The 7% Club
The 7% Club
Episode 50: Erin Huckle, Strategic PR Consultant and Director of Chuckle Communications
Erin Huckle is the founder of Chuckle Communications, a strategic PR consultant, book publicist and host of the PR with Purpose podcast.
She helps authors, founders, speakers, thought leaders and experts secure money-can’t-buy media opportunities and connect with their ideal audience through smart, story-driven PR.
Episode 50 – The Power of PR with Purpose: How to Build Visibility and Credibility through Smart, Story-Driven PR (with Erin Huckle)
A milestone moment!
In this special 50th episode of The 7% Club Podcast, I celebrate a major milestone with an insightful conversation featuring Erin Huckle, founder of Chuckle Communications, strategic PR consultant, book publicist, and host of the PR with Purpose podcast.
Together, Erin and I unpack what public relations really is, how it fits into your broader marketing mix, and why smart, story-driven PR can be one of the most powerful tools for founders, business leaders, and experts looking to grow their visibility and credibility.
https://chucklecommunications.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinhuckle-pr-and-copywriting/
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💡 Need help scaling your business from 7 to 8 figures? Get in touch jenny@jennystilwell.com.au
Remember: Better strategy, better business, better life! See you next time!
Hi there, this is Jenny Stilwell, and welcome to the 7% Club Podcast for the 7% of business owners who break through two million in sales, and for those on track to join this club. This podcast is to help you upscale. In today's episode, I'm speaking with Erin Huckle. Erin is the founder of Chuckle Communications, a strategic PR consultant, book publicist, and host of the PR with Purpose podcast. She helps authors, founders, speakers, thought leaders, and experts secure money-curned by media opportunities and connect with their ideal audience through smart, story-driven PR. Hi Erin, welcome to the podcast. Hi Jenny, thank you so much for having me. I'm really looking forward to this discussion because I think a lot of people don't necessarily understand PR and the bigger marketing mix, so I'm really keen to explore that with you. So just to start us off, how would you define public relations and how is it different from marketing or advertising or sales?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great place to start because I think there is still a bit of confusion around what is PR and how does it fit into that broader marketing mix? I always, as a starting point, say that PR is the kind of activity that you're doing to connect with your ideal audience without having to pay for the exposure that you're getting. So it's very different to say advertising campaigns where you'll pay to be featured in a certain media outlet or you'll be part of a sponsorship deal that means you get exposed on a certain podcast or platform. The idea with PR is that you're not buying that space, you're not buying those opportunities to be featured, you're earning them through giving those outlets something valuable in return. So it's an exchange, but it's also a way of building your profile and showing up in the places where your ideal audience hangs out so that they get to know, like, and trust you. And it just helps to build awareness of you and your brand. There are various ways of securing PR. It could be doing things like this, being on people's podcasts. It could be offering articles to the media, acting as a spokesperson in the media. It could be speaking on stages, even entering and winning awards. That's another type of PR activity that can be quite effective for businesses, especially when they're trying to raise their profile and build their reputation.
Speaker:I'm sure that sort of earned coverage would appeal to a lot of people because, you know, that advertising spend, particularly if people haven't done it before, it's hard to measure and assess if you haven't done it, and it can cost a lot more than you expect. The return on investment may not be as good as you're hoping for. But I like that what you said about PR being a sort of an exchange. You know, you're giving something of value, and in the process it's helping to raise your profile. So, having said that, what are some of the core building blocks of a strong PR strategy that every business should be aware of?
