Episode 156: How To Get Into ANY Shopping, Product, Gift Guides w/ Emily Cieslak
Ever wanted to get your product into a magazine like Marie Claire, People, or on shopping guides so you get more sales and brand authority? This episode is a MUST listen for anyone wanting to get their products into their dream outlets organically, without pay to play or having to know the journalist or outlet! Tune in as shopping/commerce writer, Emily Cieslak, talks about all the ways a small business can get their indie brands into these outlets!
Here’s What We Cover and More:
Insights on writing buying guides, focusing on SEO, product selection and expert input.
How to pitch products for editorial features, including preparation and timing.
Common mistakes in pitching, such as irrelevant pitches.
Tips on making pitches stand out: uniqueness, inclusivity, sustainability.
Effective pitching techniques, from subject lines to follow ups.
The impact of strong PR strategies on small brands.
Getting into shopping, product or gift guides is all about knowing your audience – and by audience, I mean the editors. Do your homework: tailor each pitch to the publication, highlight your product’s unique angle and align it with current trends like sustainability or inclusivity. Keep it short, sweet and relevant, because editors are like shoppers themselves— they love a good deal, but hate wasting time on irrelevant pitches. Finally, be persistent but not pushy; remember, you’re building relationships, not just getting a feature.
Product Businesses! Download my free HOW TO GET INTO A GIFT GUIDE/PRODUCT ROUND UP roadmap for free HERE to get more sales and traffic to your site this season.
If you want to land your first feature for free without any connections, I want to invite you to watch my PR Secrets Masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought-after industry expert. Register now at www.gloriachoupr.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Join the PR Secrets Masterclass
Join the Small Biz PR Pros Facebook Group
DM the word “PITCH” to us on Instagram to get a pitching freebie https://www.instagram.com/gloriachoupr
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaychou
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/428633254951941
Follow Victoria Giardina on: New York Post: https://nypost.com/author/victoria-giardina/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriagiardina/?hl=en
Follow Emily Cieslak on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilycieslak/?hl=en
Visit her website: https://emilycieslak.yourwebsitespace.com/
Connect with her on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/emilykcieslak
Additional Resources:
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Transcript
00:00:00 Gloria: What's up, everyone? I'm so excited to have the one and only Emily Cieslak on our show. She covers all things fashion and commerce. So if you're thinking of pitching for a product guide or maybe something that's seasonal, this episode is for you.
00:00:15 Gloria: So a little bit about Emily. She has worked on all sides of the fashion industry. And she's written for some of the top tier outlets that you might have heard of called Byrdie, Real Simple Magazine, The Knot, The Philadelphia Citizen. And currently, she is a commerce editor at InStyle Magazine. So welcome to the show.
00:00:33 Emily: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
00:00:35 Gloria: So we interview lots of really amazing writers and journalists. Can you just tell us, what does it mean to be a commerce editor?
00:00:44 Emily: Yeah. So as, on the commerce team, we focus on writing buying guides for different products. So we look at SEO and what are consumers Googling and shopping for online. And so we write roundups. I write about like, best jeans or best sandals, white sneakers. And so we call these evergreen roundups because they're things that people will buy again and again throughout the year. It's not just only for one month or something.
00:01:14 Emily: And so we constantly look back and update if we feel like there's a better product out there or with fashion a lot of times, things can go out of stock. So we're making sure that we have the best product selection. And we also include expert insights like, how do you use this product? How do you style this type of outfit? And so we really, like it's kind of like a service article. We want to help the readers find the best item and know how to use it too.
00:01:42 Gloria: Oh, so many good things that you put in there. On our podcast and also in my PR Starter Pack community, we not only have people who make apparel, but we also have experts, like dermatologists and things like that. So I love what you said about finding the experts. So before we go into actually how you find these roundups, can you give me an example of just how many opportunities there are? How many articles do you actually publish about a certain type of product or apparel?
00:02:09 Emily: Yeah. So right now, we're working on a lot of summer-related beauty or fashion articles. So a lot of swimsuit roundups, cover-ups, sandals, like peach bags. I wrote something about bucket hats. So we do both, like kind of, like those staple pieces, like that you are always wearing, but also like bucket hats is more of like a trend driven article. But we, you know, looking on search, we saw that enough people are searching for it and buying it. So it was like a worthwhile investment to, like, write about that.
