Welcome back to our SaaS Media Connections series, where we open the curtain on the B2B SaaS media landscape and explore how different journalists approach their craft. We’re thrilled to feature Melissa Daniels, senior reporter at Modern Retail, a media brand covering the reinvention of the retail industry. In this interview, Melissa dives into the evolving journalist role and how PR professionals can build a relationship with her.
Tell us about your role at Modern Retail.
I write about various aspects of e-commerce and retail, from marketing to technology to operations. This occasionally includes case studies on how brands have pulled off a specific coup – like navigating a jump to wholesale – or a feature that examines how brands are responding to a social, economic or tech trend. I’m really interested in the changing nature of shopping and spending; when people ask what I do for a living, I tell them I write about why we spend so much money from our phones. That usually gets a laugh.
How has your role as a reporter evolved over the last few years?
Sourcing dynamics are drastically different, from my perspective. It often feels more transactional than relational. Journalists are vastly outnumbered by those wanting to write about their clients. For someone who used to cover government, politics and courts in person, the mad dash of PR people to my inbox is taking some getting used to. As news organizations, our competition within media has grown to include creators, influencers and entertainment, and we’re all vying for the same audience.
How do you choose what stories to pursue?
I like to zig when others zag. I have no interest in writing the same story as my competitors. But when there’s a big story to cover, I will often favor an out-of-the-mainstream angle for something that may resonate with our trade-based audience. As someone very interested in the changing nature of society due to technology, I’m drawn toward stories that say something about the modern consumer and meeting our needs. Ultimately, I don’t want to write stories that say “This brand is doing XYZ!” but “This is WHY this brand is doing XYZ,” or “This brand learned to XYZ because it stopped doing ABC.”
What retail trends are you especially excited about right now?
I’m very interested in the payments piece of online operations, and the rise of fintech companies intersecting with retail. I see a sea change happening in personal finance, as far as the platforms we use and how we use them, that affects how we shop. I also am very interested in how brands are attempting to clean up their supply chain and take better care of the planet and its people in their quest to make and sell stuff. From a marketing perspective, I am fascinated by influencer marketing and how brands are forging and keeping relationships with creators in order to grow their businesses.
On the flip side, what industry trends are you tired of hearing about?
I am not particularly interested in doing stories about brands’ new product launches — at this point, it’s fairly obvious that differsying your lineup is an attempt to grow your business. Anytime you tell me you’re “meeting the consumer where they are,” I stop listening. We’re all trying to do that!
Related: We don’t do gift guides or affiliate marketing at Modern Retail. Please stop pitching me on this!
How can PR professionals create great working relationships with reporters like yourself?
- Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself! It’s much easier for me to email back and forth with someone who I have talked to on the phone or seen on a Zoom call.
- Please check out what I read before you pitch me – you might save yourself a lot of time!
- Don’t just reach out when you have a client who is angling for coverage. Be willing to have general interviews that don’t necessarily lead to a headline about your company. This helps me fill my brain and my notebook with great ideas and insights, and makes me more likely to think of your company down the road.
- Please refrain from asking me to put marketing copy in a story. Talking points and taglines are not always good quotes or informative descriptors. Sure, you’re an inspired lifestyle brand, but really you sell pillows. It has to be OK to say you sell pillows if that’s how you’re making your money! We are business journalists writing for professionals, not to consumers you’re trying to impress.