Are you looking to grow your blog and business?
No matter what type of business you run, being featured in the media can improve your market reach, page views, income, and more.
Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Selena Soo.
Selena has landed publicity and been featured in places like Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and Inc., Entrepreneur On Fire, Smart Passive Income, and more.
I have heard amazing things about Selena over the years, and we randomly connected one day when we realized that we were both in a small town in Puerto Rico at the same time for several months.
Media features are something that I’m always extremely happy to land, and I know that they do wonders for a blog. In fact, in 2021, I am hoping to land even more features. I have been featured on Oprah, Reader’s Digest, Forbes, CNBC, Business Insider, and so much more.
Due to that, I know how valuable media mentions are!
You can see many of my features here, and as you can see, I have put a lot of time into it over the years.
All the time I am asked how I have so many features in the media….
And, luckily today you can learn how to get your blog and business featured in the media more.
In this interview, you’ll learn:
- How publicity has changed Selena’s life;
- How publicity can help grow your blog;
- The first step to getting featured in the media;
- What an effective pitch consists of;
- How to build authentic relationships without being annoying;
And more!
You can also get free access to her Publicity Calendar. This contains 179 story ideas, dates, and hooks to help you create endless media attention and buzz! If you want to get featured in magazines and popular websites, this is something that you will definitely want to sign up for.
Please enjoy the interview with Selena below.
1. Tell me your story. Who are you and what do you do?
I’m a publicity and marketing strategist who has worked with everyone from eight-figure business owners to entrepreneurs just getting started. I help them shine a spotlight on their expertise using the power of the media.
But my seven-figure company didn’t spring up overnight.
When I was in my mid 20s, I had a quarter life crisis while working for a nonprofit.
As I was figuring out what I wanted to do with my career, I stumbled upon a network of inspirational authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs.
I was grateful for how their wisdom and mentorship helped me through a difficult time in my life and felt inspired to help them reach more people.
I started my publicity agency to help them create the same impact they had on me, but on a much larger scale. I’ve since expanded my brand into other offerings, like my best-selling online program Impacting MillionsⓇ!
2. How has publicity changed your life and business?
It’s always been easy for me to help others get attention — but as a natural introvert, I shied away from the spotlight.
The challenge was that I knew that if I wanted to create my biggest impact, I needed to put myself out there and become visible.
After my first guest post, I doubled my email list with over 1,000 people signing up the first day my article was released.
Since then, I’ve landed top publicity in places like Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and Inc., as well as top industry podcasts.
It’s helped me to grow my audience, increase my credibility, and ultimately, to build a multi 7-figure business!
3. How and why did you start connecting with influential people?
I started connecting with people that inspired me because I wanted to help them get their message out into the world.
I followed their work closely and began to see ways and opportunities to support them.
So I started to reach out, saying things like, “I know someone you should connect with.” Or, “This would be a great opportunity for you — can I put you in touch?”
Today, I’m able to count the most amazing people as my friends, mentors, and clients.
4. How can publicity help grow a blog and other businesses?
Publicity is the fastest way to gain credibility in your industry.
It’s one thing to tell everyone you’re the best at what you do, but it’s another to have media and influencers vouching for you—and publicity does just that.
Not only have our students been able to leverage publicity to establish themselves as authorities in their fields, but they’ve also been able to translate media wins into financial gains.
Impacting Millions students have used media appearances to sell their courses, find new clients and take their businesses to a whole new level.
Graduates have told us that they increased their rates (with some catapulting from 3-figure to 5-figure offers even during a pandemic), have consistently brought in $10,000 per month, have gotten paid book deals and have increased their revenue by six figures due to publicity.
5. Can you go over the steps it takes to get featured in the media?
One of the first steps to being featured in the media is to prepare yourself mentally for the opportunity.
So many of my successful clients and students dream of appearing on their favorite podcasts or popular blogs, but they’re terrified of putting themselves out there until they go through the course.
One of the first things we do in Impacting Millions is to help you get into the mindset of the media so that you can confidently email a podcast host or a TV producer without your hand shaking over the send button.
Additionally, it’s essential to position yourself as an expert and have a great story idea. All things we help you do in Impacting Millions!
6. What is an effective pitch? What does it consist of?
Email is the most effective way to reach out to the media.
A strong pitch has a subject line that will grab their attention, as well as an email body that establishes why you’re an expert worth taking notice of.
Include your story ideas in the email, as well as relevant samples of your work.
For example, if you’re looking to write a guest post, share writing samples. If you’re looking to be on TV, include video clips of you being interviewed.
7. How can a person make themselves stand out so that they can get those coveted media features?
One of the best ways to stand out is to offer the media a compelling story idea.
When submitting it, choose a headline that would grab the reader’s attention and get a lot of clicks.
When you outline the tips you’d share, include fresh perspectives that are surprising and counterintuitive.
You want to spotlight your brilliance by offering advice they haven’t heard before.
8. How can a blogger build authentic relationships with those in their network, without being annoying?
When you meet someone new, make it a priority to understand their needs and goals.
When you take a genuine interest in other people your interactions will be memorable in all the right ways.
How could you help them or support them?
- It might be as small an action as leaving a thoughtful comment on their social media feed or letting them know that you shared their content with your audience.
- It could be as big as suggesting a virtual coffee date to learn more about the projects they’re working on and how you can be of service with no strings attached.
When you’re in touch about things that are important to them, you’ll never be seen as an annoyance.
9. What advice would you give to someone who is an introvert, and afraid to put themselves out there?
Reconnect to your why.
It’s natural to have fears, but when you remember the work that you’re doing is for the greater good, it can take away some of that fear.
10. Can you tell me more about your program, Impacting MillionsⓇ?
Impacting Millions is for entrepreneurs, experts, coaches, and service providers who have a deep desire to reach more people with their message.
You’ll learn to create a strategic media plan to land dream publicity opportunities to catapult you from best-kept secret to highly sought-after leader.
As a result, you’ll attract clients with greater ease, while impacting more lives than you ever imagined!
11. What is your very best tip (or two) that you have for someone who wants to see success in the media?
It’s fairly similar to creating a successful blog.
Don’t just think about what you feel like writing or talking about. You need to focus on the stories that you know that the audience of that media outlet wants to hear. If you’re focused on making the podcast host or the website’s editor be the first to highlight a trend for their audience, get original advice on a topic, or bring lots of traffic to their site, you’ll become a darling of the media.
Additionally, make sure to promote your articles and interviews when they are published. Not only will it make the people at the media outlet happy, but it creates excitement within your audience—who may also share it with the people in their world. The more people are seeing and talking about your media appearances, the bigger impact those appearances will make!
12. You have a free gift for readers who want more publicity. Can you tell us more about that?
Yes!
I have a 40+ page Publicity Calendar with hundreds of story ideas, key dates, and special hooks to get into the media. One of the secrets to landing media is to make your pitches timely and relevant—and this calendar helps you do just that. We have ideas and tips for all 12 months of the year.
You can instantly download your free copy here.
Are you trying to grow your blog or other type of business? Have you tried getting featured in the media? What other questions do you have for Selena?
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