00:02:42 Gloria: I love that you use, like, SEO because that's something I also tell my audience too is like think about what's trending right now. So how can people like get because obviously we don't know your editorial calendar. I have no idea what you're going to publish. How can I prepare myself for getting my little tiny apparel brand to get featured?
00:03:00 Emily: Yeah, I mean, definitely we kind of work ahead. So I'm not writing about winter or fashion yet, but I feel like sometimes I got articles for, like a bucket hat and I already wrote that article. So I would say maybe like one or two months ahead and start thinking about, like what type of roundups these sites might be writing about and pitching them and maybe offering to send them a sample of the product for them to try out themselves and if they like it, they might recommend it. I think sometimes I get pitches and it's something that right now, it's not relevant. But maybe in a few months, I'll write about it or I could write about it later.
00:03:42 Gloria: So tell me a little bit about peeking inside of your mailbox. I interviewed someone from Business Insider and she has a really organized way of actually putting labels on the emails. Now, as a small business owner, they might think, Oh my God, this person hates me. They're not responding. But are you actually reading the emails and filing it away for later?
00:04:01 Emily: Yeah. I mean, I think it's like we get so many pitches. So we can't respond to every... Each and every single one. And that doesn't mean that we don't open them and we don't read them. Yeah, I usually like, you know, I keep... I kind of have, like a pitch folder and like an expert folder. And yeah, I keep a lot of things for future instances because especially, like if someone's like, Oh, like we have a dermatologist you can talk to, I might not be writing about a beauty topic right now.
00:04:31 Emily: But then like a week, like a few weeks later, I might need to, so I might like, go back and see who, like I've got pitches from and like what topics they… our experts in. And yeah, like, I mean, it's hard. Like, I feel like, you know, we do get so many pitches, so it's hard for us to always respond. And like, it's, yeah, it's like a lot of different factors being at play.
00:04:57 Gloria: Yeah. But I love that you said you never know when it's going to come in handy. So I tell my audience to be pitching.
00:05:04 Emily: Yeah, no, that's so true. And it's like, yeah, you, sometimes I don't even know like, Oh, I didn't know I'm going to write about, like bucket hats. And now I'm like, Oh wait, I can go back and see. I try not to delete those emails because you never know.
00:05:17 Gloria: Yeah, I love that. So you do the product roundup. That is like the holy grail. I feel like for so many of my founders, they would love to be in a product roundup, not only just to get in front of their customers, but to do that with credibility. So you've already said that there are so many opportunities all year round. Definitely pitch early. Another question is, you get so many pitches. So can you just vary, kind of macro broad strokes? What do all of the great pitches have in common? And what do all of the awful pitches have in common?
00:05:47 Emily: Yeah. I mean, I think the biggest mistake is not knowing the publication they write for and what they write about. I still get pitches that are so unrelated to what I write about. Sometimes it's not a product or sometimes it's a product I just don't write about. Sometimes I get… I don't know. I don't want to call anyone out. But it's just, like it's not fashion. It's not beauty related. And I've never even written about that category.
00:06:14 Emily: And so it just makes you feel like you obviously did not research me. And I also think even within that, it's like there's so many different types of fashion and beauty articles. So yeah, I write about commerce. So I'm not really writing about new… fashion news or fashion events or a celebrity sighting. So that stuff is still important and I might read it and be like, Oh, this is good to know. JLo wore this yesterday, but I'm not the one that's going to cover that.
00:06:45 Emily: So again, it's like, know who this person is. What do they write about? And what type of articles they write about? And yeah, I think sometimes I get pitches for products where it's very... It feels very one-sided where they just... They pitch you the product and they think you'll write about it and it's sort of like nothing being... It's kind of like a two-way street. Like, what am I getting out of this?
00:07:09 Emily: And yeah, it's just like if you... I have... There are so many products out there. So just because you pitch me doesn't mean I will write about it. You kind of have to... Or give me an opportunity to test it out or something like that.
00:07:23 Gloria: Yeah. I love what you said. It's a two-way street because I always do think that if you can cold pitch anyone, you're planting the seeds of cultivating a really important relationship. Right.
00:07:32 Emily: Right. Yeah.
00:07:34 Gloria: How can someone be of service for you when they are selling a product?
00:07:38 Emily: Yeah, so I think I really like talking to experts and that's like, a more, I think more and more magazines are focusing on that too, is, like including, like stylists and dermatologists. So sometimes if a company pitches me and they're like, we have this product, but you could also talk to the founder about, like jewelry in general or something like that. Like that's helpful for me.
