The Rules of contacting the jewellery Press & PR
Reaching out to jewellery editors and journalists to try and get coverage for your jewellery brand isn’t easy. There’s a fine balance between being tenacious and persistent, and annoying.
The jewellery journalists in the UK are a small, tight-knot community, who genuinely love jewellery and are more often than not happy to support and promote new or exciting jewellers. They are also very busy, so here are a few tips to get you noticed when you land in their DMs…
RULE ONE: Check their instagram feed
I would never send exactly the same email or message to ALL journalists or editors. Finding out the kind of jewellery they like is easy; a quick stalk on Instagram should tell you where their tastes lie, as well as seeing what kind of stories they are interested in writing. For example, some journalists are extremely passionate about the impact of mining diamonds and jewellery production in general, so if your jewellery brand has an ethical stance that is new and original then this could be a good fit. Which leads me on to Rule 2…
RULE TWO: What is the original story you’re telling about your jewellery?
Most gold and silver is recycled in the UK, so if your ‘unique story’ is that your jewellery is made from recycled materials, this isn’t strong enough. First and foremost it is the DESIGN that will catch the eye of an editor - something unique and unusual, or classic with a fresh twist or take. Think hard about what is unique about your work, and what will be the hook that they can use for a story.
RULE THREE: Be nice!
Landing in somebody’s inbox or DMs does not automatically grant you a reply or response - be as nice as polite as you can. This includes asking for ‘advice’ - keep it brief and succinct, if you’d like to know what kind of stories they might be working on soon then ask nicely, perhaps send one follow up message if no reply, then admit defeat. It’s just not for them!
RULE FOUR: Quality images
A quality image doesn’t equal a professional image - you can take perfectly good photos on your iPhone that as long as they’re well lit and in focus, should show off your piece to its best. Attach low-res images to the email or DM, avoid links to dropbox folders, and make sure the image is embedded - jewellery is VISUAL, you wouldn’t believe the number of text-only messages and emails I get promoting a new brand or design.
Considering joining the GoldDust Collective monthly membership? The Vault is a members-only resource that lists the instagram handles of the best jewellery editors, press and PR in the UK, available to all Collective members and updated weekly. Get more information and join here.