When I started my beauty brand, Erin’s Faces, I assumed getting press meant one thing - hiring an expensive PR firm.

At one point we did work with a PR agency. But after about a year, I felt like they weren’t really working that hard on our behalf, and the cost was significant, so I ended the relationship. Instead, I brought someone onto our team to handle outreach. It cost about a tenth of what the agency did.

Over the years we were fortunate to be featured in multiple outlets, and all of them were exciting.

But the placement I wanted the most was the Magnolia Journal.

And two things made the biggest difference in making it happen.

I honed in on an editor-in-chief I felt completely in sync with.

For the Magnolia Journal, that was Joanna Gaines (For you, this could  also be a beauty editor or beauty director).

I have always loved Joanna Gaines - I think she’s brilliant. I love everything she’s built, and if I’m being honest, I would absolutely love to be her friend 😊.

Years before Magnolia Journal even existed - back when Fixer Upper was still in its early seasons - I read an interview where Joanna said her favorite lip balm was from the brand Jack Black, which had been my favorite too.

However, once I started Erin’s Faces, I wanted to offer a petroleum-free version that still had the same slip. So I sent Joanna a package with our lip balms - not through a PR firm, but straight from my 800-square-foot apartment in Queens.

And incredibly, she sent back a handwritten thank-you note. I still have it.

Fast forward a few years and the Magnolia Journal launches. I immediately thought, “Erin’s Faces needs to be in there.”

Within the pages of the magazine, Joanna was highlighting products that leaned cleaner and brands that felt thoughtful and small. Erin’s Faces checked all the boxes and felt like a natural fit.

We figured out which editor we needed to build a relationship with and started sending seasonally appropriate pitches.

I’ll be honest - I had seen what other brands were doing.

Some were flying editors to Italy.
Others were hosting retreats for them at Blackberry Farm.
One brand even sent a beauty editor a couture gown.

It all got posted on Instagram and sent me into an I’m-not-worthy spiral.

Meanwhile, we felt pretty creative when we sent our Valencia Orange Body Butter in a box filled with fresh oranges. That was about as fancy as we could get.

But Joanna Gaines tends to notice thoughtfulness over brands spending thousands of dollars trying to impress her.

And eventually, we got to impress her.

Our Mineral SPF 32 for Body was featured on Joanna’s Favorites page in The Magnolia Journal, and our Extreme Moisture Balm appeared in the beauty section of that same issue.

TWO products in the Magnolia Journal?!

I was completely over the moon - and honestly almost passed out when I realized they were both in the same issue.

We carefully thought about the outlet’s audience.

We knew their readers included a lot of moms with kids, so when we pitched our Mineral SPF 32 for Body, we intentionally positioned it as a clean mineral sunscreen that was great for kids and the whole family.

That made the product completely relevant for their readers.

And that’s the part I always come back to when founders ask me about getting press.

It doesn't have to be about the fanciest gift set or the biggest PR budget.

More often, it’s about understanding who the outlet serves, what the decision-maker actually loves, and making your pitch make sense for both.

Sometimes that means a couture gown.

And sometimes it means a box of oranges 🍊.