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A one-day DIY publicity intensive in Atlanta, GA taught by two high-level editors who love helping brands learn to pitch effectively and to find more success. 

TOP PITCH TIPS

10 Reasons Why Editors Might Reject Your Pitch

It’s easy to land press when you connect your product to the pages you want to be a part of. But certain mistakes, often even made by PR professionals, will send your pitch straight to the poubelle. Here’s what sends an editor reaching for the “delete” button. Avoid these and you’ll be that much closer to seeing your product or story in print!

1. Your pitch doesn’t fit on one page. In fact, the pitch is shrinking by the day. If you can’t get our attention in two paragraphs, then you need to work on it a little longer.

2. You don’t address the writer by their name (or you misspell her or his name).

3. You call the editor instead of emailing a proper pitch.

4. You attach the pitch as a Word or PDF document, instead of pasting it in the body of the email.

5. You attach high-resolution images and your company logo for the editor (instead of embedding a low-res image directly into the email). Most editors won’t open attachments.

6. You fail to include a link to your website, your email address AND your phone number. If we call, we’re ready for business and on deadline.

7. You CC other media contacts in the same pitch or you BC other media contacts and leave the intro vague (even though we know you just emailed every other editor in your address book).

8. You didn’t read the publication or blog before you pitched. We have a spider-sense for this!

9. You use a number of different texts, emoticons and italics to get your point across.

10. You tell us how you think it would be a perfect fit for our pages.

The Makerie in Boulder with THESE women! You're on!

Next week this time I'll be hanging with these huge talents who are all giving classes at The Makerie in Boulder, Colorado. This is an incredible retreat held at Chautauqua, a national (and sacred!) historic landmark, and there is still time to sign up for a few classes! Do it! How rare to be a part of intimate workshops with instructors willing to share their talent, time, experience and love of the craft. I have the honor of speaking during lunch on Friday and Saturday and I can't wait!

Scenes from the Student Designer Showcase, USC Fashion Week 2013

Last night I served as a judge for the Student Designer Showcase for the University of South Carolina's Fashion Week! Tonight I'll deliver the keynote for the universities 5th annual fashion week. Great job, students and congratulations, Paul Williams, on winning the showcase.

xobruno....Made in Oregon

My friends at xobruno make beautiful bags, by hand and in leather, canvas and a new-to-xobruno material, Hazara Kilim textiles. Important to the brand is sharing where the bags are produced, hence their Made in Oregon tags/logo. Is the next iteration of the Made in America movement, economic localization?

Talking about Athens, Georgia on Alternative Apparel's Community Thread

I was a magazine writer, editor and article's producer for almost two decades and there are days I miss working with talented stylists and photographers (though this service is one I will soon extend to my clients!) When I do, I collaborate with friends, like for this article and fashion spread that I produced and wrote for Alternative Apparel's blog, Community Thread. Read more about my hometown project here!

Book report

The best kind of surprise made its way into my inbox today. A Recipe for Press reader in the midwest reviewed my book on her blog, UpscaleDownhome. Thank you, Sarah, for crafting such a helpful post and sharing with your readers!

Registration for "Amber Housley: Inspired" opens Monday

I'm excited to announce that I'll be a featured speaker at "Amber Housley: Inspired" a business and lifestyle summit for creative entrepreneurs in Nashville in early August. Registration opens on Monday. Join us!

Flipboard: create your own magazine?

These days, everyone is an editor, and I mean that literally. Last week, the social magazine app Flipboard issued their newest initiative, allowing readers to create their own magazines and share them with others.

Something for everyone, says Flipboard's website. I'll say.

Trend on the rise: animal portraiture

http://www.theanimalprintshop.com/baby-monkey-no.-2/

http://shop.chaseandwonder.com/product/dandy-lion

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hotdigitaldog

Looking good, Maslo!

I spy Maslo Jewelry in a roundup of must haves on the gorgeous English blog, Hey Jo! We love seeing client's work featured in all the right places. Keep it up!

1. Shirt - Zara

2. Scarf - Imogene + Willie

3. Earrings - Erin Wasson

4. Publication - The Gentlewoman

5. Art - Ethan Cook

6. Tea Bowl - Tabuchi Taro

7. Jeans - COS

8. Lingerie - Roseanna

9. Necklace - Maslo Jewelry

A look back: my years at Lucky magazine

Rifling through stacks of old publications, I came upon a pile of Lucky magazines. Did you know that I was a regional editor for Lucky for five years? It was that unique perspective as a regional editor (that's my page they're talking about in the upper right hand corner) that informed the need for a book like Recipe for Press. I met so many designers, shop owners and artists who needed press and had great products and stories but lacked the confidence to approach an editor. The rest, my friends, is history!

How many ways can you tell your story?

Even the smallest effort to put a new spin on a predictable headliner (the April issue  = Green issue) goes a long way with an editor. When pitching media remember this simple truth: editors don't have time to hear your entire story. They are most interested in the sliver of your story that is the best fit for the pages they produce!

Splatter paint splendor

Pitch Alert! Splatter paint is back both in fashion and interior design and while relatively new as a trend, editors will be on the hunt for products with that Jackson Pollock appeal.

Happy Easter!

Operating within the color-blocking theme of this last week (see post below), we attempted crisp sharp lines and chunky patches of color with our eggs. And then the glitter came out and we drizzled shaved crayon on the hot egg shells and it made for a much more interesting, fun and spontaneous experience!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Pitch This: Color-blocking

Editors everywhere are still loving the color-blocking trend and always finding new ways (nails, Easter eggs) to spin it. Look at your products with an eye toward color-blocking then pair it, in a pitch, with something current (color-blocking with spring's hottest new colors, color-blocked swimwear, back-to-school color-blocking).  

1. Anemone Letterpress

2. RPellicer

3. Mr. Sogs

4. Bug Under Glass

5. Voz Collective

6. Congress Bags

We Heart Grace Kang of Pink Olive!

Grace Kang knows a thing or two about retail. She owns the east village jewel, Pink Olive, and pens the blog, Retail Recipes, where she helps nurture emerging store owners on how to figure out that BIG opportunity that will take their business to unexpected levels. She wrote about Recipe for Press on her site yesterday and talked about extending the DIY PR practice to your store as well.                                 

What's Your Story?

Anyone who has attended one of my workshops will remember this golden rule: editors don't want to hear your whole story, they're just interested in the sliver of your story that matters to the pages they write. I also stress that the one thing that differentiates you from the next entrepreneur attempting to do the same thing is your story! Even the catalogs, like the Land of Nod, below, are attempting to connect and get their shopper to care, through stories.

The Power of a Picture

I harp on this a lot (and devoted an entire chapter to the power of the picture in my book, Recipe for Press). Still not convinced that pictures are the most important component of a pitch?