00:08:02 Emily: And yeah, sometimes like I then reach out and I'm like, oh, you know, I'm not, I can't promise I'll write about this specific product. But if I could speak with your founder, or whoever I think might be useful, like that's a great way I think to like, build a relationship.
00:08:19 Gloria: Yeah, what if it's just, let's say, if I make a swimsuit, so many swimsuits out there, how can I make my pitch relevant, unique? Is it about the uniqueness? Is it about the season? Like how, where do I even start?
00:08:33 Emily: Yeah, I think there are so many products out there. And I think, as consumers, we're overwhelmed. And I think consumers are just more picky about what they buy now. So I think, yeah, it's like, kind of setting... Describing what about your product sets it apart. And I also think it's a lot about now, quality and inclusivity.
00:08:53 Emily: So when we're writing these roundups, we want to include products that people from all sizes can wear. So if a product is only available from small to extra large, we might not include it or it might not be the best overall product because we know that it's cutting out a big portion of consumers. And yeah, we want to stand for products and brands that really champion that too. So yeah, I think being able to speak to those differences, like what about your product is special.
00:09:29 Gloria: Yeah, I love the inclusivity part. So should, let's say, if I, back to the swimwear example, should I also, should I just come out and say, you know, we are unique because we offer all of these sizes, right? Like, for example, like Rihanna, like her foundation has, like, you know, so many different shades.
00:09:45 Emily: Oh, yeah, no, I think that's a great factor. And like we often, like in beauty articles, we actually call that out sometimes, like, yeah, like in the foundation roundup, like how many shades there are. So like if there's only like, I don't know, like 10 shades, like we also are like, that kind of looks bad. Like we don't know. Like our editor might be like, I don't want you to include this, you know.
00:10:07 Gloria: Yeah. I love what you said about inclusivity. That's also what we're about. As you know, most of my founders are women of color. Another thing about fashion, when I think about a fashion pitch, I think about sustainability. You might think like, I don't know, I feel like sustainability has already been covered so many times. So how can we still make sustainability relevant and fresh and something you'd care about.
00:10:28 Emily: Yeah, I think that is a big important factor. And that's a great way to stand out as a brand because for instance, with workout clothes, I feel like, yeah, there's so many different brands of leggings and sports bras, but some of the ones that are getting a lot of attention are the ones that have either recycled materials or materials made from water bottles and stuff like that. So, yeah, I think it's great to call that out.
00:10:54 Emily: And sometimes that's a category we have is best recycled product or best sustainable. So yeah, I think even thinking about that, maybe Google... If you sell swimsuits, Google best swimsuits and see what magazines... How do they write about them? What categories do they list and see where your product might fit in?
00:11:18 Gloria: Right. Because sustainability is so… It's such a macro topic, right? So how can we bring something new to it? So for example, can you give me an example of, like obviously most fashion now should be sustainable. What are some of the unique angles within sustainability that you're looking out for that kind of peaks your interest?
00:11:36 Emily: Yeah, I feel, like kind of, like going to beauty, I think there's a lot of different terms when it comes to like, clean beauty, there's like vegan and cruelty free or like, the packaging might be the sustainable part of a beauty item. And so yeah, that's kind of like... I think we're trying to step away from just a blanket term. But see, is this sustainable packaging? Is that the thing that... So there's different roundups about that.
00:12:08 Emily: And then with fashion, yeah, it's like maybe some products also have a good program where you can recycle the item or you can bring it back and get a discount and be able to buy something else. So that's another angle of what... Yeah. In terms of sustainability, what is it? Because I think some consumers, maybe they don't really are looking... Having something recycled, made from recycled materials is great.
00:12:36 Emily: But maybe they want to buy something that was a vintage piece. People have different values. And again, it's the same as with beauty. Some people value cruelty-free over vegan. Those are actually like, kind of like two different things. So yeah, it's thinking about like what... I guess like, who are you targeting with your product? What type of consumer?
00:13:01 Gloria: So what about layering the levels of uniqueness, if you will? Because unique as a word is so subjective, right? One person... So what if it's something that's, say, let's say, a zero-waste soap brand, not so unique in the sense that there's a lot of zero waste products. But what if the founder's story is interesting? Or what if they donate to an interesting charity? Could that be a bullet point in the pitch as well?