Speaker 2:So I think the really critical thing is before you do any kind of proactive or you know intentional PR where you're going out and looking to secure those opportunities, you want to be thinking about the journey that that audience will be going on. So if they do hear you on a podcast or read about you in the media, what do you want them to do next? So what's their call to action? What happens if they then Google your name or your business name and land on your website? Is it going to be a disconnect or are they going to feel like they're in the right place because they've just heard you speaking on this podcast about a certain subject that you're an expert in and now they've landed on your website and they're like, okay, this is the right place. This is the person I want to connect with. So I think the foundational work is really making sure that you have a presence online that you're happy with and that you feel is a good representation of your business or yourself. And then making sure that the messages you're sharing in your PR are connected to the messages you're sharing in your business. And just making sure it's really easy for people to take that next step because I think sometimes we get a bit excited about an opportunity, especially if someone approaches us and it's like, oh wow, I could be on that podcast or I could be fit featured in that magazine, but maybe we don't have a presence online yet. So it's a bit of a wasted effort because there's nowhere for people to go after they've come across your work or your expertise. So I think a big core building block for any business that's looking at doing PR is have we got those foundations in place? And are we really clear on the messages we want to be sharing? Because a lot of the time, businesses or CEOs or experts, they've probably got quite a few different topics they could be speaking about. They've probably got different things that they're experts in, or maybe they've got messages that they've been using for a long time, but they're not aligned with the work that they do anymore. You don't want that disconnect to happen because it just confuses audiences and you'll lose them. They'll turn off because they they might like what they hear you say in one place, but then when they get to your website or look you up online, it doesn't feel like they're in the right place. So I would make sure that you have those foundations right. And then in terms of the strategy, really think about what's the end goal here. So what are we trying to achieve with the PR? And I think PR is a communication tool more than a sales tool. It can be hard to get a direct sale through PR, but it is part of the sales mix, the marketing mix. So it's really thinking about why are we doing this activity? Why are we investing this time or money by paying someone to do it for us? What is the outcome we're hoping for? Is it just general brand awareness, profile raising? We just want to get our name out there more. Is it a specific product we're speaking about? Is it a piece of news we're sharing? What action do we want people to take? And that will help you then measure your success as well. So have we shown up in the places that make sense for our business? And thinking about the audiences you want to reach, because you might like to be on the front page of a national newspaper, but if your audience is really niche, then your time might be better spent speaking to a podcast with the exact same niche audience that you want to reach, even if they only reach, you know, some an audience of hundreds or low thousands versus millions of potential readers. So being strategic in that way is important too.
Speaker:Yeah, that's really interesting. So it's about the consistency of your message, but also what you said before about knowing what you want people to do, what's the call to action, what do you where do you want them to go next? And you know, that does fit into the bigger marketing picture. So what you were saying just then about, you know, being on the front page of a publication versus being on a niche podcast, that's all part of the marketing strategy, isn't it? So the PR fit in there. It's being very specific and intentional about what are we trying to achieve. So, how do you, when your clients come to you and say, you know, I want to be on the front cover of this or I want to be profiled in that or whatever they say, do you look at where the PR component is sitting in their overall marketing strategy? Or do you even just start with, do they have a marketing strategy? Do they have these core messages? Do they have the foundations in place? How do you approach that to help them put PR into the mix?
Speaker 2:Yes, it's definitely part of our initial conversation because I don't want to waste their time in terms of putting all of this effort and energy and money into something that's not aligned with the broader strategy. When I work with clients who have a bigger team, I'm often working directly with their marketing person, if they have a an internal marketing person or a marketing consultant they work with, because we often find the work we're doing is very complementary. For example, if they've got a whole strategy around the kinds of messages they're sharing on LinkedIn and the posts that they've got scheduled for their LinkedIn company page or the personal page of their founder, you know, it makes sense that maybe we can look at some of those ideas. Maybe they could be good hooks for media. Maybe we could turn them into media stories as well as LinkedIn opportunities. So there it's definitely important to align those things and to think about the broader marketing mix as well, because I think the thing about PR is it's not a one and done type activity. I always think you can actually make a lot, get a lot more traction from it if you think about it in broader marketing terms. So if you do have a great win and you're featured in a magazine or an outlet that you're really proud of, you know, I would always recommend to people that you then share about that on LinkedIn and maybe give it a shout out in your email newsletter that you send, or pop those logos on your speaker kit, or pop them on your website and have an as featured in section. You know, it all just starts to build credibility and add to that reputation as being someone who's trusted, being a business that's trusted and respected. Same for things like if you're winning awards, you want to be speaking about that and having those badges of credibility wherever you can put them. And I think that can kind of help generate new ideas for marketing and it can be a really collaborative exercise as well, especially if you're working on, say, uh, I'm working with someone at the moment on a specific announcement around a new partnership. So it's very important that the announcement is aligned with all of the marketing that's being done in other channels for both of the businesses involved. So it's kind of got to be done in a way that's quite thoughtful and that everyone is comfortable with because it might mean that you know we get a great big news story somewhere, but off the back of that, people come to that website. And like I said before, you want them to come there and think, oh yeah, I'm in the right place. This is that business I was just reading about. It sounds like their product could be perfect for what we need, and then take that next step. So it's really important that your marketing and PR aren't in silos, they want to be part of the bigger mix. