49. Get Your Digital Products Featured in The Morning News With This Pitch by Lisa Bradshaw

Summary

Episode 49 Summary: "Get Your Digital Products Featured in The Morning News With This Pitch"

In this insightful episode of The Abigail Peugh Podcast, host Abigail Peugh sits down with Lisa Bradshaw, a seasoned story and pitch expert, TV host, and media veteran with 17 years of experience. Lisa shares her compelling journey from pitching her products on iconic TV shows like Friends to overcoming personal tragedies and building a successful media presence. The episode delves deep into the strategies and mindset required to effectively pitch digital products to mainstream media, enhancing visibility and driving business growth.

Guest Introduction and Background

Abigail introduces Lisa Bradshaw, highlighting her impressive career accomplishments, including appearances on Oprah Radio and hosting her own radio show, Life with Lisa. Lisa's expertise lies in crafting pitches that captivate media outlets, leading to opportunities such as national tours sponsored by major brands like Toyota. Her mission is to empower entrepreneurs to translate their stories into compelling pitches that open doors to media features, brand deals, and public speaking engagements.

Lisa’s Personal and Professional Journey (00:00 - 08:05)

Lisa begins by recounting her early challenges in launching her first book in 2001. She borrowed $25,000 from her in-laws to hire a publicist who ultimately failed in her campaign. This setback propelled her to take charge of her own pitches, learning to overcome the fear of rejection. Lisa emphasizes the importance of persistence and self-reliance in building a business.

A pivotal moment in Lisa's life was the tragic death of her husband, Wesley, who passed away six weeks after a double lung transplant caused by mold exposure. This personal loss forced Lisa to adapt quickly, as she became the sole provider for her family. Despite these hardships, Lisa's pillow business was gaining traction, notably with her product featured on Friends. This experience underscored her belief in the power of a well-crafted pitch and the necessity of having a clear "why" behind her business endeavors.

Notable Quote:

“The key, I think I have in any room, in any setting, is that I’m going to ask because I feel like I’ve earned the right to ask.” — Lisa Bradshaw [04:52]

Strategies for Effective Pitching (08:05 - 21:33)

Abigail and Lisa discuss the nuances of pitching, highlighting the differences between social media promotion and direct pitching to media outlets. While Abigail feels confident on Instagram, she admits to discomfort with more direct forms of pitching, such as emailing producers or appearing on morning shows. Lisa provides actionable advice on how to bridge this gap:

1. Start Locally: Begin by targeting local television shows, colleges, and community events to build confidence and refine your pitch.
2. Create a Succinct Pitch: Craft a clear and concise pitch that outlines who you are, what you offer, and how it benefits the media outlet's audience.
3. Build Relationships: Establish and nurture relationships with producers and media contacts to increase the chances of future opportunities.
4. Prepare Thoroughly: Always be ready to pitch by having your story and talking points well-prepared, ensuring you can seize opportunities when they arise.

Notable Quotes:

“You have to start somewhere and you live near a Local television show. It is no different than putting your first reel out there.” — Lisa Bradshaw [13:23]

“Get your pitch succinct. Make it so easy for them to say yes.” — Lisa Bradshaw [17:50]

Handling Rejections and Persistence (21:33 - 29:23)

Lisa shares her experiences with rejection, emphasizing the importance of resilience. She recounts sending pitch emails and receiving numerous "no's" before finally achieving success. Lisa advises not to take rejections personally but to view them as steps closer to a "yes."

Notable Quote:

“You have to be okay with the no. So when my first book came out, I had a book agent and I asked her to send me every rejection. And she referred us to the publisher that ended up publishing my book.” — Lisa Bradshaw [20:56]

Practical Tips for Crafting and Sending Pitches (29:23 - 38:43)

Abigail introduces a student example, Stephanie, a dietitian specializing in helping pregnant women alleviate symptoms through tailored meal plans. Lisa breaks down a step-by-step approach for Stephanie to pitch herself effectively:

1. Identify Your Niche Angle: For Stephanie, demonstrating how her meal plans specifically benefit pregnant women can make her stand out on a cooking segment.
2. Craft Visual and Relevant Content: Present simple and relatable images of meal preparations that resonate with the target audience.
3. Learn to Pitch: Develop concise and impactful pitch emails that highlight the unique value you bring to the media outlet's audience.
4. Follow-Up Strategically: Lisa advises following up within a week for timely pitches and setting calendar reminders for long-term opportunities.

Notable Quotes:

“You have to start somewhere and you live near a Local television show.” — Lisa Bradshaw [13:23]

“A speaker sheet is just really the important facts. It is your bio, it’s your talk.” — Lisa Bradshaw [28:19]

Avoiding Pay-to-Play Schemes (38:43 - 40:31)

Abigail raises concerns about "pay-to-play" offers, where media outlets require payment for features. Lisa strongly advises against these practices, pointing out that prestigious shows like Oprah do not engage in such schemes. Instead, she encourages entrepreneurs to focus on crafting organic pitches that demonstrate value without financial transactions.

Notable Quote:

“I will not and would not recommend paying for it. Oprah doesn’t even pay people to be on her show. Nobody.” — Lisa Bradshaw [23:11]

Lisa’s Offerings and Closing Advice (40:31 - End)

Towards the end of the episode, Lisa introduces her signature product, the Pitch Playbook, which provides detailed guidance on crafting effective pitches. She also offers one-on-one consultations to help entrepreneurs refine their storytelling and pitching techniques.

