Each time I have a story published in the press, particularly in the Financial Times, I find I get a flurry of DMs via Instagram from PR agencies or in-house PRs asking for my email so that they can tell me about their clients. That’s good and useful and thank you! I like Instagram and I like a direct approach and hearing about new brands is what leads to new ideas that I can go on to pitch.
But often the follow-up emails can be disappointing. I’ve received a couple recently that entailed a list of clients and links to their websites.
I find I need a little more direction. A little more detail a little more news – it doesn’t have to be major stuff, like a shop opening or a new creative director. But a jeweller who’s started using a new material? Those micro-trends are a journalist’s life blood.
Of course, I also have to do the digging and ask the right questions. But little tit-bits of detail can lead to bigger stories. In an email conversation last week, a PR told me that one of her new clients is particularly fond of designing jackets and has a big personal collection of vintage jackets. Music to my ears! I’m waiting to hear more about what that collection entails, but suddenly I feel a story coming on…
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