.

Regional print media (think of magazines and newspapers focused on news in your city or state) typically plan 2-3 months out. So while it may be on the shorter end of a long-lead pitch, it’s still a long-lead opportunity, so plan accordingly!

Short Leads: National Online Media, Dailies, National and Regional TV, Weeklies

You have a much shorter timeline for national online outlets, national and regional TV, weeklies, and dailies. National online media work around 1-2 months in advance. So, for example, if you want to be included in a Mother’s Day gift guide, you want to start pitching your product in January or February to be included in an April product round-up. But don’t feel like you’re too late to the party if you want to pitch a product in March or April, as some gift guides include last-minute gift ideas!

Online media outlets, especially news-heavy outlets, will run stories down to the minute, as it’s crucial to have the most current and up-to-date news. So if you see a recent trend you can pitch on, use it for those dailies, national online media, and TV. National TV shows book in a fast timeframe. On the other hand, local or regional TV can be booked out within 2-4 weeks.

Here’s the kicker, you should always be doing both long-lead and short-lead pitching throughout the year. Eventually, your long leads become your short leads so that you can repurpose your pitches, but for an effective strategy, you want to ensure you’re hitting both sides.