Ep. 17 - PR with Casey Miller (and how to make your story compelling)

Creatives Meet Business

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Casey Miller with lookthinkmake. She joined us in December during our event on PR. As you'll soon find out, she succinctly explains SO much about the world of PR. Topics range from media alerts to press releases to honing your story (aka - know, explain and stay true to your why) and much, MUCH more. If PR confused you before this episode, you'll walk away with a spring in your step and a better vocabulary for chatting about all things PR. Because there's so so much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Casey has to say!

• 0:00 to 1:27 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Casey Miller
• 1:32 to 1:40 - Introduction of discussion topic - honing your story and making it compelling
• 1:41 to 2:26 - Back it up, begin with your why
  • Don't start with what you're doing, but WHY! Tie things into your brand pillars and identity.
  • Have this serve as your anchor for everything you do
• 2:27 to 3:25 - Think about who your audiences are and what they will find interesting
  • Who is your audience - you, clients, media, other people in your industry (all of them combined)
  • Start by writing down a list of topics about what is interesting about what you're doing
• 3:26 to 4:32 - Telling what you need to tell in a tight and meaningful way
  • Be digestible and surprising
  • Be mindful of what somebody is going to cling onto. People resonate with emotional aspects and anecdotes
  • When telling a story, think about building a friendship
  • Make sure you're building a relationship with your brand
• 4:33 to 6:54 - Press Kit
  • Evergreen, but update it when you have new content
  • Introduction to your story and your brand
  • You write it yourself, it's a way to craft your own story
  • Be mindful of adjectives and words that work best for you
  • Press Kits contain:
    • History
    • Why you're doing what you're doing (story)
    • Background
    • Bios
    • Facts
    • General Information
  • You want your press kit to be used by media and have quotes and content pulled from this, it's how you want to be described!
  • Include visual assets
    • Always a good investment, this content can be used in so many channels to tell your story
• 6:55 to 8:55 - Press Releases
  • Owned content (you write this yourself) that you send out to announce a significant milestone or piece of news
  • Include a couple of quotes and a boiler plate at the bottom (company bio)
  • Helps strengthen SEO for website
  • Helpful to distribute over PRWeb or another news wire service because it helps get your name out there
  • Differentiate between fluffy pieces and more timely, significant milestones. Use a press release for the significant milestones, things like: a new partnership, hitting a major milestone, announcing a new brand, an award
• 8:56 to 11:56 - Media Pitches
  • Opportunity to tell your story to someone to share it with their audience
  • Keep your email short, around 3 to 4 short paragraphs
  • Be mindful, people read emails on their phones and consider the amount of scrolling needed to read your email
  • Be clever, catchy and hook them with your first paragraph with what you're trying to accomplish
  • Be digestible and concise
  • Don't just say "I'd love you to cover this certain thing," offer a hook and differentiate how you can be helpful and a resource
  • Take the time and think about who you're writing to (know about this journalist)
    • Look at their coverage and see if you can match your story to what they like to write
  • Your subject line is also an opportunity to hook them (if they don't know you). You're asking them to take a lot of actions, but by hooking them the hurdles get smaller and smaller.
  • Use the same adjectives you use in your press kit
  • You don't have to be the only person in a story for it to be a successful story.
• 11:57 to 12:48 - Don't forget your interviews!
  • Prepare! Be prepared for them!
  • You want to give a sound bite conversationally
  • Do your research on the journalist
  • Media isn't the only way to tell your story
  • Don't forget to reach out all the time, stay top of mind and be consistent
    • Don't pop up once every 6 months, they won't remember who you are
  • Eventually you'll find a story that works, the point is to build a relationship with the journalist
• 12:49 to 13:56 - Ashland Closing Remarks
  • More PR to come!
  • Stay in touch, email us ([e-mail]) or connect with us on social

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

We'll be sticking around the world of PR for a few more weeks and have some pros that we can't wait to introduce you to. We're so excited about future episodes on: timelines, leveraging events as part of your PR strategy and much more. Stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business