Raven McMillan: Assistant Editor for Domino + Freelance Writer

She’s making a list and checking it twice.  Listen as Raven brings insights on user experience to her role as assistant editor at Domino and talks with Angela about the joys of Excel spreadsheets, aka lists.

Follow Raven’s work here: https://www.ravenbriana.com/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/ravenbriana/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ravenbriana 

Domino: https://www.domino.com/search/Raven%20McMillan 

Brides: https://www.brides.com/raven-mcmillan-5074507 

How To Plan Your Wedding Like a Project Manager (Brides first article): https://www.brides.com/project-manager-wedding-planning-tips-5084863 

Domino Friday Faves (Ed Picks Column): https://www.domino.com/search/Editors%20Picks  

Domino (Single) Product Reviews: https://www.domino.com/category/product-reviews/ 

The Oldest Black Owned Restaurants Across the US: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/at-these-black-owned-restaurants-the-food-comes-with-a-side-of-history 

Dooky Chase (New Orleans): https://www.dookychaserestaurants.com/ 

Ben’s Chili Bowl (DC): https://benschilibowl.com/ 

Kountry Kitchen (Indy):  https://www.kountrykitchenindy.com/ 

Obama dines in Indy: https://www.kountrykitchenindy.com/celebrity-sightings 

Kountry Kitchen Fire: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2020/01/11/fire-indianapolis-kountry-kitchen-soul-food-under-investigation/4441420002/ 

Pratt Advanced Certification: https://www.pratt.edu/minors/user-experience-advanced-certificate/ 

Thank you for listening!  Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662  

Transcript

Angela Tuell: 0:05

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. Today we are talking with Domino magazine's assistant editor Raven McMillan. Raven is a former publicist turned writer who also freelances for publications such as AFAR, Brides, Conde Nast Traveler, and The Knots covering beauty, weddings, travel and black culture. She is a journalism school graduate who started in public relations, but during the pandemic took a pay cut and went back to journalism and in her words has never been happier. Hi, Raven, thank you so much for joining us.

Raven McMillan: 1:00

Hi, Angela. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited about this.

Angela Tuell: 1:04

Yes. How's the weather down in New Orleans?

Raven McMillan: 1:07

Oh, it's hot hot hot. Very hot.

Angela Tuell: 1:11

Yeah, that time of year, right?

Raven McMillan: 1:12

Yep, everybody thinks I'm crazy for for sticking around through the summer, but here I am.

Angela Tuell: 1:21

So you must like it.

Raven McMillan: 1:23

Oh, yeah. I love it. It's a great place. It's just such a cool city. There's so much to love. It is a little bit weird, but in a wonderful way.

Angela Tuell: 1:33

Yeah. I love that. You know I have to say that I love how you say you are a writer and recovering publicist. Usually it's the other way around. So how did you get to where you are today?

Raven McMillan: 1:45

Yeah, so I actually always wanted to be a writer. Since I was a little kid, I used to make newspapers on my mom's typewriter.

Angela Tuell: 2:01

Awww - revealing to us your age a little bit.

Raven McMillan: 2:05

And that was my dream forever. And I ended up going to school for journalism. And I had all these dreams of at the time, I wanted to be a fashion editor. All I wanted to do is work for Vogue, of course. And after college, I moved to New York. With all those dreams still intact, and quickly, as the city does, it brought me back down to reality. And I realized, oh, I can just get out of college and like, get a job at a magazine and start this year. And, you know, it was a bit of a reality check. I really, I did my best, you know, with the tools that I had as a kid just out of college trying to navigate internships and those first jobs and also just trying to work on my own to pay the rent, and I was doing all these quirky odd jobs. You know, I did like bottle service at this club for a while. I was an assistant at dance studio, just all kinds of crazy things, all the while, you know, trying to apply for different media jobs, and I started coming across PR opportunities. Okay. So getting into PR really kind of ended up being a survival tactic, because I was like, Oh, wow, all these agencies are hiring. And they seem to pay a lot more than all the entry level editorial...

