Achieving The Public Exposure You Deserve With Jill Lublin
If your business is to prosper, you have to get your message out there and let people discover what you have to offer. But if you do not know the best strategies to get the public exposure you deserve, nobody will ever know that you exist. Mitch Russo is joined by Jill Lublin, a master publicity strategist and four-time bestselling author, who breaks down the most effective way to keep yourself relevant to the public and break through the market noise. She explains how to keep the weekly momentum of your visibility-building activities, why Google Alerts is a wonderful resource to put your name in, and why you should spend time building authority on a local scale. Mitch also discusses how to take full advantage of media exposure to get not just one-hit wonders but long-term positive impact.
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Achieving The Public Exposure You Deserve With Jill Lublin
I am here today to showcase another amazing entrepreneur. Our goal with this show is to help you scale your company to a thousand clients and beyond. Before I introduce my guest, I want to tell you guys a quick story because when I started TimeSlips Corporation in 1985, I got to go back a while there.
We did not have any money for ads. We did not have any money for trade shows. All we had was a great product. My belief was that the only thing I could do was to get public relations people to notice me. I busted my butt, and I ran all over the place, and I spent six months courting PR people and all those types of people. Believe it or not, that is what got us our first huge sale. That is what put us on the map.
The reason I am telling you this story is that I am about to introduce you to a woman who has been doing this for over 25 years. Her name is Jill Lublin, and she is the author of four books. Her most popular books are Guerrilla Publicity and The Profit of Kindness. She has helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs, trained, and spoken on stage with guys like Jack Canfield and Tony Robbins.
How do I know that for sure? It’s because I invited her, along with Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins, to speak on our stage at Business Mastery. I have to believe it is over fifteen years ago at this point. It has been a while. On top of that, she has perfected the absolute best way to help you get noticed in the market. Jill Lublin, welcome to the show.
Thank you. I am delighted to be here with you.
Jill, you and I go back a ways, as I had mentioned. Why don’t you tell us in your own words what it is that you really do?
What I really do is help you create a message that works, that reaches people and gets you seen, heard, and paid, and increases your credibility and visibility so that people are really working with you, attracted to you, and that your message is multiplying and magnetizing your leads and prospects direct to you.
That sounds like it is a very valuable thing to do. I am going to challenge you right up front before we get right into it. I am going to ask you a question that I think is really the reason that people struggle with this. They do not really know what they want. When they start working with a company like yours, and they start getting someone to help them, they think they want publicity.
You said to get their message out, but I believe that before you can even try to get your message out, you have to figure out what the conversion mechanism is. What happens when someone hears this message? Do they say, “That Mitch guy, he sure is a nice guy?” Do they say, “I got to buy that thing because I heard about that?” I assume that one of the first things you do when you start working with a client is help them get exactly what the outcome should be first. Is that right?
It is important to not only clarify the message, but also where you are going to drive people. What are they buying? What is it? How are they part of your funnel, your system, your net, your whatever you want to call it, but really your community and your people who not only do you reach, but they are part of the people who are loving what you do, saying yes to you, and referring people, and they are your marketing soldiers.
How To Get Through The Noise And The Crowded Market
That makes a lot of sense. The problem is, Jill, there are so many messages out there. I will give you an example. I dropped a press release into a service that is supposed to spread it among hundreds of publications, and the only people who noticed it were other salespeople trying to sell me stuff. I do not think it was ever read by anybody, yet it was published in many of these places. What is the volume of these PR press releases going out now, and how do they affect getting a message out when everything seems so crowded?
It is crowded, but here is the deal. If your voice is not in there, my friend P.T. Barnum said it best, and that is a terrible thing that happens without publicity. Nothing. If you do not enter the ring and put your foot forward and your voice in the ring, then we cannot even know who you are anyway. There are tactics and shortcuts to cut through the noise, to be seen and heard. We cannot decide on one thing that works or does not work. With each client, some things work better. There are some ways to be seen and heard that get you through the noise.
There are better press release distribution services than perhaps the one you used. The reality is that people can even find you, and that you are making places that they type you in and you can be found is progress. One needs to measure in multiple ways. Certainly, the credibility factor, the braggability factor, the ability to use logos that you have seen and heard, will put you, I promise, layers on top and above on the mountain more than almost anybody else because you are showing up. That is a key.
