Consumer and lifestyle · National
How to get featured in Good Housekeeping
How to get featured in Good Housekeeping: how the GH Institute tests products, how the Seal differs from editorial picks, and why PR pitches to writers fail.
- Website
- goodhousekeeping.com
- Owner
- Hearst
- Lead time
- Digital stories: weeks. Print and seasonal testing: typically several months ahead.
- Last verified
At a glance
Audience. Households looking for trusted, tested advice on home, food, health, beauty, and family purchases.
- Product testing and reviews
- Home and cleaning
- Food and recipes
- Health and wellness
- Beauty and personal care
- Family and relationships
- Holidays and gatherings
- Staff reporting
- Staff editors and the Good Housekeeping Institute's labs (kitchen, beauty, textiles, tech, home care, home improvement, nutrition and fitness) test products and produce service journalism.
- Contributed articles
- Good Housekeeping accepts freelance pitches from writers for essays, reported features, and some service stories. The freelance inbox is for writers only; PR pitches sent there are deleted.
- Opinion and op-eds
- There is no op-ed section. Personal essays from freelance writers are the closest format and go through the freelance pitch process.
- Press releases
- Releases are not published. Product news is useful when it reaches the relevant Institute lab or category editor and fits an upcoming test or story.
Pitching Good Housekeeping, step by step
Decide which route fits: editorial coverage, the Good Housekeeping Seal, or a testing award; they are separate programs.
For editorial, identify the lab or category editor from the Good Housekeeping team and lab pages, and pitch the specific product claim they could test.
Provide specifications, claims substantiation, pricing, and retail availability; Institute experts evaluate whether products perform as promised.
For the Seal, use the dedicated Seal inquiries address on the contact page; it is a licensed program, not editorial coverage.
Do not send PR pitches to the freelance writers' inbox; the pitch guidelines say they will be deleted.
How Good Housekeeping decides what to cover
Good Housekeeping, a Hearst title, is built around the Good Housekeeping Institute. Its labs cover kitchen appliances, beauty, textiles, tech, home care and cleaning, home improvement, and nutrition and fitness, and their testing feeds the magazine’s recommendations. The contact page describes the brand’s focus as home, beauty, health, and food, with the Institute at its core.
That shapes what gets covered. Products earn mentions by performing in tests, and stories favor practical service: what works, what to buy, how to do something better.
How to pitch Good Housekeeping
Brands should understand three separate routes before they reach out.
Editorial coverage comes from editors and Institute experts. Identify the lab or category editor through the team and lab pages, then send a focused note with the product’s claims, the evidence behind them, price, and where it is sold. A claim that can be tested in a lab is more interesting to the Institute than a lifestyle angle.
The Good Housekeeping Seal is a different program. The contact page lists a dedicated Seal inquiries address. The Seal comes with a limited warranty: if a Seal product proves defective within two years, Good Housekeeping refunds or replaces it. Products are evaluated by the Institute before receiving it, and companies hold it under license. It is not an editorial review.
Testing awards are a third route. Some Good Housekeeping award programs have run on submission platforms with per-product entry fees, so treat them as paid entries and read each program’s terms.
Contributed articles and op-eds
Good Housekeeping does not run op-eds. It does accept freelance pitches for essays, features, and some service pieces, sent to the address in its freelancers’ pitch guidelines with “STORY PITCH” in the subject line. The guidelines are explicit that this address is for freelance writers only and that PR pitches sent there will be deleted.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pay to be featured in Good Housekeeping?
Editorial picks are not for sale. The Seal is a licensed program and some awards charge entry fees, but both are distinct from editorial coverage and still require passing Institute evaluation.
Does Good Housekeeping accept guest posts?
Not from brands. Freelance writers can pitch essays and reported stories through the official guidelines.
Who should I pitch at Good Housekeeping?
The Institute lab or category editor that covers your product. Use the Seal inquiries address only for the Seal program.
A PR-led agency separates Good Housekeeping’s editorial, Seal, and awards routes and prepares substantiation that survives lab testing. Our media relations work builds consumer product pitches on that footing.
Mistakes that get pitches ignored
- Sending brand pitches to the freelance pitch address
- Claims you cannot substantiate in a lab test
- Confusing the Seal or a paid-entry awards program with an editorial review
- Pitching holiday products after seasonal testing has closed
Keep going
Related outlets
Sources for this profile (3)
- Good Housekeeping: Contact us
- Good Housekeeping: Freelancers' pitch guidelines
- Good Housekeeping: How the GH Limited Warranty Seal protects you
Profiles describe public editorial processes and are reviewed periodically. Digitize is not affiliated with Good Housekeeping. Spot something out of date? Email [email protected].