The other day my Venus Zine newsletter dropped into my inbox and I was drawn to an article on Getting some ink: How to score good press. I clicked through to the Venus Zine website and found some interesting articles written by Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching fame. They fall under the heading of Crafting a Business and include topics such as getting into the press, book deals and tips for starting small businesses. They make a very interesting read for small indie / craft businesses.

And if you have your own burning question then contact Jenny via the site and she will pick one question a month to answer in the column.

Go straight to Venus Zine
Go to Sublime Stitching
Artwork by Alicia Traveria

Well, no not really. But we are in Nude magazine! They were kind enough to give us a mention in their new winter mag.

Nude came kicking and screaming into the world four years ago and is the brainchild of Suzy Prince and Ian Lowey. It aims to serve up ‘an eclectic mix of contemporary graphics, deviant design, outsider and alternative musics, eccentric architecture, cult writing, indie film, cutting-edge fashion and profiles of maverick genius the world over.’

As well as being a damn good read, it’s also beautifully presented with lots of coloured graphics and photos. It would make a great gift subscription.

Checkout the Nude website at www.nudemagazine.co.uk.

Ooh and the cute cute Apple Tunic Dress pic is from On Cherry Lane. They were featured in the blog on 30th Oct.

One of the most difficult challenges for small creative companies is getting their work into the press. We’re therefore delighted that Navaz Batliwalla (Fashion Editor of CosmoGIRL!) has kindly agreed to share her top tips for gaining press coverage.

Top Tip for Getting PR by Navaz Batliwalla

White hot collection? Check. Fabulous website? Check. Press coverage in all the essential glossies and fashion weeklies? Uh oh, Houston we have a problem. It’s all very well having a great collection but if no-one knows about it where are the customers going to come from? In this age of must-haves and fast-fashion it’s essential to get your brand name and products out there on those fashion pages and websites. And it’s not as hard as it looks:

Make the internet your friend. Familiarise yourself with websites like www.cosmogirl.co.uk, www.handbag.com and www.jellyfishmag.com and get emailing.

Write a paragraph or two about the collection including stockist details, price points and contact number. That becomes your press release. You don’t need supermodel-posed pictures as long as you have good cutout still-life jpegs that show your key pieces to their best advantage.

In today’s celebrity-obsessed world, fashion editors like anything that links your product to a celeb so don’t be precious, scour the weeklies for A-listers wearing clothes that resemble yours and email the magazines the comparisons. Being handed stuff on a plate makes our job easier!

Have samples available in case they want to photograph them themselves. Remember that monthly magazines have 3-month lead times so autumn-winter samples need to be ready in May.

Research the market. If you’re selling couture aim at the monthly glossies not the gossip rags. And be specific about the page or section you want to be on ’ it makes editors feel that you’ve bothered to look at their magazine and flatters our egos!

Build a rapport. Follow up your press release with a call and get feedback from the magazine on whether your product is right for their market. Keep in regular contact but don’t be a stalker. Editors get bombarded with information so will forget you if you don’t keep them updated.

Don’t forget the smaller niche magazines and websites. They need you as much as you need them as they have less choice in the brands available to them.

Can you offer a discount or freebies? Magazines adore competitions and giveaways and this is a brilliant marketing tool to get coverage that might otherwise not be available.

Navaz Batliwalla is the Fashion Editor for CosmoGIRL!

A huge thank you to Navaz for taking the time out of her incredibly busy schedule to write this. It’s very much appreciated.

So, you have a gorgeous range of products ready to sell to discerning customers, you’ve sorted out your brand, you have a website and an online shop. Now all you have to do is let people know you’re there.

We all know how difficult it is getting into the press and getting your products out there. Well today help is at hand because top PR company, Tangerine PR, have generously agreed to share their top ten tips with us. Ready?

1. Consider why you want to do PR. What are your objectives? What do you want to achieve? What do you want to be different?

2. Consider whether you can really do this yourself or if you need external help from a freelance practitioner or consultancy. Will you really be able to dedicate the time? Have you got the expertise? Have you got the budget?

3. Identify your audiences and list them in your PR plan. Who do you want to engage and why?

4. List your key messages. What do you want to say to your key audiences and what do you want them to think about you/your business. Make sure your messages are different and focus on your USPs (unique selling points) not messages all your competition claim too.

5. Consider the routes to reaching your audiences ’ media, direct, associations, events etc. List what they read (if you don’t know then ask them), where are you likely to meet them directly? Where can you get an audience with them?

6. Start to build a relationship with the media your audiences read. Before approaching them, read a number of editions. Learn who writes what within the publication. What columns and articles do they regularly run? Where could you and your business fit? Learn their style. Once your are familiar and can hold a conversation with them, encourage a meet ’ a quick coffee can suffice. When you have a relationship, keep it going. Thank them for writing a good piece, keep them informed but don’t ’badger’.

7. Before starting to write anything (eg a press release) remember PR is not advertising. For the journalist to take your story it needs to be:

a. Something different
b. Newsworthy
c. Topical ’ current issue but not something that’s been done before unless you have a new slant
d. Relevant - of specific interest to their readers (particularly important with regional media)
e. Interesting
f. Ideally have an accompanying visual (eg photograph ’ done professionally not with the office digi camera!)
g. Have ’legs’ ’ something the journalist can add to and will go further

8. If you don’t make it into print straight away, don’t worry. PR takes tenacity and perseverance. If it didn’t work, consider why. Was it too much of an advert? Has the angle/topic already been ’done to death’? Was it not relevant or interesting?

9. Don’t rely just on media relations. Much of PR is exactly that ’public relations’ not ’press relations’. Work with your/your customers’ associations as a way of reaching them. Conferences, speaking opportunities, networking ’ it’s all PR.

10. Have fun! PR should be enjoyable. It should be about engaging people and getting a result. Yes it can be hard work and disheartening at times, but nothing beats the buzz of a great piece of media coverage or that random but crucial meeting!

Tangerine PR

Although only four years old, Tangerine have quickly carved out a strong reputation. They have been voted Number One in the North West and they have also won a European award for European award for People Policies from Manchester Enterprises.

The team is headed by managing director Sandy Lindsay. I’ve seen Sandy speak a few times at various events and she’s truly inspirational.

If you’re looking for a PR company and would like further information go to www.tangerinepr.com. Tangerine PR has a North West base but a national presence.