Abigail concludes by encouraging listeners to explore various platforms beyond social media for visibility, such as podcasts and blogs, emphasizing that being featured on trusted platforms can significantly enhance business credibility and reach.

Notable Quote:

“Think about the conferences that you’ve attended, and maybe you’re not quite ready to apply for the keynote, but they also have other speakers and they have workshops and they have different tables.” — Lisa Bradshaw [26:19]

Key Takeaways

• Start Small: Begin pitching to local media to build confidence and refine your approach.
• Craft a Clear Pitch: Ensure your pitch is concise, highlighting how your story benefits the media outlet’s audience.
• Persistence is Key: Embrace rejection as a step towards success and continuously improve your pitching strategies.
• Avoid Pay-to-Play: Focus on organic pitching methods rather than paying for media features.
• Leverage Relationships: Build and nurture relationships with media contacts to enhance future opportunities.
• Utilize Multiple Platforms: Diversify your visibility efforts beyond social media to include podcasts, blogs, and local media.

By following Lisa Bradshaw’s expert advice, entrepreneurs can effectively increase their visibility, establish credibility, and ultimately drive more sales for their digital products through strategic media pitching.

Resources Mentioned:

• Lisa Bradshaw’s Instagram
• Lisa Bradshaw’s Website
• Pitch Playbook by Lisa Bradshaw

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Transcript

[Abigail Pugh]

Foreign. You're listening to an episode of the Abigail Pugh Podcast with, you guessed it, Abigail Pugh. I'm an introverted mama who took my online business from zero to seven figures in 15 months, selling my own digital products on social media. And guess what? I did it all with my 3 year old daughter no less than 3ft away from me at all times. Now I'm bringing you everything I've learned about building a wildly profitable online business that supports your life while allowing you to truly live it. Get ready for raw, honest conversations with entrepreneurs making thousands per month selling their own digital products and people just like you who ditch self doubt to create the life they've always wanted. If you're ready to make more money, have more impact, and still have time for the things that matter most, you're in the right place. Grab your sneakers, head out on your hot girl walk and let's dive in. Today's guest is a story and pitch expert, TV host and media veteran with 17 years experience on both sides of the mic. From landing her E pillow on my favorite TV show Friends to TED Talks and national keynotes, Lisa knows firsthand how the right story can open doors to incredible opportunities like her two appearances on Oprah Radio that led to her hosting her own radio show and yes, I did say Oprah Radio. As the host of Life with Lisa and the founder of the Don't Wait project, Lisa. Lisa has completed three national tours across 23 states sponsored by Toyota and other global brands that you would know, interviewing people about their Don't Wait stories and proving that a well crafted pitch can turn into a movement. Today, she's here to share her expertise on crafting pitches that get noticed and stories that are remembered. Think media interviews, keynotes, workshops and brand deals. The possibilities are truly endless and they all start with your story story. Lisa, welcome to the show.

[Lisa]

Abigail.

[Abigail Pugh]

I'm so happy to be here you guys. There's a story behind this podcast. So Lisa is a student of mine. She's in my rich girl community. We've worked together several times. I love her and several months ago she came on the podcast and at the time I feel like she was still struggling with how she wanted to help people. Like, Lisa has lived several lives. Like you guys will hear her story in a second. Like she's done so many amazing things and when we first recorded the podcast I feel like she was kind of struggling with which thing to help people with. And so we recorded the whole thing. My editor edited the whole thing and it was like a week before it was going to go live. And Lisa, I feel like in her business, had just come to this, like, pivotal moment of this is what I'm supposed to help people with. And she had so much clarity. And I remember, like, she DMed me and messaged me and was like, I'm so excited, but can we re record the podcast episode? And I said, absolutely. Um, my sister, who's my editor, was a little mad at me, but I was like, you know what?

[Lisa]

It's okay.

[Abigail Pugh]

We had a lot of technical errors with our first podcast, so the editing took a little bit. But in my opinion, like, always ask for what you want. You guys, if something's going out into the world and you're like, you know what? That's not what I want to put out into the world, just ask. Just say, hey, I don't want to do this. And you never know what's going to happen. And I feel like that's a great segue into Lisa and her story. So before we get into kind of pitching and getting yourself out there with media appearances to help your digital product business, I'd love to hear a little bit about your story, Lisa. Like I said before, you guys, she's lived so many lives. And actually the first thing that we connected on was a sad thing was Lisa losing her husband several years ago due to mold, which I'm gonna let her tell her story in a second. But, Lisa, I'm just so excited you're here. So tell us a little bit about your story.

[Lisa]

Well, first of all, thank you for letting us rerecord. And here's the thing. I don't ever ask anything of anyone that I wouldn't be willing to do my myself. And having had shows, you know, television show and radio show, I thought, I'm just gonna ask. And luckily he said yes. But really I just. Thank you for being here. And I want to tell you too that you are on a first name basis in our house. You're kind of like Madonna or Beyonce. I was gonna say share, but then that ages me. So anyway, I'm like, I'm on Abigail's podcast today and everybody knows who that is. So anyway, thank you.

[Abigail Pugh]

I'm smiling so big.

