subject: How to Make the Most with PR Outreach on PitchRate.com [print this page] How to Make the Most with PR Outreach on PitchRate.com
In April of 2009 Michelle Tennant Nicholson of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., sat down to speak with family therapist, Liza Shaw on how to make the most with PR outreach on www.PitchRate.com.
Michelle: It is Wednesday, April 29, 2009. And I am Michelle Tennant Nicholson, and this is the Wasabi Club. And today, I have a therapist with us, and we're gonna actually be talking about best practices around PR for marriage and family therapists. And her name is Liza Shaw.
Want to get through some housekeeping stuff first, and then we'll go right into well, who is Liza, and what is she doing today? So again, this is the Wasabi Club. If you are participating with us online, you can go to the TheWasabiClub.com or PublicityResults.com and find out how to get our newsletter and be informed of these calls every single month. And you can also read more about me at StorytellertotheMedia.com and find out how to reach me through my blog there.
If you're participating live with us today, and you want to mute yourself, you hit star 6. And to un-mute yourself, you hit star 6 again. This is a little bit different than most of our Wasabi Clubs, because normally we do more like a panel discussion, and everybody's who participating we just kind of do a free-for-all.
But today, we really wanted to get into the nitty-gritty of: how do you build your business? Especially if you're somebody like a licensed marriage and family therapist. How do you build your business with PR? And the thing that Liza is doing that's new for her is a radio show. So we're gonna talk about her newly appointed journalistic hat as well.
So now she's a radio host and a therapist. How do you actually parlay both expertise levels, so that you're getting maximum PR exposure? And that's really the purpose of this call. So it's a little different. It's gonna be less group oriented and more just Liza with her questions and me with my 20 years of experience in PR, kind of like really exploring this. So welcome, Liza.
Liza: Thank you very much.
Michelle: You sent me a little bio about yourself, and I'm actually gonna read through that, so that people who are listening live with us, or those that are listening in the future, get a sense of who you are an what you're doing. Okay?
Liza: That sounds great.
Michelle: So everybody bear with me, because I'm actually gonna actually read this little paragraph here. Liza Shaw is a licensed marriage and family therapist, and a certified advanced clinical hypnotherapist, and a clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.
She has many years experience assisting families, couples, and individuals, to move their relationship beyond previous limits and create more successful and fulfilling lives. And you went to Appalachian State University in '99.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And you have a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, it sounds like. And then you immediately entered the private sector and began your practice. Prior to that, Liza worked as a rape crisis counselor, assisting child victims and their non-offending family members through the process of healing from abuse. She also spent time as a domestic violence counselor and as the director of communications for the YWCA in Raleigh, North Carolina. We've got a lot of expertise to draw from in this conversation, Liza.
In the last decade, Liza has developed a therapeutic model she calls Power to Thrive Therapy, and this is her service mark too. This model is based on several cutting edge marriage and family therapy series, and encourages clients to explore their past and present circumstances in an empowering way. Through a supportive coaching style, Power to Thrive Therapy teaches clients to discover their personal power in a brand new way, allowing them to truly put the past behind them.
Liza is the owner and director of Marriage and Family Therapy Services, and supervises two additional therapists who work at the practice. Liza has been published in several professional journals, and has been a guest columnist for the Hickory Daily Record and the Utica Observer-Dispatch, and has been featured you're a featured author in the books Don't Miss Your Boat: Living Life with a Purpose in the Real World and Voices and Visions.
She's currently working on a memoir-style self-help book, which weaves together the triumphant stories of the work with her clients and her own life's personal growth work. So I wanted to really just read that for everybody, so we can kind of get a sense of what Liza is bringing to the party.
Now what I want other people to learn a little more about, before we get into it, is: why the radio show, Liza?
Liza: Well, I think that it's a great next step for me, because my desire is to take what I do on the local level and bring it to a wider audience.
Michelle: Uh-huh.
Liza: And you know I've been kind of mulling that over for a while, in the last few months. How can I do that? How can I reach a lot of people? Make it something that is a contribution. I'm not really that interested in it having to be an income generator, but more just to have people see who I am and what I'm about, and for me to contribute it.
And it just seemed like the logical next thing to do. Plus, I'm a talker, and I just have always I used to do radio, actually, in my undergraduate work studied radio and television. And so I have some knowledge of it already, and I think it's a fun next step.
Michelle: Did you go out and seek a viable radio show partnership? Or did they come to you?
Liza: Well, no. Actually, this is Internet radio, so it's also kind of a whole new frontier. There isn't a partnership yet, but I do see that as a possibility in the future.
Michelle: The reason why I ask is even Internet radio has channels that we actually if there are people out there listening, who are like, "Oh, I think I should have a radio show too."
Liza: Right. Right.
Michelle: Did you go out and seek it? Or did they offer it to you?
Liza: No. I sought it.
Michelle: Okay. So you went out, and you did a Google search or something like that, that said, "Internet radio?"
