Ep.78/ How to DIY Your PR with Nicole Pearl

SHOW NOTES:

Please leave a rating and review for the show!

++++++++++++++++++

Beauty expert, Nicole Pearl, is here today and she offers advice on what to do to get PR for your business and what not to do. We also discuss the importance of thinking beyond one specific outlet when pitching, and how consistency is key in cracking big national outlets. Plus, she has great advice on how to do your own makeup for video or interviews.

Nicole helps small business founders land press, brand deals and speaking gigs without the need to spend on PR. Extracting her 20+ years as a national journalist and On-Air Beauty expert, Nicole gives you access to her media network, the exact steps to pitch your brand successfully and her insider tips that will make you stand out and get the "yes."

Did you love today’s episode?

1. Take a screenshot and share it to your IG stories. Tag me @kimrittberg

2. Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!

LISTEN BELOW! And don’t forget to ‘follow’ and leave a rating & review!

Click below to Follow, Review & Give a 5-star rating to Mom’s Exit Interview Podcast.

SPOTIFY PODCASTS

APPLE PODCASTS

How can you get more eyes on your business?

In this episode you will learn:

Beauty hacks for looking and feeling better on video
How to stand out when you are pitching yourself so you don’t sound spammy
The steps to get featured on big national outlets

Quotes from our guest:

“ I don't want you to feel afraid to kind of be your bold self.”
“Have a strategy of who your ultimate targets are rather than trying to reach out to everybody, which is so overwhelming and almost stops you from moving forward.”
“When you send that first email, the expectation shouldn't be that they're opening it. It's really about the follow-up ultimately. And it's also about remembering that journalists we're human, we're people. And so sometimes if you take the approach of being this really hoity-toity professional person, there's almost a disconnect there. Relate to them in whatever sort of way you can.”

Follow host Kim Rittberg on Instagram

Subscribe to Kim's YouTube Channel to Make Better Videos that Convert

FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Tips to Take Your Videos from Mediocre to Magnetic to Grow Your Revenue click here

Follow host Kim Rittberg on Instagram & Subscribe to Kim's YouTube Channel to Make Better Videos that Convert

GUEST LINKS:

Nicole Pearl’s Website

Follow Nicole on Instagram

Kim (00:02):

How can you get more eyes on your business? Nicole Pearl has tips to get PR on your own DIY style, meaning you get pressed features with a little know-how and some elbow grease.

(00:13):

Welcome to the exit interview with Kim Rittberg. Do you work for yourself and want to supercharge your business while still having fun? Well, this is your go-to podcast part MBA Part Cheer Squad. Every week I'll be joined by top business owners who share the secrets to their success. After I found myself working during childbirth true story, I quit my executive media job to bet on myself fighting the fear and imposter syndrome to eventually earn six awards, an in-demand speaking career and features in Fast Company and Business Insider. Now I'm here to celebrate all you rock stars betting on yourself, and I want to help you win Tune in every Wednesday to hear from remarkable founders and don't miss our Solo Friday episodes, a treasure trove of video and podcasting mini masterclasses with me. Exit the grind, enter success on your own terms. Don't forget to subscribe today and grab my free video tips at my website, kimrittberg.com.

(01:14):

Okay? We are all sitting down and setting our 2024 goals, right? Right. I hope so. Alright, maybe not, but I know on my agenda is getting more of my operations buttoned up for my business. And if you're looking to expand your profile, you can grab my free download, how to show up with confidence on camera and 10 tips to crush it on Video to grow your revenue, get more clients, more visibility, more leads that is linked out in the show notes. Or you can go to kimrittberg.com/newsletter And don't forget, if you like the show, please drop a rating and review. That is how I keep making this podcast. And today we're talking to TV beauty expert, Nicole Pearl, who offers advice on what to do to get PR for your business and what not to do. Plus she has great advice on how to do your own makeup for video or interviews comes in very handy. Alright, I'm so excited to bring in. Nicole, thank you so much for joining us.

Nicole (02:02):

I'm excited to be here and do this with you

Kim (02:05):

So you have so many skills and talents and I'm very excited to get your expertise. So first I want to start with you are a beauty expert and I know you go on TV and talk about beauty and all of that. I obviously am a video marketing expert. I'd love any advice you have about how people can get themselves ready for video or TV in terms of beauty, makeup, looking good, feeling good.