Three Ways To Put Yourself On The Map
I get that. I am going to drop you into the hot seat here, Jill, and I am going to have you play consultant for a moment because we have a lot of people tuning in who are in a small business. They may be starting a small business or scaling one. What specific tactics can they take right now to get on the map somehow? You could start with free, to low cost, to high cost. Give us a range of the things people can do to get on the map and really showcase what they do and who they are.
Since I wrote the book Guerrilla Publicity, I am going to give you some very specific tactics that are, shall we say, high impact and fairly low cost that you can get started with right away. First one, sign up for Google Alerts. This is a wonderful resource not only to put your name in so that when you are interviewed, notice I said when, not if, when you are interviewed, but you will also see where it is. You will notice your name. That is important.
Number two, put your one sentence, or really a phrase, or even better, a word. When the prophet of kindness came out, I put the word kindness into Google alerts. I learned that World Kindness Day is November 13th. I did not actually know that before writing the book. Now I have got a very specific PR, certainly a holiday to help promote, and that has landed me on Fox News Networks, literally seven of them, within the first 30 days Profit of Kindness came out.
That is what I am talking about. That all came through Google alerts. You will also know when the media is talking about you, and not only you, but also what you are delivering. That is an important piece and something simple and easy to do and free. The other thing I would mention is that I want you to get started locally.
What I have discovered in working with people for over 25 years in multiple kinds of businesses is that local really matters, and the other realities they need you. In every market around the world, there are local affiliates, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, BBC, and CBC. I mean, we can go all over the world. What I know is that when you start getting seen and heard in your local markets, what happens is that people go, and not only are they awake in your area, but larger markets in other areas are watching feeds from your local affiliates and other shows.
I have had many clients get booked on bigger shows because they were watching the local markets. That is something that most people do not realize. Also, guess what happens. Now you’ve got a Braggability piece being featured in your local newspapers, your local radio, and your local TV. That is really good. The third thing I would say is to get on podcasts. There are a lot of them, and we need you and lots of matching services to get you seen and heard. Those are some great places to start.
Those are great tips. The other thing I would add to that is when you talk about getting on podcasts, there are actually podcast directories, and there are several big ones, and all you have to do most of the time is either free or $5 a month, and you could put a profile on one of those podcast directories.
Once you are a paying member for a small amount, you then get to go through all the other podcasts on the directory and send out invitations to have you on their show. That is another way to do even more of what Jill was explaining a minute ago. The other thing is that, as a small business, would I have to travel to a city that has a local affiliate where I have to show up in the studio, or do I do this on Zoom? How does that typically work?
Wonderful news these days. Most things are on Zoom. I did a big ABC TV interview about when Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben were renaming their companies. Because I wrote Guerrilla Publicity, they wanted to know what my opinion is of that. By the way, I had not even seen it in the news that day because I was teaching my media mastery intensive. I quickly Googled, I formed an opinion, because can I tell you what news is these days?
It is your opinion. Guess what? It is your opinion as an expert. Next thing I know, I am on ABC TV in Dallas, a big market, obviously. I do not live in Dallas. That showed up on Google Alerts. I was able to use it, leverage it. Let me say it was a great four-minute interview. Most media TV interviews are particularly short. They are like 4 or 3 minutes. You’ve got to come out swinging with powerful messaging and be ready to say whatever it is you need to say in a concise and precise way, and that is another key to being great media speak, concise and precise.
If you just happen to be tuning in a car or on a walk, you do not have a pencil or pen to write these things down. You can go to YourFirstThousandClients.com and find Jill’s show page on that website, and every word we say is completely transcribed, including all of the links to all the things that we are mentioning.
Maintain The Momentum Of Your Visibility-Building Activities
Just head over there, YourFirstThousandClients.com, and hit Jill’s page and see everything we talked about. Jill, there is one other thing I wanted to ask you about when we are talking about that small business guy who is struggling. I know the answer to this question, but I want you to explain it the way you would. How long do I have to do all this publicity stuff before it starts working?
Everyone is different. Listen, here is the deal. I want you to stay in momentum. What I recommend is visibility-building activities, 30 minutes a week. Come on, you all have 30 minutes a week. I know you do. You are heading off to Starbucks and going to whatever you do in your house. You know what? Spend focused time, put it on the calendar, even two 15-minute segments. What you can do is visibility-building activities, some of which we have already talked about, that will keep you moving forward, staying visible.
