Austin Woman Magazine Tour
By Dana Sotoodeh
Team Snackbox had some great memories and learning experiences in 2014—but you can never learn too much about the craft that is PR. Team Snackbox kicked off 2015 with a tour of one of Austin’s most celebrated publications- Austin Woman Magazine and ATX man.
Associate Editor of AW Media, Molly McManus, has worked with us on several different projects and was extremely helpful throughout our tour. Austin Woman is published monthly, so we asked a few questions pertaining to timing for pitching and planning when it comes to working with a monthly publication.
Here’s a few tips we picked up from our tour, and small things to keep in mind when it comes to pitching monthly publications.
- It’s not too early to pitch- Molly informed us that planning for the next issue starts anywhere around 60 days prior to the release date of that issue. She also told us that she compiles pitches into one place to keep them organized when it comes to filitering through them to choose which ones will run. Make sure you send your pitch with enough time for it to be considered for future articles.
- Do your research- There is one general conclusion that can be drawn from all the different media tours we have done up to this point. Whatever media form your pitching appreciates you being familiar with their outlet.—and Austin Woman magazine is no different.
Molly suggests being familiar with the different sections of the publication, and suggesting what section your pitch would fit into when it comes time to sending the pitch. This shows that you’re familiar with their publication, and have taken the time to figure out where your placement would run. This saves time on both ends and makes you look educated. We call that a win-win.
- Consider your outlets “persona”- As a PR Pro, you always want to be aware of what type of media you’re pitching and what kinds of stories they primarily run. Molly described this to us in a really great way. She said “ If Austin Woman was a real woman, what kind of woman would she be?” She then told us what kind of woman the “Austin Woman” would be. This information makes us smarter as PR Pros, and allows us to craft our pitches to identify that woman. How do you figure out your outlets persona? Study their stories, reporters, editors, or their publication. It’s often easy to pick up on what kinds of beats they cover and how often they do so.