Photo courtesy of Wilkens Michael.
This is a guest post from Gina Joseph, social media community manager at Cision.
I bet you know what we?re about to say: it?s Fashion & Beauty Buzz time! This week, we invited?Jane Wilkens Michael?to chat about her career and tips for up-and-coming writers and PR professionals. Wilkens Michael specializes in health, beauty, fitness and spa writing, hosts a weekly lifestyle program on CBS Radio, The Sky, titled?The Jane Wilkens Michael Show, and is a columnist for Spry Living. She also contributes to Intent.com and AARP Magazine and has authored three books.
Q: Since your column and show focus on well-being and healthy living, what kinds of fashion and/or beauty tricks should we expect?
A:?I first came up with my 12-rung beauty, health and fitness program, Better Than Before during my career in beauty journalism when I was writing the ?Beauty Talk? column for Town & Country?magazine. At that time, I became involved with a cosmetic and fragrance industry initiative called ?Look Good?Feel Better? that helped women cancer patients improve their appearance and self-image by teaching them hands-on beauty techniques. The very valid assumption was that when survivors were able to see themselves in a better light, they recovered quicker, both mentally and physically. Over the years, though, I came to realize that the power of fashion and beauty extends well beyond cancer to life?s everyday issues. I discovered that in order to become Better Than Before, we need to incorporate twelve essential lifestyle disciplines into our daily regimens. So you can expect to see more obvious topics such as beauty, self-esteem, nutrition, fitness, and emotional health; and the not so obvious ones like working to have supportive relationships, being creative, spiritual and giving back all incorporated into upcoming columns and shows.
Q: What are some upcoming fashion or beauty-related trends to boost well-being?
A: Feeling good about yourself is not a trend ? you can?t buy it. And the only direct health link to, say, sky-high Louboutin stilettos, is to caution against drinking and falling off them. But seriously, beauty, fashion and well-being are all connected. It?s all about feeling good about ourselves physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually, advice that transcends the ages. If we need to lose weight, for example, we aren?t going to think any outfit looks good on us. So we have to consider what we eat and add some sort of activity to our daily routines. When you look good, you do feel better. It goes without saying. So to answer your question, boosting our well-being supersedes trends. It?s all about the little decisions we make on a day- to-day basis.
Q: What are some tips for other beauty or fashion writers/journalists just starting out?
A: Don?t give up. Ever!! The same as for presenting a book to publishers. You may get tons of ?No?s!? But all you need is ONE ?Yes!? And I remember once asking Estee Lauder ? a family friend ? her secret to success when, years ago, I interviewed her for Town & Country. ?Being successful takes work. Hard work!? she told me. ?But my secret has always been persistence. You must summon up a certain spirit that compels you to stick it out when you?re most tired; that forces you to persevere, to find the route around the stone wall. Success is simply the result of an immovable stubbornness that won?t allow you to cave in when everyone says give up.? So never giving up is the advice I would give to beauty or fashion writers ? any writers? who are just starting out.
Q: Any tips for PR professionals who want to get in contact with you?
A: Gosh, I remember ages ago when everything was done through the regular mail. Today, of course, it?s easier as much of the material and invites for product launches? except for the actual product or a book, of course ? is simply e-mailed. What truly catches my eye, though, is when it?s personal, when the PR professionals have done their homework. They have either listened to my show or read my column and they know what I am looking for in the way of interviews, experts and products. What I appreciate, too, is when they go the extra mile. They may present me with a concept for a story or radio show that may not be quite right to begin with. But they take it upon themselves to keep working at it till it is what I am looking for. And, of course, over the years I have worked with some PR people who are amazing and I really love so whatever ideas they suggest, I find a way to use in either medium.
Q:?What are your PR pet peeves?
A: Sometimes I?ll get a press release to my e-mail address that says Dear Jane, Hope this finds you well etc., you know, all the expected niceties. And then the next e-mail, also to my address, says, Dear Diana, with the very same message. It just means that somebody not only made a careless mistake, but it?s also a mass mailing. Now, there?s certainly a place for mass pitches, but at least make sure you don?t send them all to the same person. I don?t get a lot of strange pitches, actually, because I usually just delete any e-mail that has a subject line hyping something that is entirely out of my area ? like twenty of the weirdest vegan food trends ever. Of course, I don?t blame them for trying. As Elizabeth Arden (another family friend) once said: ?Put my name under the picture of a horse. Just spell it right.? But that said, I do look forward to working with PR professionals and their diverse stable of clients, to help spread the word that we all can be Better Than Before.
Find Jane Wilkens Michael on Twitter and Facebook.
Our free weekly Fashion & Beauty Buzz newsletter features industry-related job postings, staff updates, Q&As with the fashion and beauty community, upcoming industry events and more, and is geared toward industry journalists and bloggers.
If you want to sign up or be featured in it, email?gina.joseph[at]cision.com.?Don?t forget to also?follow?@CisionNavigator?and?@Cision?on Twitter!?
Tags: beauty, Beauty Blogger, fashion, Fashion & Beauty Buzz, Fashion Blogger
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