00:13:24 Emily: Yeah, no, I think it definitely helps. And like, yeah, I think that like we kind of think of it like, what matters to like a consumer and like what is going to cause them to purchase something over something else. So yeah, like, you know, we try to also include like, a specific number of like brands. Yeah, like from, like women owned brands or like black owned brands. So that's another great aspect. And we try to kind of think about the overall picture. And yeah, like, if we know we're promoting products that actually are sustainable or like, give back, like that speaks, like well on everyone.
00:14:03 Gloria: Yeah, I love that. So you know, I teach a pitching method in my PR masterclass. But if you were to just like, come on stage and kind of teach my audience, what a really good pitch would be like. Very simple. So what would the subject line say? What would the email look like? Can you just run me through the structure of what would be a good pitch?
00:14:22 Emily: Yeah. I think specifically for me, as a commerce editor, a writer, I look a lot at... In the subject, what is this product? Is it sunscreen or is it a swimsuit? So I feel like having a very long subject that's not very direct can be misleading and just like, I might not open that pitch. So I think it's better to be more simple and direct in your subject. You could say like, I don't know, like new swimsuit line launches or like, you know, don't try to hide like, what are you writing about specifically?
00:14:59 Gloria: So could it be like this sustainable swimwear line is from… made from Algae or something like that?
00:15:03 Emily: Yeah. Yeah, that's cool. I think I'll be like, oh, sustainable swimwear. If I'm writing about swimwear or something. I mean, like, oh, yeah, like, that's a cool one to look at. And then I think with the pitch, like, you know, you want to... It's like a balance between not being too long that the person can't read all of it. But also, obviously, you need some information.
00:15:24 Emily: So yeah, and I think like, links to, like the founder page and links to the website, like links to where you can buy this product, like, is it only sold on your website or do you sell it like at Nordstrom or Amazon? Yeah. I guess just fill it up with the essential information and don't... Because we don't read all of it if it's very long, right?
00:15:49 Gloria: Yeah. So for example, I always say don't put your unpublished autobiography on there. I don't want to know.
00:15:55 Emily: Right. Yeah.
00:15:58 Gloria: I don't want to know when you met your founder.
00:16:00 Emily: Yeah. You can briefly mention like, oh, coming from the healthcare industry, so-and-so started this brand, whatever. But yeah, like I don't need the full bio. I can always go to the website and click on that, if I want that information.
00:16:14 Gloria: Yeah. I always like them to start off with relevance. So like since we are in swimwear season or since travel is... You think leading with that is good?
00:16:23 Emily: Yeah, that really helps. Maybe also if there was, like some kind of event like the Grammys. I don't know. It's like something kind of like a tie-in. Yeah, but that does help. I think it was like, yeah, like don't try to... It's like, yeah. Don't try to hide the main part of your pitch either. Maybe you have one sentence that's leading into it, but then get into the body of it.
00:16:45 Gloria: So can the sentence be like, this swimwear line is perfect for this season because 123?
00:16:53 Emily: Yeah. No, that's great. And I think that reminds me, I think, also thinking about in terms of fashion, different body types. And so I get pitches where it's like, this is a good bra for like, at large cups or small cups. And that's also another thing that can distinguish you from other brands and products.
00:17:11 Gloria: Yeah. So I think another problem that a lot of founders have is they have a wide range of products. So how do they know how much to stuff into one pitch? Should they focus on one thing, like their bestseller, or talk about everything they have?
00:17:25 Emily: Yeah, I think it's good to be specific and maybe focus on that one thing you really want to pitch. You can always say like, let's say, you're pitching like a bra. And you're like, we have this... This is the main product. But you can also say like, and our collection also has other intimate items. So yeah, you can let the person know there's more to it. But I would focus on whatever you think is the strongest point or product you want to write about.
00:17:53 Gloria: Yeah. I always say, think about the season and then think about your bestseller.
00:17:58 Emily: Yeah. And what do you think is most likely for a brand or a magazine to write about? Right.
00:18:05 Gloria: Based on the previous.
00:18:07 Emily: Yeah. Yeah. And I think yeah, looking at, what has this person written about before, what kind of format does their article take? Where could you see your product fitting in?
00:18:21 Gloria: What about, price point? Where to find it? Whether or not there's a sale coming up and product photos? Where does that all go in the pitch?
00:18:29 Emily: Yeah, I think price point is important. We try to, in our brand ups, have a range of price points. We usually have a best budget or value item. So that's something that's a lower price point, but still good quality. And also a best splurge. So yeah, highlighting... If that's a selling point of yours, we offer this at a really low price. I would definitely highlight that.