Let me just say, it is about staying consistent and persistent. What I know about that consistency in the marketplace, listen, I am over 25 years in the media business, and I stay consistent. I have gotten a ton of press because I need to know what works in the marketplace and what does not. It does change. I have led over 100,000 people in this journey.
Let me tell you that what is working right now is the consistent visibility-building activities where you are staying focused on what is the one thing I can do this week to create momentum. Let me just tell you, my friends, it is not posts on social media. That is not publicity. Honestly, it is one-hit wonders. I am not opposed to it. I think it is important as part of what you do.
I am talking about longer-term things that will really give you gas in your car to keep going in your business. That is the power of being featured in Forbes Inc. magazine and entrepreneur magazine on your local TV and radio affiliates, in major podcasts and even smaller ones all across the world, which is going to keep you going because it keeps feeding the search engines and gets you seen, found, and heard.
One of the tips that I got early on was this. The whole thing of trying to connect your story to current news. I will tell you a funny story. When we first started TimeSlips back in 1985, or 1986 timeframe, there was a big goings on in the legal field around the look and feel of user interfaces. Lotus wanted to sue Microsoft, and all these companies wanted to sue each other because they would make a spreadsheet, and it still looks like a spreadsheet. I had this idea, and I came out with a press release that says, “We do not look anything like Lotus 1-2-3.” I know it sounds silly.
It was almost a joke because my partner and I were kidding around when I suggested it. “Go ahead, do it.” We got like 5 or 6 phone calls. It was unbelievable. We got calls from folks who said, “Yes, you said you were not like Lotus 1-2-3. What are you like?” The silliest stuff sometimes could work if you connected to local goings on or national issues that are getting a lot of press.
It is not silly, Mitch. That is actually brilliant. Congratulations. I call it use everything you have got. Let me give you a great example. A woman who I worked with in consulting, who is a divorce coach. She helps parents raise their kids well who are going through a divorce. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were getting divorced and frankly fighting as we know, and it was all over the news and lots of media attention because, of course, they are celebrities.
I said to her, “You are an expert in divorce. Maybe not specifically that, you certainly know how to answer questions.” I gave her some scripting. Guess who was featured in literally media interview after media interview talking about them, meaning Johnny and Amber, but relating it to how to get divorced well, how to raise your kids decently after a tremendous conflict. We turned it around because here is what you all have to know.
When you are in the media, guess who gets to control the message? Yes, you do. Even though you might come in through a different door, and whatever door you get into the media, front door, back door, side door, it is all good because once you are in media, guess who the featured expert is? You answer some great questions, and then they are always going to your website to focus on you, to your free gift, and connect to your message. That is what is key.
When you are in the media, you get to control the message. Share on XThat is awesome. Back when I was doing it before the internet, I used to do it, literally on the phone, and sending out press releases by mail. One of the things that I had to do, because frankly, I did not know any better, was to get to know the reporters. I made a point of getting to know a reporter. Sometimes I would read their stuff for weeks before I even reached out. I would comment on their stuff.
That is how I developed relationships that lasted the entire time, right up through the sale of my company. I have relationships with reporters and analysts who used to want to know my opinion, like you were saying before, about what is going on in the software business. We were a tiny little company. We were under $10 million. Yet they were calling me for opinions on these big $100 million deals back then. That was a very big deal.
That was going on in our industry. For me, the relationship turned out to be more important than I ever realized. I was not doing it because I wanted to be friendly or nice. I was doing it because I had no other way to really get to know these folks. For me, that worked really well as well. I do not know, does that still work, or is that outdated?
Mitch, and in Guerrilla Publicity, I actually do talk about relationships, but I am going to tell you in today’s world, because everything is moving so much faster, it is not quite as important. The truth is, if the media needs what you’ve got, you are in. They may find you in completely different ways now. Certainly, relationships do help. Always have good ones. Be the nice voice on the phone. When I actually owned a PR agency many years ago, I did the same thing. I was the nice voice on the phone.
Let me tell you that it did open doors. Meaning they said, “I like to talk to you because you are good to talk to. You are resourceful. Do you want to be a great resource for the media?” “Yes, absolutely.” Most importantly, though, I just want you to stay focused on getting as much media as you can and relationships. Maybe in your local market.
