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Getting Press for Your Jewelry Business

© by Peggy Li; all rights reserved

I’ve had Peggy Li Creations for over six years now and there are questions that I am often asked about my jewelry business.

By far the most popular question is, “How did you get your Peggy Li Creations press?” followed by “Did you do it yourself?”, “How do I get celebrities to wear my jewelry?” and “How do I get my jewelry in magazines?”

All of these questions are related.

The general answer is, you do it by being persistent and being smart! And yes, I got all my press myself.

You can do it too.

 

How to Get Press for Your Jewelry Business

* Do your homework.

Target TV and press that fit with your design style.

* Create a professional-looking press kit.

Approach this as you would applying for a job. You create a cover letter, addressed to a *person* (find this person on the masthead of the magazine or the credits of a TV show). Generally you want the Accessories Editor or the Costume Designer. Add a few pics of your jewelry, a bio page and your contact information and those are the basics! I don’t recommend sending samples unless they are requested.

 

* Tell a story.

Do this by sharing a little bit about yourself on your bio page. What is your design inspiration? Give them a quick one or two lines about your design philosophy — e.g., “I make everything from recycled materials and my goal is to help the environment”.

* Be timely.

Remember that TV shows and magazines are working about 3 months in advance of airing or print. Newspapers (don’t forget local publications!) have a shorter lead time. But don’t send something talking about holiday gift guides in November! They have set their issues months before.

 

* Be patient.

Jewelry is very competitive. Take the time to evolve your business image and learn to edit your descriptions (and your designs!). Learn about the industry and discover your niche. Don’t worry if you aren’t in the black yet — it takes time to grow a healthy business. Keep your goals realistic while still having the “stretch” goals of world domination ;-).

* Be professional.

Respond in a timely manner, keep the casual chatter to a minimum, and remember — relationships are everything. We are human and sometimes we don’t respond to an email or there is an online miscommunication, but it is a small world out there. If you tell a magazine you will send samples by Thursday, they better get there Thursday! It’s not personal; it’s business.

 

 

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Author Peggy Li of Peggy Li Creations makes handmade jewelry that has been seen on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer”, in the pages of Lucky and Oprah and more.