[Lisa]

Oh, gosh. You know, listening to you read kind of the intro there. I would say that it really starts with my first book, which was in 2001, and I borrowed $25,000 from my in laws to pay for a publicist, and they just didn't do their job. And so it was pretty pivotal point for me because in my marriage, you know, Wesley paid the mortgage. I could fail at any venture because it really didn't count on me.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

And yet I wanted to succeed, of course. And so I just started to pick up the phone myself and learn how to pitch myself. And really, the key, I think, in that starting point for me was getting over being afraid of being told no. It's really the biggest skill I think I have in any room, in any setting is that I. I'm going to ask because I feel like I've earned the right to ask the question. They have the right to say no, but I know I've earned the right to ask, or I'm not in the room, I'm not on the phone, I'm not pitching. And so what had happened was they just weren't doing a great job, and I had to figure it out for myself. And it's the greatest lesson I could have learned, because later, when I started my Alphabet pillow business, which was just intended to be a little side hustle, I did before side hustles were a thing. You know, this is like 2003, and I just wanted something to do while my son was at preschool. And so I designed these pillows and shapes the letters of the Alphabet. And to be truthful, so I met my late husband, Wesley, when I was 8 years old and he was 10. And when I was a sophomore in high school in Home ec, I made pillows that spelled out his name.

[Abigail Pugh]

Oh, my God.

[Lisa]

I hadn't seen him in a long time at that point, but I always had this crush on him. And so I made these Wesley pillows, but they were just the standard pillows you get at a fabric store pattern. And so I ended up coming up with these whimsical fonts and selling them to local boutiques and decided it was kind of the time to, am I going to have an Internet business, a custom business? And I thought, well, I have a good story. I'd survived cancer at that point. We had our miracle baby despite the risk of infertility, and I was working from home, and that's what I wanted. And I wanted to help other moms work from home. And so I thought, you know, if I can get these on a good TV show, then I can get calls returned from magazines and television. I have a good story, but. But I need a good hook. You know, we're always talking about hooks right on Instagram. And so I thought, well, that'll get calls, returns. So my thinking is, let's go for the biggest show there is, which is Friends at The time and even still today, probably one of the biggest shows ever. And I pitched the set decorator. And what I didn't know then was that there were businesses lining up when Emma, the baby was gonna be born. And I thought about it this morning, getting ready for this. Would I have still pitched it if I'd known that? I think I would have. I think I would have. And he said yes. And you know, that e pillow on Rachel and Joey's wall changed really the trajectory of everything I was doing. But at the same time, my husband started getting ill when he cleaned out an old cabinet in our garage that made him sick. And there was fertilizer and droppings and mold and he was short of breath that day. And I mean, it was just the most horrendous year of multiple hospital stays. And our son was just 4 years old and he ended up receiving a double lung transplant that didn't go well. And he died six weeks after when he was 35 years old. So I was a stay at home mom, which is everything I ever wanted. I was perfectly content in the role. Just wake up every day, what can I teach you? What can you teach me with our little boy? And then suddenly now I'm responsible for everything.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

And I had started the pillow business. The show was really taking off with the Friends pillow there. And I'd been pitching myself, I'd been pitching to big magazines, I'd been on local radio, big radio, local television, things like that. But I had to take it up a notch and I had to rely on it. And my biggest thing was my why. And I say it all the time. I had to figure out a way to feed my kid, feed my soul, be home by 3 o'clock every day when he gets home from school. And you can't work 8 to 5 if you want to be home by 3.

[Abigail Pugh]

So ain't that the truth?

[Lisa]

Yeah, I had to figure it out. So I just started having these buckets of passion that I turned into ways to earn a living. And that was really the start for me. And every single thing after that, really, it was going on Oprah radio too. And then being in that room and saying people saying to me, why don't you have your own show? And then getting my own show and having this mentor that changed everything, that taught me everything I want to do in my career can be paid for by a sponsor if I know how to ask and what to ask. But it all started with that $25,000 that I didn't want to go to waste And I Googled it the other day for a carousel I created, and that amounts to like $44,000 today. So I'm thinking I can save female entrepreneurs tons of money if they just learn to do it themselves. And it takes confidence, it takes practice, just like anything, you know? And I'm way out of my comfort zone on Instagram and pitching myself there on a regular basis, but I'm learning from you and I'm showing up and I'm gonna figure it out.

[Abigail Pugh]