Nicole (02:25):

I think it's all about really having the most confidence. So when I got into editorial and becoming a beauty editor, it wasn't like I grew up doing my own makeup. I really learned everything from all of the celebrity makeup artists covering fashion week. And so I've learned little tips and hacks so you can feel your most confident through makeup without feeling like you have to do a million steps. So little things, especially with your skin, you want it to feel vibrant and bright. And so one of my favorite tricks for doing that is mixing foundation with moisturizer and using a wet sponge to apply it. And another thing that I learned from doing a lot of TV is you don't want to overload with highlighter, especially with video. I know a lot of people will add that highlight so their skin looks like it shines, but on TV especially like HD cameras that actually make you look greasy. So you want to be careful and balance it so you look like you have fresh skin but you're not shiny.

Kim (03:19):

I love that. I actually think to be honest, learning about how professionals do it is more applicable to what people are doing today. We're all on social media today and not that many of us are going to end up on tv. Let's be real. I think most of us are going to market our businesses 99% of the time through social media, through video. So I think that those tips are really helpful. What are some other tips that you've had that you've picked up? Like little beauty hacks that everybody can use to look and feel better for video?

Nicole (03:44):

I think there's little things like I don't want you to feel afraid to kind of be your bold self. So a lot of people are afraid of doing a bright colored lip look, but I feel like you should be your signature self and put a little bit of lip liner on and that will stop your lips, let's say from bleeding, from the color, from feathering out. And so I don't want you to ever shy back from going for that color. Let's say hot pink is your brand color. You could wear a hot pink lip color and feel really good in that. And I really want people to feel like through video or if they go on tv, part of the media training even that I do is that you show up as yourself and you don't have to change how you look or what have you because you're just not comfortable or feel confident in how to make that happen for yourself.

Kim (04:32):

Magenta is one of my brand colors and I haven't thought so much about wearing a magenta lip, although I have magenta sweaters and I have magenta pants that I didn't necessarily buy for my brand, but I own them because I like color. And then talk to me very briefly about how you went from beauty editor to running your own business. Talk to me a little bit about that transition for you.

Nicole (04:51):

Funny thing is that I've been a beauty journalist for 20 years, built my own personal brand, go on tv. And then during the pandemic I was on a social app that I know you were on too. And I heard a lot of experts, so to speak, sharing their tips because a lot of small business founders were like, how do I grow my brand awareness? How do I get featured on TV in magazines? And I heard a lot of the wrong, in my opinion, advice from being an insider as a journalist that I would not recommend and I knew I could do better. So the next day I announced I'm helping you learn how to get yourself featured without having to invest in let's say an expensive publicist. You don't need any experience. And that's how the transition happened. I had my first client within 48 hours and it's just been growing and growing ever since because I want even the playing field. I know you do too. We want small business founders to have the opportunity to get their message out there and feel like whatever your circumstances are, you are not restricted. And so I'm paving the way and showing you exactly how to do that. So you are empowered, you gain the skills and that you can land that feature of your dreams, you can get on the Today Show. It is possible. You just have to learn the insider strategies to fast track that. And so that's what I'm truly focused on.

Kim (06:11):

You're so right. I spent 15 years in TV journalism and then eventually digital video. And I think when I started my own business, it was hard to see kind of outside your own cubicle experience of how that works in the real world. And then you start to realize, oh my goodness, actually this knowledge can help people. Not that many people get to have that insider's view of media from big, big city, top market media. And I think that that was really cool for me to realize not only can I build a sustainable business like this, but you can help other people. And I think that's really fun for me and I'm sure it is for you, is helping other small businesses fill in the gaps, fill in those areas that they don't know. Just like, I mean, I hire a coach for financial help, I hire a coach to teach me other things, teach other things. I think it's really fun to be able to teach other people how to leverage their business through video and podcasts, not something you would know. Why would you? And so on that note, I would love your top three tips for a person to get PR on their own.

Nicole (07:07):

In my opinion, I think it's very doable, but I take it from the approach of have a strategy of who are your ultimate targets rather than trying to reach out to everybody, which is so overwhelming and almost stops you from moving forward. It's really identifying let's say your top five to 10 places that you want to be. And when I talk about securing these features, it also could be brand partnerships, it could be retail deals, it could be anything because ultimately the skillset I teach you could be applied so many different ways. So get very targeted and strategic. I know we talk about this a lot, but if you don't have any experience, you are going to be much more suited to having success by starting out locally or regionally versus going nationally because you've got one shot and you want to make sure that you feel confident and experienced when you get that one shot.