Liza: Well, actually one of the first things I did was listen to a conference call, which I got involved with because of something that you sent me Michelle, a while back.
Michelle: Oh good.
Liza: Steve Harrison, I think his name is.
Michelle: Oh yeah. The Harrison brothers. Yeah.
Liza: Yeah. And listened to a show a conference call on developing your own radio station.
Michelle: Oh awesome. Oh, I love the Harrison brothers, and I personally have participated in their National Publicity Summit and highly recommend it.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: And then the Harrison brothers have really great advice for people who are really looking to use PR. So I'm glad to hear that. I'll have to let them know that.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Good. Great. So then that's the thing that was really interesting to me, that you're not that you're looking at expanding with the radio. So is it purely to reach a wide audience? Or is it also to build your practice in North Carolina?
Liza: Well, it's both.
Michelle: Uh-huh.
Liza: The people I'm gonna have on the show will start out being local guests.
Michelle: Yes.
Liza: And so that will be the local angle. But ultimately, it's both. I honestly as far as my practice grows, I don't need to build it bigger right now. What I am interested in doing is building the practice of the other therapists that work for me.
Michelle: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Liza: And just to grow the practice that way. There's a limit to how many hours I can see clients in a day, or that I'm willing to. I guess some therapists might see more than I do. But the only other way to expand, in terms of the hours provided to clients, would be to have other therapists do the work as well.
And so I've got these other two that are working for me. My desire to grow it would be to build their caseload.
Michelle: Yeah. Good. Are they using your Power to Thrive model inside their counseling as well?
Liza: Yes. Yes.
Michelle: Awesome. Okay.
Michelle: Yeah.
Michelle: So then it's basically like under that umbrella, and that's why you've named the show Power to Thrive?
Liza: Exactly. And that's been my service mark since I started doing this work about ten years ago.
Michelle: Uh-huh.
Liza: You know I used to work, as you said, for the YWCA, and we did a public relations campaign, that year before I went to graduate school, and I learned all about tag lines and the importance of developing the image. So I kind of created the Power to Thrive service mark back then, and just have been using it, and throughout the ten years developed this method of working with people that really, really works.
And so it seemed natural to just refer to it as Power to Thrive Therapy, and then the radio show should be Power to Thrive Radio.
Michelle: And then the other thing that you wanted to talk about was not only the radio show and so forth, but really just all the marketing elements together your website and some of the other elements.
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: Do you want to talk a little bit about what you really hope to accomplish in this call toady with us?
Liza: Sure. It's twofold. I've got the desire to build the practice on the local level. And obviously, bottom line would increase when more people know who we are and sign up to be clients here. And then the other vision that I have is to expand my career and take it really to the next level, to really be more nationally recognized, and to make more of a difference on a larger scale.
Michelle: Good. Okay. And do you see yourself eventually letting your co-therapists at the practice do more of the one-on-one, and then you're doing more of the out-in-front public kind of stuff?
Liza: Yes. That's exactly right.
Michelle: Uh-huh. Okay.
Liza: I could be developing workshops that I present nationally, and have my folks back here continuing keeping the fire burning.
(Laughter)
Be able to build it that way.
Michelle: Now do you see Power to Thrive just being in Hickory, North Carolina? Or do you see it franchising out?
Liza: Oh, I think that sounds great. I hadn't really thought of the franchise idea, but that sounds fabulous.
Michelle: Oh.
(Laughter)
Well, that's what someone in my shoes actually sees. Right? Because that's what I deal with, with some of our other clients and so forth. Okay. Very good. Okay. Well, let's talk about PR. Shall we?
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: Let's talk about the integration of you know those of you who are joining us on the call I know that what you're used to, with the Wasabi Club, is that it's very casual. And if you have a question or want to make yourself known, you can just let us know star 6 by un-muting yourself or star 6 to mute yourself. And then feel free to interrupt us if you have a question or something to add.
But unlike other Wasabi Clubs, I'm basically going to spend this time advising Liza. And I invite you, as a marketing professional or a publicist or a business owner, to really reflect on how you can take what we discuss, and then mask it on to a current campaign that you're working on.
So what I see, so far, is we've got you know it's very typical, too, that you would have a service-oriented professional, like Liza, who's got a limited number of hours in the day to see clients one-on-one.
So then the question is: how do you expand that? How do you actually move beyond that? And so there are certain things that you've done really well, Liza, so far. So you have trademarked Power to Thrive. You have PowertoThrive.com.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And those of you who are near a computer can click on PowertoThrive.com. And one of the things that you've done is build your personal practice, so that it is in the early stages of franchising. I don't think that you know that 20 years ago, when I started doing PR before the Internet how I learned PR in undergraduate school I did it after school to make money to get through college. And that's what we did. We did franchise PR.
Liza: Oh wow.
