Meet Sara Idacavage!

Sara Idacavage is a standout Amy Flurry intern who went on to work in the New York offices of Daily Candy before landing a job in the sales department at New York magazine. She is a contributor to the Brooklyn blog, FREEwilliamsburg as well as the popular online fashion site, Refinery 29 and I, for one, think her personal blog, The Pop Couture is brilliant!  We asked Sara a few questions on how to strike the right tone in a pitch and what always catches a writer’s eye.

Are one to two paragraphs and a good picture really enough to interest an editor/blogger?

Yes, definitely. If the product grabs my attention with a quick look, I can always ask for more information.

 

What’s the one thing you want to find in every pitch?

I may start sounding like a broken record, but I can't stress enough how important it is to do your research on a writer/publication to find out why they would specifically be interested in what you are promoting. For example, if someone sees that I've been doing a lot of themed shopping roundups, I would be impressed if they included ideas for what kind of roundups their product would work well in.

The one thing that makes one pitch stand apart from the next?

Personality!

What’s missing when a pitch is almost there, but not quite?

Sometimes a pitch is just missing the right tone. The product could be great, but if the pitch sounds generic enough to have been sent to a million editors before, chances are it will not make me want to write about it. Again, if someone does their research to determine why I would want to use it for the site/publication I'm writing for, I'm going to be MUCH more likely to go with it.

In what ways do publicists, whether in house or large PR groups, develop relationships with editors?

Publicists usually know better than to pitch ideas to the wrong people. If a publicist consistently sends me pitches that are in line with my writing and if they don't get rude if I turn down an idea, I'll probably go back to them whenever I'm searching for material.

What’s the easiest and quickest way to a writer’s heart?

Aside from bringing a great story or angle on an idea to me that has yet to be written up, I can't help but love receiving a thank you note after covering someone. Chances are I'll continue to write about them in the future or recommend their business to my friends. It's always nice to feel appreciated!