On a national level, if you are very much tuned into very specific producers and or media that are appropriate for you? Probably yes, but even the editor of Entrepreneur magazine, whom I interviewed for Guerrilla Publicity, guess what? She has changed. The media has changed, and even Entrepreneur.com is now a new vehicle. What is key is knowing the right vehicles that you need to get into, meaning the media that you want to reach, and then just go for it. Identify, “Is it the small business editor? Is it the health editor? Is it the real estate editor?” I would specify that way. That is really important.
Three Ways To Get The Publicity You Deserve
Jill, we are down to the hit list. Let us get to the hit list here. The hit list is you give me three things a company must do in advance of going out there and trying to get publicity.
Number one, get your message clear. People think that their message is clear, and I am like, I could fall over because what you are really doing is doing what I call beat the chest publicity. That is not a great message. It is not just about your company and what you do. Get a great message that is about them, the readers, the viewers, the listeners. That is a key.
Your message is not just about your company and what you do. It is also about your target audience. Share on XNumber two, have the right script. What do I mean by that? Well, that is dependent on your message. Also know that everywhere and every media you are going to be, remember the consistent and persistent because you got a right message that you are able to rinse and repeat so that you are known as, and then fill in the blank. That makes a big difference and helps people a lot, and then they get in action. It is taking baby steps every week with specific visibility-building activities because it increases and expands what you are able to do. I say those are the top three things to do quickly.
Check Out ClickCoach.io And A Free Gift From Jill
Great list. If you are tuning in and you have a pencil and have had a chance to write those things down, you have a starting point. Get started now before I let you go. One of the things I want to say to the audience is that if you are a coach in particular, then you should see my software platform called ClickCoach.io. This is a commercial, so I am going to tell you up front. I love my product. I put a lot of time and effort into it.
If you really want a simple system that will completely manage your coaching organization, keep you organized, raise your authority by having beautifully formatted homework emails and testimonials, along with graphs of the progress that your clients have made, go to ClickCoach.io and check out our latest deal. We are offering an incredible deal right now. You can get a year of service for just $497. Normally, it is $99 a month. Jump on that before it goes away. Jill, before we let you go, you have a free gift for our audience. Can you tell us what that is?
I absolutely do. It is an opportunity to be with me live and interactive, and every day we are very focused on a very specific topic that I know would make a huge difference for you, and also, the Publicity Action Guide is included. I am big on one or two gifts, and you can get that at JillLublin.com/Start.
That is JillLublin.com/Start. Is that right?
Perfect.
Audience, go get that right away. Do not miss out, and let us know how you like this episode. If you could rate us and follow us, that would be even better. Thank you, Jill. I loved our conversation. Look forward to talking to you again soon.
Thank you.
Important Links
- Guerrilla Publicity
- The Profit of Kindness
- Your First Thousand Clients
- Entrepreneur
- ClickCoach.io
- Publicity Action Guide
- JillLublin.com/Start – free giveaway
About Jill Lublin
I am Jill Lublin, a master publicity strategist, consultant, speaker, and 4x bestselling author. With 200+ speaking engagements worldwide, I am committed to helping people find their voice and be heard. I empower audiences through interactive keynotes, seminars, and training programs on publicity, networking, and influence marketing; teaching strategies that can raise impact using publicity as a cost-effective tool.
Over the past 25 years, I have shared powerful networking and publicity strategies; featured on the stage of Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Loral Langemeier, and I have worked with ABC, NBC, CBS, and other national and international media as a highly regarded publicity expert. Additionally, I have connected with thousands of people who have attended my “Crash Course in Publicity”, an ongoing course I teach virtually.
I am considered the go-to person for building success through influence marketing, networking, and publicity. I am the author of four bestselling books, including Get Noticed…Get Referrals (McGraw-Hill), Networking Magic (Morgan James Publishing), and Guerrilla Publicity ((Morgan James Publishing), which is regarded as the “PR Bible”. My latest book, The Profit of Kindness (Red Wheel/Weiser), went #1 in four categories. My author experience has given me the opportunity to help others create their book proposals with agents, get book deals with publishers and obtain foreign rights deals.
I am available for speaking engagements, training, and consulting services with executives, sales teams, and marketing departments. I would love to continue to share my innovative influence marketing and publicity techniques to boost business, projects and increase bottom-line results for my clients. How can publicity help you?
Visit www.PublicityCrashCourse.com/freegift for more information or call 415-883-5455. If you’d like to schedule an appointment to discuss your needs, please check my calendar and find a time that works for you: http://jilllublin.com/schedule.
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