Michelle: Yeah. The woman that I was working with in Chicago what we did is we helped franchisors find franchisees through PR. So I'll share with you a little bit, but I'm not quite sure that's where your eye is. What you're doing right now is you're building who Liza Shaw is in the nation, and the brand of your model, called The Power to Thrive, which, in the future, will lend itself to books, workshops, products, and so forth.
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: And other models, that another therapist could actually partner with you, and then provide it in their own community. I have seen lots of doctors and therapists, coaches anyone who's in the well being industry take something that they've found to really work with their patients, then create some type of training module, and then train other professionals, like themselves, to do similar work. And then that's what you really would franchise out, and you would build a model.
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: Now how do you get from here to there? Whether you do a national franchise or not, it doesn't matter. What you've got right in front of you is this radio show, and then these other therapists who are working with you, and then you're current practice.
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: And then the other thing that I have a question about on your website, I see Power to Thrive you've got books on there, like a book list.
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: Do you receive revenue off of those books?
Liza: I have a partnership. I think it's called an affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.
Michelle: Good.
Liza: Yeah. I did set that up.
Michelle: Okay. Just wanted to make sure that because there are all types of affiliate partnerships in all industries, and when you're actually referring products like that, they sometimes have an affiliate revenue stream.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: And then you can then make more money that way as well. Okay. But the primary what's putting food on the table right now? It's probably not the radio show, probably not even your co-therapists. It's probably who you're seeing one-on-one.
Liza: That's exactly right.
Michelle: Okay. And your hope is to build more of the one-on-one that your partners are seeing?
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: Okay. Great. So then there are many ways to go about building the practice Power to Thrive. You may get into a situation where people are wanting to just be with you and see you.
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: You know? Sort of like you go get your haircut, and then you want the owner of the salon to cut your hair, and not the other people.
(Laughter)
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: So my advice is to also have them contribute content.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Okay? Let them be stars in their own right under Power to Thrive.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: Right? Especially in your local area.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: You don't have to worry about necessarily having them have a national presence alongside you, because you're really the one that's driving that. But so that people in the local in Hickory actually trust them as well. It's not gonna hurt to have them write some articles under the Power to Thrive umbrella, and have those out there as well.
And you can help them with that, because you have a tremendous amount of content already on your site. Now if I look at your site, one of the things that's missing, that's gonna be really key for you, especially since you have a radio show, is you're not capturing people.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: So you see all this information you have on the left-hand side like Argument Learn ?
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: You know? You have really cool content. Argument Stoppers. Codependency Quiz. Let's Talk about Sex. The Blind Man and the Elephant. I think I was in there reading something about your helping men help women have a more satisfying sexual experience.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: All of that type of information you shouldn't give it away for free.
Liza: Hmm.
Michelle: You should give it away for free, but you should ask something of the people getting it. You should capture them.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: And people will love to give you their email address for this information. You know? And that's all we're really paying you, is our email address.
Liza: I see.
Michelle: It's an exchange. I'm used to on the Internet now, if I want something from an expert or a website, I'm willing to give my information.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: But what's happening, Liza, is then you'll be able to see if people are coming off the radio show. When you get articles out there, are they responding? And then you'll see the business grow that way, because then you'll be actually able to then communicate with them in the future.
Liza: Hmm.
Michelle: So a popular model out there right now one of them is that you have this great website. It has free information on it, or something free about your expertise. And you kind of bait people, like "I'll give you this information. Just give me your email address."
Liza: Right.
Michelle: "And I'll give you my newsletter or my information about my events or whatever it is."
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And then what happens is they're sort of like your posse, your people.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And as you grow, there are gonna be people who just love to learn about Power to Thrive. So if you do events in the future, you're gonna be able to say, "Look, these are events for professionals. These are events for consumers." Right now, you're trying to reach out to the general public, especially in and around Hickory, North Carolina.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: But in the future, you may actually want to reach out to professionals like yourself.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: Most people don't want to give you too much of their but their email address. They're happy to give you their email address, but they don't want to give you too much more. But as you develop your website, you might even ask them to distinguish whether they're a professional in the health and well being industry, or whether they're a person seeking help or assistance around health and well being.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Okay? So that is the main thing. Other than that, watch little things like your pictures and so forth. You've got this really brilliant Flash stuff that comes up. Sometimes that scares people who are on dial-up. You might want to look at that. You know? Or you can skip it or whatever. If they are on dial-up, it might I'm thinking about where you are, and you do have some rural areas that surround you.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So I think those are important questions to ask when you're looking at "Oh. Well, who's my target audience?" That's really the first question we want: who's gonna purchase and put food on your table?
Liza: Right.