Angela Tuell: 3:29

Right, that's for sure.

Raven McMillan: 3:32

Exactly, exactly. So I made a little pivot then. And I got into PR, I actually thought I was getting a job at an agency in New York. And while they did have an office in New York, they wanted me in their Miami office. So I ended up going back to Florida, which is my home state and and working at that agency for a while. And it was a great, great, great first home, I have made friends there that are my best friends to this day, that are still my mentors and inspiration. And I was there for almost five years. So that's that's kind of how I got into PR and then I stuck around for a while I grew with that company. I moved around to a couple of different agencies until the pandemic that really gave me the space and the time to really think about getting back into writing.

Angela Tuell: 4:26

Yeah, that's when you say your professional career turned around and that you took a 40% pay cut and have never been happier.

Raven McMillan: 4:34

Yeah, yeah. People still think I'm a little crazy. I think my parents still think I'm a little crazy. They don't really totally get it, but they're still super supportive. At the time of the pandemic. I was working at a small agency. I was actually back in New York. And I was working at a small agency that really focused on travel PR so you know, of course, the pandemic. That was one of the biggest industries had to be shut down. So I was laid off. And, you know, kind of thinking about what I was going to do next. And I, to be honest, I was, I had been already a little burnt out a PR, I was kind of over it. And I was kind of relieved that pushed out of the PR nest because of the pandemic. And it just it finally gave me that time to really go back to writing. And because I already had such a strong network of editors from my work in PR, I just started reaching out. And I reached out to an editor that I had actually talked to in the past about wanting to write and never having the time and never getting around to it. And I emailed her and was like, hey, remember how I told you I wanted to be a writer? I think I'm ready to do that. And here's a few story ideas for you that I would love to write myself.

Angela Tuell: 5:59

Yeah. That's wonderful.

Raven McMillan: 6:01

Yeah, so that's... And it worked. Yeah. They accepted my stories

Angela Tuell: 6:03

And it worked. that was with Brides and I started doing a few one off I love that term. pieces for them. They eventually brought me on as kind of like a"permalancer," I guess you could call it.

Raven McMillan: 6:23

I know all these like hybrid terms now. Yeah, so they brought me on. And I was doing a few stories for them. I was contracted to do a few stories for them every month, they would assign me and as I started kind of like racking up these by lines, I started pitching other outlets and I started pitching - I went back to travel. That's really where all my experience and my passion was. And I did a piece for Conde Nast Traveler. I started doing a few pieces for AFAR. I started pivoting my work with Brides to more travel and honeymoon content. Yeah.

Angela Tuell: 7:05

And then you became the assistant editor of Domino.

Raven McMillan: 7:08

Yes. So I amassed all this freelance work, I felt like I had a good solid portfolio. And I really wanted to be on staff. I just, I had so much more to learn about media from that side of it. You know, I had done PR, I had seen what it looked like, on that end of the spectrum. Now I was doing the freelance stuff. And you know, freelance, first of all, it's just such a hustle. And it's, you know, you're, you're just on such an island.

Angela Tuell: 7:40

It's similar to PR with the pitching. You're pitching the editors, you know?

Raven McMillan: 7:44

Yes. Just pitching, pitching, pitching, you know, a lot of emails that are just going into the void.

Angela Tuell: 7:51

Right.

Raven McMillan: 7:53

And I just wanted to be on staff, I was so hungry to learn and to have a team and to have people to bounce ideas off of, and to really just get my fix of being a writer at a magazine. I you know, I still kept going back to that dream. Yeah, if you like Google Raven. And I was like, I just, I want to really be an editor.

Angela Tuell: 8:16

Yes. So for those who aren't familiar, or super familiar with Domino, tell us a little bit about it and its audience.

