PR Strategy – Christine McAlister
SUMMARY
In this episode with Christine McAlister, a success, and business coach, she’s going to talk about PR strategy and pro-level tips to increase your chances of getting into publications and podcasts.
If you don’t think you’re ready to get some PR, give it a try because it can quickly create a compound effect on your business.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Free PR ways that will help you grow your businessDiscover pro-level tips to increase your chances of getting into publications and podcasts
Know the two tips to build your list
Learn how creating a customized podcast pitch makes a difference
Importance of following up and creating deep relationships
Know when is the best time to get PR
TRANSCRIPTION: PR STRATEGY – CHRISTINE MCALISTER
Luis Congdon
Hey, Thriving Launchers. Today, we’re going to talk about PR strategy and how to get it free on podcast sand major publications. We’ll be diving in deep so stay tuned.
Kamala Chambers
We are here with success and business coach, Christine McAlister.
Maybe you’ve seen her on Morning Today or Thrive Global. We’re excited to have her on the show.
Luis Congdon
Hey there, Thriving Launchers. We are here with Christine.
Christine, are you ready to launch?
Christine McAlister
Let’s do it!
Luis Congdon
One of the first things I want to dive in is why PR? Why is it crucial to learn PR strategy?
Why is that something that you enjoy talking about? What’s the importance of it for a business owner? And maybe that seems obvious.
I know a lot of us want to use a PR strategy so we could just talk about more, how do even get started with PR if we don’t have any?
Christine McAlister
It’s such a great question.
PR Strategy – Start With Passion
Christine McAlister
I became passionate about it myself out and I took in my own business. When I started with passion, I was running Facebook ads to get my first clients, and I had come from running a successful online marketing business, and so, I knew how to run Facebook ads. I was a fixed Facebook ads expert.
But, what I found is that I was spending way too much per client for the stage in my business, and it wound up eating into my profitability. I decided that there had to be a better way and that I was going to find it.
And so, I decided to delve into the world of publicity and PR with like you said; zero features to my name, zero expertise, and knowledge on how to do it, but just an interest. That’s how I got started.
PR Strategy to Get It Free
Christine McAlister
I decided that I wanted to start with podcasting, being a podcast guest expert, and I love to write. And so, I decided I wanted to get featured on some of the places where I had seen friends and colleagues get featured, and that I dreamed of getting featured too, and that is where it began.
About nine months or ten months in as of the time of this recording, within that time I managed to double my audience, my income, my client base without spending a dollar on marketing in 2017.
I’m super passionate about publicity and PR, and how it can grow your business in a way that feels good and works for you.
Kamala Chambers
So the free PR strategy that you’ve utilized the most is getting into publications and getting onto podcasts?
Christine McAlister
Correct.
Kamala Chambers
Can you give us some tips on how you recommend people to get started in getting into some publications?
Christine McAlister
Sure.
PR Strategy – Know Where Your Niche Is Hanging Out
Christine McAlister
I think it’s first important to find out where your target market or niche is hanging out as a PR strategy. I think a lot of times, we can over complicate that and say, “Oh, I have to do this huge amount of Googling,” or “This huge amount of research.”
But I think the first thing to ask is where do you enjoy consuming content and how do you like to consume? It’s because I believe even the type of medium is essential. Are you consuming print? Is your niche consuming print? Are they consuming digitally on their phone or a laptop or desktop?
First starting to look at those things, and then perhaps just doing some informal pulse research to ask your people what their favorite blogs are, what their favorite sites are, and looking at their contribution guidelines. Those are some PR strategy that you can use.
I think a lot of times we think it has to be a much harder thing, a much bigger job to get published than it is.
PR Strategy – Providing Quality Content
Christine McAlister
Most publications are looking for a quality content that provides value all the time. That can be a great way to establish your credibility as well as connect with people, build your lists, and to work with your cold and warm, and even hot market to move them further down the funnel.
Kamala Chambers
I’d love to hear some pro-level tips about PR strategy.
So if we already have all that other stuff dialed in, I’d like to hear from both, you and Luis because Luis is a writer for a lot of different publications, what are some pro-level tips on how to get into those publications?