Michelle: Right? Right now, you're saying it's people in the Hickory, North Carolina area.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So let's look and see what their needs are. You know? They're gonna need to have things easy on the Internet, and there are plenty of people still on dial-up in that area.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So you might want to look at the Flash. I don't know that that's gonna draw, or have people go away. I don't know. You'll have to test that out and see what people say.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: I think it's great. It looks great. But you might talk to your Web designer and see if there's another way to enter your site.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Okay. Then there's the site itself. Your picture a little grainy. I'd like to see a little higher resolution on some of these pictures.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: But not so bad. But not so bad. But again, you're just kind of giving it all away for free.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: You're not really asking them to do anything, which how do you even know that they're visiting you?
Liza: Hmm.
Michelle: And your radio show and your information your content and everything out there it's really important to find out what's working, so you know what to do more of.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So once you're on the radio show, one of the things you can do is drive people back to your website. But then it's really important for people to kind of figure out like if you were selling T-shirts or something like that, then you would see if people are actually buying or not.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: Right?
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Now as a therapist, you might have this is really also great for your therapy clients. "I've got all the resources on just go to the website, Power to Thrive." And then you've got different things like that. You might even give away a step-oriented process, so that people would get really loyal to you, especially since you have a radio show.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: So maybe they're signing up for a 12-week thing, where they get this content over time.
Liza: Hmm. Okay.
Michelle: You know? But generally, people they'll sign up for something free, pretty much upon visitation. They're not gonna purchase anything, and they're certainly not gonna get in bed with you, if you will. You know?
(Laughter)
Like it's a very intimate relationship to call upon a therapist. Right?
Liza: Sure. Yeah.
Michelle: So you might also invite your other therapists okay, I just tripped upon something that I think is really important, that nobody is really saying. I think that you have a lot to say about this.
Liza: Uh-huh?
Michelle: Is interview potential therapists.
Liza: Uh-huh. Yes.
Michelle: I think that content right there is there's gonna be plenty of PR experts. One that comes to mind is Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Years ago, she wrote a book on how to find a publicist.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And one way that she wrote the book was actually inviting people like me and others to say: what are some of the essential things that people ask you? And what are some pitfalls? And that kind of thing. And then through that research, she got a book. And then she actually sells that book, but she gives away special reports and certain parts of that book like a checklist or whatever for free.
Liza: Hmm. Yeah.
Michelle: But with the ultimate intention that they'll eventually buy that book.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: So you can take the same model. And what you're doing is you've got these listeners on the radio show, and then you can parlay it back to your website, in that you've got information or products for them to buy, that are connected with certain topic areas.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Okay?
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Now let's talk about what you're doing with the Hickory media. Talk to me about your relationship with the Hickory media.
Liza: Well, I used to actually be a guest writer for the Hickory Daily Record. This was like six years ago, before there have been two different changes in editors since then, I think.
Michelle: Uh-huh.
Liza: And it did not I attempted to keep the relationship going after the first change, and he was not at all interested in my content. I think it was a concern it was a very religious the context of this particular media, at that time, was there was a religious and the weird thing about it is, of course, press is not really supposed to be that. It didn't acknowledge out loud that it was, but they just didn't seem to want to get into the kind of topics like sex or how to have a divorce that doesn't tear the children to shreds, that kind of thing. They were not interested.
I let that die, and I haven't picked it back up again. And then really, I'll occasionally send out press releases, and they get printed, if there's something going on, if I'm doing a seminar or a workshop or that kind of thing. But it's probably pretty sparse.
Michelle: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. Here's what I want you to think about. Okay? There are several things to work with the local media. I'm gonna share a story with you that is gonna shock you.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: And probably shock the listeners. And I'm not gonna share any names, because the guy felt really bad after it happened.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: I was seeing a therapist in Asheville, North Carolina. Okay?
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And I'm in the middle of my session with him. My dad had just died, and I really was having trouble I loved my father. Right? So I was having trouble with the transition in my life.
Liza: Hmm.
Michelle: And in the middle of I mean most of my life is also my work. You know? My identity is really wrapped up inside being a publicist. So in the middle of the session, really jazzed up about me being a publicist and my expertise in how to engage public and the media.
And my session quickly turned from focusing on my bereavement around my father's passing to: "Well, how could I actually market the local area for my sex workshops?"
(Laughter)
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: You know in my mind, I'm like "Oh my God. All of a sudden, this has turned into a consulting session." Right?
(Laughter)
But I didn't say anything. Because I just didn't have I didn't have the guts, for whatever reason, which is kind of unlike me. I didn't say anything. Until I went home, and then I asked my husband about it. I'm like, "Do you think this is weird? I'm gonna tell you what happened in my session today." And he goes, "Yeah, baby. That's weird."
(Laughter)
He goes, "Oh my God. You have to say something." And I'm like, "Oh, I hate that, that I now have to go back to my next session and actually say, Look. I just want to bring something to your attention. I think it was a little unprofessional that you did this.'"
Liza: Right.
Michelle: But I had to, because otherwise, it was gonna bother me.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: And he looked at me, and he said, "Oh my God. You're right." He goes, "How unprofessional of me. How about this? How about I give you a session to compensate for that?" Because he hadn't even thought it through. You know? He was just kind of engaged in who I was. Okay?
