That Solo Life, Episode 276: Heart And Humanity: Delivering Authentic Messages In the AI Age In this Episode In this episode of That Solo Life, co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane dive into the intersection of technology, nostalgia, and the human experience, particularly in the context of recent advertising trends and societal shifts. The conversation kicks off with discussion about a recent Coca-Cola commercial that was created using AI technology. The hosts note that the commercial has been criticized by some viewers as being "creepy" and lacking the human touch that people expect from holiday advertisements.,  highlighting a growing discomfort with artificial intelligence in creative spaces.  The discussion examines the tension between the increasing use of AI in creative fields and the desire for authenticity and emotional connection in advertising and media.  In spite of the advancements in technology, audiences still crave authentic, human-generated content, especially during the holiday season when emotions and traditions run deep. Turning from the implications of AI in our lives, the discussion touches on the broader context of economic challenges facing various industries. Companies are cutting back on familiar products and brands, leaving consumers feeling unsettled. Public Relations professionals must consider the importance of maintaining human connection and authenticity in our communications, especially as we face a landscape filled with misinformation and distrust. The hosts also touch on the broader challenges communicators face in an environment of misinformation and political polarization, emphasizing the importance of honesty, transparency, and finding ways to build trust with audiences.  There is an urgent need for tools and regulations that can help combat misinformation, particularly in the context of the mental health crisis affecting younger generations. The conversation shifts to the responsibility of brands to engage in meaningful dialogue and foster trust with their audiences. The episode concludes on a hopeful note, reminding us that despite the complexities of modern life, people still yearn for warmth, nostalgia, and genuine human connection. Join us as we explore these pressing issues and reflect on how we, as communicators, can deliver factual information infused with heart and humanity. We invite you to share your thoughts and feedback, and encourage you to spread the word about our podcast. Thank you for tuning in to That Solo Life! Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction to That Solo Life Welcome and introduction of hosts Michelle Kane and Karen Swim. 00:00:12 - Monday Musings Discussion about the challenges of Mondays and the unpredictability of the week. 00:00:39 - Coca-Cola's AI Commercial Overview of the controversial AI-generated Coca-Cola commercial and audience reactions. 00:01:20 - The Human Element in Marketing Exploration of the importance of human-generated content and emotional connection in advertising. 00:02:30 - The Evolution of Technology and AI Reflection on how AI has transitioned from science fiction to reality and its implications. 00:03:42 - Consumer Sentiment and Nostalgia Discussion on consumer preferences for authentic experiences and nostalgia during the holiday season. 00:05:20 - Industry Challenges and Cost-Cutting Examination of cost-cutting measures in various industries and their impact on consumers. 00:07:15 - The Role of Communicators The importance of communicators in addressing misinformation and building trust. 00:08:37 - Navigating Distrust in Audiences Strategies for reaching audiences that distrust institutions and media. 00:10:46 - The Need for Diverse Perspectives Concerns about the loss of diverse opinions and the implications for society. 00:11:44 - Truth and Transparency in Communication The necessity of honesty and transparency in brand communication. 00:12:58 - Protecting Against Misinformation Discussion on the need for tools and regulations to combat misinformation. 00:14:37 - The Greater Good in Business Encouragement for businesses to balance profit with societal good. 00:15:55 - The Importance of Humanity and Nostalgia Closing thoughts on the enduring human need for warmth, nostalgia, and connection, especially during the holidays. 00:16:25 - Conclusion and Call to Action Wrap-up of the episode and invitation for listener engagement and feedback Resources: Coca Cola Ad Adweek: How Coca-Cola's AI Holiday Ad Went From Praise To Rage That Solo Life: The Battle Against Misinformation (with AI expert, Axel Ebermann) Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 275: Get Proactive with Acquiring New Clients   In This Episode In this episode of That Solo Life, co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane discuss strategies for solo PR professionals and marketers to improve their own business development and marketing efforts. Key points include: The importance of using your own channels (e.g. YouTube, social media) to share your expertise and build your audience, rather than just focusing on client work. Techniques to reclaim time and be more efficient, such as using automation tools and AI to streamline administrative tasks. Developing a strategic content plan for your own business, rather than just reactive posting. Utilizing the holiday/end-of-year period to prepare for a strong start to the new year.   A common challenge faced by many in PR is the tendency to rely on passive client acquisition methods. Listeners  are encouraged to play an active role by taking  control of their own media presence and marketing efforts. The co-hosts discuss the fatigue that can come from managing client work while neglecting your own marketing channels. They emphasize the importance of consistency in promoting your expertise through social media and other channels.  Karen and Michelle also discuss practical steps to reclaim time and streamline our processes, including the use of automation tools and AI to manage administrative tasks and enhance productivity. Michelle and Karen stress the importance of strategic planning for our own businesses, just as we do for our clients. By identifying where our target audience is and how they prefer to engage with us, we can create a focused content strategy that resonates with potential clients. We explore various content formats, from articles and podcasts to social media posts, and encourage listeners to leverage tools that can simplify content creation. The audience is reminded that a monthly theme can help maintain focus and consistency. The co-hosts also share the value of using AI for ideation to generate relevant topics and streamline content planning. As the episode wraps up, listeners are encouraged to use the upcoming holiday season as an opportunity to prepare for the new year. By starting now, you can alleviate the pressure of January and set yourself up for success.  Join us for this insightful discussion as we motivate each other to take proactive steps in our business development efforts and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead!   Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction to That Solo Life Join Michelle Kane and Karen Swim as they introduce the podcast and discuss the importance of business development for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. 00:01:00 - The Importance of Proactive Marketing Exploring the passive nature of client acquisition and the need for independent professionals to take control of their own marketing efforts. 00:02:30 - Overcoming the Overwhelm Discussing the challenges of balancing client work with self-promotion and the mental fatigue that can come with it. 00:04:00 - Reclaiming Your Time Strategies for analyzing how time is spent and the importance of breaking down billable hours to find time for business development. 00:06:30 - Utilizing Automation and Tools The benefits of using automation and AI tools to streamline administrative tasks and free up time for business growth. 00:08:30 - Setting the Table for Success The necessity of preparing your business infrastructure to handle new clients effectively and efficiently. 00:09:30 - Creating a Strategic Plan The importance of developing a strategic plan for your own marketing efforts, similar to what you would do for clients. 00:10:30 - Leveraging Content Creation Tools How to use AI tools to generate content efficiently and maximize your marketing efforts with minimal time investment. 00:12:00 - Using AI for Topic Ideation Tips on using AI to brainstorm content ideas and create a content calendar to stay organized and consistent. 00:13:00 - Preparing for the New Year Encouragement to use the slow season to prepare for the upcoming year and set goals for business development. 00:14:00 - Conclusion and Call to Action Wrapping up the episode with a call for listener engagement and feedback, encouraging sharing and reviews.   Resources: Fall Into Business Development AI Business Strategies Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 274: Five Things Solo PR Pros Should Do Before The New Year   In This Episode The final quarter of the year is here, and we are all sprinting toward the finish line. But before we close the books on 2024, there are a few things to do to prepare for 2025. In this episode of That Solo Life, co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane cover five things to do (and think about) before we close the books on this year. Karen and Michelle kick off the discussion by highlighting the Corporate Transparency Act and the BOI reporting requirements that came into effect this year. Many small business owners may not be aware of these obligations, so they emphasize the simplicity of the filing process and encourage listeners to complete it before the year ends.  The co-hosts then turn the focus to the importance of defining and understanding your values as business owners. Consumers increasingly prioritize corporate values in their buying decisions. This consideration is not limited to B2C companies but impacts B2B as well.Michelle and Karen discuss having a clear set of values  for your Solo PR business. Values can guide decision-making and attract the right clients.  The conversation then moves to the critical topic of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and analytics. Listeners  are urged to become comfortable with understanding how PR  impacts client KPIs and using those metrics to demonstrate value.  Pricing models are evolving as companies adapt to marketing conditions. Michelle and Karen discuss the need for flexibility in pricing strategies, particularly in light of changing client needs and economic uncertainties. They discuss the need to have a range of pricing options available such as project-based pricing and flexible retainer options to better align with client expectations and your own financial stability. Finally, the hosts address the integration of AI into our workflows. They discuss the importance of distinguishing between using AI as a tool versus relying on it to produce work independently. We emphasize the need for ethical considerations and transparency when using AI, as well as the importance of verifying information sourced through AI tools. Throughout the episode, Karen and Michelle aim to equip listeners with actionable insights and strategies to navigate the complexities of running a solo business. They encourage everyone to take proactive steps, from filing necessary reports to refining pricing strategies, all while maintaining a focus on values and data-driven practices. We hope you find value in our discussion and encourage you to share this episode with fellow PR pros and marketers. Don't forget to check out soloprpro.com for more resources to help you build a better business. Thank you for joining us on this journey, and we look forward to connecting with you in our next episode! Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction and Q4 Reflection  00:01:30 - Corporate Transparency Act and BOI Reporting  00:05:04 - Understanding Your Values  00:10:45 - The Importance of KPIs and Analytics  00:15:12 - Pricing Strategies for 2025  00:20:22 - AI Disclosure and Ethical Use  00:21:33 - Conclusion and Call to Action Resources: Corporate Transparency Act Beneficial Owner Information Filing AMEC Guide to Measurement G2 PR Measurement Post  How to Create an AI Usage Policy Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 273: Being a PR Pro in the Age of Mistrust In this Episode   In this episode of That Solo Life, co-hosts  Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane discuss the pressing issues of declining trust in institutions and how it impacts the practice and perception of the public relations industry.    The co-hosts discuss how the lack of trust has allowed for the proliferation of false narratives, making the PR professional's job more difficult and vital than ever. They emphasize the importance of PR professionals in protecting brand reputation, serving as strategic counselors, and being the crafters of the story that companies present to their audiences. The speakers call for the PR industry to do a better job of elevating the value and expertise of PR professionals, who possess crucial institutional knowledge and the ability to navigate the complex trust landscape.   Karen and Michelle kick off the episode with a look at the alarming decline in trust across various institutions, as highlighted by the Edelman Trust Barometer. Karen points out that this erosion of trust has led to a fragmented reality where individuals cling to beliefs that align with their perceptions, often disregarding factual information. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the rise of misinformation, which has become rampant in our digital age. The discussion explores how the internet, while a powerful tool for communication, has also created a level playing field for the spread of both truth and falsehoods.   PR professionals recognize the critical importance of their role in combating misinformation and maintaining brand trust. The work of PR pros goes beyond simply securing media placements; they are the storytellers who shape how organizations present themselves to the world. However, the hosts acknowledge the challenges faced in educating clients and the public about the true value of public relations.   Throughout the episode, Karen and Michielle  highlight the necessity of having skilled communicators who can navigate crises and manage brand reputation. We stress that the decisions made today will have long-lasting effects, and without a strong PR strategy, organizations risk losing the trust of their audiences, including their own employees.   Karen and Michelle  reflect on the unique expertise that comes from years of experience in the field. They advocate for the need to elevate the perception of the PR profession and ensure that our voices are heard. Listeners are encouraged  to share their thoughts and questions, and reminded of the vital role they play in shaping narratives and fostering trust in an increasingly complex world. Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction to That Solo Life Welcome and introduction of hosts Michelle Kane and Karen Swim. 00:01:00 - The Decline of Trust in Institutions Discussion on the decreasing trust in organizations and institutions over the past decade. 00:02:30 - Misinformation and Its Impact Exploration of how misinformation spreads and its relationship with the lack of trust. 00:04:00 - The Role of Critical Thinking The importance of critical thinking in discerning truth in the age of misinformation. 00:05:30 - The Challenge of Ideologies How deeply held beliefs complicate the public relations landscape. 00:06:30 - The Importance of PR in Crisis Management The vital role of public relations in protecting brand reputation and managing crises. 00:08:00 - Understanding the Role of PR Professionals Discussion on the misconceptions about public relations and the need for better understanding of the profession. 00:09:30 - The Value of Storytelling in PR The significance of storytelling in communicating a brand's identity and values. 00:10:30 - Elevating the PR Profession The need for the public relations industry to advocate for itself and improve public perception. 00:11:30 - The Long-Term Impact of Trust Erosion The potential long-term consequences of declining trust on organizations and society. 00:12:30 - Building and Maintaining Trust The importance of consistent actions and accountability in maintaining brand trust. 00:14:00 - The Value of Institutional Knowledge The significance of experience and institutional knowledge in the effectiveness of PR professionals. 00:16:00 - Conclusion and Call to Action Wrap-up of the discussion and encouragement to share the podcast and engage with the hosts. Resources: Edelman Trust Barometer How PR Pros Can Fight Fake News in 2024 Everything Starts with Trust Disconnect, Division and the Urgent Need for Diligence in Communications Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 272: Finding Balance: How Hobbies Enhance Professional Life with Paula MacDonald In this Episode In this episode of That Solo Life , we had the pleasure of welcoming Paula MacDonald, a dynamic solo PR practitioner with a fascinating background in film production and technical theater. As the Principal Consultant of ImageSuite PR in St. Petersburg, Florida, Paula has successfully transitioned from an aspiring student filmmaker to a creative force in the public relations industry. Her unique storytelling skills, honed at the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts, allow her to serve a diverse range of clients in professional services, hospitality, sports, and agriculture. During our conversation, Paula shared her inspiring journey and how her unconventional path has enriched her career in PR. We discussed the importance of diverse backgrounds in the field and how they can enhance creativity and adaptability. Paula also highlighted her involvement in the APR program, emphasizing how it provides a valuable framework for PR professionals looking to develop their careers. One of the most exciting parts of our discussion was Paula's newfound passion for skateboarding, which she embraced after watching Tony Hawk's documentary. She candidly shared her experience of overcoming fears and self-limiting beliefs as she learned to skateboard as an adult. Paula's journey into this thrilling hobby not only brought her joy but also helped her manage anxiety and connect with a new community. We explored how Paula's skateboarding hobby has influenced her professional life, encouraging her to take measured risks and embrace new challenges. She emphasized the importance of hobbies for personal growth and mental well-being, reminding us that pursuing interests outside of work can lead to greater creativity and clarity in our professional endeavors. In addition to her skateboarding journey, Paula discussed her commitment to addressing gender inequity in the sport. She founded a nonprofit organization called Girls Skate Inc., aimed at bringing more girls and women into skateboarding. Through organizing events at the Skate Park of Tampa, Paula has successfully created a supportive community that fosters friendships and encourages participation among women of all ages. As we wrapped up the episode, Paula shared her future aspirations, including her interest in puppetry and how she plans to combine her passions for skateboarding and early childhood education. Her enthusiasm and dedication to making a difference are truly inspiring. This episode is a reminder that it's never too late to pursue new interests and that our hobbies can significantly enrich our lives, both personally and professionally. We encourage our listeners to embrace their passions and explore the possibilities that come with stepping outside their comfort zones. Join us for this uplifting conversation with Paula MacDonald, and be inspired to take on new challenges in your own life!   About Paula MacDonald Paula MacDonald's journey from aspiring student filmmaker to solo PR practitioner is a story of adaptability and creativity. With a background in technical theatre and a degree in film production from the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts, Paula brings a unique perspective of visual communication and storytelling to her PR work. As the principal consultant of Image Suite PR in St. Petersburg, Florida, Paula leverages her storytelling skills to serve clients in professional services, hospitality, sports, and agriculture. Her leadership in PRSA, both at the chapter level and nationally, underscores her commitment to the public relations industry and to independent practitioners. You can connect with Paula on her website, LinkedIn. Follow Girls-Sk8 online or Instagram. Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction to That Solo Life Podcast 00:00:13 - Meet Paula MacDonald 00:00:46 - From Film Production to PR 00:02:40 - The Value of Diverse Backgrounds in PR 00:04:00 - The APR Program and Its Benefits 00:04:32 - Paula's New Hobby: Skateboarding 00:05:43 - Overcoming Fear in Pursuing Hobbies 00:08:04 - Connecting Hobbies to Professional Growth 00:10:02 - The Importance of Hobbies for Wellbeing 00:12:23 - Future Aspirations in Skateboarding 00:12:49 - Combining Passions: Skateboarding and Puppetry 00:14:31 - Addressing Gender Inequity in Skateboarding 00:15:52 - Launching Girls Skate Inc. 00:16:51 - Community Impact and Events 00:18:40 - The Benefits of Trying New Things 00:20:32 - Advice for Embracing Hobbies 00:22:13 - Connecting with Paula MacDonald 00:23:41 - Closing Thoughts and Future Plans Resources: Girls Sk8 Tony Hawk Documentary Advice from a Happiness Coach Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Say Thanks to Paula MacDonald! If you liked this episode with Paula MacDonald please say thanks on LinkedIn! Listen to the episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can also watch the interview on YouTube here.