00:18:53 Emily: And yeah, the part about where is this available is really important too, because we're trying to think about the consumer experience. So most people, they feel comfortable shopping on Amazon or Nordstrom or websites that they are familiar with and have a good customer experience. So there's free shipping or free returns.
00:19:16 Emily: And so if it's hard to find your product or someone might not be... I don't know. I've never shopped on this website before. That can be a disadvantage. And also like stock is important. I don't think I mentioned that. But like, if a product is almost out of stock, and if it's something that it doesn't seem like might come back, we might not include it because we don't want someone to read the article, click on it and then not be able to buy it.
00:19:46 Gloria: Okay, you've given us so much... What about the closing sentences? What is the best way? Should it be like, as your readers are looking for the best swimwear, I'm happy to send you a sample or here is the link to high quality photos? Or should they actually paste it in the body of the email?
00:20:02 Emily: Yeah, I think that's... Yeah, that's a good part. I think a lot of emails end that way and that's a good way to end it. And yeah, I might reach out and be like, Oh, I'm not sure if I'll write about this, but I would love a sample or speak to your expert. And yeah, photos are good too. They're not like... I feel like the most important thing I think about.
00:20:24 Emily: And to be honest, in our roundups, we just include product images. We don't really include photo shoots, stylized photos from brands. So that's not like a... At least for my type of articles, that's not a main consideration on what I think about.
00:20:43 Gloria: Yeah. Are there any pros and cons to hyperlinking it instead of embedding it directly in the email?
00:20:49 Emily: Yeah, I think linking it... Sometimes I think maybe include one or two images, but if you, I think like if there's too many images yeah, then the email gets really long and you know, you kind of don't want to scroll through everything and maybe like, I wouldn't put text under the image if it's like a lot of it because then I might not even read that part. Yeah, I think it's like if I'm interested, I will probably click on the link if, you know, like maybe include one image or two couple and then like I can click on it and see more of it.
00:21:18 Gloria: So a really important part of my pitching method, CPR, stands for credibility. So that's when they would mention if someone else wore something similar or they've been featured before or if they're a best seller. So how much does that matter and how much of a batch should they include in the pitch?
00:21:35 Emily: Yeah, I think that does matter. I think, you know, like a celebrity tie in, like this has been worn by these, like models or whatever is always good for, like fashion articles. I think for beauty products, yeah, being able to establish... Maybe you could say, like, this has won an award, a lure bestseller or something like that.
00:21:55 Emily: Sometimes they say, oh, it's an Amazon bestseller. I feel like that's a little bit less powerful just because there are so many Amazon bestsellers and almost every product has 5-star reviews somewhere. So it's like... That's not always the biggest selling point. We do look at reviews online. People are writing about the product, but you know, that's not like our main source of, like truth.
00:22:22 Gloria: Yeah, because reviews can be fake, as we all know, right?
00:22:24 Emily: Yeah, right. And like, there's always someone who, like, loves a product, but also someone who, like, hates it. So you have to take it, like with a grain of salt.
00:22:32 Gloria: Exactly. So let's say the email is perfect. They listen to this podcast, they've gone and watched my PR masterclass, they send you the email. What is the usual timeline of like, when you would respond to them? I always tell my audience to follow up, like after a week or 10 days, how do you feel about follow ups? And then how soon would you get back to them for either an interview or there's no interview involved?
00:22:55 Emily: Yeah, so I think a week is a good amount of time because if you do it any sooner, it might just be like, I didn't, sometimes depending on how timely the pitch is or what I'm working on, I might respond to it right away. Or sometimes like on Fridays or Mondays, that's when I go through my inbox and kind of see, like, reread things and be like, Is there anything I missed?
00:23:20 Emily: And yeah, I think a week is a good amount of time because that might be like, maybe I just missed it, or I kind of forgot to respond and that can bring it up. Or like I said, sometimes something doesn't work right now, but later it will. So I feel like a week also gives you time for maybe like, I got a new assignment and now I need to write about this.
00:23:40 Emily: Yeah. And I think like, maybe one or, one to two follow-ups is good. I feel like any more than that, it's just like, that probably means I'm not going to write about it or at least not right now. And I think most editors don't take the time to like, say no, like they're not going to reply. That's just like, kind of like, you know, they don't have time for that.