Christine McAlister
Sure.
Luis, do you want to go first or do you want me to?
Luis Congdon
You go for it.
Christine McAlister
Okay.
PR Strategy – Establish Rapport
Christine McAlister
I started with The Huffington Post because that was one of my dream publications, and they were accepting writers at that time. And I found a commonality that I had with Arianna, which is that we both experienced stillbirth. It’s a pregnancy lost where you even have to go on to deliver the baby because you’re so advance in your pregnancy.
And so, I had felt a connection to her because of that experience, and I wrote an article about it and emailed her directly with a short email that just said, “Hey, I want to contribute in this way. Here’s what I’d like to write about.” Then, I received a direct response from her within 24 hours.
And then, I went on to go on to her next publication Thrive Global after she had sold The Huffington Post, which is connected to Medium, which is a great platform that had been recommended to me by some other people. I’ve used those two together, and they are accepting applications, or they are accepting contributors.
Grow Lists With PR Strategy
Christine McAlister
I think that what I have found is including a simple call to action that’s aligned with the way that people are consuming content; in this case, they’re reading an article, so I offered them the chance to download a PDF as my freebie to opt-in to my list. And then I’m making sure that I write consistently about a few different topics. Those two tips have steadily grown my list, and also have led to at least one of my articles going mini-viral, where it got enough traction that it was picked up by Thrive.
They put it on Arianna’s Facebook business page and her Twitter feed which had a combined audience of four million and wound up getting me from that article alone a lot of leads.
And so, I would say, it’s showing up consistently.
Luis Congdon
I think those are all solid tips about PR strategy that Christine gave.
PR Strategy – Research About Different Publications Works
Luis Congdon
I think if I were going to add anything, I would say one of the things you should if you want to write for a magazine publication is to read it, spend some time with it, understand what they tend to write about, what kind of language and styles they tend to like. Do they like a lot of links to external resources? What kind of languaging are they using? Are they using a lot of quotes?
Look at their formats before you ever sit down to write an article for them. The other thing I would highly recommend after that is find out who the editors are so that you can pitch the editor directly instead of going to the contribution page.
The other PR strategy I would highly recommend to people is, even if you might want to go big right away, I have to recommend, start with some of the smaller and easier to get into publications so that you have social proof, and then build up from there and move up the ladder.
Christine McAlister
I love those. Those are awesome.
PR Strategy – Getting On Podcasts
Kamala Chambers
I’d like to talk a little bit about podcasts, and this is great because I love how it’s like a dialog. Luis, you book people on shows, we get a lot of people on our shows.
What do you guys think about getting on podcasts? What are some pro-level tips on how to get that going?
Christine McAlister
I would recommend starting similarly to look at; Are you a podcast listener? Are your people podcast listeners? Assuming both of those are a Yes, what are some of your favorite podcasts? What are some of your audience’s preferred podcast if you have done zero.
PR Strategy – Start Small
Christine McAlister
Then, I agree with Luis as a tip to start small because you don’t want to get on a big show that has a stringent structure and a lot of pressure, and have no idea what you’re doing. That could be detrimental to you.
Christine McAlister
And you get to start learning how many times you say filler words like the word “like” or “um” when you listen back to yourself and start improving that because it is the scale. Like anything else, just getting comfortable in these scenarios and learning also to leverage them, share them with your audience, learn how these people promote to their audience’s well. I think from there, it just builds, but also creating a pitch that is customized to that show.
PR Strategy – Get On Shows With A High Success Rate
Christine McAlister
That’s one of the reasons why I have a high success rate with getting on shows. It’s because I take the time to dive in, to listen to episodes ahead of time, to show up prepared, to do my best to build a relationship with the people I’m spending time within this interviews and to give good value to their audience, and know what their audience mainly wants. When you reflect that in your pitch, people pay attention.
I used to be a career counselor and one of the things that I said the most was you can’t just take the same resume and upload it to every site, and every job description like it applies to everyone.
PR Strategy – Make How To Create A Podcast Pitch
Christine McAlister
You want to rewrite your resume every time to make it clear how you are an excellent fit for that job, and the same is true with a podcast pitch.
