Most founders who've tried PR will tell you the same thing: it was a waste of money and they never got in the media. But when Marie Dowling digs deeper, the real answer is usually that they weren't involved enough to make it work.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Marie Dowling, founder and CEO of Newsary, a hybrid AI and human PR platform built for startups and small businesses. Marie walks through how Newsary works, why PR is becoming the new SEO, and how she landed enterprise client Flixbus, generating over 300 pieces of Australian media coverage.

Alan challenges Marie to think beyond founder-led sales, pushing her to consider referral incentives, agency partnerships, and her LinkedIn audience as scalable distribution channels. If you're a founder who's written off PR, this episode might just change your mind.

Time Stamps

02:13 – Meet Marie Dowling and her path from PR agency to founder

04:37 – Why bigger clients mean less interesting press releases

06:09 – What Newsary does and who it's for

07:02 – The pivot: from "how to write" to "what is a good story"

08:01 – Why PR is the new SEO

09:09 – How Newsary works: interview-style, not AI-generated

11:05 – Pricing: what Newsary costs vs. a traditional agency

12:32 – How Marie finds customers (and what they all say about PR)

13:39 – The real reason most PR fails: founder involvement

15:14 – Alan's challenge: scaling beyond founder-led sales

18:03 – The Flixbus campaign: 300+ pieces of coverage

19:14 – Who's behind Newsary: the team and advisors

20:16 – Co-hosting industry events: lessons learned

23:18 – Platform rebuild and January launch plans

25:10 – Marie's one ask of listeners

Resources Mentioned

💸 Newsary: https://www.newsary.co/

🎙 Ask Alan a Question – https://speakpipe.com/pickmybrain

🎧 More from Alan Jones – https://www.startupfoundercoach.com

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