Amplify Your Brand with Strategic Media Moves

Unlock the potential of your freelance business with the power of local media coverage and public relations, guided by our special guest, Mickie Kennedy, a media maven since 1998. Mickie shares his wealth of knowledge on how freelancers can stand out in a digital age dominated by online visibility. Discover why earned media still holds a unique appeal and learn effective strategies for grabbing the attention of journalists. We unpack the art of crafting press-worthy content through industry surveys and studies, offering practical insights on how to ask the right questions and deliver surprising findings that captivate media outlets. Mickie further explores the nuances of press release distribution, providing invaluable advice on creating impactful quotes that can enhance your chances of making headlines.

Join the conversation as we explore the untapped potential of engaging with local media to amplify your community presence. Uncover creative strategies for pitching ideas to TV, radio, and free weekly papers, and learn the value of a compelling quote paired with striking photos. We delve into the evolving landscape of the U.S. newswire industry, shedding light on the challenges and shifts affecting media exposure. From the pitfalls of syndication services to the allure of genuine earned media, gain a comprehensive understanding of how to attract truly interested customers without resorting to paid placements. Tune in and transform your approach to local media engagement, leveraging these insights to elevate your business visibility and credibility.

Chapters

• 0:00 Local Media Coverage With Mickey Kennedy
• 9:53 Maximizing Local Media Opportunities
• 19:15 Earning Media Opportunities With PR

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast with your host, chris Anderson. In this show, chris and his guests will share their knowledge and experience on how to go from zero to successful entrepreneur. They have built their businesses from scratch and are now ready to give back to those who are just starting. Let's get ready to learn, grow and elevate our businesses. And now your host, chris Anderson.

Speaker 2: 0:24

Welcome back to another recording of the Elevate Media Podcast. I'm Chris Anderson, your host, and if you're a freelancer photographer, videographer or another freelance individual trying to build your thing into a team where you're not doing it all, you know visibility is a big part of that Getting the word out about what you do, adding value in your community, so people know who you are, they like you and they're going to trust you and come to you for work. So we're bringing on a guest today to talk just about that how to DIY local media coverage, getting that PR going and I'm super excited to have this guest on today. He's been doing this since 1998, so he knows a little bit about it, right? So get ready if you're looking to grow, get more leads locally through PR and media, this episode's for you.

Speaker 2: 1:12

So, mickey Kennedy, welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast today. Thanks for having me. Absolutely Super excited to have this chat with you, this conversation. So, yeah, we're in the day and age, digital right, social media, everything's online, emails, things of that nature but you would argue that it's still beneficial to get out there in your community with media and PR. Is that right?

Speaker 3: 1:40

Correct. I believe very strongly that earned media is one of the best ways to help your business. I've been doing it for a really long time. A lot of people challenge and say that press releases don't work anymore, and I'm the first to agree that 97% of press releases that are out there press releases that are going over a real wire are not getting earned media, and you know. My answer to that is look at the 3% of press releases that are generating earned media and are there patterns? Are there strategic types of releases that you could be doing that are meaningful and are going to give you a much more likely chance of success and are going to give you a much more likely chance of success? And you know, for example, the one type of press release that I've never had fail when I've coached someone through it is to do a survey or study within your industry. And that sounds like a huge ask, but it's very simple. It's just a matter of putting together a few questions. I like SurveyMonkey. I usually do four questions per page, so I do three to four pages, 12 to 16 questions.

Speaker 3: 2:50

Ask questions that are really timely. What's going on right now in your industry, what are the questions you would ask others and competitors at a conference Like, hey, have you noticed this or that? Network with people, go to LinkedIn, ask people, hey, if I was to conduct a survey of our industry right now, what are some of the questions you would ask? Ask those questions. Also. Look at, you know, what's going on overall. You know, it seems like workplaces have transformed post-pandemic, where a lot of people don't want to go into the office anymore. So, you know, are you having challenges with culture? Are you having challenges hiring people? You know, are you having trouble with management trying to adapt to these new sort of demands and requests by people? So, you know, just look for those types of things there's. Also, you know, ai is really hot. You know, is AI a threat to your industry? Hot, you know, is AI a threat to your industry? You can ask people, you know, hey, do you believe that AI is going to, you know, put you out of a job in the next five years or something along those lines? So you know, then, when you've got the survey results, you're going to pick what was the biggest surprise there, what's the biggest aha, and you're going to lead with that and write a press release about predominantly that question and you're not going lead with that and write a press release about predominantly that question and you're not going to ignore all the other questions. You're going to put them on a page on your website. You're going to link to it in the press release.