Raven McMillan: 8:24

Yeah, so Domino is such a fun magazine to work for. First of all, it's, um, it's all focused on home and interior design, and how people can really bring their style home. And so we focus on everything from home tours to renovations to spotlighting different creators across the design industry, focusing on products, reviewing new products, sharing news of different collaborations. So it really, you know, runs the gamut of everything interiors related. And what I love about Domino is it's very accessible. It's inspirational, without being too far reaching of like, okay, great, but I'm not ever going to be able to afford a $20,000 dining room table.

Angela Tuell: 9:23

Yeah. That's perfect. And it was perfect during the pandemic, while we are all focused on our home so much.

Raven McMillan: 9:33

Oh, my gosh, yeah. I mean, it's been one of those industries that has been busier than ever since the pandemic and there's been so much to write about. So much content, people can't seem to get enough. And even still, people are still spending so much time at home. So many are working remote. And, you know, I think everybody has realized how important it is to really cultivate that space. and keep it fresh and make seasonally that makes you happy and make you feel good and...

Angela Tuell: 10:06

Right. So what does your role entail as the Assistant Editor?

Raven McMillan: 10:10

So I primarily work on what we call our scouting vertical. And I'm part of our style team. So I work with our style director, our market editor and our deputy editor to really highlight everything that has to do with the freshest trends, the coolest creatives, the newest products, all of the things that you need to know, right now. I really focus on news. We have news meetings every week so I always try to bring you know whether those are deals that people should be on the lookout for on some of our favorite brands, or, you know, the hottest selling items, or, you know, new collaborations and partnerships with with creators and design brands. And I also help with our digital issues. So those are quarterly, and I help bring ideas pitch ideas to the table for that every quarter, we always have our ed picks column, which is really fun. So I get to pick, you know, some of my favorite things for that under whatever the theme is for that quarter. And that's always a good time.

Angela Tuell: 11:24

So focusing on product news and reviews, does affiliate marketing play a role in your coverage?

Raven McMillan: 11:30

It definitely does. So we do have a separate commerce team. And that's really their focus. But on the more editorial side, you know, we definitely are highly encouraged to include affiliate brands whenever possible. Now, because we have a commerce team, and that's really their bread and butter, it's it's nice that our style team doesn't get pigeonholed or forced into including products that we don't always feel strongly about just because, you know, they're going to bring in revenue. So we still have all of the freedom and flexibility to pick what we really love and what we really know will resonate with our audience. And then, you know, I think I'm still learning about all of affiliate marketing.

Angela Tuell: 12:22

There's so much there. Yeah, right.

Raven McMillan: 12:25

Oh gosh. There is so much and it's so fascinating. But I think, you know, on my team, you know, what it might come down to is if there's two pieces that we really love as equally and one is an affiliate partner, then, you know, we may be more inclined to go with that.

Angela Tuell: 12:43

Yeah, that's, that's what we're hearing constantly. And so it's important to tell you obviously, that this product is on this affiliate network so that you know that as you're working in your stories.

Raven McMillan: 12:55

Yeah, absolutely. And I've been telling all my PR friends who, who asked me or who are working with product brands, like, put that front and center like just so they know, you know, it's always good to know, like, okay, great. Even if it's not a fit right now, like, I'm gonna like bookmark that in my mind that not only is it a cool product and a great brand, but it might also generate some revenue. So that's always a mess. Yeah.

Angela Tuell: 13:19

It's helpful. Yeah. You also mentioned that at Domino, you typically do product reviews individually, and not round ups. And you know, at a time when media is saturated with round ups, and quick and easy reads. And that's what it's almost all about. How has Domino bucked that trend?

Raven McMillan: 13:35

Yeah. And that's interesting, too, because I think even as a reader, I do always find myself drawn to round ups. And like those kind of quick hits. But we have really found it's just in the numbers, the metrics really show that, our audience at least, loves a single product review. And I think it's because they do really trust our opinion. Yeah. And look to us, our style team, especially for that guidance, and that, you know, authentic feedback of the things that we really do love. And that's why those do so well. And we've also found the ones that also do really well are ones that have like a crazy price point one way or another. The expensive item that's like, here's why you have to have this or why it's splurge worthy, or if it is really is splurge worthy. Or it's on the opposite ends. Like you know, you wouldn't believe this $10 gadget that's like changed my life and my home.