So it's, it's so crazy how, like, different platforms and different ways of pitching, like, don't always cross over. Like, I'm so confident selling on Instagram and not, I, I don't like, pitch to people in their DMs, right? But I sell on my Instagram, which is essentially putting myself out there and saying, hey, I have this thing. You're gonna love it. You should buy it. Whereas Lisa, like, goes straight to the source and is like, hey, I have this goal that I want to do. I'm going to go to, like, a producer or someone and like, pitch myself this idea. Whereas, like, that makes me want to crawl on a hole and die. Like, I'm like, nope, nope. Like, so it's just so funny how, I don't know, like, they don't translate the same. I'm so confident on Instagram, but then even in email, I'm so nervous. So I really wanted to have Lisa on just to talk about kind of how to use getting yourself out there with maybe brand deals or workshops or just getting yourself out there in the public eye to get more eyes on your business. Because with digital products, right, you need visibility. You need people to know exactly who you are. And I, this is not my expertise at all. And I get really nervous with this type of stuff because sometimes I'm like, I don't want to be in front of people. Like, I want, I want a little bit of, like, a little bit of privacy. And I, I do self sabotage a lot. I do find myself that when I'm like, opportunities, this where, like, I know I can land something and I get so nervous and I'm like, no, just don't do it. Just don't do it. Like, you can't handle the public eye. And I swear this happens even when I get like, growth spurts on Instagram where, like, something will take off and I'm like, oh, my gosh, there's all these new people on me. Like, what do I do? Like, oh my gosh, I'm so nervous, but I Will say the visibility, it can absolutely change your life. Like, I feel like it has changed my life, it has changed Lisa's life. And putting yourself out there in different ways, um, it's really important when you have an online business and you sell digital products. So, Lisa, I would love to kind of talk about if someone is, you know, creating a personal brand, selling digital products, how would you go about pitching? Like, where do you even start? Like, I, I don't even know, like with brand deals. I know I would like go for the email of someone that I want to reach out to. But what, what does that entail? What does that look like?

[Lisa]

Well, I think it's like anything. I was just talking with a client the other day and so when I say pitching on Instagram, I mean putting myself out there, right? So I'm not in your DMs bothering you one bit either. You hopefully are attracted to what I have to offer and then we form a relationship. So I have a client and she really wants to do more public speaking. So there's all different ways, right? You can be a public speaker, you can get on local television, shoot for national television, give keynotes, whatever. The thing is brand deals like we talked about, and I think each of them take extra layers of work, like a brand deal. You're going to have to really have proved yourself in some form to get that. And the local Toyota dealership sponsored my tours and we can talk more about the tours. And then when that first tour went well, the Toyota corporation matched some of their budgets so that we could take a cinematographer. And then a trailer company came on board and sponsored with the trailers for us to go on this, you know, big, huge tour. Three different tours across the country. But I'd been doing my talk show in the community, I'd been on television. I went in there, like I said, I knew I'd earned the right to ask for this. And so you start where you are. So this particular client wants to speak. She lives within a 30 mile radius of some of the most prestigious colleges on the east coast. So start there. You know, you go speak to the students, the colleges, prepare your own kind of talk, but also be part of any kind of career workshop day, things like that. And it sounds less sexy to start that way, but it is no different than starting with zero followers on Instagram.

[Abigail Pugh]

Absolutely.

[Lisa]

It is no different than putting your first reel out there, your first carousel, and then looking back and going, wow, look at how much I've improved. You have to start somewhere and you live near a Local television show.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

Even if you have to drive to Seattle and you live two hours from there and you have access to blogs to be a guest writer. And here's the thing. Just like we invest a lot of money in learning about creating content for Instagram, all of these media that we're talking about, magazines, television shows, they need content. They need people like the people who are listening, who have an expertise, who can get on a local morning talk show and talk for four to six minutes about what they know. And in all of my products, I use the same story about this woman I created. Her name's Lauren, and she found yoga and is now a yoga instructor and, you know, lived in India. This is a fake, fictitious person, but she is someone who discovered yoga when healing from a toxic relationship. And the reason I use her story in every product is so that my clients, my students, can get familiar with her story and how. Well, that's how it translates to a morning show. That's how it translates to a podcast interview. That's what her keynote's going to look like. And so they can start to look at their own story and recognize that, oh, these are the pieces of my puzzle that I can put together.

[Abigail Pugh]

Got it.

[Lisa]

So you start where you are and you get really okay with. You have to start somewhere.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

You know, I love that. Yeah.

[Abigail Pugh]

Okay. I want to give you someone who is a student of mine and what they do and a little bit of their story. And then can you tell me what you would tell them to start with for pitching? Right.

[Lisa]

Ooh, hot seat.

[Abigail Pugh]

Okay. I know, right?

[Lisa]

This is so fun.

[Abigail Pugh]

Okay. So one of my students is a. I. I just did a podcast interview with her right before. So I'm going to use her as an example because I. Everything's fresh in my brain. But her name is Stephanie. She is a dietitian, but she helps pregnant women who are struggling with symptoms. Right. Like fatigue, nausea. And she has a meal plan that helps them learn what to eat to alleviate some of those pains. Right. She, you know, has a four and a six year old, and she's pregnant with her third baby. And she, in her first pregnancy, struggled a lot with that, and she found that, like, nobody was talking about, what do you eat to help with all of these things. Right. It was like helping with the symptoms wasn't a focus of a lot of dietitians. So that is kind of what she did. So if she was looking to get her name out there and her business out there, what would you kind of recommend that she do first?