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. And for companies that are say, say, you know, the one to three million range that are just really in growth mode and they're trying to build their brand, whether it's a product or a service, but really trying to build their brand and their credibility. Some of the things that you've just said it just reinforces that PR is an important piece of the puzzle, isn't it? Because you can do, you know, content marketing and LinkedIn posts and you know, all that kind of marketing. But if you've got that real outreach with PR, it can really help lift just the visibility, the brand and the credibility, can't it?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And I think for companies who are in that stage, it can be become part of your company's story, part of the story that you're telling about your business, the sales conversations you're having, the business development activity that you're doing. You know, if you can say that your founder was featured in, you know, a 30 under 30 list by a reputable magazine, or or maybe they, you know, did you see them in the AFR recently? They were chatting with this journalist about XYZ, or did you see that we um were recognized recently for this award? You know, I think it all helps to build that conversation and it kind of gives people a shorthand to show that you're a business worth watching or investing in or paying attention to, because it just shows that you take your work seriously, your business seriously, other people value you and they can see the important work that you're doing. So it's that external credibility and reputation, but it also just shows that you are in this for real, like you're, you know, you're investing in things like entering awards or you know, you're putting yourself forward to speak to the media, you know, you're a bit of a one-to-watch, like that's quite a nice kind of buzz around a company that's in that growth stage.
Speaker:Yeah. So what I mean, you've mentioned some different, I guess, types of PR or types of activities under the PR banner, but what are some strategies that you've seen work really well, say for your clients or just in general? You know, for companies that are in the B2B space, they might be brands, they might be services, but what are some strategies that you could share with us that have worked really well?
Speaker 2:So I think for B2B businesses in particular, the thought leadership space can be really impactful and there can be a lot of opportunities there. Even if your business is fairly new or your role is fairly new, often you're bringing expertise from you know previous career as well. And it might be that you have a unique perspective on things. You might have a piece of wisdom or insight that you think other people could learn from or might find interesting. You might be looking at the current landscape of your industry and something you might think something's really obvious to you. So why is no one else doing it? You know, it's these kinds of points of view that can make for really interesting pieces in the media. So I think having some, you know, setting aside some time to think about what are the, what are the opinions we hold, what are the ideas we have, you know, what are the questions we get asked a lot? What are the kinds of stories you find yourself telling time and again when you are meeting with potential customers or clients or suppliers, maybe they're always surprised to find that even though you're a seven-figure business, you've only got a staff of three or whatever it might be. And then maybe that that sort of feeds into some thought leadership around sort of scaling a business on a skeleton team, for example. Or maybe, you know, I think over the last few years, if you had anything interesting to say about AI and its implementation in your industry or your business, or you may be a bit of a left-of-field opinion around how we're adapting to AI, that could lead to some great thought leadership opportunities as well. So I think effective PR strategies, it's really again thinking about what do we want to be known for? What kind of conversation do we want to be having out there, and what's the value that we can offer? So if it's not something that's going to help people because, you know, maybe you you want to help people because you feel like you have an insight that's helpful for people, but it comes down to that value exchange. So even if you feel like maybe you've made a mistake along the way, sometimes that can be effective, you know, saying to an editor, I would love to write a piece for you about like the three, the three things I got wrong in my first three years in business, you know, that kind of piece might be of interest to their readers. The other kinds of value exchanges you might be able to offer are if you maybe can offer them a case study. Maybe you've worked with a high-profile client or a client that's in a real transformation, that can be really impactful in the media depending on the industry you're in. But, you know, for example, if you are running a law firm or an accounting firm and you've got an amazing case study to share, that can be really impactful, especially if you're trying to get into sort of sort of those industry publications. But it just comes down to that value exchange again. Like, what are you offering them in terms of value for their audience? And why would their audience care about what you have to say or what you're doing? So if it's not breaking news, no, you might have news to share that can be really effective. You can even invest in things like research. So if you have a specific niche or maybe you have a bit of a an idea around, you know, a hypothesis of what you think is happening out there, you can invest in surveying a couple hundred people at the right level or across industries, and then that gives you some nice research to use in your marketing, but also in your PR. If you can say, you know, we surveyed 500 accountants and found XYZ, that can be quite impactful. So that can be a great strategy as well. So it's really thinking about what can you offer them that's valuable and why would their readers or listeners or viewers care, like what's in it for them. So really thinking not just about what's in it for you, but what's in it for the audience.
