subject: Using Pr And Social Networking To Launch Your Invention [print this page] In June of 2009 Michelle Tennant Nicholson of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., sat down to speak with "mom-and-pop" product developer, Lisa Charleston of NightHelperWatches.com on how to use PR and online social networking to help launch her company.
Heres the transcript:
Michelle Tennant:Hi, Lisa, It's Michelle Tennant, how are you?
Lisa Charleston:Okay, how are you?
Michelle Tennant:Great. Welcome. This is the Publicity Results Teleseminar, and I'm really thrilled to be speaking to you today about PR and how we can actually impact your business.
Lisa Charleston:Okay, I'm excited as well. (Laughs)
Michelle Tennant:Let me just go over some housekeeping rules for people who are on the call live with us to mute yourself, and if you want to hear, you hit *M, which is *6, and then the same to actually unmute yourself. But this is going to be a different type of teleseminar than we're used to, because what we're going to do is really just talk one-on-one with Lisa, and we being me, myself and I. (Laughs)
Let me talk a little bit first about who each of us are and why people are joining us either via recording or live on the phone with us today is so that they can actually learn how, okay, they've created an invention or they've created a product or a service and now they actually want to use PR to propel it out into the world so that the maximum number of people know about it.
And that's really what we're going to be discussing today, using Lisa's example and her business on how to actually discuss these nuances of public relations that for most business owners kind of allude them. So, we're really gonna get into some practical tips and what we want to accomplish today. Does that sound good, Lisa?
Lisa Charleston:Yes.
Michelle Tennant:Okay, good. So, a lot of people may be wondering, "Well, who are you Michelle, to be talking about this?" So, let me tell you a little bit about who I am. I've been doing PR for about 20 years. I was really delighted this year when Good Morning America allowed me to use a quote, which is really unusual in the PR world.
Mabel Pann called me on the phone, a five star publicist, and I said, "Well, Mabel, can I quote you saying it?" And she said, "Yes." And for me, that's really just the highest honor in my career thus far. She really, because my, what I really try to do is really serve the media's needs first.
And we'll get into that, but some of the things that I've actually placed just so you know who you're talking to is I've placed segments on Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, CNN, The Today Show, Oprah, the BBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and hundreds and hundreds more. I blog at Storytellertothemedia.com.
And I really do believe that I'm storyteller and that's all I do all day is tell stories to the media so that they can include the characters and the dramatic elements that I talk about inside their news. And we'll also talk about how to incorporate that into what you're doing Lisa, okay?
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:And everybody else who's on the phone. Now, one of the things that you might not know is that I also have a, not the main company that I have is with Wasabi Publicity, and if you're in front of the computer, you can look up our website at Publicityresults.com, where we have years and years of other recordings just like this one to sign up as a VIP member.
And I also have another company called Blue Kangaroo. It's a technology company and some of its key products are pitchrate.com and presskit247.com. Pitch Rate is a free PR tool service that connects the media with experts, and so, you should sign up for free, and Press Kit 247 is a technology for online press kit. You can actually edit it live without a Webmaster and that is a feed services.
So, that's a little bit about who I am, and I would love to hear from you through my blog at storytellertothemedia.com, and I would also love to get email messages from you to discuss further conversations about what Lisa and I are gonna dive into today about. If you want to email me, it's Michelle@publicityresults.com.
Now, who is Lisa? So, Lisa, let me, so, here's what I'm gonna give you an opportunity to talk a little bit about who you are, but I would just sum you up as really an inventor. I know you call yourself a mom and pop product developer of a contemporary timepiece to help children and adults deal with incontinence, but I really you're at the heart of really what makes all of us in America tick in like, "Oh, yeah, she's a tried and true inventor."
"She's somebody who's created something and has now got something to share with the world." All of us who are listening and speaking to you are like, "You know, I've always had had that here's a million dollar idea," comment, but how many of us actually take the time to really grow it in the world? And you have.
Lisa Charleston:Thank you.
Michelle Tennant:Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Lisa Charleston:Well, I am a retired hospice nurse. I've been working actually in the medical field for over 13 years, and I'm disabled now, due to an injury from a patient. So, once it happened to me as far as being disabled, I sat down and I got into the depressed mode. And one day, I was just sitting at the table with my youngest daughter and she had always been potty trained.
And then the next thing you know, she had started to have a relapse, I'd say in having incontinence problems.
Michelle Tennant:Yes.
Lisa Charleston:From there, that's where my story begins with designing and developing and then I have a Potty Watch, but basically, I'm just a laid back person who just loves to help others.
Michelle Tennant:Now, let me. So, this is really a fascinating story, and once that's really dear to my heart, Lisa, because my father died a few years ago, and some of the key people that really helped us in that transition were the hospice nurses and the hospice team. And so, I think that for most of us out there who have actually been with loved ones who have passed, you guys are really the ones that are dear and near to our hearts and help us with that difficult transition in life.
Lisa Charleston:Yes.