Angela Tuell: 14:42

Yeah. Are you the best one to send products to and is it better to contact you first about the product and then send or what's the best way to handle that?

Raven McMillan: 14:52

Yes, so first part, I probably am the good first line of defense to send product pitches to. And second - about sending them - yes, I would always ask first, even for the brands that already probably have my address in their database somewhere. It is always a good idea to send first, just because I think I not only me, I think all of us on the Domino team, really try to be mindful. Yeah, what we're accepting and just with so much waste, product waste, first of all, and also knowing what we actually can cover or what we might actually consider. I always try to be really mindful of accepting things, you know, that really are or aren't a fit. You know.

Angela Tuell: 15:44

Sure. That's great. That's great. I know, you also work to amplify black and brown voices as much as possible. How is that going?

Raven McMillan: 15:52

I think it's going really well. I mean, it's something that's super important to me, coming from, I have a biracial background. And so it's something very personal to me. And it's definitely something that's always top of mind, when I'm looking through stories, when I'm looking at pitches, you know, when I'm thinking about what we're bringing to the table for Domino. It's important to Domino as well, as a brand, we're always, you know, checking ourselves making sure that we are being as diverse as possible across all facets of that. But I think it's going really well. And it really makes me so happy to be that conduit, and to be that microphone for other people, you know, in my community too. So, you know, I always encourage people to let me know or bring, bring that to light, you know, especially the smaller brands, the brands that don't have big PR agencies, you know, or even people, like if you just know of a brand that you love, and you know, maybe you don't even have any other sort of connection to them, like I love to hear those kinds of things and have that on my radar and I'll go do the digging and, you know, see if we can talk to those people or, you know, get them, get them some love and whatever way that we can.

Angela Tuell: 17:16

That's great. And in your free time, which I'm sure is limited. You also do you still do some freelance writing? What do you like to focus on with that?

Raven McMillan: 17:26

Yeah, so in my very little free time, I do still love to do freelancing. I do a little bit of content creation, blog posts like that for like corporate companies in the beauty space. But as far as like the journalists, journalism, travel is really where my heart is at. I love travel. I love hotels, I've kind of been able to find a little bit of a sweet spot with Domino of doing some hotel coverage and design lens. But for my freelance work, I have really been focused on travel and experiences that I've had firsthand.

Angela Tuell: 18:08

Okay, so what is some of your favorite products right now or things you've written about or some of your favorite stories?

Raven McMillan: 18:16

One of my all time favorite stories, was one that I did for Conde Nast Traveler, and it was about the oldest black owned restaurants across the US. And that was just an incredible piece. It was so interesting to research. The interviews that I had, were phenomenal. Like, I just talked to these people for hours and hours. You know, I talked to generations of the Chase family behind Dooky Chase restaurant here in New Orleans before or had a chance to even visit the city or the restaurant now I've been there and it's amazing. I've spoke to the founder of Ben's Chili Bowl in DC who's this beautiful 80 something year old woman who has just like seen it all from you know, Martin Luther King to President -

Angela Tuell: 19:11

Wow.

Raven McMillan: 19:12

And it was just the stories were just amazing. Like, I actually got emotional several times, doing those interviews and writing that story. And, and it's just been such a fun piece. It's kind of been part of my own personal journey to visit actually visit and dine and all the places that I wrote about.

Angela Tuell: 19:30

Oh, that's cool.

Raven McMillan: 19:31

Yeah, and I've checked quite a few off so far. And then I, in my research, I started making an Excel sheet of other other restaurants that didn't make the cut. You know, of course, I can only include so many Wipeout, but there's so much so much history and so many legacy places out there. So that's kind of like this little section on my bucket list of like checking off all of those. So that was a really special story to me, and it was really fun to write.

Angela Tuell: 19:59

He was sure was did you have Kountry Kitchen in Indianapolis?

Raven McMillan: 20:04

No, but I'll have to add that one.