Speaker:Yeah. And in terms of approaching, you know, journalists and editors and podcast hosts, a lot of people tend to take the view that oh, they they really need content. They really need content. So yeah, just approach them and you know, they'll be really pleased to receive whatever you're putting out there. I don't believe that because I think there is a lot of content. There are a lot of people wanting to be in the media and pitch a story. And you know, like you don't pick up a magazine whether it's online or in print, and half of it's rubbish because they just needed content. It's interesting. So what are some tips that you could offer? I mean, the obvious answer is to work with you, but what are some tips for people who are thinking about perhaps approaching a journalist or an editor or a podcast host? What are some tips for doing that? And I'm assuming research is the first thing, you know, going back to where's your niche, where are your readers, you know, that kind of thing. But what are some just a couple of tips for doing that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I I like to uh suggest the rule of three, which is to listen to three episodes of their podcast or read three articles from their outlet before you even think about pitching them. Great advice. Great advice. I'm sure you're in the same position, Jenny, as a podcast host. But if someone sends me a pitch now that I have a podcast and it's clear that they don't know anything about the format of my podcast or who I speak to, what I'm speaking about, it's clearly just a copy and paste that they've sent to every email they could find. It's a waste of their time and it's just clogging up my inbox. But if someone actually shows me that they've listened to a few episodes, they've taken the time and they understand the format I'm doing, and then they can offer me themselves or a guest, you know, I'm gonna enter into a conversation with them because it shows that they have made that effort. So I know we're all time poor and that we all have finite time, but if there is a specific podcast that you're interested in, at least listen to a couple of episodes before you do that outreach. I think that's really important. And the same goes for the kind of articles that a publication's publishing. Like maybe they don't take op-eds and contributions, maybe they only publish work by their internal editorial team. And if that's the case, it's probably not much point pitching them a contributed article. So just saving yourself that time and wasted effort as well by doing that research because it's going to set you up to be in a much better position. I always also love LinkedIn for relationship building with podcast hosts and editors and journalists. I think again, take the time to look at who are the, who's in the editorial team at that outlet, send them some connection requests on LinkedIn. You don't need to be a pest, you don't need to be sort of sending them long-winded pictures in their DMs on LinkedIn, but at least start by connecting with them, maybe start to interact with some of their posts. You know, if they're one of the small business magazine editors, for example, if you're following their posts and liking them or commenting on them, it's just going to mean that your name is a bit more visible to them. So when it lands in their inbox, hopefully it's going to stand out a little bit more in that sea of um pitch emails. So I I and then going back to what you said, Jenny, I think the idea that everyone's just hungry for content, unfortunately, maybe that was true a few years ago, but I think it's a really crowded space now because most businesses and PRs have clocked onto the fact that you can offer content. And like you said, it's not like they're publishing rubbish. Everything is really high quality. So you really need to make sure that what you're pitching is thoughtful, is considered, is relevant to them, but also then follow through on what you're promising. So you don't want to not fulfill your promise. You don't want to pitch yourself to a podcast host and then they come back and say, Great, are you available on these dates? And you're like, oh no, I'm actually overseas for two months. I can't do it until next year. Like that's not going to be helpful. So make sure you have some availability. Same goes with if you offer to write an article for someone, you know, have some capacity to then write that article if they say yes and deliver it to them in a timely manner, deliver it to them free of typos and errors and just be thoughtful and make it easy for them. I always like to say it's a bit like giving them everything on a platter so that it's really easy for them to say yes and then they they learn to trust you. They're like, okay, well, if you come back to them again in six months with another idea, it's probably more likely to be a yes because you delivered on what you promised last time. So it's relationship building basics, I guess, but it's just worth considering that the person receiving the pitch is a person, is a human. They're probably drowning in emails. So keep it short and to the point. Be really clear about what's in it for their audience, what's in it for their readers, their listeners, what's in it for them, and don't just make it all about what's in it for you. So it needs to be really clear that value exchange.