Speaker 3: 4:12

There may be the opportunity to mention another data point in the press release, but I generally focus the one specific question on that press release, the biggest surprise there. And you're going to have an amazing quote and by amazing I mean you know it could be like how creative you are, wordsmith. Or it could just be saying something so tight and so strong and paraphrase so well and powerfully that it just resonates that quote and if a journalist was to take that quote out, there'd be a loss. You know an ache in that article that they write. So really make that quote meaningful and generally when we do that and we send it out, usually we get eight to 14 articles earned to media. These are articles that journalists wrote and drafted based on your press release. It's not your press release replicated on websites. That is a distraction, that's syndication, that's not really important and that really works. You know, the biggest pushback I get from this is I don't know who to send that survey to. So you get a link from SurveyMonkey.

Speaker 3: 5:22

You then approach a smaller independent trade association in your industry, and there are many. I've had people push back and say well, for example, I had one person say Mickey, in our industry there's over 470 US trade associations in addition to PRSA that are out there and some of them are very small and very esoteric, like Florida PR firms or Mid-Atlantic, but there are some that are quite robust. I think there was one for PR firms of 50 employees or less, and that's the bulk of PR firms across the US. You know, I don't know that if we interviewed a really giant PR firm that there'd be one person there capable of speaking for the entire firm anyways. So I think that you know, find one that's independent and small and you just approach them and say, hey, could you send this link to your members? In exchange, I'll mention you in a press release I'll be issuing over PR Newswire. And when you tell them that you know they're much more likely to see this as a win for them. Potentially they could get some media pickup. They're small and independent, so not a lot of people know about them. They don't get a lot of media attention, unlike the large trade associations. So by approaching them they'll often see it as a win-win. It works about two-thirds of the time that the first place that we approach will say yes, and so that's it. I mean, that's all that's involved and that can generate incredible media pickup for you, and I've never had that fail the least I've ever had someone I've coached that went through it was four articles but they were very sort of esoteric. They were in the biometric industry, so it was a very specialized industry, and they were thrilled with the results because they got four pickups in very, very specialized trade publications and they were very happy. And so there are ways to attack PR and be meaningful and to break it down.

Speaker 3: 7:32

For a lot of people who are looking for local media, I say don't use someone like me, don't pay someone for local media. If you think about it, there is probably less than a dozen individuals who could write about you and your market. 12 people, that's 12 people for you to network and get to know. So start doing your homework. Look at your local paper. Who covers your industry? What writer is more likely to cover your industry? Over time that you've noticed Maybe you have to subscribe to the print publication or maybe they have an online one that you can look at. And do your research Once you've identified that person, see if their email address is online.

Speaker 3: 8:14

If it's not, call and ask and you know a lot of people feel like, oh, can you do that? Yeah, these are not celebrities, these are members of your community. They are news media. They may ask what you want the email address for and just say hey, I'm a local business and I'd like to pitch this person with some ideas I have over time. Sometimes they'll just forward you to their phone line. You can leave a message. Just keep following up until you get that email address. I've had one person say the guy just said, okay, pitch me right now. And I'm like well, what I would say in that case is I don't have my pitch all together right now. I'm a shy English major type. I prefer putting my stuff in writing and overthinking it. So I really would love to get that email address and be able to send that over to you, and usually that amuses them and they'll do it. But it's usually not difficult and this is something you only have to do once for each publication until someone else comes in, that would be a better fit.

Speaker 3: 9:16

Uh, if you're lucky enough to have a business magazine or business newspaper we kind of have both in the Baltimore market Um, if you're, uh, you know, more of a, a consumer, uh, working mostly with individuals and people, um, you know, are there magazines, uh, that uh are in your market? That would be a good fit. Uh, we have Baltimore Magazine, which is sort of a upper scale lifestyle magazine. So if you're, you know, a wedding photographer or doing family stuff and things like that, that would be a fit. If you do a lot of commercial stuff, or even both, you know, the business magazines would also be a good fit.

Speaker 3: 9:53

Also, you know, look at TV and radio. Are there opportunities for you to brainstorm there, things that you could do? Like, you know, maybe there is an event that you've put together that would really create good audio or video and you know, pitch it appropriately If it's video. You know, approach the TV stations, the news stations, and if you've ever seen a segment on there where they've done something similar, where they've gone to a charity event, where people are cutting people's hair for donations or something like that which I have seen before, ask who the producer or booker of that segment is, and get their email address and then pitch them something that you're doing that's really creative and community minded and more, more visual. So it would be really good to get some video footage of it. You know, and with radio the same sort of approach can work. You're just going to ask for who you would pitch something like this, what you have an idea to, and then try to get their email address. But if not, feel free to pitch over the phone, put together your thoughts and go there.