[Lisa]

I have seven ideas, but let's just use a visual one that would be really, you know, stimulating to the audience who's watching. So, you know, the local morning shows too, they have so like a show that I've done a lot is the morning show in Seattle and they have a cooking segment. And to have her there to show easy prep for these meals and just what that looks like to the everyday person who's trying. The mom who's trying to feed herself and feed her children and feed the baby that's growing inside of her. Yeah, I mean, that's a great angle. We see cooking segments all the time, but have we seen a cooking segment for pregnant moms? I don't think I have. And I think we should, you know, and same with a blog post. You know, be a guest on someone's blog that talks about motherhood or pregnancy and come up with beautiful images of the food you prep or simple images of the food you prep to make it realistic. Right. This is what it looks like this morning and this is what I hope it looks like this afternoon. But I have kids and I'm pregnant and I'm, you know, it's all of the things. So I think just really thinking about what have you seen on television before or in these mediums before? And then how can you take what you're doing and take it up a notch so that you stand out? And then it's learning how to pitch and it's learning the email process and not to oversell yourself and not to give them too much information. It's just like if you think about the captions that we write for Instagram posts and for Instagram reels, we give them what they need in little pieces and you make it easy. So I host a television show and if Stephanie pitched me and she made it easy for me to say yes because she has sent me a succinct pitch and it makes it like, well, this is a no brainer for me because she's just taken half the work out of it for me. Then bingo.

[Abigail Pugh]

Describe what you mean by a succinct pitch. Like, what does that look like coming into your inbox?

[Lisa]

Well, that's a skill that you have to learn. And so it really comes down to taking the little piece of your story that you're wanting to share. So for her, if she's pitching a television show for a food segment, then it's getting right to that. It is, I am this and I do that. And here is how I can help your audience and key you need to have watched the show.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yes.

[Lisa]

You talked about this. You get pitched from people who absolutely obviously do not listen to your podcast or they wouldn't be pitching you.

[Abigail Pugh]

So, like, the geologist that pitched you.

[Lisa]

Exactly. That's what I was thinking about, because I heard you talking about that. So know the show, you know, and even if there's a specific producer that you've, you know, pay attention to that and then hold on to that relationship, because that's how I get invited back, because I go right back to that producer and they already know I've delivered.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yep.

[Lisa]

They already know that. Hey, if you have a cancellation, I can be in Seattle and, you know, the next day, that sort of thing. So building those relationships as you achieve them and nurturing them when it makes sense, then that's. That's what it looks like.

[Abigail Pugh]

I love that. Now, one last question on this. Logistically, where do you even go? Like, do you find their email online? Like, how does that look like? I've never thought to pitch myself for, like, a local segment or anything on, like, the local news or anything. And I. I don't even know, like, where would people start to get their face on the morning news?

[Lisa]

Well, in a good way.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

For example, for. For my show, sometimes I'll get a pitch from somebody that came. They came through the station where I am, and obviously my. I'm. I have a local show, so it's a smaller station. But, you know, you can even call. If you call a news program, they have a storyline number that you can call or they have an email that you can send, and it's tough to stick out in that.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

So that is why the pitch is so important and knowing exactly what you want to share and making it easy for them to say yes, because they're gonna be going through so many different email, just like, you know, anything, you know, you're going through it. And what I always say, too, and this is what I was going to get to before about one of my clients that wants to start pitching to colleges and things and speaking and getting some of that experience is it's kind of like applying for a job or applying for a college. Apply for the one you're pretty sure you can get, and then apply for the biggest, best, you know, idea that you can come up with. It's the same thing. Like, I started with pitching the friend show for my pillow. I had another one in mind if that didn't work, and then I would have just kept going down. But I really believe in just have something Going out there so that you're getting that feedback and you've gotta be okay with the no. So when my first book came out, I had a book agent and I asked her to send me every rejection. And this is before email, so she had to physically put them in the mail. And her name is Carol and I'm still in touch with her to this day all these years later. And she's like, why would you torture yourself this way? And I said, because I know we're just getting closer to a yes.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yep.

[Lisa]

So she finally started batching the rejections and mailing them once a week because she said, I can't put myself through this. I can't go to the mailbox every day. And I don't know, I think we had 23 rejections or something. I can't remember the number offhand, but I posted it in a reel so I know whatever number I gave. I went back and researched at the time and that last one was from. It was a rejection, but they referred us to the publisher that ended up publishing my book.

[Abigail Pugh]

Oh snap.

[Lisa]

So the nos, you just can't care about em. And you're gonna get better and better and better at it. Just get okay with a no. And you will go so much further.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

In anything you want to achieve. Period.

[Abigail Pugh]

Seriously now, what is your take on, like, how much do you follow up? Like, is it something you send it once and then you wait to hear back or is it something that you're following up? Like, I never know the protocol on those types of things.

[Lisa]

Well, it depends. If you're pitching something that's seasonal, then you start pitching ahead. And I'm coming out with a product specifically for mapping out when you pitch for different seasons and different reasons based on your business. But it's that. But it's also if it's timely, if it's newsworthy, if it's something that's happening right now, then you'd send that pitch and I'd follow up within three days to a week. And if it's something that has more time, then you just circle back and I just put calendar reminders. My pitch emails, depending on what I'm pitching, are one thing. And then you have the follow up email that comes too. If you're reaching out through LinkedIn, then you know that's a little more casual space to do that in. And you might follow up via that way instead of email. So you know they're maybe someone comments on your post and then you follow up that way and it's it's makes sense to say, hey, I just sent you a message on the comment or something like that.

[Abigail Pugh]

Absolutely. Okay, so what do you think about. I get these types of DMs and emails all the time where they're like, hey, we'd love to feature you in X, Y, Z. This is a paid to play thing. Do you ever do those things? I've never done them. And they feel very like clickbaity to me. Like, they pitch me, they're all da, da, da. And then, like, sometimes they don't even tell me in the first email or the first dm, and then I'll respond back and be like, yeah, absolutely. And then their next one is like, oh, this is pay to play. Like, this is how much you need to pay to get featured. And I'm like, oh, no.