That’s huge. Making it easy on the host, and then showing up delivering great value, and I would also say, being willing to follow up afterward.
Everybody who I appear on a podcast with gets a gift from me, and it’s a small gift. It’s not a big deal. I usually send a box of tea from a local entrepreneur here, but it’s a gesture.
PR Strategy – Follow Up
Christine McAlister
Then, I like to follow up, and I want to make sure that we have the opportunity to create that relationship because this person that you’re connecting are influencers. Even if it’s a small show, they’re passionate about what they’re doing.
Luis Congdon
Those are all great pieces of advice.
Thriving Launchers, you might want to hit rewind and play that again.
PR Strategy – Provide Value to Podcast Hosts
Luis Congdon
If I was going to add one more PR strategy, it is let the host know how it’s going to benefit them to have you on their show. A lot of people talk about how it’s going to benefit their audience, but they’re also looking at how it’s going to help them.
When I write people, I might mention that “Hey, I’m a writer for all these different places. I’m planning to write an article on some of the best podcast to be on, and this is part of the reason why I’m going on shows, so there’s a potential benefit there.” No promises but that might be something you might include. That’s just an example. It’s not something I’ve done, but it’s an example.
You might also mention how many followers you have on social media, what kind of engagement you have that you’re willing to share the show and that you left a rating and review. Also, you can include that you’ve already let some of your fans know or that you know some people that you think would be great, and some guests that might be great, and targeting that in such a way.
PR Strategy – Think Of what’s In It for the Host
Luis Congdon
For example, if I wanted to be on Luis’s house show, I might look at his roster and go, “He probably would love to have Hugh Jackman on there.” and I happen to know Hugh, so I could write him and say, “Hey, I know him. If you give me a spot on your show, and I have a good experience, I’ll send it to Hugh and help push that along if that’s something that interests you.”
Trying to think of what’s in it for the host is another way you can add to the benefit, and to increase the likelihood that you get on a show.
I think it’s a great PR strategy to get on shows. Any PR is excellent, and when you’re first starting, the more, the merrier.
Christine McAlister
Yes, I love those tips as well.
Kamala Chambers
Before we go, is there any last tip you want to give the Thriving Launchers that they can go out and apply today?
Start Using PR Strategy Regardless Where You Are Right Now
Christine McAlister
I think it’s to start even if you don’t quite feel ready right now.
I think a lot of times we think we need to be somebody different or to have a much bigger platform or to have X, Y, and Z before we start getting publicity. But I think publicity is the thing that can get us those things; more clients, a bigger audience, more credibility.
And so, giving yourself permission to start with where you are right now, and that small is totally fine, and done is so much better than waiting around for it to be perfect.
Give PR Strategy A Try
Christine McAlister
Be willing to give it a try because the worst thing that can happen is just that you won’t have any PR, and if you don’t have any PR right now, then nothing’s lost. You can very quickly create a compound effect for yourself, your business, and your revenue by starting small. And maybe by working on this just one hour a week, and quickly capitalizing, and then repurposing in a lot of different ways; the publications you submit to, the interviews you do, and the results you get.
Luis Congdon
There you have it, Thriving Launchers, go out there and get some PR. It’s important you utilize a PR strategy.
People are waiting for you to come on their show. There are magazine articles, publications that are waiting to have you share your voice and share your talent, and it doesn’t have to be difficult. We’re both living proof of it, Kamala’s living proof of it.
PR Strategy – Start Your Podcast
Luis Congdon
One way you can do that too is by starting your podcast. That also makes you an influencer and helps you have some credibility.
Whatever works for you guys, I want you to get out there, start sharing yourselves because the world is waiting to hear from you.
Thriving Launchers, we’ll see you on the next episode, and until next time, keep thriving you all.
Hi Christine – I heard you on JLD E on fire and really enjoyed your business model. You mentioned you only coach women, do you make exceptions to help men transition from there 9 to 5 job to an entrepreneurial career?
Hello Brent! I can see you want to reach out to Christine. Her website is located in the Must-Have Resources of this page. Thank you for tuning in and dropping by here in Thriving Launch.