(Press) Hook, Line & Sinker

Time to hook up with Press Hook

May 16, 2022

Ok, ok—I took another week off. You got me. I apologize, pitches, but you try writing an effective newsletter in an airport. It’s tricky stuff.

Anyways, last Pitch, Please, we examined the double-edged sword that is Help a Reporter Out (HARO). In a similar vein, I’d love to put Press Hook on your radar if you haven’t heard of it already.

Let’s dish about Press Hook!

I’ve been subscribing to Press Hook’s email newsletter for about eight months now. Self-described as “where brands and media connect,” Press Hook is an online platform that seeks to “help journalists discover sources and [help] brands reach media.”

It’s a similar idea to HARO but instead of connecting journalists to experts, Press Hook’s original concept was to bring brands/products and journalists together.

It’s all about visibility, right? Like, ‘hey, did you know this awesome brand exists? Cover them for this reason, this reason, and this reason.’

Think of when Skimlinks sends out its trending products. It’s kind of like that.

Available for iOS and Android

~*BUT~* Press Hook upped the stakes when, in recent months, the platform launched a new branch: Experts. So, now, Press Hook connects writers with trending products and experts.

IDK about you, but I’m interested.

How the brand side works

One of my favorite functionalities of Press Hook is its search parameters. You can search (or if you’re using it on the PR side, categorize) by the following: Direct to consumer, women-founded, small business, made in the USA, women-owned, and independently-owned.

All the things I personally like to look for and highlight.

And probably all the things you like to brag about, too, if you’re repping these brands.

Press Hook brands are also divvied up into easy-to-navigate categories so writers can refine their search even more. Think: Tech, fashion, health and wellness, home goods, beauty, beverages, toys and gaming, fitness, and more.

From my perspective of things, this is a great way to find and amplify “new” brands that maybe weren’t on my radar before. So, my recommendation? Get on PH! It’s the shiny, new thing and I don’t want to ~PrOpHeSiZe~ or anything (although, I did predict the rise of One Direction in as early as 2010, FYI, so that should tell you something), but I really do think Press Hook is the way of the future.

So, hop on it!

How the expert functionality works

Now for the expert side of Press Hook. Writers can also browse for experts by categories or tags: beauty, beverages—and all the other aforementioned categories—as well as music, parenting, pets, and more.

Again, it’s another great tool for writers to have in their arsenal. When looking for sources/experts, I usually go first by who’s in my email already, then by HARO. To have a third tool to work with is just icing on the cake.

It also gives writers more options to diversify who they’re working with.

And we love to see it, henny!

Also, low-key going to pretend like the maker of that GIF didn’t misspell ‘receive’ because it’s too good a GIF to pass up. Also low-key going to pretend like it’s not annoying the H out of me, but whatever.

Guess I should start making my own GIFs… 👀

A brief, little baby caveat

I will say, all of this is relatively new. So, as you can imagine, there are some kinks to work out.

Some of the search features on Press Hook are not as well-executed as they could be, IMHO. Still, I’m confident PH will work it all out and it will be a premiere spot for journalists, brands, and experts to find each other.

Thank you for reading Pitch, Please. This post is public AF so feel free to share it.

Life (but also work) updates…

New subcategory, who dis???

ICYMI, I’m getting married! In June! Like, 40~ days or something ridiculous.

That being said, I am currently pitching a ton of wedding content for Newsweek—who, in an unrelated turn of events, has also given me the green light to write more sustainability/travel content—so if you represent any wedding, sustainability, and travel brands, HMU.

What I’m working on this week

As always, products with affiliate links will be given precedence.

How Much Does a Passport Cost?: Looking for a source to extrapolate on the topic of passports; could be someone from USPS, TSA, or in the travel industry.
Best Sleep Apps: Do you represent a sleep app? A sleep expert? Looking for both for this roundup of about 15~ apps.
Do Vegetarians Eat Eggs?: Looking for 2-3 sources to expand upon vegetarian diets and answer a few related questions, including whether or not vegetarians eat eggs; expert must be able to explain the differences between ovo- and lacto-ovo vegetarianism.
60 Graduation Party Ideas: Looking for tons of ideas that relate to graduation parties; can be everything from decor and recipes to photo booth props, etc.
Is Popcorn Keto?: Looking for 2-3 experts to break down the keto diet and whether popcorn falls into the category; preferably an MD, nutritionist or otherwise expert in the area of keto diets.
Graduation Gifts for Kindergarteners: Anything that could qualify as a graduation gift for kindergarten graduates, age range 4 to 5.

Feel free to email me if you have any relevant contributions to the above assignments.

See you next Monday, pitches.

Follow me:

Instagram: @stephosmanski

LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/StephanieOsmanski