Liza: Right.
Michelle: I'm gonna give you some of that advice, which I gave in that session.
Liza: Okay.
(Laughter)
Michelle: Because it was pretty good.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Most people around therapists, we get a little weird.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Okay? Because we really need you, but we don't want to admit it.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: Okay? There are a lot of hard things going on in life, like bereavement, that we just don't quite understand. And we just need help from somebody else, to listen to us.
Liza: Yeah. Right.
Michelle: So my recommendation is to go in on softer topics.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: Okay?
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So when you're doing your seminars, and you're doing your gatherings, with your I think you should involved your co-counselors in maybe informational sessions or women's gatherings. Women are gonna be more likely to gather than men. Although it's not unheard of, having men gather, and then actually have something of them as well.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: But that you're actually doing an event on a softer topic, that then allows them to maybe put their foot in the water about some of the harder topics.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: That way, they know about you. They've heard about you. And maybe then, when they've got something like a divorce or bereavement or something very serious with their marriage, then they know of you.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: They're like, "I've heard of that Power to Thrive that counseling group. I'm gonna go seek them out." Because it's basically with your industry, you want to be visible and available when people actually need you.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Because when they're feeling good, they're not gonna call upon you.
Liza: Exactly. Right.
Michelle: Okay. So topics right now that come to mind, that might be a little easier to discuss at first: money
Liza: Uh-huh?
Michelle: The final frontier of intimacy.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: You know you could do something around money. You know everybody and then that's not gonna upset your religious editor.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: You know? You're in the Southeast. You are in the Bible Belt.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: It is something to consider and be respectful of, that people do have religious differences.
Liza: Absolutely.
Michelle: And they may not be willing to really talk about sex, but they will be willing to talk about money. And then in turn, when you get people behind closed doors, you can talk about intimacy issue that's not about sex.
Liza: Yeah. Sure.
Michelle: What other things, Liza, can you think of, that are softer? Like every day, you and your co-counselors are talking to people about lighter issues, which then help them kind of get into the deeper issue later.
Liza: Well, I think things like probably parenting, turning your parenting into something positive, rather than a stressful experience.
Michelle: Great.
Liza: Parenting could be really good. And probably kind of more generic just communication, like improving your communication skills.
Michelle: Yes.
Liza: I've done like dealing with difficult people at work, that kind of thing.
Michelle: Yeah. Oh perfect.
Liza: Yeah. They've gone over really well.
Michelle: Okay.
Liza: But you know the paradox is that and I recognize there's a great value in going out in the community and offering these, because it gets more people in. Of course, what it also does though is I'm not here, and I'm not generating income. But I'm totally aware that it's an investment in having more people be here.
Michelle: Well, there are several ways that you can develop those events. You know? You can do events less, and more publicizing around those events.
Liza: Hmm.
Michelle: You can also have your co-counselors be front and center, empower them a little more on the local level, to grow their practice. Okay?
Liza: Yeah. Yeah. I think that sounds like really a great idea.
Michelle: Yeah. So you're helping them with your model, and then this is also in your Power to Thrive model for the future, for other therapists thinking through: well, how can you become a stellar therapist in your local community?
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So events are one way.
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: A lot of people love teleseminars like we're doing right now, and that's fairly inexpensive.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So it might be just easier for people to log onto a phone after work and get tips and techniques around money or communication or parenting and so forth.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And those types of things you can actually publicize for free on craigslist.
Liza: Hmm. Cool.
Michelle: A lot of people are using craigslist right now, because they're trying to generate some extra income.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Okay? There's also another social networking site called Meet Up, that deals what you want to do is you actually want to find social networking sites that empower the local communities, because that's your focus right now, is the local.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Then the other one that I'm thinking of is like Mama Source.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And Mama Source actually has it focuses on mothers connecting via a local community.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So you can then really zero in on the Internet, on some of those social networking opportunities, that then focus in and around Hickory.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: With your media, don't forget your radio show. What's really cool, for the other radio hosts now, is if you call the other radio hosts in your area, and then you can then lead with "I'm a very successful marriage and family counselor, and I have my own radio show called Power to Thrive. And I just thought you might like to talk about these topics."
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Money. Parenting. Communication. Some of these things for which you have free content on your website would be great radio segments for other radio shows.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: And then you're actually talking then they're gonna thank you for being on their show with just something as simple as Power to Thrive.
Liza: Uh-huh. Yeah.
Michelle: And when you do start reaching out to the media, one of the things that's also missing on your website is a strong media kit, a press kit.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: And so look at examples at PressKit247.com.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And then you can also actually purchase a press kit from PressKit247.com, and let somebody professional actually write your kit.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: And that's something that you can attach to your website. I would highly recommend that for everyone, that you consult with and pay a professional like myself, or an independent. You know?