Michelle Tennant:You've got a very heartfelt role that most of us can appreciate, and then you also have another, you also tug on another heartstring about being disabled in the line of work by a patient
Lisa Charleston:Yes.
Michelle Tennant:So, I would encourage you to share that, to keep sharing that piece of your story, because I think that that's a really important piece of why you became an inventor to begin with. It sounds like in some ways, it's out of necessity, is it? It's really like you're, sounds like your product, you have high hopes and dreams to maybe even become a revenue generator at some point, or is that not accurate, you're just out to do good, what's
Lisa Charleston:Well, no, I, it is a high necessity, well, we have over seven million children alone, just in the United States as the statistics tells us that suffers from nocturnal enuresis, which is incontinence, bed wetting. We have five million adults who suffers from incontinence, and then we have 3.7 million veterans. So, there is a broad audience out there for the need of the device
Michelle Tennant:Yeah.
Lisa Charleston:And I am aware that the are other devices, but there's nothing like my device that's out there that has the unique features that cater to not only with bedwetting but other medical tasks that they are able to assist with.
Michelle Tennant:The first thing when you're considering a PR campaign is what's your story. So, part of your story is how you actually created, like what were the circumstances in your life as an inventor that led up to the product. I mean, I've seen your website as well.
It's also evident that you're very interested in the helper aspect of your product that you've got donations and so forth. So, there's also, sounds like there's a strong spiritual grounding to this whole project. Is that accurate?
Lisa Charleston:Oh, yes. No doubt, because like I stated, the whole concept actually came because of the grace and mercy that God has given me. I became disabled after not being able to work anymore with hospice patients and hospice patients was the love of my life. I've always been a person who loved to help others.
So, becoming disabled, what God did is just close one door for me, but then he opened up another door through my daughter, which at that time, was, I think about four or five years old, and what happened is she woke up one morning and we happened to hear her whimpering in the bathroom.
And so, what I did was I got up and I went in there and could see the shame on her face. I'll never forget it, was more touching and harmful, hurting tome than it was to her. And she had, of course, urinated on herself, and I began to clean her up, kiss her and told her let's get ready for school and sent her on to school.
And that morning, I sat at the desk, and I just began to talk to God and said, I love always doing nursing. What is it can I do, what can I do to help my own child as well as other children that I've come across who had this problem? And there began. He just began to just show me how to put the Watch together.
And I thought my husband and my children were gonna think I was crazy when they came home and I began to tell them. Then the next thing you know, my husband started helping me and my kids started helping me. Even to the jingle was done by my 18-year-old. And
Michelle Tennant:Yeah, okay, very good.
Lisa Charleston:(Laughs) Yeah, she's
Michelle Tennant:It's a family affair.
Lisa Charleston:Yes, it became to be a family affair. We all sat down and everything just started to be put into place. So, my goal is to just make it it's very hard to alleviate bedwetting. It takes time and I want every parent to understand it takes time.
They have to be patient, have to understand that it's a process that goes along with trying to help children, but the thing is, is to make that child comfortable, make that child not feel so embarrassed about whatever the situation may be, to just understand that in time, it will heal, and the Watch is not only security, but it gives them a better feeling of giving them back their dignity.
Letting them know that, like, on my website, it says, "No more embarrassment." You can go to grandma's and spend the night. You can go over to auntie's and uncle's to spend the night without the fear of worrying you know, am I gonna be embarrassed, because the Watch, in itself, gives you those integral times to wake that child up. It's just like us, Michelle, that when we get up in the morning, we get up by a clock that we set every day.
Well, actually, sometimes you can get up before that clock. That's because the brain has been reconditioned to get up at that time. So, if you're setting that particular timeframe for that child, on, just say, like 3:00 in the morning; 3:00 or 4:00, that child's brain is gonna start getting up on its own at that time without that watch. So, it's just to assist the brain to help to recondition that brain to get up at a certain time of day along with other added features.
Michelle Tennant:Okay, so, okay, so, it's very clear how passionate you are about the product, and it's very clear that it can assist people, not only seven million children, but five million adults and 3.7 million veterans. So, you've got a very ample target audience out there. Now, how do you reach that target audience?
And one of your specific questions everyone, I had Lisa send me questions beforehand so that I could understand exactly what she's grappling with and really the nature of her questions go from branding yourself and your product how do you do that, and then also start reaching out to the media. And she's also working with needing loans and financial support to grow the product and business. So, is that the accurate essence of your questions, Lisa?
Lisa Charleston:Yeah.
Michelle Tennant:Great. So, let's get right to those. So, let's first talk about branding yourself and what I, there's a few things that kind of pop out for me is your back story about being a nurse and this being a family affair. Those are all important elements about your brand and your story. The necessity of actually creating this product comes out of your own experience with your child. Now, what does that mean?
Insofar as you want to actually brand this product, it's going to be important to position yourself as a nurse. I got it that you're disabled right now, and that you're not a practicing nurse from what you've said, correct?
