As part of our ongoing Q&A series, we caught up with Florence Scordoulis, freelance writer for Get The Gloss, The Guardian, Daily Mail and more, to discuss what makes a brand truly stand out and where the industry is headed in 2025.
With expertise spanning beauty, lifestyle, travel, and LGBTQ+ experiences, Florence shares her insights on the evolving landscape and what brands need to know to stay ahead.
1. What makes a PR pitch stand out to you?
It sounds obvious, but I love it when you can tell that a PR knows the types of features you write. You can see that it’s somewhat personalised – and quickly get a sense of how it might directly fit with a publication you write for regularly. Plus, it helps if I have a relationship with them, as we get so many emails as journalists (and sadly don’t have time to reply to them all!) so this helps it to stand out instantly.
2. What is your favourite kind of feature to write?
I enjoy variety in my freelance writing: my main focuses range from women’s lifestyle (including beauty and wellness) to LGBTQ+ experiences, travel and interviewing (celebs and case studies). But what unites it all is a drive to write pieces which empower the reader and make them feel great about themselves, seen and valid – with as much positive social impact as possible.
3. Since the beauty industry is so saturated, what makes a product interesting to you?
I’m always interested when something is part of a trend, or perhaps a celebrity has spoken about using it recently – so there’s an obvious hook to cover it. But more generally, it’s great to try things that actually work and get results, especially on a budget as I’m keen to make this stuff as accessible to readers as possible. We love to be able to cut through the noise and break things down for them.
4. What’s your favourite trend at the moment?
My personal favourite trend at the moment is solo travel – especially while remote working in exotic destinations! But I’m biased, because this is definitely a perk of being a freelancer…
6. What advice would you give to a hotel or spa to help them stand out?
It’s helpful if there are any new trends or treatments, or colourful backstories which we can pitch to publications – so always thinking about the specifics and what could create a headline that sells. What’s different about what you do? Why should we cover this now? Is there a wider trend we can peg this onto or an unusual angle that we can spin?
Make sure to follow Florence on Instagram for more helpful tips, and to stay up to date on her work! https://www.instagram.com/florence_scordoulis/