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Claire Stern Milch is digital director at ELLE.com. In this role, Claire oversees content and strategy across ELLE.com's website and social media platforms.
During the episode, Claire shares on why she appreciates in person pitch meetings, subject lines that piqued her interest, tips for follow up etiquette, and more.
Follow Claire on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:
A Closer Look at a Digital Director's Role
[0:00:41] BB: Welcome everyone, this is Coffee with a Journalist, a little podcast show that covers talking with reporters, editors, directors, digital directors of magazines and publications and all the things.
We, the publicists, can know better how to work with the media, because it's so important and is the major function of our job, frankly. So, here we are.
I'm Beck Bamberger. I'm a publicist myself. That's why I started this whole thing. With us today is the digital director of ELLE.com, which we'll get into what digital directoring even means, Claire Stern Milch, by the way, recently added the Milch, congrats Claire, and welcome.
[0:01:24] CSM: Thank you so much, Beck. It's great to be here. I'm excited to dig in.
[0:01:28] BB: We're excited. First, first, we have a two-prong thing.
First about the outlet for those, maybe not as familiar with ELLE. I usually have pretty much everybody talk about what's, what their outlet is, so go right ahead.
Tell us a bit. What is ELLE cover?
[0:01:44] CSM: Of course. Well, for those who aren't familiar, ELLE is the world's largest fashion magazine and media brand.
We're known for, of course, our innovative fashion content, as well as our cutting-edge features. It offers a nice mix of high fashion and personal style, as well as very sharp reporting and rich visuals. All the good stuff.
[0:02:11] BB: All the good stuff. Okay. For you, Claire, in this role, digital director, what would you say that encompasses?
[0:02:19] CSM: Yeah. As you said, digital directoring. It requires a lot. Definitely keep busy. So, yes, I'm currently the digital director of ELLE, where I oversee all content and strategy across our site and social media channels.
That encompasses everything from the Instagram grid to planning out the story cadence for the week to overseeing our newsletter output. I've been here for about three years, starting as the deputy editor.
[0:02:55] BB: So then getting to your inbox, perhaps. Are there pitches in there?
[0:03:01] CSM: There are a lot of pitches in there.
[0:03:03] BB: Oh, okay. Why is a good question, but why do you think?
[0:03:06] CSM: Well, I would say –
[0:03:07] BB: It does make sense, actually. Yes.
[0:03:09] CSM: It definitely makes sense. Again, I'm overseeing all the content here. Of course, that includes a wonderful team of editors who field pitches for their respective verticals and their respective beats.
We have our senior culture editor fielding a lot of our entertainment stories, a beauty director overseeing beauty, and our features editor helming a lot of our features and special projects.
That said, we all field pitches, and then we'll come together and discuss them, but the one signing off on everything. I have my hand in a lot of –
[0:03:50] BB: Oh, yeah. Wait second, just to clarify. Everything, everything, Claire?
[0:03:56] CSM: Everything.
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Streamlining Your Pitching Process and Other Tips
[0:05:56] BB: Is there a way at all, I like to preface that, that a publicist can make your life easier? We'll get into subject lines in just a second, but I wanted to throw that one out.
[0:06:07] CSM: Sure. I think I would say to put everything in an email, I would definitely make my life easier, but I think it seems inherently obvious, but if you're offering something up the best you can to try to not make that person keep asking for more information, just supplying all the information up front.
It doesn't necessitate follow ups in that way. So, say it's a new launch or a new opening just to offer the embargoed press release and the visuals and basically the date, all the information up front, so you're not having to repeatedly follow up and ask for the pieces of the puzzle.
[0:06:53] BB: I've heard this so many times. Oh, well send me the link with the photos.
Okay, wait a second. Could you spell out the names of the LinkedIn with the people I'm quoting? Okay. It’s like why, why are we spending so much time?
[0:07:04] CSM: Yeah. I think it's better to just get all that information up front, so then you can move on to discuss how –
[0:07:11] BB: Yeah.
[0:07:12] CSM: To partner on the story rather than wasting time in the minutiae of lost details there. It would be helpful, I think, to both sides.
[0:07:21] BB: Are there sources, by the way, that you're consistently looking for, for example, celebrity stylists that only dress them for maternity wear?
[0:07:31] CSM: That's very specific.
[0:07:32] BB: I just was like, hey, that sounds like an ELLE thing, right?
[0:07:35] CSM: For sure. I love celebrity stylists, certainly. I think just what's most important for us is having a good amount of sources and a diverse mix of sources.
So, both incorporating enough people to substantiate the story and solidify that, say, this is a trend worth speaking to or a feature worth telling, but then also ensuring that those voices come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, both in occupation, ethnically, in terms of their age and all that.
Rapid Fire Pitching Preferences
[0:12:09] BB: It's rapid fire. It's rapid fire. Here we go. Video or phone interview?
[0:12:14] CSM: Video.
[0:12:15] BB: Oh, why? That's an unusual –
[0:12:17] CSM: I would say the closer to IRL, the better, especially if it's an interview.
[0:12:24] BB: Okay. Okay. Bullet points or paragraphs?
[0:12:27] CSM: Bullets. They're easier to read.
[0:12:29] BB: Yes. Short or long pitches. I assume it's short.
[0:12:33] CSM: Short for sure, as long as all of the information is being included. I think, as long as you get the who, what, when, where, why, how, and there. The shorter, the better.
[0:12:44] BB: Images attached or dropbox zip file?
[0:12:47] CSM: Attached. I think the less steps, the better. Again, that's assuming the files are small enough that they can be –
[0:12:54] BB: Yes. The last interview we just did was like, oh, my God, I can't take attached, because I need to dump my downloads every month. Yeah. It has to be small. Note, everybody. Note, everybody. Okay. Email or a DM?
[0:13:07] CSM: Definitely, email.
[0:13:08] BB: Yes. No one's answered DM in, I don't know, 70 episodes, so maybe we should even take that one out. Anyway. I tend to go in my DMs, but ultimately, if something's being brought to my attention to DM, I will pivot to an email from there.
[0:13:24] BB: Okay. Okay. This is good to know. Follow ups. Any follow ups? Multiple? None.
[0:13:30] CSM: I think it depends. I think one 24 hours later, if it's a timely pitch, just in case it was missed. If it's not timely, I would say a week is appropriate for a follow up. Then after that, I would assume it's a pass if you're not getting a response. I like to think I'm pretty good at responding, but not everyone has the time, and that's just sad.
[0:13:54] BB: That is a function of the job. Yup. Press release or media kit?
[0:13:58] CSM: I think either works. Again, I think the more information, the better, so I guess that would be a media kit, because then you'd have the release as well as imagery and probably everything you'd need.
[0:14:14] BB: Is there a time you read pitches, or is it just all the time?
[0:14:18] CSM: It is all the time that said journalism professor of mine once advised to never pitch on a Friday afternoon when people are logging off or a Monday morning when they're catching up. I think that's very sound advice.
[0:14:37] BB: Okay. Don't do the Friday afternoons. Now Claire, you're in New York City. Do you ever like to meet with publicists ever for anything?
[0:14:47] CSM: Yes, of course. I'm usually game to have a quick coffee meeting, get to know somebody. I think, so much of this job is relationship-based, so I'm always happy to meet with people. I do it frequently.
[0:15:01] BB: Oh, she does it frequently, everybody. What's the best way for people to perhaps approach that? Is it simple as, hey, I'm going to be in New York, you want to get a coffee? I got client A, B, C, and D, maybe?
[0:15:13] CSM: Yeah. I think that sounds pretty solid to me.
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