Lisa Charleston:Correct.
Michelle Tennant:Right, but you have a lot of nursing ability, and actually, most nurses are too busy to discuss topics with the media. So, the first thing that I would do or I would recommend to you is to continue your branding as a nurse, because you are. You're a nurse. You have worked with patients. And so, there is certain levels of topic that you can speak to. So, we were going to first brand yourself.
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:Lisa Charleston, nurse. Right?
Lisa Charleston:Yes.
Michelle Tennant:Who you are is a health expert. So, when you go, so, the media, by and large, cares about three areas. They care about health topics, areas of wealth and abundance your career, how you're making money, and then finally, relationships and love and intimacy. I like to call it health, wealth and love. Okay?
Lisa Charleston:Mm-hmm.
Michelle Tennant:You're under health.
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:And you've got some other aspects of wealth and love in there from your family and your product and so forth, but you're a health expert. Cut and dry, you're a health expert. So, when you're interacting with the media now, are you currently using that free service Pitch Rate?
Lisa Charleston:Yes.
Michelle Tennant:Okay, great. So, one of the things to put front and center on Pitch Rate, Lisa is, "Hi, media person, I'm a nurse. I'm a health expert. I specialize in" and there's certain things that you specialize in. Okay? You specialize in hospice care, and you also can say that you specialize in bedwetting. I don't know, what's the medical term that you're using?
Lisa Charleston:Nocturnal enuresis.
Michelle Tennant:Yeah, not too many people are gonna, you can lead with that, but for sure, in parenthesis, put what that is.
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:And then, front and up, you can say seven million children, and, let's see, you can just say ten million adults suffer from this. Now, that, so, you can get who you are.
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:Right, so, the main thing is if I have a question about bereavement or hospice care or being in a hospital of any sort, I'm gonna like, "Oh, I can call Lisa. Lisa is somebody that" even if I have an unrelated article that I'm dealing, or a segment that I'm dealing with, I might remember you and say, you know, let's say that I'm a TV producer and I'm going a segment on what to do with children when a significant family member is in a hospital?
What do you do with the children in the hospital? I mean, maybe there's etiquette, maybe there's certain things you can do to when. I may think about you say, "Oh, that Lisa, she's a nurse. Maybe she remembers being in the hospital, maybe I can call her for some idea."
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:What, if you just lead with your product, they're just gonna relate to you about bedwetting, which is not your area of expertise. I didn't really fully get your depth of nursing until speaking with you just now. So, you want to lead with branding of Lisa, nurse. Huge credibility for you and your product.
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:Okay, and I don't, you may or may not my dad was a nurse, by the way, Lisa.
Lisa Charleston:Oh. (Laughs)
Michelle Tennant:Yeah, he died a few years ago, but he was a Vet. So (Laughs) I didn't realize how dear to my own heart this would be really, really great, and I know people will be listening to this in the future, but right now, father's day just passed because it's the end of June 2009. So, just a really a sweet opportunity to be talking to you
Lisa Charleston:Well, thank you.
Michelle Tennant:Lisa. So, what I wanted to say about being a nurse, you know, I know that there's licensing procedures and so forth, and while that's true for you to practice in a hospital, it's okay for you to not, don't worry and get all caught up in your licensing when you're talking to the media.
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:They don't care. And if they do care and they need your credentials, they'll ask you about that. Lot of people, once they transition out of nursing, they get all tied up in their licensure. Don't do that. The point is you are a credible health expert to the media, boom, period, done. That's who you are, health expert, okay?
Now, so, you're leading front and center with that's who you are in the world. You're out and about, meeting people. You're on the phone with people and they want to know who you are. "Well, I'm a health expert." "Oh?" "Yes, I used to be a hospice nurse, and now I specialize in bed wetting issues and I've got a product that actually, that helps seven million children and ten million adults conquer bed wetting."
Lisa Charleston:Okay.
Michelle Tennant:"Wow," they say, "That's important." Right? "I didn't realize that many people actually suffered from that, but you know what, I knew somebody XYZ, and their family, XYZ was torn apart by XYZ." Right?
Lisa Charleston:Yes.
Michelle Tennant:That's how people go. They start to relate to you that way. Now, how do you transition that into actually going to the media? Now, are you using, so, are you using any social networking sites right now?
Lisa Charleston:Many. I was featured in Mommypreneur.
Michelle Tennant:Yes.
Lisa Charleston:I was also feature with Kim Lavine Mommy Millionaires.
Michelle Tennant:Yes.
Lisa Charleston:I was also featured on, In My Pajamas Radio Station. So, I'm with a lot of social media, social networking. I do a lot of social networking.
Michelle Tennant:Okay, let's distinguish what you just said, okay, because it sounds like many of those are blogs or media venues themselves. Is that accurate?
Lisa Charleston:Yes.
Michelle Tennant:Okay, so, that's distinct, although blogs are a piece of the social networking scene, that's distinct from social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn or YouTube.