[Lisa]

So listen, Oprah doesn't even pay people to be on her show. Like, nobody.

[Abigail Pugh]

This.

[Lisa]

It's a. You're giving content and they're getting to have the guest. So you don't. I will not. I have not, and I would not recommend paying for it. Now, if you want to pay somebody to, you know, a publicist to place.

[Abigail Pugh]

You, yeah, that's different.

[Lisa]

I won't do that again. But it is something you can do. I would instead and have build my own team that cares a lot about me and my story and is invested in that to have a role in how I pitch. Just as you grow. Yeah, but starting out, nobody cares about your story more than you do, period.

[Abigail Pugh]

That's true.

[Lisa]

So you're the one pitching it, and you're the one who can, you know, adapt in a conversation. So years ago, this is just an embarrassing story, but we love those here. So years ago, I sent this gift basket to Gayle King, Oprah and Rosie O'Donnell, and I don't know who else, but those were the three main ones when Rosie O'Donnell had her talk show. I have so many fun stories about this, but I'll just tell you this one. And I sent this gift basket, and it was about my book. And I put some cool things in there. And as Gail was opening the basket, she called me and I froze. I had no pitch ready. Hunter. I was trying to get our son down for a nap. He was crying and fussy, and she was saying, well, maybe he's hungry. Have you fed him yet? Like, it was just.

[Abigail Pugh]

Oh, my gosh.

[Lisa]

It was like I had no. I had no preparation. So the lesson here is, if you're going to ask for something, you better be writing so then what happened was much later, different things had happened with the media and different things I'd achieved and not achieved. I sat down one day and this was about year and a half after my husband passed away. And I thought, I'm. I think I'm ready to start marketing again. And I still had the pillow business, but my assistant was pretty much running everything I worked when I wanted to. I was very blessed that way. And I sat down and I wrote a really good email to a producer at the Rachael Roy show. And I got a call the next day. And I knew I had maybe two minutes, right, to impress them, make them feel like I could deliver. And within two days, they'd sent their B roll team out to film at my house. Another couple days, I'm in New York and I'm on the Rachel Ray Show. But I was ready that time because I was never gonna let that happen again. Never gonna let that happen again. So it is about preparation does meet opportunity, but you have to.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

You know, if you're asking the world for this, you're asking God, the universe, then you need to be ready to receive it. And I learned that lesson the hard way.

[Abigail Pugh]

Absolutely. Okay, so earlier you said. When I brought up Stephanie, my student, and I asked for an example, you said you have seven ideas. So could you just off the top of your head, like, you don't have to go into detail, like, seven different ways that someone who is, you know, has a personal brand, they're selling digital products. Seven different ways that they can get this visibility by putting themselves out there.

[Lisa]

Well, it's the things we talked about. So local television, start.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yep.

[Lisa]

Depending on your topic, you could be speaking locally in many different ways just to start getting confidence in that and to start really honing your talk. So that could be colleges, that could be guest workshops, that could be speaking at the local rotary. Like, really just the very beginnings of things. I still go. I am scheduled next month to go speak at a career day, and I do it for free because it matters to me. And so there are things that I still do that I donate my time for. Now, if I'm going to get on a plane, somebody's going to pay me to do that if I'm giving a talk. But so there's also conferences. So think about the conferences that you've attended, and maybe you're not quite ready to apply for the keynote, but they also have other speakers and they have workshops and they have different tables.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

Round tables. There's all different ways that way Blogs and guest blogging and writing. And, you know, there are people who have guest writers and guest contributors of your local newspaper. You know, all of these different things. If you just think about how you consume content. Where do you get your content? Podcasts. There's so many of them.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

And some of them don't have a huge audience like yours, Abigail, but you get practice, you get to have that conversation. And having a four to six minute segment on a morning television show is so much different. Look at the detail we're getting to go into here on this podcast episode. So you get a chance to make your story wide and big, and then you'll learn how to make it. The pieces just like the way you share content on Instagram. And I keep saying Instagram because your audience is very familiar with that. And so conceptualizing that really makes sense. And you know, I believe in a speaker sheet and I believe in a one sheet. I once sent out a speaker sheet. I didn't know I was applying for the keynote.

[Abigail Pugh]

What is a speaker sheet? I don't even know.

[Lisa]

So a speaker sheet is something that some people think is old news. I still believe in it. I ended up having the keynote for that conference and opening the conference from the speaker sheet. And a speaker sheet is just really the important facts. So it all has to fit on one sheet. So it is your bio. You know, to sum down to a succinct, they can go look at your website if they want more details. It's your bio, it's your talk. I highly recommend perfecting one talk. Don't try to be everything to everyone. If you want to speak at a conference, go look for the conferences that your audience is waiting. Don't morph your talk every time you pitch something new. Now, you know, couple tweaks, that's fine. But in general, there are people who make a really good living giving the same talk all over the world for years without changing a thing. And you just get it now. It gets better and better. But the talk I was giving when I was working in health and patient advocacy, before I switched gears was this. I gave the same talk every time, whether I was talking to patients, caregivers, providers, they all took away something different.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