That Solo Life, Episode 271: Why and How to Raise Your Solo PR Rates In this Episode In this episode of That Solo Life  co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane welcome back one of their favorite guests, Chip Griffin, from the Small Agency Growth Alliance. The episode centers around a crucial topic for PR professionals and marketers who work independently: raising rates. We kick off the discussion by acknowledging a common challenge faced by solos and small agencies—undercharging for their services. Chip emphasizes that most professionals in this space undervalue their work and are often hesitant to ask for what they’re truly worth. He encourages listeners to consider raising their rates, asserting that the majority of solos are not charging enough. The conversation then shifts to the mechanics of how to implement a rate increase without alienating existing clients. Chip shares that it’s essential to communicate any changes thoughtfully and to avoid abrupt or insignificant increases. Instead of small, incremental adjustments, he advocates for meaningful rate hikes that reflect the true value of the services provided. Karen adds her insights, highlighting the importance of raising rates for new clients while also addressing the sensitive issue of existing clients. She suggests incorporating rate increases into year-end business reviews, where professionals can present a comprehensive look at past performance and future plans. This approach not only justifies the increase but also positions the professional as a strategic partner rather than just a vendor. Throughout the episode, we discuss the importance of understanding one’s value and the need to think like a business owner rather than an employee. Chip points out that many solos treat their expenses like an employee would, failing to account for overhead and the true costs of doing business. He encourages listeners to adopt a value-based pricing model, which allows them to charge based on the expertise and results they deliver rather than just hourly rates. As the conversation progresses, we touch on the significance of maintaining a healthy client mix and the necessity of ongoing business development. Chip reminds us that it’s vital to regularly assess our client relationships and to be proactive in seeking out higher-paying clients. He also warns against the pitfalls of complacency, urging listeners to avoid falling into autopilot mode with their client engagements. In closing, we emphasize the importance of clear communication with clients regarding rate increases and the need to approach these discussions with confidence and strategy. Chip shares valuable resources available on his website, smallagencygrowth.com, encouraging listeners to seek help and not navigate their business challenges alone. This episode is packed with actionable advice and insights that will inspire PR pros and marketers to evaluate their pricing strategies and take charge of their business growth. We hope you enjoy this enlightening conversation and feel empowered to raise your rates smartly and effectively! About Chip Griffin Chip Griffin is the Founder & CEO of Small Agency Growth Alliance (SAGA). He is a serial entrepreneur with a track record of building businesses that serve the PR and marketing community. Chip helps small PR and marketing agency owners build businesses that they want to own. He works with them to grow profits, eliminate overwork, and improve their overall satisfaction. As an experienced entrepreneur and agency owner himself, Chip shares the wisdom of his successes and the lessons from his failures. He understands the challenges and opportunities that face agency owners because he sat in the same chair and faced similar decisions.  You can email Chip at [email protected] if you’d like to talk. Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction to Raising Rates Join Michelle, Karen, and guest Chip Griffin as they introduce the topic of raising rates for PR pros and marketers. 00:01:00 - The Importance of Valuing Your Work Chip discusses how many solos and small agencies undervalue their services and the need to raise rates. 00:02:00 - Strategies for Raising Rates Exploration of effective ways to raise rates without alienating clients, including communication strategies. 00:03:30 - New Clients vs. Existing Clients Karen emphasizes the importance of charging new clients higher rates and the challenges of raising rates for current clients. 00:05:00 - Understanding Your Value Discussion on determining your worth and setting rates based on desired income and expenses. 00:06:30 - Stop Thinking Like an Employee Chip advises against treating rate increases like salary raises and encourages a business mindset. 00:08:00 - Avoiding Small Increments The pitfalls of small, incremental price increases and the importance of making meaningful adjustments. 00:09:30 - Value-Based Pricing The benefits of value-based pricing over hourly rates and the importance of tracking effective hourly rates. 00:11:00 - Annual Business Reviews Karen shares her approach to incorporating rate increases into year-end business reviews for clients. 00:13:30 - Strategic Planning for Price Increases The advantages of presenting a new plan and budget to clients when discussing rate increases. 00:15:00 - Communication is Key The importance of clear communication with clients regarding rate increases and avoiding surprises. 00:17:00 - Assessing Client Relationships Chip discusses the need to evaluate client relationships and the risks of raising rates on certain clients. 00:19:00 - Client Mix and Profitability The significance of maintaining a balanced client mix and focusing on profitability rather than just revenue. 00:21:00 - The Importance of Business Development Encouragement to continuously seek new clients and opportunities to ensure business growth. 00:23:00 - Final Thoughts on Rate Increases Chip and Karen summarize the key takeaways on raising rates and the mindset needed for successful business management. 00:25:00 - Resources and Closing Remarks Chip shares where to find more resources and advice, and the hosts express gratitude for his insights. Resources: Best Practices for Raising Rates (Solo PR Pro) Agency Health Assessment (SAGA) Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Say Thanks to Chip Griffin! If you liked this episode with Chip Griffin please say thanks on LinkedIn. Listen to the episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can also watch the interview on YouTube here.

