In our 5 Questions series, we catch up with our favorite editors and influencers to find out just what it takes to make them want to learn more about a business and consider it for coverage.
Today we bring you freelance beauty editor and consultant, Tara Rasmus! AND to top that off she's also the Co-Founder of some of our favorite brands and businesses, Izola, Odeme and Regular Visitors.
Name: Tara Rasmus
City: NYC
IG Handle: @tararasmus
What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to pitches you get?
I don't know if this is a "pet peeve," but it's always shocking to me how many pitches I get that are addressed to the wrong person--or even worse, addressed "Dear [x]!" I feel for people because these days, we're all so busy and moving so fast, but I feel like if there's one part of your pitch to obsess over, it's getting your editor's name right (or why pitch them at all, really?).
What is the most useful piece of information for them to include?
I always prefer pitches that are to the point, and get the most important information about the product across. I appreciate when people try to be friendly, or try to have their pitch stand apart from others by including vague subject lines such as "How are you?," but I'd so much rather get something that's like "NEW from [x brand]: the ultimate gentle exfoliant!" Or something like that. As I stated above, we're all so busy, and it's so useful as an editor to just be told right away what you're being pitched, rather than having to dig.
Also, I love when I get pitches from some of my favorite PR agencies that rep multiple brands that are relevant to what my beat is (i.e. natural beauty, indie beauty, etc.), sending me one big update with newness across all brands (i.e.: NEW from x, y, and z brands). There's always so much movement in the PR industry that it's hard to keep up with who reps what; if you can remind me of all the brands that you work with at once, that's so helpful!
What do people often forget to mention or include when pitching you
Besides my name (lol), I think it's more that people forget to lead with the most important selling point of the product (aka why should we care?).
How often do you want to hear from people?
Every couple of weeks or so is fine! As long as you actually have news to pitch to me! Checking in every so often with a vague "just wanted to see what you're working on..." probably won't get a response, sadly.
What’s your preferred method of communication?
E-mail always, because it's just easier to review at my own pace. Although a couple of my favorite PR girls most definitely have my digits! :)
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