In our most recent issue of the AMPlified magazine, we included a section called Pitching, Events, Mailers, and Round-Ups with Amanda Mitchell. In this section we asked Amanda, a Brooklyn-based writer, a series of questions relating to best pitching practices, mailers, events, and her general opinions.
About Amanda
For over 6 years, Amanda Mitchell has been a Brooklyn-based writer with bylines at Refinery29, Allure, Marie Claire, Byrdie, and more. Her work exists at the apex of pop culture, beauty, and fashion. Recently, she’s also taken a step towards launching her own company soignée nyc; drawing from her background in Michelin star dining and hospitality, as well as her incredible knowledge of the media scene, Amanda wishes to create a bespoke consultancy for both brands and PR agencies.
When it comes to holiday coverage and roundups, how far in advance do you usually begin planning those?
When I was at Refinery29, we usually began writing for holiday moments starting September up until December 17th. Then, right after, we’d start planning for January and the new year.
Oh, so if we’re looking to get included in a holiday story, do you recommend pitching all throughout that September-December timeline?
Absolutely! Editors/writers are constantly updating their gift guides up until that very last week before Christmas. While we frown at being asked directly by a brand to be included in a story, we’re totally down to be pitched about a product and deciding ourselves if we’d like to add it as part of our routine article updates.
When it comes to holiday coverage and roundups, how far in advance do you usually begin planning those?
If you’re pitching for a big sale moment (like Prime Day), when it’s easier for your email to get lost in the mix, my only advice would be to pitch 6 weeks ahead of time with a full list of your deals.
Is there anything we as publicists could be doing better to increase the likelihood of our pitches getting noticed by an editor?
I highly recommend using keywords and SEO wording in your pitches; my inbox is like my very own personal Google search engine. I’ll type in “skirts under $10” and whatever emails show up first is what I’ll click.
Do you have any pitching pet peeves?
Absolutely no more than 3-4 photos in a pitch – when an email presents as too long, I lose interest and just move on to the next. Also, one follow-up is more than enough for a pitch. Nothing puts a brand on my blacklist faster than when I’m receiving hundreds of emails from their PR team a week.
How do you feel about mailers? Do you love them? Hate them?
I am pro a well thought out mailer! For example, I had one beauty brand send me a coupon for The Container Store, alongside a box full of their newest collection, so that I could have a place of storage for all my new goodies. It’s little details like that that make a brand really stick in my mind.
How do you feel about events?
I want brands to realize – the event experience starts with the invitation and, ideally, event invites should come 4-6 weeks ahead of time so that people can properly plan for it. Of course, I understand that sometimes last-minute invitations can’t be helped, but if your client is routinely asking me to come to an event a week before it’s happening, you’ll just never be seeing me.
Now, when it comes to the actual event, I’ll always appreciate a good o’le dinner over a cocktail event. That said, experiences / activities will always be #1 in my heart, especially ones that feel like a treat. One year, I had a brand bring in a group of editors to a cookie baking class and at the very end we got to pack up the leftover treats to bring home. It was so fun and, even though it wasn’t exactly product focused, it made the brand much more memorable to me.
Read more in Issue # 3 of our AMPlified Magazine.
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