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"A few weeks after leaving her husband, [my sister] got a tattoo to remind her to never again forget that she is strong and bold, and people should respect her, 'damn it.' Her tattoo: the Japanese symbol for strength – in the color PINK." Taylor Mallory, lifestyle and beauty editor, PINK |
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Lifestyle, Franchise and Web Editor's Blog HIGH AT WORK
No, not really. That's just a sneaky ploy to get you to read more. I'm referring to the high that comes from a truly great interview. I recently interviewed the most amazing woman, a dyslexic entrepreneur who, as a child, was told she was stupid and worthless. Because she couldn't read, she couldn't go to college, so she started her own business with her mother on a $2,000 loan from her grandmother – and built it into a $36 million company. Then, last year, her mother was murdered and buried in Arizona. She was told by friends and the police that she'd never find her mom's body, but she spent months digging in the desert until she did. When she got back to work, she found that her CEO had stolen $2 million – all the raises and bonuses for her employees, loyal women who rallied around her to help her recover. She has the most incredible sense of humor and strength – and such a powerful story that I got off the phone feeling both exhausted and exhilarated, the high that always comes from a terrific interview (during which I can see my story coming together in my head from the information she's giving me and, at the same time, feel personally empowered by her example).
I immediately looked around the office to decide whom I could interrupt to tell the story, because I absolutely had to tell someone right then. Most of our team were out of the office at a PINK conference, and the only other editor in town was at a doctor's appointment, so I burst into the office of Heather Stephens, our associate art director, to tell her about the incredible woman who will be the lead story in an article I've written for the next issue. I can't wait for you to read this story!
It is interviews like this that make me really love what I do, which often means spending the day talking to the nation's most influential and inspirational women in business. Sure, there's the occasional celebrity or big name like Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City, or former Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller, but the successful entrepreneurs and execs whose names are probably not recognizable to anyone outside of their industries are the bread and butter of the magazine – women who truly make you think, "If she can do that, I can do anything." I don't have to spend my life coping with the fact I can't read – or lead a nation of impoverished, underprivileged people. I just have to make sure my six stories for our next issue come together before my January deadline. Taylor Mallory is PINK's lifestyle, franchise and Web editor. To comment on this blog, e-mail blog@pinkmagazine.com and enter "Taylor Mallory" in the subject line or e-mail comments directly to Taylor at taylor@pinkmagazine.com. . . . . . . . . . .
PR PET PEEVES
My telephone just rang, and rather than answering it, I grimaced at the unknown number and let it go to voice mail. It's not that I'm irresponsible about answering my phone. It's just that I've spoken to five PR people in the last hour and listened to their pitches, four of which were completely irrelevant to PINK's editorial focus. Why, one might wonder, would people pitching children's books and men's shaving kits waste their time calling an editor at a women's business magazine? Good question.
My colleague, PINK's associate editor, Kathryn Whitbourne, and I often joke that we should give a seminar about how not to pitch an editor. For now I'll settle for venting my frustration in this public forum – hoping I don't come off cranky and impatient, but rather helpful and insightful. You choose.
Most of these PR blunders, says former PR gal and current PINK sales rep Bridget Cody, are covered in college courses and at major PR firms but are simply ignored. So, here are four things we wish PR people (and entrepreneurs who do it themselves in the beginning) knew about pitching journalists.
1. Pitching without researching media outlets first is a waste of time. Not only will we not include a men's shaving kit in PINK (unless it's owned by a woman and pitched as a woman-owned business instead of a product for men), but it's also a waste of the rep's time and energy. And if a rep knows nothing about PINK – not even which gender we cater to (hello, it's called PINK) – it's immediately clear they haven't done their research and are making me suffer for it. Buy a copy of the magazine before you pitch.
