Media Coffee Chat: Lifestyle freelancer and ESSENCE writer Keyaira Boone – PR Daily

Amanda Coffee is CEO of Coffee Communications and ex-Under Armour, PayPal and eBay.  

At first glance, Keyaira Boone has one of the sexiest jobs in consumer media, being sent on assignment to fabulous destinations including Grand Cayman, Portugal and Croatia to provide her personal take on lifestyle experiences. She tests beauty, wellness, and lifestyle products, writes style diaries, reviews exciting new reads, and interviews tons of celebrities. 

But if you’ve ever worked with Boone you know that her “booked and busy” calendar requires a hard work ethic to balance making time for both new experiences and writing about them. If she includes your brand in the story she takes the time to do all the research before putting pen to paper. For example, when reviewing headphones for a Cosmopolitan story, she tested the noise cancelling feature perhaps a little too hard, as it led her to miss a warning on the streets of NYC. 

Boone is a Capricorn, known to be workaholics. In her case this means full-time freelancing, consulting, copywriting, running the growing Substack substack Key Takes , being an active LinkedIn creator, and creating rich video content across TikTok and Instagram (handles: @pennedbykeyaira). 

As a former senior reporter and contributing editor, she’s at a point in her career where brands will offer her amazing experiences such as a trip to Sundance Film Festival, but she’ll politely decline if the PR team doesn’t have an organized pitch that comes well in advance.

Her version of the gig economy might be a bit more glamorous but the core principle remains the same, time is of the essence! 

Let’s get to know Boone more and understand how she balances it all and what PR pitches cut through her crowded inbox:

Keyaira, what’s your biggest piece of advice for brands and PR pros who want to work with you? Has there been a pitch that’s crossed your desk recently where it was an immediate ‘yes,’ and why? 

My biggest advice is to know the beats of the journalists before you reach out to them. Also know your client’s boundaries before you reach out to them, because that can save both your client, yourself and the journalist time, which no one has an abundance of these days. 

A recent immediate yes for me was covering Renae Bluitt, founder of She Did That, and her holiday bazaar, focused on showcasing Black-owned brands, right at the tail end of 2024. The event appeals to Hello Beautiful audiences, and it includes brands and creatives the publication’s readers may already follow. So it was an easy slam dunk to get that story approved and bring that perspective to readers. 

Getting ESSENCE to approve my interview with the filmmakers of “Seeking Mavis Beacon” was an easy yes as well because it tapped into the topic of AI in a way that centered their readership. That’s important. 

And what stories are you looking to cover more in 2025 what’s on your vision board?

I’m really interested in lifestyle and travel at the moment. I’m always thinking about how my life looks and feels every minute of every day. I want more comfort, color, beauty, and joy and I know so many other people who feel that way. 

So I’m really interested in expanding my coverage based on my preferences, my taste level and my experiences. You can expect more lifestyle and travel coverage in 2025. (Editor’s note: Just following this interview Keyaira published an Atlanta hotel review for Travel and Leisure magazine and a beauty story on Byrdie on Valentine’s nail trends.)

I know in the past you’ve mentioned you ‘paid attention in English class’ as a kid. When did you realize your love of storytelling and writing?

I’ve loved writing and storytelling since I was a small child. I was always obsessed with the “as told to” stories in magazines. I wanted to be the person that people told the best stories. Marie Claire’s “Big Girl In A Skinny World” column had a huge impact on me too. 

I was editor in chief of my high school paper, and that’s where I started honing my interviewing skills. I was actually sports editor the year before that, because my (then) boyfriend played football, and it was an excuse to hang out with him on the sidelines. I learned to take pictures there on my first Nikon. 

I got a lot of interviewing tips I still use today during that time, and I’ve always loved stories. They just always spoke to me. I was always the girl with a book in my bag on the train. I’ve been so honored to work with such amazing editors and people whose work I’ve admired my whole life. From day one, English has always been my favorite subject, and reading is my favorite thing to do in my free time. I can’t believe I get paid to do it! 

So you’ve met so many interesting people in your reporting. What’s a recent favorite interview?

My favorite interview of all time is Dionne Warwick, which is not that recent, but I’m from Newark, New Jersey, so that meant a lot to me personally.

I did Laci Mosley after pitching that story for four years!  That was really special to me because I believe in her talent. 

A favorite recent interview that I did was with a mom who went out of her way after going back to her home and being evaluated from the fire to take her family’s Christmas presents and give them to other people. Her name is Mimi Brown, and I just spoke to her recently. She had gotten home to LA after visiting family for Christmas in Virginia, and they had multiple suitcases of Christmas presents. When they saw the devastation from the Los Angeles fires, they decided to give their presents and additional donations to victims instead. It was really special to be able to bring our story to the public.

Other highlights include Latto, Spike Lee, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tracy Morgan and Kerry Washington. There were no canned questions, just real talk and I added questions to the interview in real time. BJ the Chicago Kid ran through his house to tell me what a candle smelled like that he vibes out to. It was a professional achievement because I’m in love with his music and his brain.

I enjoyed chatting with Melyssa Ford about menopause as well. It’s cool to watch a public figure evolve, and get to ask them about it. 

You are known for reporting on important topics that are just entering the cultural zeitgeist, ranging from social justice to trends in romantic relationships. What’s been a recent viral story or story that sparked discussion with your community?

Usher’s BET awards tribute got me dragged on TikTok. One of my favorite TikTokers did a whole video calling me an idiot because he disagreed with my opinion, which was you don’t have to be a male artist to celebrate a male artist. It’s all about artistry and musicianship, and these amazing artists came together to celebrate and honor Usher and I thought they did a really good job, and people strongly disagreed, and it did really well, but it got me dragged, which is important. 

It’s important to be humbled by the internet every now and then because it keeps us all honest.

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