subject: How To Make The Most With Pr Outreach On Pitchrate.com [print this page] 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 were 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 well 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 youre 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 everybodys 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 youre somebody like a licensed marriage and family therapist. How do you build your business with PR? And the thing that Liza is doing thats new for her is a radio show. So were gonna talk about her newly appointed journalistic hat as well.
So now shes a radio host and a therapist. How do you actually parlay both expertise levels, so that youre getting maximum PR exposure? And thats really the purpose of this call. So its a little different. Its 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 Im 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 youre doing. Okay?
Liza:That sounds great.
Michelle:So everybody bear with me, because Im 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 masters 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. Weve 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 youre a featured author in the books Dont Miss Your Boat: Living Life with a Purpose in the Real World and Voices and Visions.
Shes currently working on a memoir-style self-help book, which weaves together the triumphant stories of the work with her clients and her own lifes 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 its 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 Ive 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. Im not really that interested in it having to be an income generator, but more just to have people see who I am and what Im about, and for me to contribute it.
And it just seemed like the logical next thing to do. Plus, Im 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 its 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 its also kind of a whole new frontier. There isnt 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 Im glad to hear that. Ill have to let them know that.
Liza:Yeah.
Michelle:Good. Great. So then thats the thing that was really interesting to me, that youre not that youre 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, its both.
Michelle:Uh-huh.
Liza:The people Im gonna have on the show will start out being local guests.
Michelle:Yes.
Liza:And so that will be the local angle. But ultimately, its both. I honestly as far as my practice grows, I dont 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. Theres a limit to how many hours I can see clients in a day, or that Im 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 Ive 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 its basically like under that umbrella, and thats why youve named the show Power to Thrive?
Liza:Exactly. And thats 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. Its twofold. Ive 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 youre doing more of the out-in-front public kind of stuff?
Liza:Yes. Thats 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 hadnt really thought of the franchise idea, but that sounds fabulous.
Michelle:Oh.
(Laughter)
Well, thats what someone in my shoes actually sees. Right? Because thats what I deal with, with some of our other clients and so forth. Okay. Very good. Okay. Well, lets talk about PR. Shall we?
Liza:Yes.
Michelle:Lets talk about the integration of you know those of you who are joining us on the call I know that what youre used to, with the Wasabi Club, is that its 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, Im 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 youre working on.
So what I see, so far, is weve got you know its very typical, too, that you would have a service-oriented professional, like Liza, whos 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 youve 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 youve done is build your personal practice, so that it is in the early stages of franchising. I dont 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 thats 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 Ill share with you a little bit, but Im not quite sure thats where your eye is. What youre doing right now is youre 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 whos in the well being industry take something that theyve 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 thats 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 doesnt matter. What youve got right in front of you is this radio show, and then these other therapists who are working with you, and then youre current practice.
Liza:Yes.
Michelle:And then the other thing that I have a question about on your website, I see Power to Thrive youve 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 its 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 youre 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 whats putting food on the table right now? Its probably not the radio show, probably not even your co-therapists. Its probably who youre seeing one-on-one.
Liza:Thats 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 dont have to worry about necessarily having them have a national presence alongside you, because youre really the one thats driving that. But so that people in the local in Hickory actually trust them as well. Its 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 thats missing, thats gonna be really key for you, especially since you have a radio show, is youre 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. Lets 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 shouldnt 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 thats all were really paying you, is our email address.
Liza:I see.
Michelle:Its an exchange. Im used to on the Internet now, if I want something from an expert or a website, Im willing to give my information.
Liza:Uh-huh.
Michelle:But whats happening, Liza, is then youll be able to see if people are coming off the radio show. When you get articles out there, are they responding? And then youll see the business grow that way, because then youll 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 Ill give you this information. Just give me your email address.
Liza:Right.
Michelle:And Ill give you my newsletter or my information about my events or whatever it is.
Liza:Uh-huh.
Michelle:And then what happens is theyre 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, youre gonna be able to say, Look, these are events for professionals. These are events for consumers. Right now, youre 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 dont want to give you too much of their but their email address. Theyre happy to give you their email address, but they dont want to give you too much more. But as you develop your website, you might even ask them to distinguish whether theyre a professional in the health and well being industry, or whether theyre 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. Youve got this really brilliant Flas