(07:59):

You don't want to miss it. And so that's another tip that I would have. And then the other thing is there's so many free resources that you could utilize to let's say access contacts or to see who, that might be a great introduction for you, but people will talk about, okay, there's a formula, let's say to pitching. And yes, there are some fundamentals you have to understand, but when you are doing it yourself, your best advantage is going to to have personalized variation. So you don't have to start from scratch with every single pitch, but know who you're pitching before you send a pitch to that magazine or that writer, just look on Instagram or just go to social media and get a two second familiarity. So it's obvious that you are not pitching a story they wrote last week. Things of that nature seem really simple, but a lot of people don't think to do it.

Kim (08:49):

And you had mentioned about reaching out in the contacts. How would a regular person find a contact to pitch? Let's say they're not going for the Today Show, they're starting a little smaller First, how would you recommend someone go about finding the right contact?

Nicole (09:02):

I love, I call this sleuthing your source, and there's a lot of kind of creative strategies that you can use. We have access to so many things, so for sure social media, understanding what certain keywords are to search can really be valuable. So everything from LinkedIn to Facebook to Instagram, you name it. There's also a little secret that not a lot of people know about, which are stacks. More journalists are utilizing those to have those personal newsletters and they will share and announce some of their stories that they're working on that are more private within their network that people wouldn't necessarily know about unless you subscribe to their ck. So these are a few insidery ways. And then of course I give you access to my network when you work with me, which is pretty cool because I've built my own personal network over 20 years of being in the biz.

Kim (09:52):

Great. And then from the sub stack though, and finding someone's LinkedIn, how do you make yourself stand out? Let's say you have that journalist email from the sub stack or you find them on LinkedIn. How do you send a note that's not spammy that makes them want to actually say, oh, let me read this and then let me consider this and then let me respond?

Nicole (10:09):

I think there's a few parts to it. Number one subject line is really important. Secondly is knowing that when you send that first email, the expectation shouldn't be that they're opening it. It's really about the follow-up ultimately. And it's also about remembering that journalists we're human, we're people. And so sometimes if you take the approach of being this really hoity-toity professional person, there's almost a disconnect there. Relate to them in whatever sort of way you can. If there is a common familiarity or even if you don't want to be obvious about saying, oh, I love the story you wrote. I mean I can smell that a mile away, but just being a little, you want to be, I hate to say the word authentic, but you just want to be true to yourself because we will appreciate that. Or if it's like, I've admired you for a long time, if you truly have say that, no one is going to be upset about getting a compliment. Journalist, producer, everyone worked so hard. I worked at US weekly too, back in the day and it was a grind. So it's like for anybody to get kind of acknowledged for the hard work you put in. We always appreciate that.

Kim (11:16):

I met, it's funny, I was at a party recently and then maybe he was like 23 or 25 or something, some kid, he goes, you really had a video of Us weekly? I bet that was an awesome job. You're right. It was an awesome job. And I was like, I like this guy. But you're right, just like everyone else, journalists are normal human beings, so they like a compliment or a normal note. So I love those tips. And then you had mentioned earlier things that people do wrong. What are some things that you see as what are some don'ts on your end? When people pitch,

Nicole (11:46):

Please, whenever you're following up, do not say, Hey, just want to make sure you got my email. That is not going to get you anywhere. It's not going to advance you and you might even get blocked. So that's a big, big no. The other thing is, again, everyone's different, but some journalists will legit blacklist you. If you say, my name's Nicole, the amount of emails that I've gotten dear and Nancy, I don't take it personally. And I understand people make mistakes, but I personally know other journalists that will delete your email and they will be really offended if you didn't take the time to make sure you spell somebody's name right. Then the journalist may, well then why should I pay attention to your email? So it's like the little things that seem so easy actually could be the biggest nos that make you lose the opportunity.

Kim (12:35):

What if they called you Naomi?

Nicole (12:37):

I haven't gotten that one yet,

Kim (12:40):

And I feel like we all know it's a numbers game. So what do you advise to people if they know that really realistically you're getting maybe one reply out of 10 emails or 15 emails, but you need to take the time to personalize each one. How do you cut through the fact that it takes a long time?

