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Foreign hello everyone, and welcome back to the Kate Show. Today we're talking PR and media opportunities and how you could possibly just create your own because, you know, there are a lot of people who say I could never get featured by so and so because I'm not an influencer, because I'm not a celebrity. Because, because, because when really we just need to put ourselves out there. Because when we make ourselves marketable, it makes it easier for other people to feature us because ultimately we'll make them look good, too. There's a lot of because in this episode, but that still brings us back to the question of, like, how do you do it? How does a home pro like you get featured, post published, or promoted by bigger brands and entities? Well, like I said, you have to make yourself marketable. You have to ask for or create your own opportunities. You have to pursue an ongoing relationship with the entities that feature you, because relationships are what will grow your brand and your business. Making yourself marketable, by the way, which is just making it easier for other people to talk about you, is not the same thing as marketing your own business. But doing this is essential for you to then be able to create your own PR or media opportunities. So if you want to be proactive in the brand exposure and media coverage that your business gets, whether you run an interior design business, a staging firm, a window treatment workroom, or you're a window treatment dealer, or you run an organizing business, this is the episode for you. You don't have to be an influencer, you don't have to be in business for a long time in order to make this method work. If you're a go getter, and if you love to think outside the box, you might be surprised where this method that I'm going to share today will take you. Now, I do practice what I preach because using this method I've landed several key media NPR opportunities for my own brand socialite, namely being featured in Brains magazine and recognized As a Top 500 global entrepreneur, becoming an educator and paid speaker for Honeybook, and recognized as an official media partner for Squarespace and Patriot Mobile. So I'm walking the talk. I'm getting good results from it. And you can too make sure that you are subscribed to this podcast and if you have not yet, please rate and review the show. It means so much to me when I know that you guys are enjoying the content that I'm putting out because it actually does take take quite a bit of time and effort for me to produce alongside my wonderful podcast producer, Shout out to you, Joran. And if you guys can give me that rating or review, it also helps other people find the show. All right, let's get into today's episode. How to create PR and media opportunities for your home industry brand.
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This episode of the Kate show is brought to you by Honeybook. I love using Honeybook for my business because it helps create a streamlined workflow when people decide they want to work with me. Because you know, there's one thing to do the right marketing to get the client, there's quite another to impress them all the way through the end of the project. And with HoneyBook, my clients are able to review and sign the proposal, make their payment, and then be told what to do next, all in one fell swoop. I've set up automations that remind them when they need to send me certain assets so that their website project can go off without a hitch. And if you've ever worked with us, you know that Honeybook kept you on track. It kept us on track and it.
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Was really easy to use.
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If you're interested in using Honeybook for your business, go to honeybook.com and use the code socialite at checkout for 50%.
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Off your first year.
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This episode of the Kate show is brought to you by the foundation website guys. If you need a new website for your business but you can't afford a fully custom site or you just don't have that much time to spare, you should check out the semi custom website design service from the Socialite agency for home pros who need more than just a DIY website template. How many times have you purchased a website template only to never use it or get stuck because you don't know how to complete it, you don't know how to connect all the things and well, doesn't that end up being a waste of money? It does. That's why the foundation website exists. If you want a professional to set up your website, handle your on site SEO, optimize your images and write your copy and you want to maintain full control over that website moving forward. This website is for you. You'll be able to see what's included and what's not included by heading over to katesocialite.com and under the services page click on semi custom website design. Every great build begins with a solid foundation and we've made it easy. You'll be able to learn exactly how the process works, why we have a 10 business day turnaround, and why we can keep the fees so darn affordable with no ongoing fees to us whatsoever. The cool thing is, and the thing that a lot of our clients appreciate, is that when you get our website, whether it's fully custom or semi custom like this one, we are available to help make updates to your site. We only charge you when you actually need an update made, which means that months, years might go by. You don't have to pay us a dime. But when you're ready for help, we're there to help you. Head over to katethesocialite.com and look under the services tab to get the website your business deserves.
