How To Pitch Magazines as a Fashion or Beauty Blogger

How Bloggers Pitch Magazines

I got a question from Paris on Twitter the other day about this topic, and I thought it was brilliant because I’ve never seen anyone write a blog post about it before.

I’m so excited to share what I know about how bloggers pitch magazines to get featured in fashion and beauty publications.

I do cover this topic a lot in my e-book Right on Pitch but since I released it a year ago, I’m glad this post gives me a chance to expand on what I already shared in the book.

This post focuses primarily on digital publications, but some of this advice may also apply to print publications.

First, I’m going to share some tips on how to get featured in roundups. Then I’ll explain how to get quoted in features or how to pitch yourself for full feature pieces.

First I’m going to share some tips about how to get featured in roundups and then I’ll get into how to get quoted in features or potentially pitch yourself for full feature pieces.

Let’s start out with roundups—you’ve probably seen these articles before like this one I wrote for Fashionista about influencers you should follow who don’t live in NYC or L.A. or shopping roundups of “the best white sneakers ever” with Instagram images embedded next to shoppable links.

How to Get Featured in Magazine Roundups

Roundups are the easiest type of article to get placement in because editors only need to include a quick mention, but they can become a major win if they link back to your Instagram page or, even better, your blog.

I know everyone reading this might roll their eyes when I say this, but I believe the number one easiest way to get considered for a roundup is to build a relationship with the person writing it.

It doesn’t have to be a deep, personal relationship, but as someone who has written these articles before, I can tell you this: when I look for someone to feature, I usually think first of the people I already know.

Maybe I follow them on Instagram, or maybe they’re the cousin of a good friend.

Relationships matter. I’ve landed features in Self, Elite Daily, and BuzzFeed because I connected with writers at those publications.

Follow, Comment, and Engage With Editors

To start out, follow fashion and beauty editors you like and admire and leave thoughtful comments on their Instagram posts and re-tweet stories they’ve written and tag them.

That way they’ll at least have name recognition if you decide to reach out and pitch yourself. For more of my best networking advice, check out this post.

Create Content That Editors Can Easily Source

My next tip is to think about your content like an editor. Editors often produce seasonal content or cover trending topics.

As an example I was featured in Buzzfeed earlier this week because the author was posting ideas of pictures you could take at home and wanted to use one of my photos in her roundup.

Outside of the pandemic context, I would focus on summer dresses, citrusy beauty products, or other timely content that might help press teams find and use your images in their stories.

On that note, make your content easily searchable.

When I was an intern at Cosmopolitan waaaay back when, I wrote this article about girls with gray hair and found every single one of them by searching the hashtag #grayhair on Instagram.

Look at trending roundups on your favorite websites and get in the habit of tagging your content with hashtags that editors actively search for.

If someone reaches out to include your photo in a roundup or if you pitch yourself for one and they accept, tell them you’re happy to grant the publication perpetual permission (as long as you are!). That allows them to include your work in future roundups without asking you again.

If you like the publication and they credit you properly, this also makes their job easier because they can return to someone they already know produces strong content, and it increases your chances of getting more features.

Get Featured in Street Style Roundups

My last tip for getting featured in roundups is to attend events where you know photographers will be shooting and editors will publish recaps afterward.

I’ve had the most success with this at New York Fashion Week, where I’ve seen myself appear in street style roundups from Man Repeller, PopSugar, and Fashionista.

Guest of a Guest often publishes party recaps as well, so I recommend checking their past coverage to see which annual events they cover and then working toward getting invited to similar ones in the future.

Using HARO and Pitching to Get Magazine Features

Definitely follow editors and writers on social media so they become familiar with your handle and your content. Also sign up for services like HARO (Help a reporter out) where you can register as a source. When reporters look for someone who fits their story, they can reach out to you through the platform.

You can sign up and position yourself as a source for topics like “Southern California style” or “clean beauty trends.” The more specific you get, the better.

Finally, landing a full feature or profile is very difficult unless you do something extraordinary or develop a truly unique approach to your content.

My biggest tip for getting more full-fledged features is to look for recurring editorial series and pitch yourself for those.

For example, I saw that Makeup.com ran a series about bloggers they loved, so I reached out to an editor I knew there and expressed my interest. She eventually included me in one of the features.

Here are a few more examples of series that you could consider pitching to:

How I’m Making It on Fashionista

Why Is Your Skin So Good on The Cut

You Look Moist on Man Repeller

Ask a Cool Person on The Strategist

My friend Chloe, a writer for The Strategist, says:

“If someone pitches me to be included in ‘Ask a Cool Person,’ I will probably end up using them for something because sourcing takes a long time. I scroll through hashtags and explore every morning, and I save people and posts I can see myself using.

It saves me so much time when people put themselves in front of me. If they’re interested, responsive, and include their email? Done. Also, if someone is a serious blogger, they need to put their email in their bio.

My chances of reaching out drop if I can’t find their email because DMing is a huge hassle for me. I write five stories a week, so anyone who makes my life easier is someone I want to talk to!”

So there you go! If you’ve ever wanted to pitch New York Magazine, there’s your window.

Any more questions about getting featured? Leave them in the comments. For more in-depth pitching advice, don’t forget to check out my e-book Right on Pitch.

yours,

Austen