Angela Tuell: 20:05

Ok - You have to add that one. That's that's a great one. They actually had a fire not too long ago, which is really sad in the the rebuilding, even though they're temporarily out of another building. But when President Obama visited Indianapolis, that was his first place to dine. So I'd love to talk a little bit about publicists, and we've done so a little bit already. But since you were one and you can relate, you know, what tips do you have for publicists when working with you? And any pet peeves?

Raven McMillan: 20:34

Oh, my gosh, so many. Not pet peeves. I do have some of those too. You know, because I, because I was a publicist for so many years, I have a lot of empathy for, for the work. And I know how hard it is, I know what a struggle it can be, you know, pitching clients and pitching stories that sometimes you really don't want to pitch but... So I always try to be very mindful of that, you know, when I first started freelancing, and at Domino, I told myself, I'm going to answer every PR email, like a yes or no, because I know how much it means to them to hear back from a journalist. And I swear, I really do try.

Angela Tuell: 21:24

I'm sure. Oh.

Raven McMillan: 21:27

But it gets so hard to manage the inbox. So what I will say, my my number one piece of advice for publicists is to pitch, pitch me a story. Don't just pitch a product or a place. You know, like, press releases are great. And I do actually keep those on file and I will refer to them when I'm writing a piece. But um, chances are, I'm probably not going to write a story from a press release like a blast. The number one thing that is so helpful for me to even open an email is to pitch me a headline, like put a headline in this subject. So that I know right off the bat, what is the angle? Because that's what I have to bring to my team. That's what I have to bring to my editors. So if you can cut out the steps of, you know, me thinking about this, and like, oh, well, I like that idea. But let me think about the angle. And let me think about how it makes sense for Domino. And I love to do that. But and you know, being realistic, I just don't have time for every single email that I get. So that's the way to really cut through the inbox and get my attention is like pitch me a headline, pitch me a story. It can be a couple sentences, and then we can figure out the rest.

Angela Tuell: 22:52

That's great advice. I love that. What about pet peeves?

Raven McMillan: 22:56

Oh, gosh, pet peaves. You know, this one's kind of silly. But it's something that just came up and a couple of us on the team, were actually talking about this. And when the publicist send me a link of images, and maybe it's like for a product collection, and not like there's no selects, but there's like a different folder for each product. And then in that folder, another folder of all the other different angles,

Angela Tuell: 23:25

Like having to go through hundreds of photos. Like, oh, wow.

Raven McMillan: 23:30

I wish I really wish I had the time. But I just don't have time to be clicking through like folder after folder after folder after folder. Like give me the role straight off the bat.

Angela Tuell: 23:42

Yeah. And as a publicist, you want to select the best photos to be used, you don't necessarily want you to have to just pick whatever is easiest or, you know, quick there. And it might not be the ones that the brand was thinking.

Raven McMillan: 23:55

Exactly. And actually, that also ties into another tip is to put images in the pitch. Mm hmm. Like, like a screenshot like that. I can open an email and immediately see, you know, a little teaser of what you're talking about. Yeah, that's super helpful.

Angela Tuell: 24:14

You don't have those go to spam, or you haven't noticed that?

Raven McMillan: 24:17

I haven't noticed it. And I did check my spam all the time. And it really is just like spam in there. Yeah, yeah. Good. Yeah. So I know sometimes, like if you send images as attachments, it can clog up the spam folders. But, you know, if you just put like a very like low res screenshot, the email game changer, like if I can see it, immediately. I'm like, Ooh, interesting. Now I want to read more.

Angela Tuell: 24:46

Yeah, great tips. I love that.

Raven McMillan: 24:49

Especially for Domino, because it really is such an image driven publication. Right? Yeah. It's all about the aesthetics. Like everything has to look good. So...

Angela Tuell: 25:00

Yeah, I also saw that you have a certification from Pratt in user experience user interface. I must admit, I'm not familiar. So what does that mean exactly? And how does it apply to your work?