Speaker 3: 11:08

When you are pitching these people, you do not have to have a prepared press release. All you need is a few sentences, just the idea, the nugget of what you're doing. You may want to add a quote, and I do recommend that you add a quote, because a journalist who looks at an idea and then sees an amazing quote that's really strong and powerful, they can sort of visualize an article around that, and so that really helps them sort of put the pieces together and see what they see, what they're working with. And then you know, don't discount free weekly papers either. A lot of these are neighborhood specific, but those are really great avenues for, you know, reaching out to them.

Speaker 3: 11:50

In this case, I might suggest something different, where maybe you write an article yourself about a particular subject matter that you know, maybe it's heading into wedding season and you've got some tips on wedding photography and you know things like that. Like you know, a lot of weddings will have professional photography, but then they also have, you know, qr codes where people can share stuff on Google Photos or something like that, and they get candid shots or maybe some tips that you can provide your guests and things like that. So, when it comes to these weekly free papers, they are low on content. They are focused on just getting ads and then content as an afterthought.

Speaker 3: 12:33

And I've had many clients who have approached these free papers and said hey, I'd like to do a monthly column and I get a byline and a little sentence about my business at the end and they mostly say yes because it's free content for them. The pushback they often get is you know, could you do a weekly column? And I say no, no, no, no, don't obligate yourself to a weekly. But what you'll realize is that, as you, you know, do communication and sharing, which is a great. You know a lot of content.

Speaker 3: 13:09

Maybe it's as little as you know 350 to as many as like 500, 600 words, you know, on a monthly basis. You're just providing some good tips and resources for your community and it may not work, you know, especially well for photographers and videographers and things like that. But for other people and other businesses I've had it work really well everything from dentists to chiropractors to people who are on wellness and fitness instructors and things like that. So perhaps you know being creative and thinking. Maybe you can find something that you could do with that. But just realize that you know people do peruse these weekly papers even though they're free, and if they see you and they get familiar with you and they get drawn in over time, you know when they do have a need they're much more likely to reach out to you and recognize you.

Speaker 2: 13:59

Yeah, and I think this is like and so you collect the data. Basically, to recap this collect data from people in your market to get those answers, get those questions that you could possibly write the press release about. Grab a good title quote for that press release and have the relationship built with these journalists, with these papers, to be able to send that to them. Is that correct?

Speaker 3: 14:23

yeah, but like I said, with local media, you really don't even have to go through the effort of an entire press release. You can get away with just a pitch which is a few sentences and have a quote. If you have some images and photos, be sure to include a couple of those or links to those. A lot of people are posting their stuff online, even if they're still print, and so having some images can really give you an edge, because these journalists know that an article that they write that also features a really good photo or image is going to really bring in and create more, better user experience for their audience, and they'll definitely consider you over someone else who doesn't have that. So be really creative and come up with something that you know some images or video that works really well. I find the media is using video a bit less than photos, so I would probably be more photo centric with these Gotcha.

Speaker 2: 15:24

Is there a reason why they're more photo centric versus having video clips on there?

Speaker 3: 15:32

I've gotten lots that the attorneys and legal counsel to a lot of publications have said. You know, when we read, when we write an original article, we know it's ours, the copyright is ours. It's a little bit harder to say if someone just steals the video that we've edited. Is it ours or not? Because we live in a culture and stuff like that where everything's taken and stuff like that. But I think that's silly because they'll take photos and photos are the same photos that everybody else has used. They've been doing that for years, no-transcript, and that'll mean that there'll be more opportunities for people to, you know, use videos and add it to their pitches and press releases and potentially there could be a time in the future where the entire pitch and press release is in a video format and, uh, I think that's really exciting and cool yeah, I think it's.

Speaker 2: 17:00

It'll be interesting to see how it grows because I think, you know, all the traditional media has happened to adapt a little bit right with everything going on and and so it'll be interesting to see how that shift happens and where they go with. You know, I've seen a lot of online journals like doing like a paywall system with their articles now, probably because of that shift. Do you see that? Do you see that being a hindrance to, you know, traditional media with the paywalls and things like that?