Speaker:Yeah, that's great advice. And look, it's basically make an effort, isn't it? Yeah. You know, because well, PR is like any aspect of marketing. You don't want a scattergun approach. You know, you're not just going to do it once and then you'll move on to, well, ideally, not do it once and then move on to the next thing. So you've got to make some effort and be intentional about well, where would I like to be published? Which podcasts would I like to be interviewed on? You know, and really give some strategic thought to it. So I think that's all really great advice. Okay. Now, are there any examples that you could share with us, even just one where it's a great case study of what, say, one of your clients has done or what you've done for one of your clients that got some really great results and maybe what do they do differently, or how did it all come together? Sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I've I've got plenty I could speak about, but I thought I would mention uh a client of mine. Her name's Sheree Mylordis, and she runs a leadership academy and she's a work futurist. So she's very much in that kind of consulting B2B space. And she I think is a great case study in that she has made a really, like you say, she's made an effort over a long time in terms of she's been consistent on LinkedIn to the point of becoming a top voice on LinkedIn. She, you know, is very thoughtful and considered in the content that she shares. But she's also very good, because she is a work futurist, she's also very good at like identifying things that are interesting in the world of work and the way that we work. And she's often, I guess, a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to identifying those things. She reads a lot, she's always reading international publications and trying to keep abreast of what's happening. And a few months ago, she identified this term conscious unbossing, which she'd seen, I think, in the US version of Forbes originally, that some research had come out about this term, conscious unbossing. And it was all about how people were moving away from wanting to become senior managers or to become the boss. They were looking at the person who was in charge of them and thinking, I don't want that. It looks really stressful. Um and I guess also a lot of people were like becoming managers just because that was the next step, but they weren't being supported in how to become that. So this kind of conscious unbossing idea was all around sort of maybe your career is going to move sideways rather than upwards. Maybe you're going to become a subject matter expert rather than a people leader. And it was just different ways of working. And it really lent itself to the work she does, which is all about helping organizations maybe think about non-traditional ways to structure their teams and their workforces. So it really tied in well with that idea. So we went to the AFR with the idea. We went to their work and careers editor and said, we've we've identified this trend and we've seen some things in Australia as well. And Cherie is well placed to speak about it. Mind you, we had pitched other ideas to them in the past that had fallen flat. But for this one, they said yes. And then they did this great piece with Cherie as the son of the lead expert. And then they had some case studies of other people who were conscious unbossing in their workplaces. But the reason I thought I'd mentioned it is because off the back of that, we then realized it was being spoken about on the Today show. A clip of the Today show talking about conscious unbossing ended up going viral on their TikTok and Instagram feeds. It had like millions of views.
Speaker:Oh wow.
Speaker 2:So then off the back of that, we contacted radio stations and we got her featured in the media speaking about this term. And I guess it was just, we almost created this, not the term itself, it was created by someone else, but the fact that she was savvy enough to sort of own it and adopt it and jump on that and say, here's why it's relevant, here's what's happening. She became the go-to person around that term. But it also just opened doors for her beyond that, in terms of just building that reputation, like she's now seen as she was already seen as a great expert and work futurist, but it was just a great example of how when you're quite proactive at looking at trends and and I think anyone could do that, depending on the business you're in or the industry you're in. If you're starting to observe something and you think, no one else is talking about this yet, but I think this is really interesting. If you can jump on that, that can mean that you're then known as the expert in that and it can lead to great media success. So I thought that would be a nice case study to share.
