On the new Ask Us Anything podcast, editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen taps former Trade Tales guests to answer real, confidential designer questions, offering a safe space to discuss business frustrations, conundrums and fears. (Have a question of your own to ask? Send an email to start the conversation.)
For many designers, getting published in a shelter magazine marks the moment they feel they’ve finally “made it” in the industry. By the same token, if every project pitch is met with silence, it can feel like the benefits of print placement—credibility, connections and clients—will always be out of reach. This week, Victoria Sass of Prospect Refuge Studio joins the show to answer a question from a fellow designer who is trying to land her young firm’s first magazine feature. She has a project she’s excited to share with the world, but is struggling to get her work in front of a larger audience.
Sass jumps in with advice on different approaches to working with a public relations agency, how digital placement can actually yield longer-term results for your business, and why local press contains a wealth of value that’s often overlooked.
Crucial insight: While working with a PR professional can be a major investment, Sass saw the value in enlisting the help of an agency when she set her sights on securing placement in national magazines—many of which are headquartered far from her firm’s Minneapolis home base. “For me, that was really important to have a team that was based in a place that I couldn’t be every night of the week,” she says. “I knew that they were going to all the events, and they were my surrogate out in the world—they’d be out at dinners in the design community in New York, sitting next to editors and talking about my name and my work.”
Key quote: “I think there’s this perception that people get ‘discovered.’ It’s just good, old-fashioned hard work and trying to foster true, real, authentic relationships.”
This episode was sponsored by Four Hands and Crypton. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