Speaker 3: 17:29

I mean, I think it does limit the number of people that potentially could see your article. But I also think that a paywall sort of enhances the value of it and the audience they do have is more protective of it. So I know, for example, that when someone reads an article in, say, the Wall Street Journal, which is paywalled, they feel like it has more credibility than something that just appears in Huffington Post where anyone can go and see it. So I think there's a little bit more of a cachet or value assumed because it is, you know, sort of paywalled. But I don't know, I feel like it's a mixed bag. I think one of the good things is that where we get our media is evolving and changing and, at least in the case of news wires in the US we have a duopoly where it's PR news wire and business wire that account for probably 95% of all press releases that are issued over a wire, releases that are issued over a wire, and so if you're you know reaching them, you know it does go to a lot of these new media. I know that I follow a guy on TikTok called Snackalator that does a weekly roundup of snacks hitting grocery store shelves and he pulls all of his photos. He says you know directly from the press releases on the Wire, so you know he's utilizing it. There's a lot of fashion influencers on Instagram who use the Wire to get a sneak peek of stuff as soon as it hits and are able to share things like that. So you know who we consider. Media is changing and I think that's a fun thing, and it's becoming a little more diversified.

Speaker 3: 19:15

What I don't like is the fact that you fact that there really is only two wires in the US. There was a third one that was making inroads, but over the last 10 years, because the journalism and newspapers have consolidated and run on hard times, they they've uh, uh, you know, requiring journalists to, instead of write two articles a week, maybe two articles a day, and so they're expected to do more for less, and they just weren't willing to go to a third newswire to hunt for stories, so it just made that third newswire have to pivot um to basically just meet sec's SEC disclosure requirements for publicly traded companies and you know, and also sort of tell their smaller publicly traded companies do you really want journalists looking very carefully at your financials? So if not, use us and you'll save money. So that's it.

Speaker 3: 20:10

In addition, there's a lot of wires out there and companies with wire in their name, but they're not news wires, they're not going to journalists, they're mostly in that syndication game where the press release gets replicated on a few websites and I mentioned that that's not the goal and that's a distraction. The locations that these press releases get on websites are not places that people see them, are not places that people see them and if you go to those news outlets, 95% of the time and do a search, your press release won't show up because it's not part of their content management system. It's usually just a subdomain where these releases are just dumped in an RSS feed, mostly by headlines, and it really is a distraction. And sure, it might be as cheap as $59 or $99, but you're not going to get the transformative results opportunity that you do when a real journalist looks at you, your release and writes an article about you.

Speaker 3: 21:05

I mean, I've had people who've, you know, got picked up in waste management trade publication and generated 30, $40 million in revenue. You know we have a case study on our website for an initiative that was set up shortly during the pandemic to help restaurants that were closed generated over 10 million dollars in revenue and over 100 articles. Um, um, you know, major places picked it up as well as, like you know, many, many dozens of small newspapers across the country and, uh, you know, all by just hitting send and paying 349 dollars, uh, you know, to go over a real wire. All of our releases go out through PR Newswire and they go out nationally, which the wire itself charges over $1,600 for, and with us it's like a third to 40% of the actual retail price.

Speaker 2: 21:58

Yeah, and that's interesting because I've seen it just in my inboxes on social media, people are like hey, we'll get you in Forbes, We'll get you your article and all this. Is that what you're meaning? Like the subdomains, they just kind of dump it and it's not actually in there.

Speaker 3: 22:10

So the the, the paid placement's a little bit different, um, and in the case of Forbes, um, you're going on a location that used to be dedicated to guest bloggers on Forbes and, uh, it's still sort of set up with that way, but it's sort of like they pay Forbes to have that opportunity and then they get customers that pay them to sort of cover the costs and stuff like that. Again, those aren't locations on Forbes that are very easily searchable. They're not the main places that people look on Forbes and they're not the print publication. And it's gotten to the point that when I'm in a room with marketers and someone mentions that they got in Forbes, we all just sort of roll our eyes and just know that someone paid anywhere from $700 to $1,500 or up to get in there. And it's not real earned media and you might be able to fake some people with the logo because maybe non-marketers aren't aware that it's just a paid placement. But I think it's really devalued the Forbes brand. I also think that it's not the focus because you know, for that money you could do three releases with me and potentially, if you're doing meaningful releases, get a lot of media pickup.