If you can't afford a full-on firm, then get an independent publicist to help you with media documents like different types of bios. You need a byline, a written bio for your articles. But then you also need a broadcast bio.
Liza: Hmm.
Michelle: "With us today is Liza Shaw, family counselor. Power to Thrive." And then we have something kind of like catchy or something around the Power to Thrive whether we're taking a parenting slant or marriage or money or intimacy like that kind of thing. You know?
Liza: Yeah. Yeah. That's great.
Michelle: The other thing with TV, too, in your local area they're looking for interesting segments. Maybe you have some families who are willing to be on air.
Liza: Uh-huh. Maybe.
Michelle: And you then offer the success story.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: "Hey. Look. I had a family. They were about to be divorced. We used the Power to Thrive model, and now they're they used the Power to Thrive model around money, and now they're doing great."
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: "Oh really? How did you do that? Are they willing to be on camera? Then great."
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Now you don't have to pay you can pay people, like me, for your media list. But you don't have to; you can get it for free. And that's at www.usnpl.com N-P-L like United States newspaper list. Okay? So U-S-N-P-L. Yep. U.S. newspaper list.
And then you can zero in on your state. North Carolina. I'm doing that right now, just to make sure that it's coming up. I want to see if they've got something for Hickory. What's closer yeah, they do. They have Hickory Daily Record. Do people from Charlotte drive to you though?
Liza: Occasionally. Yeah. It's an hour. And some people from Boone. But it's generally. Yeah. It's a local market.
Michelle: Well, you might then want to do the Charlotte radio. Pay attention to what's feeding you.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Who's feeding you your TV?
Liza: Charlotte.
Michelle: Okay. Then that's who you want to focus in on.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And then you might actually find the Charlotte because they're not gonna want to drive to you in Hickory, per se.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: But if you had a story or a success story in Charlotte, and then say, "Hey. I'm coming to Charlotte, and thought you might want this segment," then that's something for you to offer the Charlotte TV stations.
Liza: Yeah. Good.
Michelle: Okay? Now there are probably all sorts I want you to go to your coffee shop locally, and there are all kinds of free magazines and such at your coffee shops.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Okay? Call those editors and ask them if they want content. Maybe your main paper doesn't want your content, because it's a little too religious. But another editor with one of the more alternative health type of magazines
Liza: Uh-huh?
Michelle: They love free content. And not only from you, but your co-counselors.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Okay? And you can help them write it under the Power to Thrive model, so that you can keep branding that.
Liza: Uh-huh. Sure.
Michelle: Now let's look and see. So that's local. Let me think about anything else. So you've got the Internet local.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: And then you've got radio local, TV local, and then the papers. The local paper if you go back at him with something that's not gonna threaten the religious nature, and go more toward like money and intimacy and that kind of thing
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: I think the main thing is when you're dealing with the local media, Liza, find out what they need, what's missing for them.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: They may open up and say, "You know we're really short-staffed with this economy, and I just need content. Would you be willing to give me some articles or tips for free and not pay you? And then I'll just put PowertoThrive.com at the bottom of the " Right?
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: A lot of editors need the content. They can't really pay you for it. But they're willing to give a website for more information. It's even fine if they say, "Contact this writer at Liza at PowertoThrive.com."
Liza: Yeah. Sure.
Michelle: Right? And then that's fine for you.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: You know? I mean years ago, when I was in undergraduate school, I did the PR stuff in the afternoon, to get myself the school. And then the other thing that I did on the weekends was I was a children's entertainer. Okay?
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: I did parties. I dressed up like Barbie or a princess or a pirate.
(Laughter)
And I really made great money working with kids that way, and it was fun. Because how I marketed that I basically just had a Yellow Pages ad, which those don't really work anymore. Right? Because of the Internet.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: But I also had a regular spot in the Parenting magazine, the freebie.
Liza: Hmm.
Michelle: Because I called up the editor and said, "Hey, can I provide you fun activities every month? And all I want you to do is say, Michelle does parties on the weekends.'"
Liza: Right.
Michelle: And they loved it. Of course they did.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And everybody saw that. Even if they didn't hire me, they saw that article, and they always mentioned it. They were like, "Don't you do a column in the Parenting magazine?"
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So that would be another way to really just be in partnership with your local media to find out what they need. What's missing? What are they hurting for, that you could maybe provide?
Liza: Yeah. That's great.
Michelle: Now let's look and see. The other thing that you want to do is national stuff.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: I think one of the things that you've asked me about, prior to this call, was: what's a pitfall someone like you could make?
Liza: Yes.
Michelle: And that's really what's not I've already gone over that on your website. It's not capturing the people who have your attention right now.
Liza: I see.
Michelle: Not building a Power to Thrive posse.
Liza: Right. Right. But right now, I do collect people's emails. I don't do much with them yet. But
Michelle: Where are they being collected?
Liza: Well, the clients who come in the door. You know?
Michelle: Yeah. That's not enough. Because you've got this whole Internet piece.