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Okay, guys, here's the scoop. Some media opportunities are passive, meaning you might be approached by different industry leaders or brands, and simply because you've niched down, stayed in your lane, made yourself look professional, and thus all of these things have made you marketable. Other and honestly, most opportunities are active, meaning you pursue them personally or even create them yourself. These opportunities tend to be the most impactful, ironically, because you can steer them toward your goals with more precision than if someone just handed you an offer. Of course, those situations are nice too. Who doesn't like being handed at a media opportunity? But in order to kind of take control of your pr, you have to identify several things, and I'm going to break them down into further detail. But just as a bird's eye view, you'll have to identify your goal, your audience, your methods, your assets, and your ongoing strategy. So by the way, guys, if you stay to the end of this episode, you are going to get access to my free Canva media kit, which can be used by anybody in the home industry. And it's a really great way for you to showcase the accomplishments that you already have, plus the things that you want, such as the different things that you could speak on if you were to be invited somewhere to speak, which will make more sense once you get through this episode. All right, so the first thing we need to do is identify your goals. Your goal should be more brand exposure, because that can be leveraged later to earn even bigger opportunities. And you should also be to position yourself as a leader or a thought leader in your industry. If you're not sure what thought leadership is, go Back to episode two 63 or excuse me, 262, the one right before this one. Because I talk all about mindless marketing versus thought leadership. You don't want to do mindless marketing anymore. That is so last year. Thought leadership is going to propel you forward. Now, you need to remember that with media and pr, your goal is not to get clients directly from it this is actually thinking bigger than just getting more clients. Now you might get some clients from it and it would be indirectly. And that's fine. Like none of us are going to complain about getting more of the right clients. But this is about you positioning yourself for the long term, for the future, for where you really want to take your business. Ultimately, maybe that means eventually you want to sell your business. Maybe it means you want to hire someone to replace you in the business so you can go start another business. Or you just want to become a more passive actor in the business. You have to get yourself and your business up to a certain level in order to be able to do any of those things successfully. And getting more exposure will help.
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So once you've identified your goal, which.
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Really can only be like one thing, get the exposure, then you also have to identify your audience. So mainly like your ideal clients that could be considered part of your audience. It could also be different vendors that you admire, that you love working with. It could be other people in your industry. But you have to figure out where are they consuming information? Who do they respect and trust and, and what do you want them to remember about you? Disregard your granular services. You need to think bigger than that. You don't want people to just remember that you organize closets, or that you remodel kitchens, or that you will help style or stage their Airbnb. It has to be more than that. What do you want them to remember about you? Oh yeah, she's the one who had this amazing comeback story and after almost losing her business in 2020. Or she's the one who worked herself out of homelessness and into successful entrepreneurship. I mean, your story may not be as extreme as that one, but if you at least have your story in whatever media you're giving, it's going to make you more memorable. But you have to be clear on what do you want people to remember about you aside from your services. All right, so the next thing is identifying your methods. There are like three different main methods you could choose from and you can mix and match. There's being a host, being a guest, and being a promoter. So to be a host, here's an example, I guess invite a well known person from your industry to be a guest at your in person or virtual event. So as an interior designer, you might say, okay, well I want to be seen as the designer who's connected to all the right people. And I really legitimately do want to be connected to all the right people. So perhaps your design firm hosts an event and you invite, I don't know, Luanne Naguera to come speak. Now, will she? I don't know. But you need to extend the opportunity, make yourself available, and make sure that your firm looks marketable. Because, you know, a lot of us already know Luann Nagara. She's wonderful. She comes with a certain level of clout. And you have to understand that when you host someone like that, or when you host a celebrity designer or one of the HGTV celebrity designers, that does say something about your business, but you have to be darn sure you're doing a good job. The other alternative is to be a guest, so you could be the person who makes those appearances and offers value to someone else's audience. Now, you may not be a celebrity, you may not be Luanna, but you can certainly show up at local events where people are just looking for speakers for certain seminars, certain small business ventures that they're trying to promote. And you can say, hey, I can talk to your group about X, Y and Z. You don't have to charge them anything. This is really just good exposure for you. So that's an example of being a guest. Now, you can also do that virtually. There's a lot of virtual seminars out there and different summits and masterminds. Some masterminds will bring guest speakers in. So that would be a good opportunity for you. You have to seek out these opportunities, though they're not necessarily just going to land in your lap. The third option is to be a promoter. And this is sometimes a safer, quote, unquote, safer place to start because you're not really putting yourself out there, but you're actively seeking out and promoting events in your industry or your local area. And you're sending out information to your email list, your social channels, and you're letting the host of that event, whatever that event is, know that you're promoting them. So that could look like if your local chamber of commerce is having a vendor fair, you can share information about that to your email list so that all your local clients could go partake and then also just shoot a quick message over to the host so the chamber of Commerce and say, hey, just let you know, I'm promoting this event. In these different avenues. They might just say thank you. But when you keep doing that again and again, they're going to be like, oh, okay, like you really do want to be involved. And then it might become a situation where every time they're going to do something, they reach out to you first to say, hey, can you Promote this and then you have leverage and it's leverage that you created.