Speaker:Yeah, that's that. Well, it's such an interesting concept, number one. It really kind of grabs you because it's so interesting. And does she actually use that term?
Speaker 2:She now uses it in the academy that she runs, which is around, I guess, upskilling future leaders. So she has this Next Genify Academy she runs. So she incorporated, she kind of created a whole unit around what the term is and how it can impact us in our workforces. But it also, like I said, just sort of feeds into her idea that the future of work doesn't have to look like work looked 50 years ago or even 100 years ago. You know, often these hierarchies that we are operating in, maybe they don't make sense in a knowledge-based workforce, or maybe there are different ways of doing things. So I think it also just goes to show that if you are persistent and consistent, you can get great results. You know, it might not happen straight away, but for her, the fact that she had always put in the time and effort on LinkedIn, she'd connected with that journalist so that when I sent the pitch, they knew her name. Like it was, it all kind of came together beautifully to be a great win for her. And it definitely helped get her in front of new audiences. She saw a big jump up in terms of like the number of LinkedIn followers she had and that kind of thing. So yeah, it was interesting to see it all happening in real time after she'd worked so hard to lay those foundations and put in the effort, like you say.
Speaker:Yeah, that's a great case study. It's so interesting. Such an interesting concept. I'm gonna look it up. Yeah. Now, I think we've talked a lot about what PR is and how to make it work and making an effort doing PR outreach. Is there anything else that we need to cover on the flip side of you know what people do wrong when they're trying to do it themselves and they they do the wrong thing? Is it simply going back to what we said about not doing those sort of three steps, not listening to a podcast before you approach someone or not reading a publication or just not doing the research? Or is it bigger mistakes linked to their whole marketing strategy? What do they get wrong typically?
Speaker 2:Well, I think part of it I touched on before, a lot of the wasted effort I see from people doing their own PR is that they make it all about them and their business and they don't think about what's in it for the the journalist or the editor or their audience. So they think I'm amazing or my business is amazing or the work we do is amazing. And that might be true, but unfortunately that's not enough for a story unless you've maybe got, maybe you've done an amazing, you know, you've raised capital and you and you have got some great figures to share, and that could be a story in itself. But if it's just that we've got really happy clients and people like the work that we do, you know, that's not enough of a story. That's better spent in advertising, perhaps if you just want to send out a good a positive message without any kind of, I guess, value exchange in mind. So I think the big mistake I see is they they make it about themselves rather than about what's in it for the audience or what's in it for the editor or producer. But going back to what you said as well, with the disconnect with the marketing, that is definitely another big one. So I've seen people, you know, they've had great PR success, but they haven't, they haven't got a website or any way for you to then find out more or connect with them or take that next step. So it starts to feel a bit a bit like a wasted effort. Or they do have a presence, but like I said before, it's just a bit confusing, you know, speaking. To someone the other day who was working with a big, uh, fairly big client, and they were saying that they weren't having great traction once people got to the website. They would see these stories and like what they were seeing, but when they got to the website, they just assumed they were in the wrong place because the look and feel was completely different, um, the message was different. So they could see that they could track that even from places like their social media posts, they were getting great interest. But then when people had got to the website, they were just dropping away. So that disconnect, you know, as I said before, we're all time poor. So if you are interested in something and it's not easy for you to take that next step, then that's going to be a bit of a lost opportunity. And then finally, it's just I think people sometimes feel a little bit whether it's a reluctance or whether it's just uh not getting around to it, but they don't make the effort to then showcase the success they're having in their PR efforts. Uh, so you know, I know it's hard sometimes to think, you know, I'm I'm here sort of showponying around my own success, but like I think it's really important to, if you are featured in the media, share that on LinkedIn or share the story behind how it happened, or you know, share the podcast that you were on, because not only does it add to that success halo around you and your business, but it also is really appreciated by the podcast hosts if you're sharing a clip from the podcast or sharing the fact that you were on there. It's appreciated by the editors if you're sharing the piece that you were featured in because it helps them get into potentially get in front of new eyes as well. So it sort of builds that momentum for yourself. And then I know my clients who have been sharing their success in the media, then a lot of people will start saying to them, Oh, it looks like you're really doing so well at the moment and you're everywhere. But you know, it's just because they're amplifying those opportunities. So don't forget that final step, I think.