That Solo Life, Episode 270: Why We Need Truth Over Politics in a Crisis In this Episode   Recorded in the aftermath of Hurricane, this episode of "That Solo Life" podcast looks at the issue of misinformation in the wake of a crisis. Hosts, Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane  examine the real world impact of mis-, mal- and disinformation during a regional crisis.   The hosts emphasize the need to avoid misinformation and politicization during such crises. They also emphasize the importance of having a decision framework in place to help clients navigate appropriate responses and avoid opportunistic behavior. The discussion underscores the role of PR professionals in informing the public, educating on discerning fact from fiction, and mobilizing practical assistance for those in need. The discussion examines the rampant misinformation that often surfaces during crises, stressing. the need for accurate information  Karen and Michelle assert that a human crisis should not be politicized. The importance of providing factual support to those in need rather than engaging in political games or spreading false narratives is stressed.  Listeners are reminded of the importance of being a reliable source of information and support during crises. We encourage PR pros to step up, educate the public, and focus on helping those in need. We express our gratitude to our listeners for their dedication to the profession and invite them to share their thoughts and feedback. Join us as we navigate these critical conversations and strive to uplift our communities in times of need. Thank you for tuning in to That Solo Life! Episode Timeline: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Acknowledgment of Hurricane Helene The hosts introduce themselves and express their support for those affected by Hurricane Helene. 00:01:10 - Support for PR Pros Affected by the Hurricane Discussion on the importance of community support for PR professionals impacted by the disaster. 00:02:11 - Addressing Misinformation During Crises The hosts emphasize the need to combat myths and disinformation during crises, highlighting the importance of accurate information. 00:03:53 - The Importance of Truth in Communication A conversation about the erosion of trust in institutions and the necessity of truthful communication in PR. 00:05:22 - The Role of PR Professionals in Educating the Public Discussion on how PR pros can help the public discern fact from fiction and find reliable resources. 00:06:27 - Disasters Are Not PR Opportunities The hosts express their frustration with brands leveraging disasters for marketing purposes. 00:07:35 - Humanitarian Focus Over Marketing A call to action for organizations to focus on genuine help rather than opportunistic marketing during crises. 00:09:32 - The Need for a Decision Framework in PR The importance of having a decision-making framework to guide clients in responding to crises appropriately. 00:12:14 - The Role of PR Professionals as Safety Patrols The hosts liken their role to that of safety patrols, emphasizing their responsibility to guide clients through challenging situations. 00:13:01 - Conclusion and Call to Action Wrapping up the episode with encouragement for PR pros and a reminder to share the podcast and provide feedback. Resources: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Disaster-Related Misinformation Isn’t Unique to Helene and Milton Institute for Strategic Dialogue: Hurricane Helene brews up storm of online falsehoods and threats FEMA.gov: Addressing Hurricane Helene Rumors and Scams Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 269: Cheesy Lessons In Crisis Management From A Viral Mishap In this Episode   In episode 269 of “That Solo Life” podcast, Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane discuss the viral video of a customer receiving a mac and cheese order without the macaroni, and how the business handled the situation by responding with a humorous TikTok video. The hosts highlight the important lessons for PR and marketing professionals, including the value of social media monitoring and responding appropriately to negative sentiment. They also emphasize the importance of clear internal communication and ensuring employees understand the products and services they are representing.   The episode explores the importance of effective communication in the face of unexpected challenges. The hosts explore lessons from the brand’s quick response which was genuine and cheeky    Karen and Michelle talk about  the significance of having a strong social media presence and the necessity of listening tools to monitor brand mentions and customer sentiment. They discuss how brands can miss opportunities to engage with their audience, especially when positive feedback is shared. By actively listening and responding, businesses can foster a sense of community and connection with their customers.   The hosts also touch on the internal communication lessons that can be learned from the incident, highlighting the importance of clarity in messaging. We share anecdotes about the need for employees to fully understand the products or services they represent, ensuring they can effectively communicate with customers.   Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the value of effective communication, both internally and externally, and to consider how they can apply these lessons in their own practices.    Episode Timeline:   00:00:00 - Welcome to That Solo Life Introduction to the podcast and hosts, Michelle Kane and Karen Swim.   00:00:21 - Hello Fall! Discussion about the arrival of fall and the changing seasons.   00:00:47 - The Mac and Cheese Mishap Introduction to the viral clip of a woman receiving an incomplete mac and cheese order.   00:01:49 - Lessons in Crisis Communication Exploring the business response to the viral video and its implications for PR and marketing.   00:02:54 - Engaging on Social Media The importance of responding on the same platforms where negative sentiment arises.   00:04:16 - Investing in Listening Tools The necessity of social media listening tools for brands to monitor sentiment.   00:05:52 - Understanding Client Needs Discussing the importance of educating clients about the value of listening tools.   00:07:32 - Community Engagement The benefits of local businesses engaging with their community on social media.   00:08:27 - Challenges for Smaller Brands Addressing the struggles smaller brands face in monitoring their online presence.   00:09:24 - The Importance of Clear Communication Highlighting the need for clarity in both internal and external communications.   00:10:10 - Responding with Humor The effectiveness of a light-hearted response to customer complaints.   00:12:26 - Internal Communication Lessons The importance of ensuring all employees understand menu items and services.   00:15:12 - Employee Training and Experience The necessity for employees to have firsthand experience with products and services.   00:17:08 - Closing Thoughts Encouragement to enjoy mac and cheese and a reminder to share the podcast.   Resources: PR News Online: Lessons in Digital Crisis Communications from the California Pizza Kitchen Incident USA Today: California Pizza Kitchen offers chain-wide mac and cheese deal after viral order blunder (Includes customer TikTok Video)   Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 268: Why Media Literacy is Crucial in an Age of Untruths In this Episode In this episode of That Solo Life, co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kaen discuss the importance of media literacy and combating misinformation, particularly for public relations professionals. The hosts highlight how the rise of AI and deepfake technology has made it increasingly difficult to discern truth from fiction. They emphasize the responsibility of PR pros to educate their clients and the public on verifying information, monitoring for misuse of brand assets, and providing tools to fact-check claims. The discussion also touches on the role of social media platforms in addressing the spread of misinformation and the need for collective action by companies and organizations to curtail the problem. The hosts reflect on the current media landscape, especially during an election year when the stakes are high, and the potential for misinformation is rampant. Today’s discussion highlights the responsibility we have as PR pros to not only stay informed ourselves but also to educate our clients and the public about the importance of media literacy. Misinformation can affect brands in both significant and subtle ways, and it is our duty to help our clients navigate this complex environment. Throughout the episode, Karen and Michelle explore practical strategies for enhancing media literacy among clients and their audiences. This includes implementing robust monitoring systems to track brand mentions and ensuring that content produced is clearly marked to establish ownership and authenticity. The discussion includes the importance of equipping the public with tools to fact-check information, such as linking to credible sources and encouraging critical thinking. As Michelle and Karen delve deeper, they address the psychological aspects of how people consume information, particularly how personal beliefs can cloud judgment regarding what is considered "true" or "fake." We share anecdotes about the impact of negative reviews and misinformation on local businesses, underscoring the real-world consequences of unchecked falsehoods. The conversation takes a broader turn as they advocate for a collective effort within the PR industry to combat misinformation. Karen and Michelle envision a future where every brand provides resources to help the public discern fact from fiction, ultimately fostering a more informed society. They call on social media platforms to take a more proactive role in identifying and flagging misleading content, emphasizing that doing the right thing is essential for long-term success. In closing, listeners  are reminded that while the fight against misinformation can feel overwhelming, every small effort counts. PR professionals are encouraged to join this important mission, armed with their"teaspoons" and commitment to truth. If you found value in our discussion, please share this episode and connect with us at soloprpro.com for more insights and past episodes. Thank you for tuning in to That Solo Life! Episode Timeline:   00:00:00 - Introduction to Media Literacy Discussion on the importance of media literacy in PR and marketing, especially during an election year. 00:02:00 - The Role of AI in Media Literacy Exploration of how AI advancements impact the discernment of truth and accuracy in media. 00:04:00 - Equipping Clients and Publics Strategies for PR pros to help clients monitor their brand and educate the public on fact-checking. 00:06:00 - The Challenge of Misinformation Discussion on the prevalence of misinformation and the responsibility of brands to combat it. 00:08:00 - Belief Systems and Information Consumption Analysis of how personal beliefs affect the perception of information and the importance of critical thinking. 00:10:00 - The Impact of Fake Reviews Examination of how fake reviews can harm brands and the need for consumers to discern authenticity. 00:12:00 - Ethics in PR and Media The ethical implications of spreading misinformation and the responsibility of PR professionals to advocate for truth. 00:14:00 - The Role of Social Media Platforms Discussion on the responsibility of social media companies to combat misinformation and protect users. 00:15:00 - Conclusion and Call to Action Encouragement for PR pros to contribute to the fight against misinformation and promote media literacy. Resources: Resources for PR Pros: News Literacy Project Tackling Ai:The Battle Against Misinformation with Axel Ebermann - Episode 160 Battling Misinformation: How PR Pros Can Counter AI Misinformation Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 267: Beyond the Pretty: Understanding the True Value of PR In this Episode In this episode of That Solo Life, co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane dive into the evolving landscape of public relations and marketing, particularly focusing on the value of strategic thinking in our professions. We kick off the conversation by reflecting on how the perception of PR has shifted over the years—from being seen as mere party planners to now being equated with the creation of visually appealing content, such as social media reels. Michelle highlights the importance of recognizing the intent and expertise that goes into crafting effective communication strategies, emphasizing that beautiful outputs are often the result of meticulous planning and seasoned thought. Karen adds to this by discussing the challenges faced by PR professionals and marketers in a world where the demand for our skills is being eroded by the rise of multi-hyphenates and the casual approach some take towards our professions. We explore the implications of this shift, particularly how it affects our livelihoods and the perception of our expertise. Both hosts share personal experiences, noting that many in the field have taken non-traditional paths to their current roles, which adds to the complexity of how our work is valued. The discussion also touches on the role of AI and the allure of quick fixes in marketing and PR, contrasting these with the deep, analytical work that truly drives outcomes. We acknowledge the frustrations of journalists, especially in the political realm, as they navigate a landscape where content creators are gaining prominence. As we reflect on the importance of our roles, we emphasize the need for PR professionals and marketers to elevate their own standards and educate others about the true nature of our work. We advocate for a collaborative approach within the industry, aiming to uplift the entire profession rather than create divisions between independents and those in traditional roles. Throughout the episode, we stress that clients will always need skilled professionals to tell their stories effectively. We highlight the intricate thought processes that go into our work, from crafting headlines to managing crises, and the necessity of being recognized for the value we bring. In closing, we encourage our listeners to take pride in their profession and to share this episode with others who may benefit from understanding the depth and complexity of what we do. Join us as we continue to champion the importance of strategic thinking in PR and marketing, and strive to preserve the integrity of our professions for future generations. Episode Timeline: 00:00:00 - Introduction to That Solo Life  00:00:18 - The Value of PR and Marketing  00:00:48 - Misconceptions About PR and Content Creation 00:02:05 - The Importance of Expertise in PR and Marketing 00:03:43 - The Evolving Landscape of PR and Journalism  00:05:00 - The Complexity Behind Simple Outputs 00:06:31 - The Role of Independents in the Industry  00:08:31 - The Need for Storytelling and Guidance  00:09:41 - Raising Standards in PR and Marketing  00:10:42 - Job Misconceptions and Industry Challenges 00:12:10 - The Value of PR Professionals  00:13:01 - Conclusion and Call to Action Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 266: Navigating the New Normal of AI  In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane delve into the complex and evolving relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and the world of public relations (PR). The episode kicks off with a discussion about the recent controversy surrounding the NaNoWriMo project and its use of AI, sparking a broader conversation about the role of AI as a tool in the PR profession. Karen and Michelle emphasize the inevitability of AI's presence in the industry and stress the importance of embracing and shaping its use rather than resisting it. They highlight the need for PR professionals to lead the way in defining ethical practices and addressing issues such as inherent biases and copyright protection in the context of AI-generated content. The hosts acknowledge the potential benefits of AI in streamlining certain tasks, such as research analysis and content generation, but also caution against relying solely on AI without human intelligence and guidance. They emphasize the importance of critical thinking, fact-checking, and maintaining ethical standards in the face of AI's increasing influence on the media landscape. The conversation extends to the role of journalists and PR professionals in upholding integrity and accuracy in their work, amidst concerns about misinformation and unethical practices in the industry. Michelle and Karen underscore the vital role of media literacy and ethical decision-making in preserving the credibility and impact of journalism and PR. As the episode concludes, the hosts encourage listeners to engage in civil discourse, share their insights, and consider joining the Solo PR Pro community for further professional development and networking opportunities. The episode serves as a call to action for PR professionals to navigate the evolving landscape of AI with integrity, critical thinking, and a commitment to ethical practices. Episode Timeline: Introduction: 00:00:02-00:00:41 Discussion on AI in PR and Marketing: 00:01:08-00:09:58 Concerns about Misinformation and Ethics: 00:09:58-00:11:36 Journalism and Integrity: 00:11:36-00:13:50 Media Literacy and Importance of Ethics: 00:14:14-00:15:53 AI Resources: The Battle Against Misinformation with Axel Ebermann Almost Timely Newsletter Michael Smart’s AI Assisted PR Newsletter Getting Started with Generative AI Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 265: How PR Pros Can Leverage that Back to School Energy   In this Episode It’s back to school season and for Solo PR Pros it’s a great time to refresh and reset. In today’s episode Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane dive into the topic of embracing a back-to-school mindset as solopreneurs. As the fall season approaches, they discuss the importance of self-care, professional development, and rejuvenation in order to stay sharp and serve clients effectively. The hosts highlight the significance of taking time for personal growth, whether through workshops, online courses, or simply revisiting the basics of our profession. They emphasize the value of setting aside dedicated time for reflection and creative thinking, stressing the need for solopreneurs to prioritize mental well-being amidst the constant influx of information and responsibilities. Karen and Michelle also touch on the idea of incorporating playtime and self-compliments into daily routines, drawing parallels between the joy of back-to-school shopping and the potential for a wardrobe refresh to boost energy and confidence. They encourage listeners to find small ways to infuse excitement and positivity into their work lives, even in the absence of traditional office interactions. Throughout the episode, the hosts share personal anecdotes and insights, underscoring the challenges and rewards of working independently. They invite listeners to share their own back-to-school tips and experiences, fostering a sense of community and collaboration within the solopreneur space. As the episode concludes, Michelle and Karen express their hopes for a successful end to the year, both professionally and personally. They encourage listeners to prioritize self-care and growth, reminding them that the freedom of solopreneurship allows for flexibility and choice in how they approach their work and well-being. Listeners are invited to share their feedback and suggestions for future episodes, as the hosts look forward to continuing the conversation on navigating the solo professional journey. Tune in to "That Solo Life" for more insights, tips, and inspiration for thriving as a Solo PR Pro in today's dynamic landscape.   Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction and Back to School Theme 00:05:30 - Importance of Taking Breaks and Decompressing 00:11:12 - Refreshing Your Wardrobe for Fall 00:14:30 - Importance of Laughter and Mental Health 00:15:26 - Embracing Freedom and Choices in Solo Work Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane  dive into the importance of year-end client conversations for PR professionals and marketers. As the final quarter of the year approaches, the hosts emphasize the significance of checking in with clients to ensure alignment, satisfaction, and strategic planning for the upcoming year. The hosts discuss the necessity of conducting a health check with clients, focusing on both the health of the client's business and the effectiveness of the PR program. They stress the value of open and honest conversations, allowing for feedback and addressing any missed opportunities or areas for improvement. Karen and Michelle  highlight the importance of building strong relationships with clients beyond transactional interactions. They emphasize the role of PR professionals in supporting client growth, career development, and overall success. As the conversation progresses, the hosts delve into the process of presenting year-end recaps and program recommendations to clients. They suggest incorporating a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, providing a comprehensive overview of the client's PR program. Additionally, Michelle and Karen encourage PR professionals to confidently discuss budget increases with clients, emphasizing the need to align rates with the evolving costs of doing business. They stress the importance of demonstrating value, communicating achievements, and proactively addressing client needs to strengthen trust and foster long-term partnerships. In conclusion, the hosts remind listeners to prioritize effective communication, strategic planning, and ongoing client engagement as they navigate year-end conversations and prepare for the new year ahead. They invite listeners to share feedback, engage with the Solo PR Pro community, and continue learning and growing in their solo PR and marketing endeavors.   Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction and Setting the Stage 00:05:30 - Importance of Health Check Conversations with Clients 00:12:01 - Recommendations and Budget Conversations 00:13:35 - SWOT Analysis and Strategic Counsel 00:16:33 - Communicating Value and Recap to Clients 00:17:48 - Conclusion and Call to Action Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 263:  How To Transform PR With Trauma-Informed Practices with Kahshanna Evans In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Karen Swim and Michelle Kane are joined by the passionate and inspiring Kahshanna Evans, a senior strategist at Kissing Lions Public Relations. Kahshanna's expertise lies in community building through communication strategy, corporate social responsibility, and trauma-informed communications management. Kahshanna shares her journey into the trauma management space, highlighting her background in fashion, film, and television before delving into transformational well-being studies. Her lightbulb moment came during a trauma-informed outreach program, leading her to focus on trauma-informed practices and awareness. The conversation delves into the importance of trauma-informed communications in various sectors, including crisis communications, corporate social responsibility, and media literacy. Kahshanna emphasizes the need for a shift towards person-first language and humanizing narratives, especially in historically targeted communities. The episode explores Kahshanna's community building communication strategy, which integrates trauma-informed practices, media literacy, and the empowerment of historically marginalized communities. The hosts discuss the role of solo PR professionals as activists and educators, advocating for change and inclusivity in the industry. Listeners are encouraged to engage with Kahshanna through Kissing Lions' website or LinkedIn, and to join the solo PR community for further discussions and collaborations. The episode concludes with a call to action for professionals to embrace trauma-informed practices and work together towards transformative change in communications and beyond. About Kahshanna Evans Kahshanna Evans brings her passion for community building through communications strategy, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and uniting people through stories to her role of Senior Strategist at Kissing Lions Public Relations, Trauma Informed Resilient Communities Consultant—and as a New York State Trauma Informed Network and Resources Center (TINRC) Advisory Council Member. Kahshanna has been a leading strategic thinker in various industries, including wellness, communications, nonprofit, and professional services. During her tenure at a nonprofit that educates the public and private sector on PACEs science, Kahshanna served as a subject matter expert, organizational spokesperson, and facilitator of trauma-informed (TI) training for various communities. As a founding member of a Diversity, Equity, Belonging, Inclusion & Allyship (DEIB/A) committee at a wellbeing tech company, Kahshanna played a role in advocating for the creation of a culture of belonging.  Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction to Kahshanna Evans 00:03:20 - Importance of Trauma-Informed Communications 00:05:51 - Crisis Communication and Trauma-Informed Practices 00:13:11 - Overcoming Politicization of Trauma 00:18:25 - Community Building Communication Strategy 00:23:29 - Transforming the Industry through Trauma-Informed Practices 00:30:58 - Emphasizing Community Support and Collaboration Resources: Kahshanna Evans article (chock full of resources): The Future of Corporate Citizenship: Can Solo PR Pros Introduce A Trauma Informed World View? Study: From managing emotion to trauma‐informed management: A new direction in crisis communication Victims as stakeholders: Insights from the intersection of psychosocial, ethical, and crisis communication paths  Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Say Thanks to Kahshanna Evans! If you liked this episode with Kahshanna, please say thanks on LinkedIn! Listen to the episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can also watch the interview on YouTube here.