Speaker 3: 23:22

Meaningful releases, get a lot of media pickup and going back to strategic types of releases, I have an entire free masterclass dedicated to that. It's very digestible, it's less than an hour long video and if you don't know anything about PR, it's a great place to start, because you start building press release ideas, looking at those strategic ones. You're more likely to have pickup and it's at ereleasescom slash plan P-L-A-N and again, it's completely free. I did it for my customers because I realized that if they do more meaningful releases, they'll have better outcomes and be more likely to stick with it and continue to do press releases, and it's been very effective. And that survey that I mentioned before is one of those strategic types of releases that I go into detail there.

Speaker 2: 24:08

Yeah, no, that's great and I appreciate you sharing that and creating that for people. I think that's a huge, huge add and you know you've said a couple times I want to make sure we define it for people. You've said earned media a couple times in this episode, so can you break down what it means? What is earned media? For those who might be asking, Sure, sure.

Speaker 3: 24:28

So earned media is just media that you've earned. In this case it's articles might be on newspapers, trade publications, magazines, anything that you didn't pay for Um and uh, as opposed to, you know, uh, paid, uh media, which is like the Forbes and other places where you, you pay for pickup and a lot of people, uh, you know, don't realize the opportunities that are there with the earned media. Because, um, as you get earned media, the customers that come in through it are often not price sensitive. They read that article, they're like, yeah, I like this company and they want to do business with you and they're usually, if you have a long sales cycle, they usually convert much quicker and just are much more loyal overall, overall. And then you can also take that earned media that link to that article that you got, like, say, new York Times, and share it with your leads, share it with your customers. If you share it with your leads, you'll see your conversion rate among those leads will increase. More people are more likely to convert. A lot of people get close to that 50% mark that they need to get to and get over in order to do business with you and some people get up to 48%. They just never quite got there and so they never converted. And this could be what tips the scales and gets them over. On the other side, with customers, there's this thing called churn and there's a lifetime in which customers generally work with you and maybe it's three and a half years on average. But you know, if you get earned media in front of them, they say to themselves, hey, let's not shop around this year. I know we've been with them for a few years and we were considering perhaps trying somewhere else this year. But I've been reading these articles. This is the right company, we should stick with them. So your churn rate is going to decline and that cycle of how long someone stays with you is going to increase. And these are all because of the credibility indicators of earned media.

Speaker 3: 26:34

When a journalist writes about you, it's almost like an implied endorsement and people get excited by it and it really creates like a signal of trust, and that's something that you can't replicate, you know, through paid placement or paid advertising. And I've had people who've come back to me and said is this possible? According to our logs, we got like 400 visitors from this article and over 200 of them converted. And I'm like, yeah, it is possible because, remember, not everybody who read the article clicked through or went to your website, uh, but those that did were probably more invested and wanted to do business with you and your. Your, your price point was what you know, a consumer product. That's 40 bucks. So, uh, yeah, that's completely possible and they're just like I've. My best landing page for paid advertising is like 10%. This is just amazing.

Speaker 2: 27:27

So yeah, that's awesome and I think you're you know defining that and I think you know the big thing is just doing the work right Connecting with these journalists, giving them valuable stuff that's going to make them look good when they post it and bring it back to you and and I think, locally is a huge place to still do it and try. So this has been a great conversation. I know you've shared about the link, about the free course when can people connect with you and learn more if they want to?

Speaker 3: 27:57

Sure, so my website is ereleasescom. All of our social media is on the lower right. It's my direct LinkedIn, which is a great place to reach out to me directly. However, if you have any questions or you're just wanting to talk a little bit about PR, feel free to just use the phone number on the website or chat or email. We don't have any salespeople. We don't have any quotas or commissions.

Speaker 3: 28:22

I only employ editors, so you'll speak to an editor and if you have a release that you've worked on and we do have templates and samples on our website and you just want someone to look at it, feel free to send it to us. Allow two business days for us to get back to you. We'll do that free of charge. Whether you're a customer of ours or not, we're just out there to help small businesses. You know small businesses and, uh, individuals and freelancers of all different types. So you know we. We were passionate about PR. We believe it works. So, uh, feel free to lean on us if you have any questions or just looking for another set of eyes to review anything you're working on.

Speaker 2: 28:58

Awesome. Well, Mickey appreciate it. Guys, Definitely get connected. Uh, continue to learn, continue to grow and share this with someone, Share this episode with someone who's trying to get out there, get the word out about their business, about what they do, because this could really help them. So again, Mickey, thanks so much for being on the Elevate Media Podcast today. You're very welcome. All right, and, guys, make sure you go out there, keep putting in the work, don't give up. Continue to elevate your life, elevate your brand. We'll talk to you again next time.

Speaker 1: 29:27

Thank you for listening to the Elevate Media Podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. See you in the next episode.