Speaker:Yeah, I like that. Amplify. Okay, so um, for those people who are listening and considering PR, maybe for the first time, what are some simple first steps they can take toward PR and getting some media coverage for their business or their brand?
Speaker 2:So I think coming full circle to what we said at the beginning, Jenny, but those foundations. So have you got a LinkedIn profile? Is it up to date? Is it working for you? Like, is it something you're proud to share with someone if they were connected with you or if you sent a connection request to a journalist? Do you have a bio that's ready to go? You know, I always say to people, have various versions of your bio as well, or maybe have a base version that you can tweak. The one I shared with you for the podcast today, I intentionally shared a really short version because I know it can be quite onerous reading, reading long bios, um, you know, even if there is a lot of great content. So I'm so grateful. I mean, having those things ready is it just makes your life easier too when you do start to maybe get some traction on your PR efforts. If someone says to you, can you send me a photo of yourself and a bio, then it's an easy, you know, copy and paste or a quick attach rather than a, oh, I better better write something about myself. Where do I start? And looking at the blank page or getting AI to generate something that you're not actually that happy with. So I think having those foundations ready to go can be really important. And then I would also just say start to pay attention to where other people are being featured. So that comes back to that idea of being quite active on LinkedIn, but also looking at where are your competitors appearing? What kind of podcasts are people you look up to or respect in your industry? What are they appearing on? Are there people who have similar expertise to you? What kind of platforms are they sharing on? Where are they being featured? And just start to keep a little running list of those places because they're probably ideal for your stories as well. So that when you do feel ready to take that first step and maybe connect with someone or offer them a story, you've kind of got a good feel for the kinds of places that would work for you. And that you you can even say, you know, oh, I saw you feature Jenny recently, and um I work in a complimentary field on XYZ, and I wondered if you'd also be interested in featuring me. You know, that can be a nice in sometimes because it also shows that you're paying attention and putting in the effort. So I think just start to be aware of what other people are doing, not saying you'd want to just copycat what your competitors are doing, but just pay attention and see, okay, maybe they've been featured somewhere, or maybe they've been featured in a top 50 business leaders supplement, and you think, okay, I want to go for that next year and mark it in your diary. So just start to pay attention. It starts small. Eat the elephant one bite at a time, as they say. It doesn't have to be front page news straight away. It can just be small opportunities that build to something bigger, but they're also a great way to practice speaking about yourself and your business.
Speaker:Yeah, great advice. Great advice. And the last question I want to ask you was, you know, it's kind of a big question. The evolution of PR over the next few years, you know, we've got a lot of digital and online marketing, personal branding is now huge. You know, everyone has to raise their personal brand. AI is obviously in the mix. And it's interesting what we've talked about, uh, you know, being intentional, putting in the effort, doing the research, building relationships. I think that still applies, but I'm not a PR expert. How do you see PR trends changing or evolving over the next few years? You know, with the way the market is now, and particularly with AI, do you see that it's going to make PR harder for people? Or do you think it's going to make it easier for those who are intentional and put in the effort? What's your take on that in terms of where it's heading?