2. There is a fine line between persistent and pest. Our editor, Cynthia Good, is never satisfied with one "no," nor does she typically accept five or six unreturned phone calls as a good excuse for writers not getting the best possible sources for their stories. And there have been many instances where I've rejected a pitch from a PR rep, who calls a month later to check in and happens to be representing someone I'd forgotten about but who is just perfect for the story I'm writing at the moment. But if I tell someone I'm not interested and she continues to call me twice a day for two weeks, I will certainly not want to do her any favors.
3. Emergency means blood, fire, death, a deal that will fall apart before tomorrow or a story that is on major deadline. My cell phone number is on my office voice mail and is included in automatic e-mail responses when I'm away from the office "in case of emergency," because in the day of BlackBerrys and mobile phones, we never really leave work. Sometimes there's an interview I've been dying to get with someone on the West Coast who can't call me until the end of her hectic day, or a website emergency that requires my immediate attention. But getting a call during Grey's Anatomy, or while I'm on vacation, from someone who really thinks I should do a story about her newest client is frustrating and, depending on how good the episode is, infuriating. :) 4. Magazines have long lead times, so pitching us about Breast Cancer Month in October (or even August) is too late. This is not a rude or annoying habit, just one that good PR reps and business owners ought to consider. According to PR guru Katie Steines, CEO of Results Media Inc., most magazines' lead times are between three and six months. If your company sells a particular product that raises money for breast cancer and you'd like a magazine to promote it, you probably want to get your PR team mobilized in early summer, when most magazines will be assigning October stories. Or, if your candy company would be perfect for Valentine's Day, pitch us in early fall. Taylor Mallory is PINK's lifestyle, franchise and Web editor. To comment on this blog, e-mail blog@pinkmagazine.com and enter "Taylor Mallory" in the subject line or e-mail comments directly to Taylor at taylor@pinkmagazine.com. COMMENTS Hi taylor, . . . . . . . . . . PINK TATTOO My sister is going through a divorce from a husband who subscribed to old-fashioned notions of gender roles in the home. He told her – a stay-at-home mom – what to do, and she waited on him hand and foot. And nothing she did was ever good enough. Finally sick of it, she's leaving. When she first started talking back to him, he said, "You're reading that PINK magazine too much" (translation: You've been talking to your sister too much). Soon after she moved out, she told me she wanted to be a police officer because she has a new attitude about women (finally!). She "just realized" that women can do whatever they want and whatever men can do, and she wants a job where she can be strong and bold, and people respect her, "damn it." A few weeks after leaving her husband, she got a tattoo to remind her to never again forget that she is strong and bold, and people should respect her, "damn it" – whether she's a policewoman, an executive or a stay-at-home mom. Her tattoo: the Japanese symbol for strength – in the color PINK. I laughed and cried a little all at the same time when she told me (and, I admit, I'm tearing up a bit while I type this). So, according to her husband, all of us at PINK (especially her persistently loud feminist sister) are apparently responsible for their divorce – or rather for her deciding to be strong and do with her life what she wants. I can live with that. I've worked for PINK for nearly three years now and regularly get letters and e-mails from women sharing how PINK has inspired them to start their dream businesses or ask for a raise – or just reignited their passion for their work. Stories like these assure me – and all of us at PINK – that we are on the right track, that we are making a difference in the lives of professional women. But I never dreamed our influence would reach my housewife sister – and give her a new outlook on feminine strength. This makes me so proud of PINK – and even more, of my sister. My sister has since changed her career goal to elementary school teacher, which she'll be great at, but I so loved her enthusiasm the moment she remembered what the women in my family have taught us by example – that the role you play in a marriage (or a career) should be defined by what you want out of life. My grandmother was the first certified policewoman to patrol the streets of LaGrange, Ga. (because someone once told her women couldn't do that), and my grandparents have always equally shared domestic chores and child-rearing duties. To this day, if I need a recipe, I call my father, and if I need a tire changed, I call my mom (or AAA). Taylor Mallory is PINK's lifestyle, franchise and Web editor. To comment on this blog, e-mail blog@pinkmagazine.com and enter "Taylor Mallory" in the subject line or e-mail comments directly to Taylor at taylor@pinkmagazine.com.
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