And so that's a really important factor. And so just really understanding what your message is. And then you put that talk, you give a title to the talk, you give an overview of the talk, and then also any testimonials that you can give, any credentials that you can give, how to contact you. It's all in one sheet, the Toyota deal, I got a one sheet and a meeting, and everything was on that sheet. And I went in there and I was able to leave it behind. Just think about the thing that if the panelists or the people who are making the decisions about the conference, the speaking conference, are all in a room, that you just want something you can pass along to them.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

That each person, like that person has found you and they want you to be the one that gives the talk. Make it easy for them to share that information with the people in the room.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah, I love that. Okay, you guys, your homework for today, which we're not done yet. I have one more question. But your homework for today, when you're done listening to this podcast, is I want you to sit down and I want you to write out all the ways that you consume content. Like what do you. Do you watch YouTube videos? Do you listen to podcasts? Do you watch the local news? Do you listen to the radio? Like, what is it that you're consuming? And then I want you to sit down and, well, you can do this all in the same sitting. I don't care. I want you to write out different places or blogs or radio shows or things that you would want to pitch yourself to. Right. And I want you to just, like, start thinking about ways to get yourself visible, because that's what this is all about. This is getting your name out there, getting your story out there, having visibility so that people know you exist. Because nobody can buy your digital product if they don't know you exist. Right. And obviously my favorite way to do this is Instagram, but there's so many other ways. And I think this is a really great one for people that thrive in social and public situations. I don't. It's not. It's not my favorite. Like, my first year of business, I got paid to speak at a conference, at two conferences, actually. One was a roundtable and one was like, I was actually speaking. And it's the most nervous I've ever been in my life. Um, I was terrified. And one of the conferences that I spoke at, the main speaker was like, someone on TikTok that I love. And I was so nervous. I was like, oh, my gosh, this is nerve wracking. Like, everyone's gonna be so much better. And the other girl was so nervous too. She's like, this is the first time I've ever spoke anywhere. And it just felt like, okay, I'm not the only one just putting myself out there. And then the other one that I Spoke at, which was a roundtable. Mine was sold. Like, my people were adding chairs to my table every single time. And it was really cool to just see, like, okay, hey, like, people are interested in what I have to talk about and.

[Lisa]

Exactly.

[Abigail Pugh]

It just gave me a confidence boost as well. Like, yes, I met so many people. I met some of, like, my really good business friends at this conference, and it was amazing. But it also just like, gave me this boost of confidence. Like, oh, people want to learn from me, and I love this. And I haven't done any since. Not gonna lie. I was supposed to do one this year, and then it got canceled. So I did agree to one or not this year. Sorry. I was supposed to do one last year and it got canceled. But I think that there are so many other ways to get your business out there as opposed to just Instagram. And I will say, the way that I'm doing this this year is being a guest on other people's podcasts. And I think it's a lot of fun for me too. It's a great way for me to get myself out there without feeling the nerve of, like, getting on the morning news. Like, that gives me hives. Like, I don't think I could do that.

[Lisa]

Well, the other thing is, is you're really passionate about what you're doing. So let me just say this, so it has to be something that you want to talk about again and again. So on Instagram, you have to show up every single day. And how you and I met, Abigail, is that I was working in the patient caregiver space for a long time, and I had achieved that, you know, resort conference, getting paid the money I wanted to get paid to be there. I had was building out a course that wasn't just me. It was experts in the of medicine, a retired probate judge telling us how to handle medical directives and all these things. And I was doing this from the passion of really, the experience I went through with my husband ended up helping save my mother's life. And so I wanted to help people understand how to advocate for themselves and when it can really make a difference. Well, then I lost my dad last year, and it was sudden and it was horrible, and I just couldn't show up in people's crisis in any way, shape, or form anymore while it being in the midst of my own. And how I figured this out is I. I joined your last live reels challenge that you had, and I thought, I'm gonna do this. I can do this. I know I can do this. I've worked so hard. I've put all this effort into it. I've been building this for a year. I'm ready. And I posted reels in your challenge three days in a row, and I said, I'm out. Yeah, I can't do it. This is not something I wanna talk about to the extent that I need to believe in it. I believed in it, but I. To the extent I needed to show up in that way. And so what I think it also does when you start to think about all these different ways you're gonna show up. Let's say you've mastered Instagram, but you're feeling like you want more. What sometimes happens is you start building out these other ways of getting out there, and you're like, hmm, I might need to pivot a little bit. You know, I might need to add a little something or change a little something. You give a lot of good advice and you say, start here and you can add to it later, but start really tight and keep your message tight. And so when you are thinking about pitching yourself, whatever way you do it, whether it's television, particularly if you want to be a public speaker about it, you gotta be willing to get on a plane and fly there and be inconvenienced and stay in a hotel and give up your favorite pillow and maybe not see your child overnight or, you know, whatever that is. So it needs to mean something to you.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah.

[Lisa]

And you need to be passionate about it. Yeah. So I think by you giving them that assignment and really start to look. And also, you gotta be willing to take the rejection that comes with it. So if it's important to you, you will. You'll accept those nos and you'll push past through them. And I'm just here to help people, one, with confidence. But two, just the real strategy that's involved in doing it. Because once you learn it, it's like, what is that saying, you know, you give a man a fish and he eats that fish, but if you teach a man to fish like a woman, like, what would be the equivalent, whatever that looks like, where you're teaching someone how to do something for themselves and then they can do it for a lifetime.

