Tell us about Capsule. What is the publication about and what does it aim to achieve?
Capsule is a curated collection of smart stories and relatable rants, brought to you by former editors and writers of New Zealand’s best magazines. It was launched in lockdown Level 4 last year after the abrupt shutdown of Bauer Media, when we looked around us and thought: “Who is going to keep telling the stories of Kiwi women?” So we decided to create such a place. Capsule is an online publication for Kiwi women, by Kiwi women. 

What sort of content do you publish, and how often?
We cover a wide range of topics on our website, which features new content daily. Our five pillars are Think, Be, Do, Covet and Thrive and they broadly sum up everything that our readers care about. We cover lifestyle content, feature interviews, travel stories, product round-ups, and opinion pieces. We produce a mental-health content series, How Are You Today?, which has seen us talk to well-known Kiwis such as Jacinda Ardern, Lisa Carrington, and John Campbell about resilience, vulnerability, and "the juggle". We also publish the Diaries series, featuring first-person insights as part of The Motherhood Diaries, The Love Diaries, and The Divorce Diaries. 

Who’s reading Capsule?
Our audience is mainly Kiwi women - 80 per cent is female, with the majority aged between 25 and 54. Our secondary audience of 54 years and older is also growing significantly. Our readers are smart, empathetic, and extremely tuned in to the world around them, plus they have a dark and irreverent sense of humour.

Tell us about your editorial team. Who covers what?
There are three of us managing the day-to-day. It is a busy but varied job considering the ins and outs of running a website, our social platforms, partnerships, and custom content side, which sees us writing for some of Aotearoa’s most-loved brands. 

How can PRs work with Capsule? What makes a pitch stand out?
Pitches tailored to one of our five verticals are very helpful as they show an understanding of Capsule and our editorial focus. We also like a pitch that is a bit more off-beat than your usual press release - we’ve found the more niche a topic is, the more it appeals to our reader (and to us!). 

Any editorial deadlines to be aware of?
Like most people forged in print media, we’re always used to working ahead, however, we can also be very flexible when great last-minute opportunities come up. We have a strong awareness of weeks of note that fit in with our readership - for instance, Mental Health Awareness Week and Baby Loss Awareness Week have been important to our Capsule community. And now that we are getting closer to Christmas, that is a big focus moving forward.

Answers submitted by Emma Clifton, Editorial Director of Capsule.