Nicole (12:56):

That's a really good question because everybody should know that this is ultimately going to be that foundational building block that is priceless for you. So I just taught somebody, and the next thing is she got her first feature in Martha Stewart, which was a huge win for her because she's an interior designer. So now she has this amazing marketing tool that's going to bring her new clients. So even if you're like, oh, I don't want to spend that 20 minutes right now, realizing that that investment is going to pay off 10 times should hopefully keep you motivated. I do understand it is a mental game. Getting rejections is hard. And so a lot of what I work on with people is understanding not to take it personally. And again, as a journalist who gets so many emails a day, I can speak from real world experience as to why I may or may not respond to you and understanding where they're coming from. So it's not about you, it's really you got to take that out. It's not about you. So I wouldn't want you to feel like, oh, they don't like me, or, oh, what I did, right? Typically the timing was wrong, they were on vacation, whatever. It's,

Kim (14:04):

And one thing I like to, so I work with people where I help them become thought leaders through content. So I work with them on pitching more podcasts. But really the idea of the pitch, and this is something that I advise to people, is your pitch can be a lot of things. So it could be an op-Ed, it could be a feature, it could be a podcast guest appearance. So I think that it's a little easier. I tell myself this, it's a little easier. I've done it for myself. I mean, I've pitched myself for the podcast, I pitched myself for my business and I've gotten press. Obviously being a formal journalist, it's a little easier. But I don't know. A lot of these people, they're still blind. They're blind emails to me too. I don't know them. But I do think it's easier to think about, Hey, this work that you're doing when you're formulating the pitch minus the very specific pitching to person, Dave at this magazine for this, the overall pitch, you're going to use the same concept at a lot of different places. So I think that that helps a little bit with that idea. And my last question, you had said, I think everybody has this view of, I want to sit on the Today Show. I'm going to be on the Today Show too. So what are the steps to get there from someone who's maybe getting some press, local press, maybe next a little bit past local, maybe some national, what's the key to really cracking those big national outlets?

Nicole (15:16):

I will tell you, because I have a whole series of emails from the first email I ever sent to the Today Show to when they brought me on, and I've been on it a couple of times. And the most important thing is consistency. And it's like building that relationship and showing that you are credible and you know what you're talking about and doing. And so once somebody will kind of see that you are consistently reaching out in a strategic value filled way, they're going to take notice. And you could even kind of acknowledge that like, Hey, I know I've reached out with 20 emails, I'm not giving up again. People will appreciate that as long as you're not like, Hey, remember me, Hey, remember me. And eventually if the time is right, they may even think of you and then reach out and say, Hey, we actually need somebody for this. Can you do it? And that's happened to me too. So that's why it's kind of like as long as you are being consistent in a really, I don't know, polite way, you'll be on their mind when that opportunity arises at. The timing isn't at that moment.

Kim (16:24):

So this for me, it wasn't for the Today Show, but it was a big podcast I wanted to get on, and I was emailing with the producer and I could tell she kind of liked my background, but the pitch I had, they kind of had already covered similar topics. I just kept responding in friendly ways and I was like, Hey, what do you think about these two ideas? And then I was like, thanks so much. You're so helpful. And eventually I did get on and it was a big podcast and it went great. And I think it's the same thing as anytime you feel warm, maybe they ever responded. Just be friendly, be normal. And remember there are other humans on the other end, and I agree with you very much. I was a TV journalist for 10 years. A lot of times it's about the timing and maybe you're on the back bench the second they call you up, you get that babysitter, you get that dog walker and you say Yes, because if you say no the first time they call you, they're never going to call you again. That's one of the biggest things I learned. And so it is important if someone's like, can you be on tonight at five o'clock? You're like, absolutely, I will cancel everything else I had. So that is important. Nicole, I feel like you just dropped so much great information. How can people reach you? I think you have a free download. Can you tell us about that?

Nicole (17:28):

Yes. I just came out with a new free download. It's the Insider's Guide to Getting Featured Fast. And so you can go to my website nicolepearl.com and download it right from there. And it's going to give you those immediate steps of free resources you can use to get free press leads, so you really can start getting your name in the news.

Kim (17:49):

Thank you so much. This was awesome. Thank

Nicole (17:51):

You. This was fun.

Kim (17:53):

You can connect with nicole at nicolepearl.com or on Instagram at Nicole Pearl Beauty Girl.

(18:03):

Thank you for joining us. Don't forget to exit the grind and enter success on your own terms. This is the exit interview with Kim Ritt. Don't forget to grab my free download, how to Grow Your Business with Amazing video at kimrittberg.com and linked out in the show notes. I love to hear your feedback. Make sure to submit to me what you learned from the show and how you are crushing it on your own terms. Connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn at Kim Rittberg, R-I-T-T-B-E-R-G. And this show is edited by Jillian Grover and produced by Henry Street Media. I'm your host and executive producer, Kim Rittberg.

Kim RittbergDecember 6, 2023Comment