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How to pitch and approach editors & bloggers and get them on board with your brand.

There are rules of engagement when approaching fashion editors and bloggers that are derived from simple logic; their inboxes are flooded daily with hundreds of emails, they are busy and more often than not, working to deadlines or blogging in addition to holding down a 9 to 5. You must understand who you are talking to and why. Without existing relationships, these content creators and web-influencers can be hard to reach and as such, the most effective approach is a well researched and customised one.


1. Do your research.
Know the publication and their target audience/interests and know who at the publication is or might be interested in receiving your pitch. With a little research, you can find recent articles/posts and gain an understanding of their remit, ensuring your pitch remains on-topic and in the best hands.

2. Brevity / TLDR.
Get to the point. TLDR (too long; didn’t read) is an easy-to-remember acronym you should apply to your pitch. Keep it concise and relevant – as soon as you start blah-ing on, you have lost them, two paragraphs is ideal.

3. Straight up news.
A common error when pitching is to not go in with news which is editorially friendly. Think of the benefit to their audience, first and foremost, is it relevant? Is it delivering to a retailer in the near future? Is it a new brand launching to market?

4. Subject line.
It’s not just the email which needs to be carefully crafted; the subject line is just as important, if not more so; it should set the tone for the email and catch the eye. Write it first and use keywords or phrases. If it is boring, unclear or confusing, they won’t even open your email. Avoid words like urgent – it looks desperate and will also look like spam.

5. Personalisation.
Using the research you have done, you must customise your pitch and ensure it is personal. Use the editor or bloggers name and make sure the news is tailored to the editorial angle of the pages they are responsible for, or recent posts they have published. Bloggers can be more especially responsive to tailored pitches and can smell anything 'spammy' from a mile off.

6. Offer exclusives.
Offering a unique angle on a news story is an important, if not a necessary part of pitching. Going one better, would be to offer an all-out exclusive. This is important to most major media outlets and if you plan your PR schedule correctly, with the most influential publishers/bloggers running your news first, the story will often achieve traction elsewhere as the story filters through the web by being picked up by others.

7. Product images.
Fashion editors and bloggers are creative types and respond to imagery. So whilst your marketplace images must be shot in natural light and modelled by a person, it is imperative you also include lookbook images & flat-lay images. Having all of these will dramatically increase your chances of being featured. Be sure not to attach massive files that clog inboxes, as this can also offend. Offer low-res images with the option of supplying high res should they be interested.

8. Replying to a reply.
Reiterating my point of not sending lengthy pitches, same goes for lengthy replies should you get a response.   When replying, keep it factual and answer the questions with hard facts. Avoid using too many exclamation points! Some PRs seem to love these and it looks ridiculous. If they replied to you, keep it cool...desperation can be off-putting.

9. Modes of contact.
Most fashion editors I speak to prefer an email over a phone call; cold calling seems outdated and will annoy most editors – even more-so, that goes for bloggers too. I hear reports of the odd editor being open to a pitch via Twitter or Facebook; however, this for me is relatively new ground and should be approached with caution. Don't simply spam a load of editors with the same @message on twitter - they can see your history and will instantly know the approach isn't personal.

10. Press releases / Biography.
So while you keep the email pitch brief, you can refer people to a press release which elaborates on your product or business and this can be via an attachment or via a link. Saying that, succinct and factual press releases are preferred. State the facts and let the journalists build the story around it. In a similar vein, a short biography with a timeline of facts from country of origin/residence, graduation, or first employment, to present day can also be important.