Liza: Right. Yeah. Yeah. I do need to add that. And basically, that's just creating a form on the website that they fill out before they can get to the next page?
Michelle: Uh-huh. Do you have a webmaster? You do it yourself. Right?
Liza: I do it myself, actually. Yeah.
Michelle: Pretty impressive that you've done all that yourself.
Liza: Well, thank you. I do contact them, though. GoDaddy.com has been so awesome, to teach me
Michelle: Have they? Okay. Great. They will probably have a newsletter capturing system.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: There are others out there that you can actually purchase, where they'll actually pop up and kind of drop down on your site.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Which I would highly recommend. I can't remember the name of the one that everybody uses right now. If, for some reason, you can't do a popup screen, then definitely have it in a very obvious way on the site, so really, like that's the first thing people want to do, is sign up for your newsletter.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: You've got a blog too, I see. Right?
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Yeah. There's ways to actually add newsletter signups to your blog.
Liza: Okay.
Michelle: And different things like that. There's lots of technology out there now. Let me know if you have and that's for everybody who's listening. If you get stuck because I have another company that has a technology side. So if you ever get stuck on some of these things, just email me. It's michelle@publicityresults.com. And Michelle has two "Ls" in it. And there is an "S" on the end of results.
Or you can just find me at my blog, at Storyteller to the Media. And I've got all my social networking, and you can contact me through social networking too Twitter or LinkedIn or Facebook or whatever you use.
One of the things that I think is most important for small businesses is that they collect their people. That's how you build relationships. Because right now, they're gonna give you the emails for free.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: And then over time, you really do need to do stuff with that. And that might just be "Hey, we're having a teleseminar on money and marriage" which is super, super light on your time.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Or it's a quarterly newsletter. You don't even have to do a monthly one; just do a quarterly one.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: Or just make sure that you're sending tips out, or some way to really well, you've got this other project here the Amends Project.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: You could even create a place where people share how they're forgiving. You know?
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: How they're actually sharing forgiveness and so forth. Now with something like the Amends Project, you could actually bring in 12-step groups.
Liza: Right. Yeah.
Michelle: So that would be another way to make sure that you're visible online. There are Web portals and different distributions. And, of course, you can deal with this all yourself, Liza, or you can hire people to do it. Right?
Liza: Sure. Yeah.
Michelle: Of course, we'd be happy to do any type of media distribution. We have like individual packages and stuff like that too. But a lot of people can do it themselves. It's not that hard.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: If you go to a Google bar, and you type in "Web portals," you'll find Web portals that'll come up, that will take your articles, and then distribute your articles. And make sure that you have in your byline the PowertoThrive.com website or the Amends Project.
And then couple it with 12-step language. So that when that gets out on the Internet, and there's people who participate in 12-step programs they're searching on the Internet, and then your article pops up. And that's a way for people who are trolling the Internet to then find their way back to you.
Liza: That's great.
Michelle: That's completely free. You know?
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Something also that your co-therapists can do and they should definitely participate you, writing columns on the Internet, if not their own blogs and that kind of thing. They should at least have participation with the local events or the local stuff that you're offering.
Liza: Right.
Michelle: Now the other thing that you've asked, in the past, is about your book.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: So what questions do you have about the book?
Liza: Well, you know I've kind of looked at various ways to approach my book. The only thing I can say that's ever come before it, that you could compare it to, would be maybe the Eat, Pray, Love book.
Michelle: Uh-huh.
Liza: It's a memoir-style book, but it also going to be something that can be highly usable for people to apply the concepts in it to their lives, and use it to improve their lives. So it's kind of memoir/self-help.
So I've tried to think a lot about: do I want to go the traditional route of finding an agent, a literary agent, go through the process of doing a proposal, and then eventually find a publisher, and then deal with all the contracting and everything that goes on with that?
Or do I want to write the book myself, publish the book myself, and do it through websites?
They have various websites now that you can put your books on. Also, there's kind of a trend right now with writers with authors, actually. Even ones who have been published by large publishing houses are starting to self-publish. And actually even as they're writing the book, publish one chapter at a time.
I mean some are even giving it away like first drafts so that people could give feedback to the author. And so I'm kind of just bouncing around all these ideas. Meanwhile, I am writing it. I'm trying to decide which route to go, and how to get it out to the public.
Michelle: Gosh. People do all sorts of things.
(Laughter)
Okay? So to say which is best it's really what fits for your style.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Like I was telling you about The Publicity Hound. Joan wrote that book on how to find a publicist.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: And it was really before blogs were even up and about. It was right before the surge of blogs and that's a personal diary, for people who don't know what a blog may be, just like a personal diary up on the Internet, that people read on a weekly or daily basis. But how she did it was she did do an interactive style type of research, which she does all the time.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And as somebody who has purchased her products and I have high respect for her it worked on me. Right?
