If you’re trying to get your interiors brand featured in a publication, you need to get the journalists on side. This means trying to make their job as easy as possible and steering clear of the things that really bug them.
Here are a few things that make interiors journalists think twice about including your brand.
Not Understanding the Publication
An interiors journalist won’t look kindly on someone who hasn’t set eyes on their magazine or blog. Make sure the journalists you contact work at a publication that chimes with your target audience and also the product you’re pitching. Read that publication and find out which sections of it fit with your brand and the message you want to communicate. Name dropping some articles and showing you understand where your product will fit in the mag makes it much more likely that your pitch will make it through the journalist’s first stage of elimination. And lastly, get to know their lead time (how far in advance they work). There is no point pitching Christmas gifts to Livingetc in November as they close in August.
Not Having the Right Images
The worst thing you can do it pitch in a product with low resolution images and not having the high resolution version on file for when they ask for it. I have known journalists to swear… a lot …. when that happens (and it’s one of the reasons Nicola Snell launched Press Loft to give journalists a place to find images in the size they need!). However, DON’T, whatever you do, send a bunch of high res files in the initial pitch – it will drown their inbox and they won’t love you for that. Just wait until it has been requested and make it clear you have them ready to go.
Along with having high res images available, the style of the image is important too. Cut out images (on a white background) get featured around 70% of the time but a good lifestyle shot is priceless and can mean you get full page spreads if they are really beautiful! Also need we say – iPhone photos are not welcome here!
Poorly Written Press Releases and Emails
Bad grammer, typoos and misspelling Racel’s name …. these are things which make the journalist press DELETE faster than a xxxxx Journalists are wordsmiths for a living so make sure your writing style and content is up to scratch so that they can cut and paste sections for their own use. Try and develop an angle to your content. Why is it relevant now? What marks out your brand from competitors? And keep to the point. Journalists don’t want to (and most certainly won’t) spend their time reading through reams of spammy content.
Failing to Send Products For Shoots On Time
All publications work to tight deadlines. If a journalist requests your products for a photo shoot, make sure you confirm availabilities ASAP and thta your products arrive ahead of time. Account for any delays and choose the safest delivery method. If your products don’t arrive on time you will likely miss the feature and tarnish the relationship with the journalist for future shoot opportunities.
Pestering
“When am I going to feature?”, “Is it out yet?”, “Did you get my email?” – just some of the sentences sure to drive a journalist MAD! It is up to you to look out for the article and buy the mag, read the blog or sign up to a media monitoring service. Journalists are too busy dealing with deadlines to respond to emails asking if you have been featured yet or if they have received a pitch. Keep an eye out for published content that’s been promised, accept rejection when you have to and learn when to cut your losses and try another publication.
Getting your brand or your products featured in an interiors publication can really boost your profile and your profits. But in the fast-paced world of print publication incomplete, mistimed or ill-judged content will be left by the wayside. Do publication research, create killer content and respect deadlines to attract and sustain the attention of an interiors journalist.