That Solo Life  Episode 262: Establishing and Proving the Value of Public Relations In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane discuss the ongoing challenge of establishing and proving the value of public relations work to clients. Independent PR professionals must navigate the complexities of demonstrating the impact of their efforts in a landscape where marketing, advertising, and PR often get lumped together. The hosts discuss the importance of metrics and measuring the success of PR campaigns, especially in times of economic uncertainty where clients may be more focused on immediate revenue generation. They emphasize the distinction between PR and marketing, highlighting the nuanced ways in which PR professionals contribute to a company's bottom line. Throughout the episode, Karen and Michelle share personal experiences and insights on how to effectively communicate the value of PR to clients. They stress the need for open and candid conversations about goals, success metrics, and the evolving needs of the client's business. The hosts acknowledge the challenges of navigating client expectations and the pressure to deliver tangible results in a competitive market. As the conversation unfolds, the hosts encourage PR professionals to hone their measurement skills, delve into data analytics, and craft compelling narratives that showcase the impact of PR efforts on business outcomes. They underscore the importance of continuous learning, adaptation, and proactive communication to build trust and credibility with clients. In conclusion, Karen and Michelle urge listeners to stay resilient, proactive, and focused on delivering value in a rapidly changing industry. They invite feedback and shared experiences from the audience, emphasizing the collective learning and growth within the PR community. The episode serves as a reminder of the ongoing journey to elevate the role of PR professionals and demonstrate their indispensable contribution to business success. Episode Timeline 00:02:02 - Establishing and Proving the Value of PR 00:05:16 - Focus on PR and Marketing Value 00:07:01 - Conversations about Goals and Success 00:09:35 - Adapting to Client Needs and Market Changes 00:10:51 - Navigating Sales-Driven Organizations 00:12:41 - Understanding Client Perspectives and Decision Making 00:13:33 - Importance of Measurement and Metrics 00:14:30 - Conclusion and Call for Better Storytelling Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life  Episode 261: On the Edge of Ethics   In this Episode Has being edgy gone too far? In today’s episode of That Solo Life podcast, Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane discuss the controversial topic of sensationalized headlines and the impact they have on the dissemination of accurate information. The hosts discuss the fine line between grabbing attention and misleading the audience, especially in today's media landscape where clickbait headlines are prevalent. Karen and Michelle discuss a recent example of the Olympics and the false narrative surrounding a boxer from Algeria to highlight how sensationalized headlines can lead to misinformation and even incite hatred towards individuals. They emphasized the ethical responsibility of PR professionals and journalists to present accurate and fair information to the public. Public Relations professionals should all be concerned about the current trend of compromising truth for entertainment value in news reporting. The hosts reflected on the implications of this trend on future generations, particularly in an era where social media and instant information sharing can lead to the rapid spread of misinformation. This episode also touched on the importance of self-reflection and avoiding biases in communication strategies, urging Solo PR Pros to stay honest and forthright in their work.  Overall, this episode served as a thought-provoking discussion on the evolving landscape of media, the importance of ethical journalism, and the role of PR professionals in upholding truth and accuracy in communication. Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction and Discussion on Provocative Headlines 00:05:30 - Impact of Misinformation and Ethical Responsibility 00:09:06 - Concerns about Younger Generations and News Consumption 00:12:05 - Compromising Truth for Entertainment 00:13:35 - Challenges of Different Versions of Truth 00:15:04 - Encouragement for Self-Reflection and Audience Engagement Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life  Episode 260:  How To Break In or Out of Being a Solo PR Pro   In this Episode Do you want to make the leap to being a Solo PR Pro? Or are you a Solo longing for the steady rhythm and challenge of an in-house job? In today’s episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane discuss diving in or out of being a Solo P Pro. Life is not stagnant and that applies to your PR career. We all navigate different seasons of life and our career aspirations and capacity may evolve to fit that season.  Decades ago, consulting or freelancing was seen as a temporary measure between jobs. Today, it is  rightly recognized as a legitimate career path offering control and flexibility. This shift in the perception of solo work makes it easier to move in and out of working for yourself and working n-house. In the episode, Karen and Michelle discuss the factors to consider when contemplating a shift between solo work and traditional employment. Michelle emphasizes the need for self-motivation, financial preparedness, and a clear understanding of market demand when venturing into solo work. Karen stresses the significance of intentional networking and skill development for those considering a return to in-house positions. Throughout the episode, the hosts emphasize the importance of aligning work with personal fulfillment and the freedom to pursue different paths based on individual needs and desires. They encourage listeners to share their experiences and questions, inviting engagement and feedback for future episodes. Listeners are encouraged to visit the soloprpro.com website to connect with the hosts and share their stories. The episode concludes with a call to action for sharing and reviewing the podcast to support its growth and reach. The episode is a great reminder that public relations professionals can build a career customized to their needs and aspirations, adjusting it along the way to fit the fluidity of their lives. Episode Timeline 00:00:00 - Introduction and Midsummer Stride: Michelle and Karen discuss the midsummer season and ignore the back-to-school rush. 00:05:30 - Evolving Attitudes Towards Consulting: Karen reflects on the evolution of consulting from a stopgap measure to a career choice. 00:09:27 - Flexibility in Career Choices: Michelle and Karen emphasize the importance of flexibility in transitioning between solo work and in-house positions. 00:12:33 - Networking Strategies: Karen provides insights on networking strategies for transitioning between solo work and in-house positions. 00:15:23 - Pursuing Fulfillment: Michelle and Karen discuss the balance between pursuing fulfilling work and jobs that provide stability and benefits. Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life  Episode 259:  How To Keep Your Head When Everyone Is Losing Theirs In this Episode Today’s episode of "That Solo Life," features an honest discussion about the challenges of the modern workforce and how Solo PR Pros can successfully navigate the toxicity and stress that has become all too prevalent. Corporate employees are faced with overwhelming demands and pressures -from mandatory office returns to being burdened with more work and fewer people - the landscape is filled with challenges that impact not only employees but also independent consultants that serve these organizations. Karen and Michelle emphasize the importance of self-care and setting boundaries in the face of workplace toxicity. They address the need to prioritize mental well-being, streamline work schedules, and find activities that bring joy and renewal. By focusing on doing good work and avoiding getting entangled in office politics, we can maintain a healthier balance and preserve our energy. Throughout the episode, the hosts share personal experiences and insights on how to handle difficult situations with clients and colleagues. They stress the significance of recognizing what we can control and letting go of what we cannot, especially when faced with internal power struggles and conflicts. Listeners are encouraged to prioritize their well-being, stay positive, and remain focused on their work amidst external stressors.  Please join us for more discussions on "That Solo Life" and remember to share your stories and feedback with us at soloprpro.com. Thank you for tuning in, and until next time, take care and stay resilient in the face of life's challenges. Episode Highlights Navigating Work Challenges : 00:00:52-00:01:24 Challenges of Detachment : 00:01:39-00:01:49 Strategies for Self-Care : 00:04:25-00:05:18 Importance of Boundaries : 00:05:18-00:05:29 Finding Joy and Renewal : 00:06:03-00:07:49 Maintaining Focus on Good Work : 00:08:02-00:09:44 Dealing with Toxicity : 00:10:05-00:10:36 Setting Boundaries and Prioritizing Self : 00:11:05-00:11:16 Maintaining Positive Attitude : 00:13:37-00:13:48 Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life  Episode 258:  Disconnect, Divisions and the Urgent Need for Diligence in Communication In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Michelle Kane and Karen Swim, APR tackle the profound impact of words in communication, particularly for PR and marketing professionals.  The conversation turns to the ethical considerations of communication, with both hosts highlighting the power and responsibility that come with crafting messages. They stress the significance of using words to inspire positive actions and foster connections, especially in a time marked by detachment and distrust in institutions. Karen and Michelle acknowledge the complexities faced by communicators in navigating a landscape where extremism and polarization are prevalent. As the discussion unfolds, Michelle and Karen underscore the role of communicators in promoting inclusivity and equity through their messaging. They challenge the misconception that inclusive communication is a form of coddling, emphasizing that it requires skill and empathy to reach diverse audiences effectively. Despite the challenges posed by social media algorithms and societal divisions, the hosts express optimism about the transformative potential of ethical communication practices. In a call to action, the hosts encourage listeners to prioritize self-care and seek joy outside of their professional roles to maintain mental well-being. They emphasize the importance of community support among communicators and invite listeners to share their experiences and insights. The episode concludes with a reminder to share the podcast with fellow professionals and engage with the hosts on social media platforms. Listeners are left with a renewed sense of purpose and a deeper appreciation for the impact of words in shaping narratives, fostering connections, and driving positive change in the world of communication. "That Solo Life" continues to serve as a platform for meaningful discussions and insights for PR pros and marketers navigating the evolving landscape of communication. Episode Timeline: 00:03:24 - The Power of Words and Ethical Communication 00:06:06 - Impact of Detachment and Extremism on Communication 00:10:54 - Challenges in Communication Amidst Social Isolation 00:12:16 - Optimism and Commitment to Ethical Communication 00:14:24 - Recognizing the Importance and Responsibility of Communication 00:15:19 - Encouragement for Self-Care and Community Support Episode Resources: Fortune Article: ​​Welcome to ‘The Great Detachment’: Workers are checked out—and so are their bosses Heat’s Impact on the Brain: How Heat Affects the Brain (NY Times) How heat affects the mind (American Psychological Association Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 257: How PR Pros Can Stand Strong in Uncertain Times In this Episode The practice of public relations is not for the faint of heart. Whether you are in-house or running your own shop, the work can be challenging. For Solo PR Pros, the challenges extend to ensuring that they sustain their livelihood while serving others. In today’s episode Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane, discuss the importance of protecting yourself and your business during times of instability. Instability seems to be the new normal. The economy, political landscape, and climate are just a few of the many things that currently have us feeling like we are doing life on a wobble board.  As PR professionals, we recognize the need to be proactive in safeguarding our businesses. Michelle and Karen emphasize the importance of future-proofing our skills and staying ahead of industry trends. Adapting to changing client needs and exploring new service offerings are key strategies to weathering uncertain times. The conversation delves into the evolving landscape of journalism and media relations, highlighting the challenges faced by professionals in these fields. The discussion turns to the impact of sensationalism and the decline of ethical journalism on public trust and the industry as a whole. Despite the challenges, listeners are encouraged to stay engaged and seek opportunities for growth and innovation. By staying informed, adapting to change, and focusing on serving our audiences, we can navigate through the current malaise in the PR world. Episode Timeline: 00:00:18 - Introduction to the Podcast 00:01:05 - Acknowledging Instability in the World 00:03:49 - Importance of Proactivity in Business 00:05:10 - Importance of Upskilling and Future-Proofing 00:07:07 - Paying Attention to Industry Trends 00:08:26 - Embracing Change and Career Shifts 00:10:55 - Concerns about Journalism Integrity 00:12:15 - Impact of Decline in Creative Arts 00:13:07 - Encouragement to Share and Connect Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 256: PR ChallengesPost-Pandemic : Events, Energy Levels and Customer Service  In this Episode   In this episode, Karen Swim and Michelle Kane, discuss the various challenges and changes that the post-pandemic era has brought to the PR industry. The pandemic had a significant impact on in-person events and interactions. The hosts discuss how shifting priorities, increased workloads, and changing interests have made it challenging to plan and attend events, leading to a reevaluation of traditional event strategies. Karen and Michelle also touch upon the shift in energy levels post-pandemic, noting how many individuals feel more fatigued and less productive despite technological advancements. The conversation evolves into a reflection on the demise of hustle culture and the newfound emphasis on work-life balance. The hosts also address the decline in customer service standards, both in the PR industry and beyond, highlighting instances where businesses have failed to prioritize customer satisfaction and individualized service. In a quick round-up of current news, Michelle and Karen discuss the University of Texas at Austin's decision to lay off its communications and marketing team, as well as upcoming regulatory changes.  Episode Timeline: 00:02:24 - Challenges of Holding Events Post-Pandemic 00:04:39 - Impact of Pandemic on Energy Levels 00:06:57 - Shift in Work-Life Balance Post-Pandemic 00:09:18 - Reflections on Post-Pandemic Hustle Culture 00:11:05 - Decline in Customer Service Post-Pandemic 00:12:47 - Gen Z Job Seekers and Unusual Interview Practices 00:14:48 - Beneficial Owner Filing Requirement 00:16:18 - Layoffs at University of Texas at Austin 00:19:24 - Importance of PR Teams in Crisis Management Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!  