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: So perfect, in my opinion. Because what it does is it's a participatory way of actually building loyalty. I mean I'm hugely loyal to Joan. Right? And then you want that same type of loyalty in people who are purchasing your services or your books and so forth.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So how might you do that? Well, you might actually interact with people, and they may or may not get back to you. You know? You don't want to make it mean anything, if you put the thing out there, and then nobody answers.
So what? Just go at it again. Or actually do use that as your special report. Use that as your newsletter. You know? That's one way to interact with your email list.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: That's a huge missing. You know?
Liza: Yeah. That's true.
Liza: You know?
Liza: Yeah. That's a great idea.
Michelle: Yeah. You're like, "I've got all these emails, and I'm not doing anything with them." Well, develop your book with them.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: They would love to tell you right?
Liza: Yeah. Yeah.
Michelle: I know that one of the ways that you're finding opportunities for who to actually interview on your radio show you've told me that you're using something called PitchRate.com.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: If you've not heard of PitchRate, it's P-I-T-C-H-R-A-T-E dot com (PitchRate.com). Like I'm pitching a ball, and I'm rating you as an expert. Something like that that's what the media uses. You know? The media will put their needs on PitchRate.com and say, "I need someone to talk about dealing with difficult people. I need somebody to talk about positive parenting. I need someone to talk about stress management."
It helps you kind of interact with people and other experts, to help develop the content and the idea and what is actually needed out there, so that you're not really working in a vacuum, and then just producing something that's clich.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: I think that there are also ways to have social networking work for you on that as well.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And then when people are actually "Come to my blog and tell me what you think."
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: "Or come to my website, PowertoThrive.com, and tell me what you think." Or whatever however you want them to interact with you. "Just email me: Liza@PowertoThrive.com."
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And then people can email you, and that's now another person in your posse, that you can then interact with on the issue of Power to Thrive.
Liza: Yeah. Great.
Michelle: Okay? I highly recommend everybody use services like PitchRate.com, so that you can actually generate information for your own journalistic needs. But then also, if you're an expert, and you have something to offer the media, then you should be able to find out what they're working on, and then give them an idea develop relationships with them.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: That's really what this is about overall, is: how can you develop relationships with individuals, that then make up a community.
Liza: I know that I shared this with you already. PitchRate was wonderful. In less than a month, I've been contacted to speak on another radio station, with the topic being forgiveness. And it was awesome. It was so fun to in less than a month feel like this is absolutely a very efficient way to get involved in media and speak as an expert.
Michelle: Awesome.
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: And then did you give the PitchRate people a quote like that?
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Because that's such a great quote. Perfect. Okay.
Liza: I sent it in. Yeah.
Michelle: Okay. Good. Because I don't remember. You know? I know I'm loosely related over there to PitchRate. But on the day-to-day side of PitchRate, I'm just a publicist pitching everybody else, like you guys.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: So I'll have to check in with them, because I didn't realize it was like a short month, and then boom, there you are. That's really awesome.
Liza: Yeah. It's great.
Michelle: Yeah. I really love to hear stories like that.
(Laughter)
See. There you are it's a success story.
Liza: That's right.
Michelle: And if we wanted to generate media in your area, or in marriage and family therapists, then we should use Liza Shaw's story, so that other people can actually
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: Yeah. I mean that's exactly what we're saying. Yeah.
(Crosstalk)
Michelle: I mean that's how you generate and that's with the media. Are you kidding? Don't you think that there are some trade journals that you read, that would like to learn how you're marketing yourself?
Liza: Yeah.
Michelle: What do you read? What are the journals that you read?
Liza: You mean professional journals?
Michelle: Yeah.
Liza: Oh. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy. There's a magazine called The Family Therapist. There's the Family Therapy Networker. Various different magazines that are related to the field. So yeah, they probably would love that. I should send them
(Crosstalk)
Michelle: And there are also the licensing agents and the licensing associations that you're a member of.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And they're gonna have newsletters, and they're gonna want to know.
Liza: Absolutely. Yeah.
Michelle: You want to ask yourself if you have everything in place, that you're ready to do that, either to assist you with the research that you're doing, or to develop that franchise. Because they would be the target audience for when you're ready to train or have other therapists use the Power to Thrive model.
Liza: Uh-huh.
Michelle: And so you may want to wait. Because it's like the other thing that you need to constantly ask yourself is: is that my target audience now?
Liza: Right.
Michelle: And are they your target audience now?
Liza: Well, now is an interesting that's an interesting question. Because like I said, personally, my caseload is not what I'm interested you know I'm interested in targeting local people to get in here, to meet with the therapists that work for me.
But my focus right now is on the book and generating it and getting it started and moving in the direction that explodes out into a national level.
Michelle: Then I would recommend to you not to do the trades, and to focus in on the local media, to build the Power to Thrive clientele base.
Liza: Yes. Uh-huh. Yeah.
Michelle: And then to hold those trade journals, though, for when you actually have a national offer