[Abigail Pugh]

Yeah, absolutely. What is it? If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for one day. If you teach him how to fish, then he'll eat forever.

[Lisa]

You said it so much better than I did.

[Abigail Pugh]

When I heard it, I was like, I. I think we gotta change a little bit about that. Yeah, totally. Absolutely. And okay, if someone is you know, they have started their personal brand, they're selling digital products, and they want to put themselves out there and they want to learn to, like, craft this story. Because you do have to learn how to articulate your story in a way that is sharing your story, but also sharing whoever you are talking to, how it benefits their audience. I'm telling you guys, the people that ask to be on my show or pitch themselves to me, the ones that I bring on are the ones that tell me their story, but also tell me how they're gonna help my audience. Because my show is not about them. My show is not about me. It's about how I can help my audience. Right? And that's always the number one for me. And so when you're pitching, you have to know how to kind of pitch yourself in a way that is not selfish. Like, you still have to share about yourself, but it has to be in a way that's like, this is how I'm going to help the people watching. So, Lisa, before we, you know, sign off for the day, could you just let them know how they can work with you to help with that type of thing?

[Lisa]

Well, there's a few different ways. The, the. The one thing that I think has been most effective is my pitch playbook. And what it does is you get to send me every link to everything that you want me to look at. It's your Instagram link, it's your website links, it's, you know, whatever you've been working on that's maybe not working. And I go through and I look at everything in great detail. And I record a loom video while I'm doing it. It's live. Like, I'm coming into your world as if somebody else is a producer is coming to your website and looking at what you have and seeing it in real time. And I go through and I tell you exactly what I see and the pitch potential of this part of your story or this part of your story, and then I send it to you in a loom video and I give you a very detailed Google document that you can run with like that day. So if you order the pitch playbook within three business days, all of that's in your inbox. And then if you wanna work together one on one, yes, it is. And I feel like it's the best way. And it also helps me know if they're ready to work with me. Right. And I don't mean that in like a, oh, are you worthy? I don't mean that. I mean, like, there's different steps. And I can give you this playbook and say, hey, here are these things that you can work on and I can help you get ready. But if you want to do it yourself, these are the things that I would recommend. And then from there, you know, we could work together one on one. And I have some really fun products coming out. I have a few that are on my site now. And I just have so many ideas. And that's the fun part. Abigail. And you and I have been in communication about it. Once you figure out and how this happened was I was talking to a friend and she was wanting to speak and not knowing what to do. And we just had this 15 minute conversation. She says, why aren't you helping people do this? And it was the light bulb, right? It was the light bulb. Because I can talk to you for two more hours if you'd like, and I wouldn't be tired of it.

[Abigail Pugh]

It's always like what your friends are asking you, you guys.

[Lisa]

Exactly.

[Abigail Pugh]

So many of the time, it's like what they're picking your brain. Like, hey, can I get help with this? None of my friends live in person with me, so that wasn't the case for me. But a lot of my, you know, friends that live in different states, we talk about this stuff all the time. And it was the same for me. A few of them are like, why are you not sharing on this? Like, what are you doing? Like, people want to know this information, so I love that so much. Lisa, thank you so much for coming on the show, you guys. I will link her Instagram and her website down below for you. So if you are trying to get more visible and sell your digital products and put yourself out there into the world to let people know how you can help them, I feel like this is, this is a really awesome way to do it. And like I said before, it doesn't have to be your morning news station, right? If that's scares you, maybe make that your fifth pitch you do down the line in a few months. But I, I talk about this a lot. Like, get on people's podcasts, get on people's blogs. Because essentially when you're on somebody else's podcast or blog or wherever it is that you show up, you have the trust of that person's audience because those people trust the person, right? So people trust me so that when I have people on my podcast, they now trust this person that is on my podcast. So take advantage of that. And not in a bad way. Like take advantage of the fact that other people have these amazing audiences that need your help. So get yourself in front of them, right? And for me personally, podcasting has been the best way to like dip my toes into this because like I said, I tend to self sabotage. I get nervous and it makes me like, it makes me want to like, throw up thinking about being on the news. I'm not going to lie, it's probably something I wouldn't do for a while, but podcasting has been great for me because it just, it feels like I can like, dip my toes into it. So go make your list. Go find Lisa on Instagram and she has one more thing to say.

[Lisa]

Well, I want to say, because we're talking about, we've talked about TV a lot, right? And that morning show, I created a product too, that's signature TV story and it's everything you need to do to pitch it. And so what I say to you, if you're watching, I always need good guests on my show. So pitch me.

[Abigail Pugh]

Oh, there you go.

[Lisa]

Pitch me to be on my show. And that's a good place to start. I mean, it's an option. It's not like I'm not trying to sell you anything. I'm saying that I always need good content on my show, good guests. And so maybe that feels like a safe place because we're getting to know each other here.

[Abigail Pugh]

I love that so much. Well, thank you guys so much for listening to another week. I hope you got a nice hot girl walk in while you were listening and I will see you next week. Thank you so much for hanging out with me and my guests today. If you learned anything from our episode, I would love it if you could share it over on your Instagram stories and tag me at Abigail Pugh until next time. Love you. Mean it.