That Solo Life, Episode 255:  The Powerful Reasons PR Pros Must Vet Everything   In this Episode In episode 255 of “That Solo Life,” Karen Swim and  Michelle Kane discuss the role of vetting in public relations, and the need to thoroughly research clients, client partners, collaborators and more. The hosts discussed how the recent news of Justin Timberlake's DWI arrest highlighted how one misstep can bring up a person's entire history of mistakes. The incident serves as a reminder of the significance of vigorously researching individuals or organizations before committing to work with them or to work with your clients. Karen and Michelle emphasize the need for due diligence in researching the history and reputation of any person or organization before entering into a relationship. This also applies to any information that you might share from a third party such as quotes or data studies. PR Pros must be fully informed to protect their consultantices. and clients. Throughout the episode, the hosts stress the value of preparation and being proactive in anticipating any potential issues that may arise from working with certain clients or partners. Karen and Michelle share personal experiences of discovering problematic histories of individuals they previously supported and the importance of learning from those instances. Additionally, the hosts discuss the benefits of seeking insights from PR colleagues or industry peers when vetting prospects, as they can provide valuable information and warnings based on their experiences.  Episode Timeline: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Weather Chit-Chat 00:01:26 - Importance of Vetting Prospects 00:02:03 - Learning from Justin Timberlake 's DWI Incident 00:03:21 - Being Prepared for Potential Fallout 00:04:39 - Second Chances and Being Informed 00:06:11 - Impact of Unprepared Responses in Media 00:07:20 - Reflecting on Past Mistakes in Sharing Information 00:08:18 - Seeking References and Insights from PR Colleagues 00:09:46 - Evaluating Opportunities and Self-Reflection 00:11:17 - Role of PR in Guarding Against Risk 00:11:43 - Wrapping Up and Summer Plans Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