00:24:01 Gloria: Yeah. So, let's say you're interested, how would you respond? Do you need to get on the phone with someone or what kind of research do you need to get that published?
00:24:10 Emily: Yeah, like so are you talking about like an interview or–
00:24:14 Gloria: Yeah, yeah, so let’s say. someone pitches you. What is required for it to be published?
00:24:19 Emily: Yeah, I like to, you know, I'm open to do both like email interviews where I send them questions and I try, and I give them, usually my deadline. So I, they know, like how fast they have to respond or sometimes I'm happy to do, like a phone call or like a zoom interview depending on, like the story and like what questions I have.
00:24:39 Emily: If it's a sample request, yeah, I like to tell them like, Oh, I'd maybe want to try this product and then they would hopefully coordinate that. We can coordinate that together. And yeah, I think like to also, it's like a lot of times it takes a while for an article to get published. So I can interview you and it's not that I'm not going to write the article anymore. It's just like, with everything else going on, it might take a few weeks for you to see that, like actually go online.
00:25:10 Gloria: Yeah. I mean, if you're busy, so they even get a response, that means they're doing pretty good.
00:25:15 Emily: Yeah, yeah. And that means like, yeah, I read their stuff. And I'm like, interested, right?
00:25:19 Gloria: Yeah. Okay, so now let's talk about, you've given us so many gems about the ins and outs of the pitching. For anyone that's listening, come back to this episode. It's literally like a masterclass on how to pitch a fashion commerce editor. Now let's talk about things they should not do, that you see all the time.
00:25:37 Emily: Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing, like I said, is pitching something that's just not relevant. It's funny, I once did an internship actually at a showroom. So I was kind of the PR person. And I remember my boss was just like, email every editor you can, like the same pitch. And I think that's a big mistake because, yeah, you're kind of wasting your time. And it's like sometimes I just don't write about this topic, or it's not the type of article I write.
00:26:09 Emily: So I think that's the biggest mistake is trying to just email the same pitch to as many people as possible and not really understanding... Every magazine is slightly different. It has a different voice, a different tone, and covers different products. So just know who you're pitching. And I think quality over quantity, you know, obviously you want to reach a lot of people, but you also don't want to just like, generalize your pitch that someone might just be like, nope, this doesn't apply to me.
00:26:41 Gloria: Yeah, I mean, it doesn't mean that you have to spend hours crafting every pitch, but do your research. And it could be as simple as in the first sentence, hey, since you covered this last year, right?
00:26:52 Emily: Yeah. And actually like going off of that, like sometimes I get pitches like, let's say I wrote that bucket hat story. So like a week later, like after it's published, someone pitches me and is like, Oh, I saw you wrote this article. I have a bucket hat. Maybe you could try it. I get why they do that. And I think it is a smart move. But at the same time, at least for me, it's like I've already moved on to another topic. I'm not going to... It's not the priority anymore.
00:27:20 Emily: So I probably won't like, respond and want to test your product. Maybe like in a year or like a few months when I'm updating the story. But like, it's kind of like I've already moved on to a different topic.
00:27:32 Gloria: Yeah. But at least they can ask, well, what are you covering? Right? So then they can start a conversation.
00:27:36 Emily: Yeah. Right. Or they could be like, I, you know, like, maybe I wrote an article about, like, work bags, like I wrote an article about that. And they can be like, we also have other bags in case you're working on something else. Like, yeah, like a good, that's a good tie-in.
00:27:49 Gloria: Yeah, I love that. It's seeing the world as a window of opportunity and repositioning it, not as a rejection, but how can I turn this into a conversation, right?
00:27:58 Emily: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
00:28:00 Gloria: I love that. Let's talk about gift guides. I know you don't really write about gift guides, but when I think of commerce, I think about holidays and kind of like Q4. So is there any tips or anything interesting about pitching during Q4?
00:28:13 Emily: Yeah. That's like... Yeah, all the sales are going on, all the gift guides. Yeah, I think it's somewhat similar. Think about, what is this publication? What type of products do they write about? And I think if you look at a lot of gift guides, they're broken down into categories like this is the best gift for an outdoorsy person or a book lover or something like that.
00:28:39 Emily: So I think maybe thinking about your product and like what… If I was an editor, how would I write this? What angle would I put on it? And maybe try to find publications that suit that or would want to write about like, this is great for the wine-loving connoisseur. So yeah.
00:28:59 Gloria: I love that.