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This episode is brought to you by the Window Coverings association of America. Are you an interior designer, a decorator, a student, a workroom, an installation dollar or a window treatment vendor? The WCAA was meant for you. If you're looking for community rather than competition, business guidance, real growth strategies instead of just good ideas and introductions to all the right people, you need the wcaa. Their mission is to provide education, networking, a code of ethics and increased exposure for this unique industry. Learn everything from the latest window treatment production techniques to business profit tips, marketing.
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And so much more, all from the.
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Comfort of your laptop.
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Learn and grow your business right where you are by connecting with your local WCAA chapter. Monthly meetings, educational opportunities and fun activities.
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Abound within the organization.
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Lastly, you can also save money with vendor discounts.
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You can save on items and services your business is already buying through their industry partner relationships.
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Everything from coaching and marketing to well known Windows Treatment brands and more are available.
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But hey, here's the real question. Do you need more leads? As a WCIA member, your business will.
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Be listed in their homeowner facing directory.
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Of home industry professionals helping you connect.
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With more of the right clients.
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Do you need to hire or be.
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Hired as a member of the wcaa?
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You'll have access to a job board.
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That is exclusive to the design and window treatment industry, perfect for finding or filling your next role.
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Don't wait.
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Go to WCAA.org and apply to join with them. You're never in business alone.
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Do you find yourself turning on the news and feeling hopeless? Woke agendas, open borders, inflation due to out of control spending and the list goes on. There is something you can do about it. Buy from companies that believe what you and I believe.
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We need to stick together now more.
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Plans with them too.
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And get your employees, all your team members on Patriot Mobile guys go to patriotmobile.com kate and use the code Kate for free activation.
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Now after you've picked your method so a host, a guest, a promoter, or some combination thereof, you need to identify your assets. There are a few key things you'll need to have regardless of which method you choose. You'll need professional photos of yourself. Not just an old headshot, not just one headshot, but an actual lifestyle photo shoot. Ideally you should also have audio or video or both of you talking about your trade. And you can have that audio or video on your website, on your social. If it's on your social, it should also be on your website by the way. And then lastly you should also have a media kit or a one sheet document that shares who you are, what you do, and your suggested speaking topics. Like I said earlier, I do have a free template for you and I'll tell you how to get that a little bit later. But once you have your assets then you need to figure out your ongoing strategy. So you have a few options and I suggest honestly doing all of them. But publicize any features or partnerships that you do receive or have already received in your marketing. So send it out in an email newsletter, talk about it on social, add it to the press page of your website. When you were featured by a magazine, when you were featured locally, when you invited someone important to come speak at your event. When you host any sort of event, make it obvious that you are active, that you are playing an active role in your own pr, and then select four events every year, so roughly like one per quarter, even though it may not actually fall that way on your calendar. And those events should be places where you will either host or guest or promote. But remember, in order to guest, I mean like being a guest speaker, being a featured speaker. I don't just mean showing up at a cocktail hour at someone else's business as a guest.
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That does not count.
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As the guest, you should be able to have a podium, literal or figurative, and deliver a message, a message that is unique to you, that will make you memorable. And after all of this, you should stay in touch with the people or the brands or the entities that you've hosted and promoted and guested for. And the easiest way to do that is to just drop these people into your mailing list and maintain sending your email newsletter every two to four weeks. Otherwise these people will forget you. But if you can stay top of mind with them, kind of like how you stay top of mind with your clients through email marketing, you can get more opportunities, bigger opportunities, better opportunities, but you have to be willing to work for it and be consistent. Now do not rely on these people just following you on social and keeping up with you that way. Because while they might. The problem is some people, a growing number of people are not that into social media anymore, especially if they are serious busy business owners. They. The other thing to keep in mind is the darn algorithm. How many of us follow people that we never see posts from because the.