That Solo Life, Episode 254:  The Work of Diversity - A Conversation with Anetra Henry   In this Episode   Anetra Henry, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for Public Relations joins Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane on today’s episode of “That Solo Life.” Anetra is a passionate storyteller and strategic messaging guru, known for her expertise in research and advocacy for diversity and inclusion. The episode delved into a recent study, led by Anetra, "Collaborators for Change," which focused on the relationship between Chief Communications Officers (CCOs) and Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) in organizations. Anetra shared the spark that led to the research, highlighting the importance of understanding how these executives work together, especially during times of crisis. Anetra discussed the obstacles faced during the study, including challenges in recruiting CDOs due to external factors like legislation targeting diversity initiatives. She emphasized the need for empathy and understanding in conducting the interviews, as participants shared personal stories and fears about the future of their work. The conversation also touched on key takeaways from the study, such as the importance of clear communication between CCOs and CDOs, the impact of diversity fatigue, and the need for organizations to define and prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Anetra shared her personal reflections on conducting the study, highlighting the emotional impact of hearing participants' stories and fears. She emphasized the importance of empathy and the need for continued efforts in diversity and inclusion work. Looking ahead, Anetra expressed hope for the future of CDOs, emphasizing the importance of continued progress and rebranding of diversity initiatives. She discussed potential future studies and the need for ongoing support and advocacy for diversity and inclusion in organizations. This episode provided valuable insights into the complex relationship between CCOs and CDOs, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in advancing diversity and inclusion efforts within organizations.  About Anetra Henry Anetra Henry is not your typical public relations and marketing professional. She's a passionate storyteller and strategic messaging guru. As the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), she continues to make waves with her expertise and contributions to research. Anetra's influence extends beyond her role at IPR. She's a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and events, where she shares her insights and expertise. Through her published articles, thought leadership pieces, and active participation in industry forums, she consistently contributes to the advancement of the field. Her dedication to excellence doesn't stop at the office door. She's a tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion, working hard to create opportunities for underrepresented voices and championing initiatives that foster inclusivity. Episode Timeline Introduction of Anetra Henry : 00:00:14 Spark for the Collaborators for Change Study : 00:02:21 Obstacles Faced in Conducting the Study : 00:04:21 Key Takeaways from the Study : 00:09:35 Insights into What 's Working and Recommendations for Improvement: 00:15:10 Personal Impact of Conducting the Research : 00:28:28 Future of Chief Diversity Officers : 00:34:30 Possibility of Longitudinal Study : 00:41:06 Closing Remarks and Thank You : 00:43:19 Resources: Download: Collaborators for Change Study The Costly Business of Discrimination Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Say Thanks to Anetra Henry! If you liked this episode with Anetra Henry, please say thanks on LinkedIn or Instagram. Listen to the episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can also watch the interview on YouTube here.

