Press Contact List

Whether you're a seasoned pro, or are just starting out, there’s more to creating a thriving beauty business than being the guru of great haircuts or a makeup application master.  Getting the word out about your business and expertise both locally and nationally is key to growing your brand and your customer base.

Often, when we think about public relations and getting into magazines and television, we think about products, but service-based industries and experts have just as many opportunities.  For those of you who are relying on a DIY PR method, don’t get nervous, it’s not as complicated a process as it seems.  Here are a few tips to get you moving in the right direction as you work on that essential part of your business: your own publicity.

• Decide what makes you an expert. 
  
  • How and why are you an expert?  Is it because you trained under a pro?  Are you certified? Have you worked with big celebrity names?  Have you been featured in the press before?    
  • Try to create a one to two sentence description of yourself that explains what you do and why you are a great expert the media can call on.

• Decide where your story should be told & where you can share your expertise.  The key to PR is planning your work and then working your plan.  This means you need to know which outlets (magazines, websites, blogs, television shows) you would be a good match for in terms of sharing your expertise.  How does one do this?  RESEARCH!  Spend a few hours at a Barnes & Noble or local magazine stand and look at the many magazines that ask beauty experts for tips and tricks.  Figure out what sections in these magazines rely on experts.  Even better?  Figure out which of their editors covers these sections (just look to see who wrote the section).  
  
• Want to know a secret?  Most magazines list their beauty editors in their “masthead”, a list of names at the front of the magazine that shares “who writes what”.  Get to know who covers the beauty sections.  This also goes for television.  Start looking at which shows style fit what you can deliver.  Are you an expert that’s made for Wendy Williams?  Why?  Are you a perfect fit for the Today Show?  Be sure you now only know where you belong but why you are a good fit for them. 
  
• Finally, if you haven’t read/watched the program or magazine you want to be in, do your homework.  You don’t have any business being anywhere you aren’t familiar with, you need to know their style so you can deliver your information in accordance with it.

• Think of segment ideas for television/tip sheet ideas for a magazine.  Now is the fun part:  it’s time to think of the actual television segment/magazine tip sheet ideas that you will submit.  Think of several – start by brainstorming and then organize them into actual concepts.  Here are a few different types of concepts you can create:

• Evergreen ideas – these can be used at anytime day/night/season.  These ideas could be topics like “how to recover from a bad haircut” or “makeup expiration dates – when to toss and when to keep” and so forth.
• Seasonal ideas – these ideas are attached to a season.  It could be tips on prom hair and makeup, holiday beauty tips, sharing what hair styles are going to be “in” for summer and so forth.
• Piggybacking on hot topics – this is another great way to get press.  When you piggyback on a hot news topic you make your story timely and increase your chances of getting on air or in a magazine/blog.  These could include:  “how to get the Kate Middleton Royal Wedding look at home”, “Red Carpet Hair & Makeup Looks” and so forth.

• Remember that you miss all the shots you don’t take.  DIY PR can be overwhelming at times and daunting – it’s okay to admit that.  Nevertheless you must go for it and attempt to design an outreach plan and begin pitching yourself to the press.  Practice makes perfect, and your chances will remain 0% if you never actually reach out, so we encourage you to take that first step!

How to Get Press as a Beauty Pro - Printable Version