Raven McMillan: 25:13

Yeah, so, so that's something that I did, I was actually still working in PR, when I got that certification kind of thing that I also was kind of thinking about as either a side hustle, or a supplement to my work. And essentially user experience and user interface is, is just the way that we as individuals, as consumers, specifically interacts with all of the digital devices, you know, that we have. It's the way we navigate through a website, it's how we intuitively know, you know which buttons to tap the type of language that you might use, you know, to get people to take action and like and buttons on a website, or in a platform that you're using, and the design and the the visual part of it too, you know, different colors that are attractive color combinations, typefaces, all of the things that just make it easier for you to interact with all of the digital stimulus that we're getting all day. And so that was just something that I took interest in, personally, also. And it was something that I did actually practice in my pandemic pivot. And my in between finding my groove as a freelancer, I was helping to, I was helping brands, you know, create websites, create copy and content that would really resonate with their audiences. And so even though that's something that I'm not really doing any more, it is something that I think about, you know, in the way that I might format a story, or think about how people might receive a pitch or what their needs are. It kind of touches on on all of those aspects of, you know, the visual, the copy - everything.

Angela Tuell: 27:09

Yeah, that's fascinating and useful, like you had said, and in any type of communication, journalism, PR, marketing type role, and where our world is. So before we go, I have to tell you, I was laughing out loud when I read more about your personal interest. And one was self soothing by creating spreadsheets of whatever you deem unorganized in your life, aka classic Virgo. I'm a Virgo as well so I feel you. What's the most ridiculous spreadsheet you've created?

Raven McMillan: 27:44

Oh my God, there's so many I literally made a spreadsheet or like an itinerary for everything. I do it for every person that I have visiting me. I have itineraries for them. I have - it's not spreadsheets, but I have been known to create mood boards when I'm packing for a trip so that I can see all my outfits digitally. That might be like the craziest.

Angela Tuell: 28:09

That's great. I've taken photos to use.

Raven McMillan: 28:12

Yeah, yeah, it's it's a lot. I definitely always have a spreadsheet of my budget that I update every year. Yeah, I love a spreadsheet.

Angela Tuell: 28:24

My notes in my phone - the notes app - is so many that it barely works. Like it doesn't much because there's so many lists of things.

Raven McMillan: 28:34

So many lists. Oh, and probably one of the funniest lists I've made, and when I tell people they do think I'm crazy, is I put together like a list of all the shows that I am in the process of watching and I have it, I have it set of emojis for what like what season I'm in, reality show or like a drama series, platform it's streaming off. I go crazy with the lists.

Angela Tuell: 29:06

Yeah, can I tell you that I have the same one? It's not as organized as I would like, but I will I will forget if I don't have it written down. Or you know when a season's done, and it's going to be a year or two before another one.

Raven McMillan: 29:19

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I put the dates in there. Like when it's supposed to come back.

Angela Tuell: 29:25

it sounds like we're very similar.

Raven McMillan: 29:28

Yes, yes. When is your birthday?

Angela Tuell: 29:31

September 16.

Raven McMillan: 29:32

Oh my gosh, I'm September 7.

Angela Tuell: 29:34

Oh, okay. Really close.

Raven McMillan: 29:38

Oh, that's too funny.

Angela Tuell: 29:39

I love it. So how can listeners connect with you online?

Raven McMillan: 29:44

Our the best place to find me really is on Instagram @RavenBriana. I really have tried to keep up with like Twitter and all the other thing and just doesn't happen. But I do love Instagram. I'm always on there. I'm not posting as much as I want to be. I'm hoping to change that that soon because I have some ideas of some fun stuff I want to start sharing, but definitely Instagram and if people want to pitch me or reach out or just say hi, my email is on there like I'm an open book, my page is public.

Angela Tuell: 30:20

Perfect.

Raven McMillan: 30:21

Yeah. So I love people to reach out.

Angela Tuell: 30:23

Thank you.

Raven McMillan: 30:24

Thank you.

Angela Tuell: 30:27

That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at Communications Redefined.com/podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.