That Solo Life, Episode 253:  The PR Measurement Strategy You Need to Grow   In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Michelle Kane and Karen Swim discuss another side of measurement in the PR industry. While measurement discussions typically focus on client work, Karen and Michelle talk about the importance of tracking tactics and metrics within your own Solo PR Pro business. Karen emphasizes the tendency of PR professionals to prioritize client success over their own business metrics. She stresses the importance of tracking financial metrics to identify the most profitable clients and types of work. The discussion shifts to the need for measuring time spent on tasks to determine efficiency and profitability accurately. The hosts discuss the pitfalls of focusing on the wrong metrics, referencing a study on B2B marketers who invested in the wrong areas due to misaligned measurements. They stress the importance of creating a sense of community and fostering word-of-mouth referrals for business growth. Michelle and Karen underscore the need for PR professionals to measure their efforts in writing, pitching, and media relations to enhance skill sets and improve success rates. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to incorporate regular measurement practices into their solo PR businesses.  Episode Timeline: 00:01:10 - Importance of Measuring Tactics in Business 00:02:51 - Tracking Financial Metrics and Time Allocation 00:04:30 - Importance of Measuring for Mastery 00:05:26 - Focusing on the Right Metrics for Growth 00:07:27 - Creating Community and Word of Mouth 00:08:26 - Importance of Regular Measurement Practices 00:09:03 - Improving Success Rate and Time Management 00:10:36 - Pledging to Incorporate Measurement Practices 00:11:19 - Encouragement for Listener Engagement Resources: RescueTime: The Most Productive Part of the Day Sword and the Script: Pair of surveys show why B2B tech needs to work on their customer marketing efforts Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Looking for more insights and support for your solo PR biz?  Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends.

That Solo Life, Episode 252: Happy Everything, What We Get Wrong About Holiday Messaging In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts Karen Swim and Michelle Kane reflect on Memorial Day and discuss the importance of thoughtful messaging around holidays. Michelle and Karen discuss the post-Memorial Day weekend vibes and the common trend of using "happy" in front of every holiday, including somber ones like Memorial Day. The hosts discuss the need for more conscientious messaging, honoring the historical context of holidays. Karen and Michelle reflect on the role of PR professionals in preserving the spirit of important holidays and their role in protecting the essence of celebrations beyond commercialization. They reflect on how holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo have been reduced to mere drinking festivities, losing sight of their cultural significance. This episode serves as a poignant reminder to PR professionals and marketers to approach holiday messaging with sensitivity, respect, and a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural significance behind each celebration. Through their insightful discussion, Michelle and Karen underscore the importance of upholding traditions and honoring the true meaning of holidays in our communications. Episode Timeline: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Discussion on Memorial Day Messaging 00:05:30 - Importance of Honoring Fallen Soldiers 00:08:06 - Examples of Proper Memorial Day Messaging 00:09:20 - Call to Action for PR Professionals to Protect Holiday Celebrations 00:10:45 - Discussion on St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo Traditions 00:11:18 - Reminder for Considerate Fourth of July Celebrations Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Looking for more insights and support for your solo PR biz?  Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends.

That Solo Life, Episode 251: Finding Balance And Minimizing Burnout In A Chaotic World In this Episode In this episode of "That Solo Life," co-hosts  Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane delve into the topic of navigating fatigue and finding balance in the midst of global stressors and personal challenges. This Mental Health Awareness Month episode kicks off with a discussion about the impact of external factors such as the pandemic, economic instability, and political tensions on individuals' energy levels and overall well-being. Karen and Michelle reflect on the collective exhaustion felt by many in 2024, highlighting the ongoing effects of the pandemic and the relentless stream of stressors that continue to weigh on people. They emphasize the importance of recognizing and addressing burnout, citing articles that discuss how work environments can contribute to physical and mental health issues. The conversation shifts to the changing landscape of work post-pandemic, with Karen and Michelle acknowledging the need for individuals to reassess their priorities and boundaries. They explore the challenges of returning to office work, the impact of technological advancements, and the importance of self-care practices in maintaining resilience. Throughout the episode, Karen and Michelle offer practical tips for managing stress and prioritizing well-being. They emphasize the significance of self-care routines, healthy eating habits, and coping mechanisms such as deep breathing and mindfulness. The hosts encourage listeners to set boundaries, prioritize their mental and physical health, and recognize the value of saying no to commitments that do not align with their well-being. As the episode concludes, Karen and Michelle underscore the importance of self-awareness and self-compassion in navigating the complexities of modern life. They challenge listeners to prioritize their own needs and to approach each day with a sense of balance and grace. The hosts invite feedback from the audience and share resources available on the Solo PR Pro website to support listeners in building their businesses and maintaining personal well-being. Tune in to "That Solo Life" for insightful discussions, practical tips, and inspiring conversations on navigating the challenges of solo entrepreneurship and finding balance in a fast-paced world. Episode Highlights:  00:01:19 - Global Fatigue and Burnout 00:04:01 - Shift in Work Dynamics 00:05:27 - Uncertainty and Event Attendance 00:09:48 - Frustrations with Corporate Expectations 00:10:09 - Self-Care and Well-being Practices 00:12:02 - Managing Energy and Reactions 00:13:09 - Embracing Grace and Understanding Sensitivities 00:16:05 - Setting Boundaries and Prioritizing Self-Care 00:17:05 - Finding Balance and Self-Awareness 00:18:09 - Encouragement to Prioritize Self-Care and Share the Podcast Resources: National Institute of Mental Health - Support and Resources 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - Online Chat Job burnout: How to spot it and take action Work Burnout: How It Affects Your Mental Health Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Looking for more insights and support for your solo PR biz?  Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends.

Welcome to another episode of That Solo Life, where we dive into the world of PR and marketing for independent professionals. In this episode, we discuss the power of personal branding in the PR industry. Publicists have recently been in the spotlight, from the Oscars to various articles highlighting their work. This recognition serves as a reminder for solo PR professionals like us to also focus on promoting ourselves, not just our clients. Karen and Michelle delve into the importance of personal branding and how it can impact our businesses. While some may feel uncomfortable with self-promotion, they emphasize the need to market your skills and expertise in order to attract clients and stand out in a competitive industry. The discussion offers  practical tips for building a personal brand, from updating headshots to engaging on platforms like LinkedIn. We stress the value of sharing our knowledge and experiences, whether through writing articles, speaking engagements, or social media posts.

  That Solo Life, Episode 249: How to Avoid the Dreaded Reviewer's Remorse   In this Episode   In this episode of "That Solo Life," Karen and Michelle dive into the common struggle of "reviewer's remorse" that many PR pros, marketers, and communicators face when working with clients. They discuss the frustration of finalizing a project, only to have last-minute changes or new reviewers throw a wrench into the process.   They  emphasize the importance of establishing a clear review process with clients, setting expectations early on, and limiting the number of reviewers to essential personnel. They also highlight the significance of trust between the client and the solo PR professional, ensuring that the end goal and messaging align seamlessly.   Throughout the episode, the hosts stress the need for open communication, patience, and understanding when dealing with clients experiencing reviewer's remorse. Karen and Michelle discuss the need to provide practical tips, such as creating a document workflow process, setting clear review criteria, and allowing sufficient time for discussion and revisions.   With personal anecdotes and insights, the episode aims to help fellow solo professionals streamline their review processes, minimize last-minute changes, and build stronger relationships with their clients. Tune in and let’s navigate the complexities of client feedback and strive to deliver the best possible outcomes in our solo careers.  Episode Highlights:   00:01:19 - Reviewers' Remorse Discussion 00:04:09 - Minimizing Reviewers' Remorse Occurrence 00:07:04 - Digging for Core Issues 00:10:27 - Importance of Trust in the Review Process 00:11:29 - Considerations for Printed Pieces 00:11:52 - Limiting Number of Reviewers 00:13:18 - Streamlining Feedback and Input   Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Looking for more insights and support for your solo PR biz?  Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends.

