How To Get Your Home Featured in a Magazine
Ever since I shared how our home was being photographed, the number one question I have gotten is “how did you get your home featured in a magazine?” Who set up the photoshoot? Did you contact them or did they contact you? And I have been answering these questions casually on Instagram and in my IG stories. But today I thought I’d dive a little deeper into these questions here on the blog! And that’s not all. I’m finally sharing the details about the secret project I’ve been working on behind the scenes!! It’s related to the magazine features and photography, but most importantly… It’s something I’ve created just for you!! Read through to the end for the big news!
Which magazine will your home be featured in?
Earlier this year in February, our home was published for the very first time in Landleben Magazine, which is a German magazine! And just a few months later in June of 2022, our home was photographed for an upcoming feature in Modern Farmhouse Style Magazine, which is a sister magazine to Country Home Magazine! I’m not sure what month or which issue just yet, but I’ll be sure to update this section when I get the publication dates!
Did the magazine contact you or vice versa?
A writer for the magazine contacted me on Instagram after seeing the photos I had been sharing of our home. I had never pitched our home to a magazine before, short of tagging their social media accounts when I share photos. So it really surprised me and felt very out of the blue!
You said there was a “woo woo” story about how it all came to be… what was that about?
So there’s a pretty crazy story about how the magazine photoshoot came to be! Back in January of 2022, I got an Instagram message asking about featuring our home in Landleben Magazine. I totally thought it was a scam, only it wasn’t! Landleben is actually a German magazine. They weren’t able to send a photographer to our home. So I ended up shooting all the photos myself and submitting them for our home’s feature in Landleben Magazine.
I submitted my photos to Landleben magazine in early February. And afterwards, I had a conversation with my husband about the future and a big bucket list dream of mine! If a German magazine wanted to tell the story of our home, surely an American Magazine may want to feature the story too! I love sharing our home here on the blog and on my social channels with you!! But the thought of having our story and our home in print… a tangible thing that I can pick up and hold and share with our children and future generations… it just sounded like a beautiful thing to me! So it was kindof a bucket list goal or a someday dream I tucked away in my heart.
I decided to let myself dream a little and put some good vibes out into the world with the hopes that one day, someday, this little dream of mine might come true. So in late February of 2022, I bought a couple magazines from the grocery store. American magazines that I could envision our home in one day. The first two magazines I bought were Country Living and Country Home. I had the idea to save these magazines, and if our home ever got featured in one of them, I could replace the copy I bought with the copy that has our feature in it! Mind you, this was a someday, far off in the distance kind of thing in my mind.
Y’all I kid you not, just days later in March of 2022, another magazine writer messaged me on Instagram! She asked to pitch our home to the editors of Country Home Magazine!! I had flagged two different articles in the issue of Country Home that I bought at the grocery store. The writer who messaged me on IG had written one of those articles! The photos in the other article were all taken by the same photographer who just shot our home for an upcoming issue of Modern Farmhouse Style.
I didn’t know this until now, but Modern Farmhouse Style is a sister magazine to Country Home!! I literally had goosebumps when I connected all the dots to this story. Call me crazy, call me woo woo… It’s honestly hard for me to believe that this all happened and in this way. But regardless, I thought it was such a crazy story that I had to share it here with you!
Do you have any advice on how to get your home featured in a magazine?
In my humble opinion, there are two things you can do to get the attention of some of the big home and decor magazines. And it all starts with your photography! Practice makes perfect when it comes to photography. The more you practice, and the more you learn, the better your photos will be. Take beautiful photos of your home, your decor, your DIY projects and share them. Capture your home in it’s best light (pun intended), and then share your photos! Your photos is what will catch the eye of magazines, editors, and writers.
I have been sharing photos of our farmhouse here on the blog, as well as on my Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest accounts since October of 2020. I have honed in on my photography skills, my editing, etc. And I have learned a lot over the past couple years! And I can tell a huge difference in my photos over that timespan!! (PS, If you’ve made it this far… keep reading! My secret project can help you with your photography too!!)
The second thing you can do to get noticed by the magazines, editors, and writers is to tell your story! Your photos are important for sure, and that’s what will initially catch their eye. But I have found that telling your story is just as important! So find what makes you and your home unique, and tell a great story to go along with your photos!
Bonus Tip: Use your photos alongside your story and pitch yourself! This was on my list of to do’s for “someday”. Though if you’ve been reading this post you already know that that’s not how I landed either of our magazine features. But I do think it’s worth a shot!! I don’t think a lot of people do this, pitch themselves to a magazine. But one thing I do know is that if you never ask, the answer will always be a “no”.
Ok, so I gotta know! What is the secret project?
I have been working behind the scenes on a big secret project, or should I say projects?! In the past many of y’all have asked questions about my photography. You have asked about the type of camera I use, how I edit my photos, etc. While I love using my big Nikon, I have taken almost all the images you see here on the blog and on my Instagram with my phone!
Want to know something I don’t think I’ve ever shared here on the blog before… I actually used my phone to shoot all the photos for our feature in Landleben Magazine!! I know that’s crazy but it’s true! And it’s also proof that you really can create magazine worthy images with your phone. The process of shooting my own photos for the magazine feature, along with your questions really inspired me to share some of my best smartphone photography tips with you!!
I wrote an Ebook!
So I wrote an Ebook! And the title of the Ebook is “How to Take Magazine Worthy Photos With Your Phone”. No fancy camera, no expensive equipment, just using what most of us already have (and what you’re probably using to read this very blog post).
My Ebook is full of tips to help you get better quality photos with your smartphone! Whether you want to take better photos of your children or pets to display in your home, or maybe you’d like to take better photos of yourself to use for your business! Whatever it is that you love to take photos of… I know that the tips I’ve shared in this Ebook will help you to create better quality, dare I say “magazine worthy”, images with your phone! And the best past is that it’s FREE!! To get your free digital download of my new Ebook, fill out the form below to subscribe to the blog, I’ll send it your way!
I Made My Mobile Lightroom Presets Available to You!
The Ebook is only one of my secret projects y’all… The second project I’ve been working on will also help with your photography! Taking beautiful photos is the first step, and the Ebook will help with that! But then there’s the editing process. Which can be tedious and time consuming. And honestly, it can be a little intimidating too!
So to help with this step, I decided to make my mobile lightroom presets available to you as well! My presets are now officially for sale right here on the blog! Not sure what a mobile lightroom preset is? A mobile lightroom preset is a digital file that you can download and use to edit your photos in the lightroom app on your phone. (Which is a free app by the way!) Presets can be a huge time saver for editing, and they can also help you get a consistent, cohesive look to your photos! If you like the way I edit my photos, then you’ll want to check these out! The presets available in my shop are the exact presets I use on all my photos! Click [shop my presets] for more info and to view all of the preset options available to you now.
White and Woodgrain Mobile Lightroom Presets
I feel so honored and humbled by the whole experience of having our home featured in a magazine! And I am a big believer in paying it forward and sharing what you have and what you know with others! So that’s why I wrote my Ebook, and it’s why I’m making my mobile lightroom presets available to you. I want to share what I know, and what I’ve learned with you as a thank you for supporting me, for celebrating with me, and for being my people!
Thanks for stopping by the blog and hanging out with me today! I hope this post was helpful and a fun read too! And I truly hope you’ll take advantage of the resources I’ve made available!! I honestly still cannot believe our farmhouse has been featured in a magazine, with another feature coming soon… it’s just wild to me! And it’s even more wild that the photos that I shot with my phone have been published! Until next time y’all, thank you so much for following along…
