Publicity Do’s and Don’ts
Jill Lublin’s Interview with Victor Gichum Creator and Host of The Contributors Channel
Recently I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Victor Gichum, creator and Host of The Contributors Channel, and a co-founder of Excess Logic, a nationwide excess electronics liquidation company. I loved this interview because it gave me the opportunity to share key Publicity strategies, and the do’s and don’ts of publicity, therefore I decided I wanted to share those tips via my blog to my audience as well!
First of all, let me recognize what a great interviewer was he, Victor took the time to research my work and narrow down some very interesting questions for me.
The Interview:
Victor:
Q. As a 25-plus-year veteran of PR, what are public relations, and why every business should do it?
Jill:
A. Well, let’s just say if you don’t do it, who’s going to find you? Right? I love these people who brag to me, I’m the best-kept secret that’s nothing to brag about my friends because the truth is every business needs public relations. It’s about building your credibility, building your visibility, creating third-party endorsements getting people to know your name, and frankly creating prospects, clients, and customers that’s a key to keeping your business in business.
Victor:
Q. Okay, so I know you will feel very strongly about the message, what is it, and how to create this message?
Jill:
A. The message is really the base of your business, what is it that you are putting out to the public so that the public says yes to you? And I think that that’s really a key is: “ what is the problem in the marketplace? What is it that you solve that helps other people?” So it’s about creating the problem today I like to say, answer that my friends, — what is the problem today — and then give people three great solutions that’ll make a big difference.
Victor: I see! Okay, so the problem and three great solutions, thank you Jill very interesting.
Q. I believe for 25-plus years of writing media scripts for 10s of 1000s of clients. You have become an expert right? Could you share with our viewers what is your secret sauce formula for great and a great media screen?
Jill:
A. I love the secret sauce and it has to do with what I just mentioned. So here it is in a short form: You fill in this blank: The problem today is ___, and then your three great solutions. So this is the secret sauce.
Victor:
Q. So now that we know the importance of PR and how to create the message, please tell us what are the important steps to take to launch a publicity campaign on social media.
Jill:
A. I think the biggest thing is to start getting on podcasts. That’s really great. You know, me being on this with you is wonderful. You get to reach people right away. I think they’re probably the easiest to get and then, look into your community, your community meaning where you live: The Business Journal and The Daily Paper. They need you and they want you, also interestingly enough, your local community cable also has producers who do lots of different shows and they also need lots of different guests. It’s a really good way to get the publicity that most people overlook. These are some great guerrilla publicity tips for you and I always believe in guerrilla publicity because I wrote the book on it.
Victor:
Q. So just approach news and local stations as an expert in something and then you can be invited?
Jill:
A. Let me just say, you know, it’s not quite that simple, but it is more simple than most people think. So one of the things I like to do is tune in to what’s going on in the media. So for instance, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp were getting a divorce, right? Well, at that point, now they’re still in the news and it will continue to be in the news. And here’s the thing, if you are an expert in conflict, in love, in divorce, in coaching and transformation in ___(fill in the blank), that could help a couple in trouble. Could you perhaps be an expert in your local market? The answer’s — Yes.
Victor: So find some topic which is Hot, see how your expertise feeds this topic, with these two things approach those media outlets where you can be, very smart! Awesome!
Q. So Jill, do You teach business owners how to position their business for more profitability and more visibility in the marketplace? What are the three most important tips you could share with us that we can apply and get immediate results?
A. So, one of the things I want you to do is focus on what I like to refer to as “visibility-building activities.” What that means is you look to see: #1. Networking in your community and worldwide because Zoom is fantastic. So I want you to build your visibility through networking so that people know who you are and what you do. #2. You’re going to be focusing on creating a consistent way of reaching out; I like you to chunk down 30 minutes a week, just 30 minutes a week. Focus on one thing to do to build your visibility and one of those things, Tip #3. Go to Google Alerts and type in your name so that they have your name. And like let’s say to my leadership coach example type in the word “leadership” and that way you know that when the media is working on anything leadership, you’re going to get notified.
Victor: Oh, I see. So the expertise which you want to talk about in your topic of expertise, then you want to search in Google alerts so you can see all these events happening around you in your community and then you can be there! So smart. Very valuable. Thank you!
Q. I think one of the main reasons why the majority of businesses especially small businesses don’t do PR is that it’s completely unclear how to measure ROI “return on investment”. Could you tell us about ROI on publicity? How do you measure it?
Jill:
A. Well, most publicity experts measure ROI like if you had to pay for the amount of exposure you got, how much would it cost you in advertising dollars? So for instance, and then sometimes this is really about you know, my self-published author who sold 42 books in a 15-minute podcast interview. Well, where else would she have done that right? Or my other client who followed my advice to my publicity Crash Course got an NBC Nightly News interview, oh my gosh, four minutes, and we’ve actually investigated had she paid for that and advertising it would have cost $720,000 Now she doesn’t have that money lying around. That’s not an ROI. And this was completely free. The NBC Nightly net worth is $720,000 And she paid for advertising so you typically measure like that and every single time you get media, the truth is you’re multiplying yourself, you’re monetizing yourself and you’re magnifying who you are and all of that creates ROI and people knowing who you are, and excitement about what you do.
Victor: I see. So this is the final exact result after that media key is after the publicity campaign you can measure it I got it!
Q. Danish physicist Niels Bohr once said “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” What are the tops 3 mistakes in PR to avoid at any cost?
Jill: Well, first I love that. I love that expertise!
A. I just say, you know when I say you’re all an expert? you’re an expert!
- One mistake you can make is not claiming your expertise.
- Second mistake: Never doing any publicity. Take a baby step my friends, one baby step will make a big difference. For you and start that momentum of recognition.
- And number three, not responding quickly to what’s going on in the media. If there’s any way you could fit in please respond quickly and put yourself out there for why people should be paying attention to you.
The interview continued on the topic of my last book The Profit of Kindness, but that is a topic for another blog!
Thank you very much, hope you enjoyed this interview and you got some great tips to get your publicity done!
Jill Lublin —(Pronounced Loob-Lynn)
Jill Lublin is an international speaker on the topics of Publicity, Networking, Kindness and Referrals. She is the author of 4 Best Selling books including Get Noticed…Get Referrals (McGraw Hill) and co-author of Guerrilla Publicity and Networking Magic. Her latest book, Profit of Kindness went #1 in four categories. Jill is a master strategist on how to position your business for more profitability and more visibility in the marketplace. She is CEO of a strategic consulting firm and has over 25 years experience working with over 100,000 people plus national and international media. Jill teaches a virtual Publicity Crash Course, and consults and speaks all over the world. She has spoken on many stages with luminaries such as Tony Robbins. Jill also leads an intentional kindness community. Visit publicitycrashcourse.com/freegift and jilllublin.com
