Glossy's senior reporter, Sara Spruch-Feiner, spearheads Glossy Pop, a vertical about the intersection of beauty, fashion, and culture. She also writes the Glossy Pop Newsletter, which you can subscribe to at glossy.co/newsletters.

During the episode, Sara talks about her style of reporting and how it differs from the norm, how she prepares her newsletter for Friday's release, why authenticity in pitches is so important, and tons more.

 Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Click below to listen to the full conversation and read below for highlights from the interview:

How to Write a Subject Line

[00:08:29] BB: Do you then value the subject line as a primer to what you open?

[00:09:05] SSF: Absolutely, absolutely. I think that if something is clear and it says exclusive or it tells me the brand that it's about or it tells me that it's a launch or that it's news, I would be lying if I didn't say that, of course, there's people that I have relationships with where, of course, I'm going to always open their emails and look at what they're telling me. 

I also think at the same time, though, that like I'm also pretty agnostic. I'm looking at my inbox right now and –

[00:09:40] BB: Yes. How does it look?

[00:09:42] SSF: It's bad. But I see one that's a stat about an influence that I happen to be, and I'm not going to specify because I don’t talk about my story ideas. But it happens to me. If I don't know the publicist, I don't know the source. I don't even know if it's 100% reputable. But the subject line mentions an influencer that I've been interested in writing about, so I already like –

[00:10:09] BB: Oh. 

[00:10:10] SSF: Yes. So I already started, and that's just like a happy coincidence. 

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Elements of Pitches

[00:12:24] BB: You mentioned in that other pitch, Sara, oh, you don't know the publicist. But the other ones you do know, you're going to open their emails. So if people do not have a relationship with you, what is one way or a few ways they can establish one?

[00:12:38] SSF: Oh, absolutely. I think like if it's not – and this is such a hard line to tell, and I appreciate that, and I don't want to sound like I'm saying like, “Do this but also like make it sound authentic.” I think if you can show that you've like actually read our stories and are familiar with the vertical, then that does go a long way. I think that sometimes, it's like I read. Sometimes, though, it can kind of backfire. If it's like, “I read the story on,” blah, blah, blah and you're just like it feels very like they literally just went to like your author page and picked the most recent story and like hyperlinked it. 

Again, like I know that sounds kind of like double-edged sword. I think there does have to be some authenticity to it. I know that's hard. I really do appreciate that that's hard and that publicists are trying to keep up with a lot of different writers and their work. But, again, Pop and my vertical is so specific that for better or worse, I really can tell. 

[00:13:39] BB: Yes, exactly. 

[00:13:42] SSF: So I think it does kind of have to be authentic. But when it is, then, yes, I mean, that goes a long way of someone actually knowing what I cover and pitching accordingly. 

[00:13:55] BB: Since you are in New York City, capital of the world, do you ever want to go to like a coffee, a walk, a happy hour, anything like that?

[00:14:02] SSF: Yes. So I definitely go to events. I go to a lot less than I used to 10 years ago.

Rapid Fire Pitching Preferences

[00:17:15] BB: Video, phone, or in-person interview?

[00:17:20] SSF: Video. 

[00:17:21] BB: Why is that?

[00:17:22] SSF: Well, I think that I can't do in-person. I don't have time. I would be like literally running around the city all day. It's not realistic. But video I think I can connect with people and –

[00:17:35] BB: See their face. 

[00:17:36] SSF: Yes. I mean, I tend to do three to four a day Zoom videos. 

[00:17:41] BB: Look at that. Bullet points or paragraphs in a pitch?

[00:17:44] SSF: Bullet points. Not enough people use bullet points. 

[00:17:47] BB: I know. I love a damn bullet point list. What types of sources do you look for, and how do you want them pitched to you? Quick answer. 

[00:17:56] SSF: I really find my own sources. 

[00:17:59] BB: Well, there you go. 

[00:18:00] SSF: Yes. It’s not really people coming to me being like, “Here's a source for you,” to be completely honest. 

[00:18:08] BB: Images attached or Dropbox zip file?

[00:18:11] SSF: Attached. 

[00:18:13] BB: Attached. Any why on that?

[00:18:16] SSF: I hate Dropbox, just personally. 

[00:18:17] BB: Me too. Me too. I'm dealing with it right now. I'm like, “Wait, I got to log into this. Oh, I don't have enough –” Oh, no. 

[00:18:23] SSF: [inaudible 00:18:23]. Then I’m like writing [inaudible 00:18:27] like the image is expired. It’s a waste of both of our time. Oh, my God. 

[00:18:31] BB: It is. It is. 

[00:18:32] SSF: That is such a waste of time. 

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