Speaker 2:It's such an interesting time, isn't it? And I I do wish I had a crystal ball, but from where I'm sitting, I think AI is actually a really welcome addition to the PR landscape, in that I think in a lot of ways it's almost democratizing the way that people can take advantage of PR opportunities. So I know even a few years ago, if I was working with an expert or a thought leader and we secured an article for them, they would often then ask me to ghost write it for them once I'd interviewed them, for example, because writing just wasn't a s a strength of theirs. Whereas I think today with AI and being able to brief it well, you can actually create a pretty good article. You know, you can I think you can obviously you obvious probably need to tweak it and make sure it sounds like you, but I think in a lot of ways that's been a great thing for people because it's meant you can get your expertise to onto the page more easily without having to feel like you have to be a journalist or a writer to do so. Not to undermine the work of professional writers and journalists. I think they have a really important place still, but I think AI can be quite a I don't know, field leveler in terms of people being able to access ways of writing. But also AI and PR have a really interesting relationship at the moment. We're finding that a lot of AI search results. So whether that's through your Google searches, when the AI results come up at this at the top of your search, or whether that's when you're actually using a tool like ChatGPT and asking it for recommendations, it is often pulling from reputable sites, and often those are media sites. So I had a client who worked with me a few years ago. We had some great traction in the marketing media, which is the space that she's in. And she found that ChatGPT was pulling from those articles and recommending her business because you know, someone was saying what kind of, you know, recommend a content marketing agency in Sydney, for example, it was finding like she could link back that the sources were coming from those articles. So I think people are now looking to PR and seeing, oh wow, this earned media coverage is actually really helpful in an AI world because it is being prioritized by those platforms when they're looking for those sources and answers. So if your name or your business is being featured in those reputable websites, media websites, that's going to be great for your AI searchability. I think also AI can be a great thinking partner, brainstorming partner. I mean, just to go back to the conscious unbossing example I used before with Cherie, at the height of that, her son put a question into Chat GPT about conscious unbossing, and her name came up in the answer, which was pretty mind-blowing to us all. But it just goes to show that you can appear in it in that way. But also if you have some ideas, and maybe if you're working on your own or your team are not available to brainstorm with you, you can start to have a bit of a brainstorm with your AI tool. You know, it's still your ideas and expertise, but it can help you finesse those. You can even say to it, you know, I've got this idea, I think it'll make a great article. Here's the outlet I was thinking of pitching it to. Have you got any suggestions on how I could improve my pitch or anything else you think I should add? I find it still sounds like AI. Like I wouldn't copy and paste that directly into the email. You want to put in that effort, but it might be a good starting point for you to again just take away the overwhelm and help not feel like you're just looking at that blank email, not knowing where to start. So I think it can be really useful, but I guess like with most tools, approach with caution because you also don't want to be known as someone that's just sending AI slop, as they call it, generated slough out on email to people and wasting their time. So yeah, still take a thoughtful approach. But I think it's interesting to see how it's impacting the industry. I mean, even a year from now, things might look completely different. But I think the main thing is just to stay curious and be open and keep experimenting. And yeah, it's not going to replace, I think, relationship building and intentional connection as exactly as you said. So we still need that more than ever.
Speaker:Yeah. I think that's fantastic advice. And I love the fact that you know, people can come up in AI searches if you are consistently doing, you know, content around a subject matter. And also, you know, you said earlier that if a journalist comes back and says, Yeah, I'd love an article by next Friday or whatever, you need to be able to deliver that. You can't sit there and go, Oh God, what am I going to write about? So, you know, using AI as a tool to help speed things up I guess is another incentive, if you like, to focus on PR and earned media because it's easier to do from a content perspective.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just removing removing some of those barriers to entry, I guess. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:Look, this has been fantastic advice, it really has. And we're obviously going to put your contact details in the show notes so people can get in touch with you. So you work with your clients to help take them through some of the things that we've talked about here in terms of the foundations, the strategy, and then the intentional relationship building and outreach to get the sort of results also that we've talked about. So it's been fantastic. Thank you so much. And um yeah, we'll have all your contact details in the show notes for everyone.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much, Jenny. I really appreciate it. It's been really joyful speaking with you about this. It's my favorite topic, so I really appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker:I can tell it's your favourite topic. Thanks, Sarah. It's been great. Talk soon. That's all for today's episode of the 7% Club. Thank you so much for listening. And as always, wherever you are in the world, remember better strategy, better business, better life.