Want press for your work? It’s Nice That’s Olivia Hingley shares her top tips

Ever dreamed about seeing your project in a magazine? Getting your work featured on a platform like It’s Nice That can offer a huge boost – helping you reach new audiences, grow your credibility and build confidence in your practice. But what actually makes a great pitch? To find out, we spoke to It’s Nice That’s Associate Editor, Olivia Hingley. With experience reviewing countless pitches, Olivia shares practical advice – from what to include in your email to the best ways to get noticed.

Press coverage can open many doors, whether through magazine features, interviews, or write-ups on creative platforms. In the short term, it increases visibility and helps promote any upcoming projects. Over time, it can enhance your reputation within your field and create opportunities for collaborations or new roles.

What does coverage look like?

Media platforms offer a variety of ways to highlight your work. This could be a brief profile on a creative site, an in-depth feature about a specific project, or a focused interview. Press exposure introduces your practice to wider audiences and can help build lasting professional momentum.

As Olivia shares, It’s Nice That offers a few ways to spotlight creative talent: “A creative’s first time on the site is usually a short-form article – around 200 to 300 words – about their practice, methods and influences, with an image selection showing a range of their work.”

She adds: “We also have articles that focus on a singular project and offer a deep dive into the brief, planning, ideation and creation process… Then we have our Spotlight articles – long-form Q&As with someone in the industry – and features, which explore a topic (like obsession or The Sims!) with several relevant creatives interviewed.”

With this in mind, here are Olivia's top tips for successfully getting press:

1. Set yourself up for success

Before you jump in, take time to define your story:

Olivia suggests asking yourself these questions first – because editors will too.

When the editorial team at It’s Nice That reviews pitches, they look for originality and resonance: “We try to make a collective decision by asking: is the work doing something new? Does it have an interesting story behind it? Will it resonate with our audience?”

Then, think about the audience you’d like to target. Different publications cater to different niches, so start making a list of those that specialise in your discipline or are interested in topics you cover.

An example of a creative project featured on It's Nice That

2. Plan when to pitch

Consider the best timing for what you want coverage on: if you're pitching a project or event, the earlier the better.

“A month before is ideal,” says Olivia, “a week before cutting it a little fine. If it’s a few days before, there’s a chance we won’t be able to get everything ready in time – we’re only a small team!”

3. Make a strong first impression

After you’ve laid the groundwork, it’s time to bite the bullet and start contacting people in the press – like the editors and writers of magazines. Most frequently, this is done via email. But not all emails are created equal, and making a good impression in someone’s cluttered inbox starts from the minute they see your subject line.

According to Olivia, “You should try to be human, while keeping things short and to the point. Essentially, how can you make yourself stand out among cold PR call-outs?”

She recommends subject lines like:

‘Hello! Graduate illustrator sharing portfolio :)’

or

‘Student project turns sea waste into typeface to raise awareness’

These strike the right balance between personality and clarity – and help your email stand out in a busy inbox.

Example of a strong subject line

4. Keep it short and snappy

In terms of the pitch itself, it’s good to keep emails short and digestible. Avoid big wordy paragraphs with no spacing – they can often lose the reader’s attention and won’t get your message across most efficiently.

Olivia advises: “One [sentence] introducing yourself, one summarising your work – the ideas behind it, your style and process – and one explaining the project you’re looking to submit.” Avoid dense paragraphs, and break up your text to make it easier to read.

5. Include what you want featured – not just your portfolio

“One of the things we often see,” Olivia shares, “is emails that are like, ‘Hey, I’m a designer – here’s my website.’ And while that’s great, it’s also quite nice when someone flags something specific that they’d like us to look at. It helps us know what we’re actually looking at and why it might be exciting.”

She explains that having a clear focus from the start makes a big difference. “It’s easier for us to engage with a project when someone highlights exactly what they want us to see. Otherwise, it can be overwhelming to look through an entire portfolio without guidance.”

6. Make your project findable

Editors and writers get tons of emails a day, so it’s always useful to have something that can catch their eye beyond words. Insert a few images that best illustrate your work or the project in question, and include links to your website, portfolio or social pages.

And when it comes to file sharing, keep it simple. “It’s always best to send open links – sending things that need to be downloaded, like a WeTransfer link, can be a bit of a faff.”

Example of a possible pitch email

7. Follow up on your pitch... considerately

Congratulations, you’ve sent out your pitch! But say it’s been a week and there’s still no reply. Now what? Don’t be disheartened if you don’t hear back at once – editorial teams have tight deadlines and busy inboxes, so they may not have gotten the opportunity to respond to your email just yet. Sometimes, it’s necessary to politely check in on whether they’re still interested in your pitch.

If you haven’t heard back in a week or two, don’t panic – and don’t pester. “A follow-up email is sometimes necessary,” Olivia says, “but if you’re sending multiple times a week, this might come across as a little pushy.” She adds that some creatives are featured months – or even years – after they first reach out. “We always press people to keep updating us… just within reason!”

8. Build your presence

While you’re waiting to hear back, keep showing up. “Getting press coverage isn’t just about pursuing publicity – it’s also about attracting it to you,” Olivia explains.

At It’s Nice That, the team meets twice a week to share anything they’ve spotted – from portfolios and websites to Instagram posts – that could make a strong story. “We take turns presenting our finds, detailing why they stood out to us and why we think they’re a good fit for our platform,” she shares.

If you’re actively sharing your work and talking about your process, you’re much more likely to catch someone’s eye. Read out full guide to self-promotion here.

Key Takeaways

Getting press coverage doesn’t happen overnight – it often starts with planting small seeds. Whether you’re ready to pitch a project now or simply want to lay the groundwork, here’s a recap of Olivia’s advice to help you get started.