00:29:00 Emily: And yeah. And again, it's the same thing like price point, thinking about how easy it is to buy. Is it something that someone can add to their Amazon cart? Or do they have to go to a completely different website? So yeah, like all those different factors.
00:29:14 Gloria: Can you tell me an example of a very small bootstrapping unknown, maybe a mompreneur who pitched their product and you gave them a platform on InStyle and it completely changed their business?
00:29:27 Emily: Yeah. I'm trying to think of a good one. I once wrote an article. This was for I think Real Simple. It was about like period panties. And so that's like, I feel like a smaller product category and there's lesser known brands. And so I think I got like a pitch from a brand that I didn't really hear about before. But it was just compelling and they offered to give me a sample. And so I tried it.
00:29:56 Emily: And then I think I talked to my editor and she was like, yeah, you could write a whole roundup about different products like that. And so yeah, I included it and I mean, I haven't heard too much about the impact, but I think it definitely helped. And since that was more of a niche topic, I was like, yeah, I was willing to try every product that was in that category.
00:30:19 Gloria: Yeah. I think for so many people, it's not just about the article. It's about what's possible for them and them believing that they deserve to be seen, heard and valued. That's why I do what I do. And I'm so glad that–
00:30:29 Emily: Yeah, that's great.
00:30:31 Gloria: Is there anything that's really piquing your interest right now other than sustainability and inclusivity? What other trends are you seeing in fashion journalism and what's going on in the news?
00:30:42 Emily: Yeah. Let's see. I feel like consumers now, they really want practical items. Things that they can wear both to work but also on the weekends. And yeah, I think that's a trend in itself is like, how practical and versatile something is. What else? I think yeah, people just want stuff that stands for something. So if a product is aligned with a social cause or something like that, which is also important.
00:31:16 Emily: And yeah, I think TikTok, social media is constantly a source of inspiration. And I even sometimes look at that to find experts like, see who posts… search up like a term like bucket hats. Like actually, that's how I found some sources, was looking at like who tagged bucket hats and like what were they talking about within that category?
00:31:39 Gloria: Yeah, in terms of SEO, I know before we got on here, you're talking about, you actually look at trends not based on only what they pitch you but also SEO keywords. So would you recommend every person listening who is doing something that's like ecommerce apparel to actually do that research themselves before pitching?
00:31:56 Emily: Oh, yeah, I think that's like, really helpful because it shows you a lot about what people are searching for. And also, when you're... We do this too, we look at SEO, but also the questions people ask around the product. So I'm trying to think of a good example. Well, yeah, I'm writing about white jeans right now. So I know that one popular question is, how do I keep them clean?
00:32:23 Emily: And so that could even be an angle, like if a brand, I don't know, has a product that is good at resisting stains or is a cleaner, they could be like, oh yeah, this is a really popular search term and we have a product that fights that issue. You know?
00:32:39 Gloria: Ooh, that's very compelling. That's a yes in my book. It's saying... It's not like, oh, well, this is me saying to put my product on there. It's what all these other internet people are searching for. So you have to cover it.
00:32:52 Emily: Yeah, exactly. And we look at that too. It's like, what are people searching for about this product? And we also look at what other sites have written about something. So yeah, it's like, kind of like, you got to keep everything in mind, like the big picture.
00:33:06 Gloria: Yeah. And thinking creatively, like even if you don't do white jeans, it might be a white travel bag or a white bucket hat. And you can relate it to what people are searching, which is, you know, stain fighting materials. So there you go.
00:33:18 Emily: Yeah. Yeah. That's always like a good angle too.
00:33:21 Gloria: Yeah. Let's get creative. Well, thank you so much, Emily. You have given us so many gems. You've talked to us about what you're looking forward to writing about. I know that it's going to be absolutely game-changing advice. So how can people find you? How can people read about what you're covering and what you're looking to write about this season?
00:33:40 Emily: Yeah. So I, you can, my Instagram, you can reach me there. It's just, like, at my name. So Emily Cieslak. And then I don't know, like my email, I have like my work email, but also like a personal email. So I don't know if that's going to be like linked in the podcast. But yeah, that's like a good way to pitch me and just reach out.
00:34:01 Gloria: Yeah. And your Instagram is @EmilyCieslak, as C-I-E-S-L-A-K.
00:34:07 Emily: Yes.
00:34:08 Gloria: Awesome. Thank you so much for being on the show.