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Algorithm decided that's just how it should be?
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It's super frustrating. You cannot rely on social media to do your follow up work for you. You have to be much more pinpointed about it. And that's why email marketing is a lot more effective. All right, so once you have identified to recap your goal, which is more brand exposure, your audience, like who are they, who do they trust, how are they consuming information and then identified your methods. So are you going to host or guest or just be a promoter and then you have all your assets. I'm going to pause on this one for a second because your assets meaning photos of yourself, even a professional looking website, having the media kit, those things sound simple, but they take time. And there are so many business owners in the home industry who do not prioritize photos. So I run into a lot of interior designers who do not have professional photos of their work. And that comes back to bite them every time they try to do something new in their marketing. Print media, they don't have photos of high enough resolution, they have to use stock new websites, they don't have photos of high enough resolution, so they have to use stock photos of themselves. Like that's the one thing that should be easy for everyone to get, but we tend to brush it off like, oh, I'll do it later, I don't really need it, I'll just take some selfies. Or I don't want to show my face at all. But the thing is, if you want your business to get more exposure, you have to get more exposure. It has to be your face. Nobody can do it for you. Even if you work with a PR agency, they're still going to require you to provide the photos, hopefully of yourself and your work. They can't do it for you. They might send a photographer to your location to make it happen. But it would be best if your interiors photographer could photograph you while they're also photographing one of your spaces. Because that's kind of a two for one deal. But ideally, and most professionally, you should really have a photo shoot taken in your place of business or in your office. And if you are a solopreneur and you're working from a home office, or if you're like me and you have a team, but everyone is remote, you're all working in your own home offices, you can still have a photo shoot done. And it can be with just you. It doesn't have to include your team. Especially if you're already the face of the business because you are the owner, the founder, the CEO. You have to make this a priority. Now, quick note on the one sheet or media kit. The purpose of the media kit isn't to showcase how many followers you have because at the end of the day, that's a vanity metric and doesn't really matter, but it's meant to make you more available to people who are like, okay, I want to have you come speak at my event. I see that you have a list of different topics that you usually speak on or that you're willing to speak on. That gives me some ideas. Okay, so now I know I can line you up to talk about, blah, blah, blah, perfect. What you're doing is their work for them a little bit ahead of time. That's making yourself marketable. Making yourself marketable is kind of like making yourself available. Like, I like to always picture a first date, okay? You want to look your best, you want to be available, you're not going to be late, you're going to show up prepared for the occasion and your outfit's going to match whatever restaurant you're going to like. It's just, it's all going to make sense like you planned for it to happen. So that's what making yourself marketable is. You are planning for and anticipating your success and media coverage versus having really poor photography, a really poor website, lackluster branding, and next to no marketing. And then wondering why everyone else seems to be getting featured except you. Okay, we have to take an active role in our business growth and in our marketing. Now, I keep teasing this free media kit and if you go to my website, katthesocialite.com, you'll see the top bar of my website has a freebie, the Marketing calendar. When you get the marketing calendar, you're also going to get marketing strategy, media kit, audio guides. You're going to get so many things. So head over to k the socialite.com and click the banner at the top of the website. Okay guys, quick special announcement. How many of you use flodesk? I love Flow Desk. It's beautiful. I'm actually going to be switching my brand over to flodesk soon. Easier said than done though, because I've got a lot of email sequences that will I'll have to move as well and I'm kind of dreading that. However, what I'm trying to get at is we now offer flodesk email templates specific to entrepreneurs in the home industry. So if you run a business in the industry of interior design, home staging, window treatments, organizing, you can now use flodesk templates that were meant to grow your business. You add it to your flodesk account with the click of a button and you can either modify it yourself and send it out, or you can hire my team to modify and brand it to your business and we'll send it out for you every single month, even up to twice a month. We have found this is one of the best ways to stay in touch with people that you've already worked with in your mailing list or people that joined your list but they didn't hire you yet for whatever reason. It's also a great way to keep in touch with different vendors and colleagues and media personnel. So if you are ready to take an active role in your marketing, head over to katethesocialite.com get the media kit at the top of the website, or check out our ongoing marketing services where you can get those flodesk templates. You'll find everything you need under the Services tab. Thank you guys so much for watching and listening and I will talk to you next time.