That Solo Life: Episode 248 The New Balancing Act of Communication In this Episode   It’s a balancing act! Karen Swim, APR, of Solo PR, and Michelle Kane, of Voice Matters dive into the challenging topic of addressing current social and political conflicts in the workplace. The episode opens with a discussion about the ongoing Israeli-Gaza conflict and the protests happening across the United States, setting the stage for a conversation on how communication professionals can guide their clients through navigating these complex issues.   The conversation also touches on the evolving role of public relations professionals in shaping conversations and promoting sanity in communication. Throughout the episode, we highlight the importance of maintaining open dialogue, fostering mutual respect, and creating safe spaces for discussions on contentious issues.  As you listen, we hope that you will gain valuable insights and practical advice to help you face the complexities of addressing social and political conflicts in today's world. Episode Highlights: 00:01:05 - Addressing Current Conflicts : Discussion of the Israeli-Gaza conflict and protests in the United States. 00:02:33 - Navigating Conversations in the Workplace : What PR Pros can do to guide clients through addressing conflicts in the workplace. 00:05:19 - Misinterpretation of Company Statements : Discussion on how people interpret company statements and the need for clear communication. 00:08:48 - Importance of Context in Communication : The hosts emphasize the importance of context in communication and avoiding misinterpretations. 00:11:55 - Living Out Mission, Vision, and Values : Michelle and Karen stress the importance of companies aligning actions with their mission, vision, and values. 00:13:55 - Asserting Professional Counsel : The hosts encourage communication professionals to assert themselves and provide professional counsel in challenging situations.   Resources: Cultural Intelligence in Communications Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Looking for more insights and support for your solo PR biz?  Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends.

That Solo Life: Episode 247 Everything Old is New Again In this Episode Karen Swim, APR, of Solo PR, and Michelle Kane, of Voice Matters delve into the importance of getting back to basics in our PR and marketing businesses. Today’s  conversation is sparked by an email from Peter Shankman, the founder of the original "Help a Reporter Out" platform, which was eventually sold to a large corporation. Shankman has now launched a new platform called "Help Every Reporter Out," and in his announcement he shared his “back to basics” inspiration and how it led him to return to something he was no longer doing.   As PR professionals, we often find ourselves constantly reinventing our workflows, tools, and client work in an effort to keep up with the ever-evolving industry. But new is not always better. Sometimes returning the old things can improve not only how we do our jobs but how we feel about them.    We delve into the topic of technology, staying true to our natural skill sets and passions in our careers, and how the basics include having a supportive community of fellow professionals.    Episode Highlights: [00:00:18] - Old but new. The value of getting back to basics and the importance of realigning and retooling. [00:02:09] - Be a hero.  How Peter Shankman, Help Every Reporter Out inspired us to be a hero to ourselves by focusing on our areas of expertise. [00:05:04] - Reevaluating Tools and Subscriptions. All the shiny new tools hold so much promise and you can accumulate a pile of clutter.  [00:09:35] - Recognizing Natural Skillsets. It is important to recognize and focus on your natural skillsets and passions in order to maintain satisfaction and success in a career. [00:10:29] - Scaling Back for Success. Karen and Michelle discuss the idea of scaling back team members or business models to maintain a manageable workload and find fulfillment in solo work. Resources: Help Every Reporter Out (HERO) - free sign-up for PR Pros and Journalists Back to basics in your business model -From Solo PR to Agency and Back Again Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Looking for more insights and support for your solo PR biz?  Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends.

That Solo Life: Episode 246 Ethical and Legal Challenges of the Modern PR Pro with Special Guest, Cayce Myers New episodes every Monday In this Episode "That Solo Life" podcast hosts  Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane sit down with Cayce Myers, Ph.D., LL.M., J.D., APR,  an experienced public relations professional and author. In this episode, Myers discusses his latest book, "The Rules of Public Relations, Legal and Ethical Issues and Contemporary Practice," which tackles the intersection of public relations, law, and ethics. Myers emphasizes the importance of understanding the legal implications of PR crises and the need for transparency when using artificial intelligence (AI) in PR. He stresses that PR professionals have a responsibility to navigate the challenges of disinformation and misinformation during election years. Brands are advised to align their communication strategies with their mission, vision, and values. Throughout the episode, Myers draws from his extensive experience in the field to offer valuable insights into the ever-changing landscape of PR.  Whether you're a seasoned PR professional or just starting out in the industry, this episode is packed with practical advice and thought-provoking conversations about the legal and ethical challenges surrounding public relations. Don’t miss out on this fascinating discussion! Cayce Myers, Ph.D., LL.M., J.D., APR Cayce Myers is a professor of public relations and director of graduate studies at the School of Communication at Virginia, where he researches and teaches about the legal, regulatory, and ethical aspects of public relations. As a lawyer who also holds a Ph.D. in mass communication, Myers has authored five books and sixty publications including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, law review articles, and trade press pieces, covering topics such as public relations history, strategy, political campaigns, and related laws and policies. His newest publication, "The Rules of Public Relations," delves into the current laws and ethical challenges in the field of PR practice. The release is scheduled for this July. Episode Highlights: [01:58] Risk and reputation. Lawyers and communicators view crises through a different lens, but do not have to be in opposition.  [06:37] Oh my AI. The murkiness of AI and what PR pros need to navigate this new technology. [11:27] I’ll just wait it out. PR Pros are reluctant to use AI, fearing it could create issues. [14:29] Embracing the future. The bright future of PR and what companies need to know when they hire younger workers. [18:56] The politics of it all. Elections, elections all over the globe and the impact on PR pros in 2024. Resources: The Rules of Public Relations: Legal and Ethical Issues in Contemporary Practice (Publisher) (Use RLFANDF25 to save 25% off print book ) The Rules of Public Relations: Legal and Ethical Issues in Contemporary Practice (Amazon) Enjoyed the episode?  Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in! Looking for more insights and support for your solo PR biz?  Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends. Say Thanks to Cayce Myers!  If you liked this episode with Cayce Myers, please say thanks on LinkedIn and follow his author page on Amazon. Listen to the episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

That Solo Life, Episode 244: Language, Landmines And The Peril Now Facing PR Pros That Solo Life, a podcast dedicated to PR professionals, marketers, and individuals who work for themselves.  In this episode hosts, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane from Voice Matters delve into the topic of avoiding generation gaps and cultural miscommunications. In our discussion, we highlight how the emergence of a multigenerational workforce and multicultural society has made communication more complex. Together, we explore examples of misunderstood terminology, redefined norms, and quickly shifting cultural contexts. All of which could potentially influence the reception of our messages and client communications. We also bring to the table the reality that not everyone has the same bank of references or base of knowledge. The universality of business references, iconic books, or even pop culture references is no longer a given. We navigate this landscape by encouraging PR professionals to provide context, or use universally understood language, thus facilitating clear and effective communication. We also examine political influences, shedding light on how political parties or global events can assign new meanings to well-known terms, creating potential pitfalls for those unaware. We encourage communicators to be savvy, removing barriers, biases, and assumptions to truly connect with diverse audiences. Closing the conversation, we impress upon our audience that everything communicates – the things we say and do (or don't do), often carry a message. PR professionals and communicators need to be involved in all sectors of an organization, as their insights could safeguard against reputation damage. Episode Highlights: The modern communicator’s conundrum.  We can never assume that words have a universal meaning. It is important to check everything. Multi-generations and the mix-ups that can happen.Each generation has shaped language in their own way. PR Pros have to be careful to ensure that they are saying what they mean to say across all generations. The predicament of politics. How politics has influenced the way we communicate. Why PR needs a seat at the table. Why PR should never be siloed in companies. More on this topic: Managing Across Generations  Talking About My Generation Call to Action: Looking for more insights into the PR world? Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends. --- Enjoyed the episode? Give us a rating and share the episode with a colleague. Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!  

That Solo Life, Episode 243: What They Think We Do, What We Really Do And How To Bridge The Gap Welcome to the latest episode of "That Solo Life", the podcast passionately crafted for PR professionals by PR professionals. In this conversation, your hosts Michelle Kane and Karen Swim take you through the frustrations and challenges of people not understanding the role of public relations and the overlooked intricacies of articulating and demonstrating the value of public relations to clients and the public. In this episode, you'll discover: The Perception Dilemma: Why the general public and even clients may have a skewed understanding of what public relations truly involves. Beyond Media Relations: How PR is much more than just press releases and media engagement; it's about vital strategic thinking and communication. Showcase Success: Why PR pros need to embrace measurement and demonstrating impact. Join the Conversation: An invitation to become a part of the growing Solo PR Pro community, where you'll find camaraderie and support from fellow professionals. Key Takeaways: Recognizing the misunderstanding around the value of PR. Reflecting on the role of PR in shaping their own perceived value. Practical advice for PR pros to better communicate the wide array of services they offer. Effective strategies for PR pros to articulate their true value with confidence and clarity. Rate, Review & Share! If you found value in this episode, please rate and review our show, and share it with your networks. Connect and Discuss: Don't miss the opportunity to join the insightful discussions in the Solo PR Pro community. Connect with industry experts, exchange ideas, and get support from your colleagues. Listen, engage, and grow with "That Solo Life." Happy listening!

Show Notes for That Solo Life: Episode 242 In this episode: That Solo Life co-hosts, Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane talk about some of the insights from the "Muckrack 2024 State of Journalism" and discuss the emerging trends shaping media relations today. Episode Highlights: Discussing the Muckrack 2024 State of Journalism Report. We dig into the latest findings and what they mean for the future of journalism. What are the new challenges and opportunities for those in media relations? Check out the full report here: Muckrack 2024 State of Journalism The Art of Storytelling .Why storytelling remains the heart of compelling communication and how it's evolving with the times. Beyond Earned Media. How can PR professionals leverage their creativity and expertise beyond traditional media? We explore strategies to amplify your message and engage your audience. Resources Mentioned: Muckrack 2024 State of Journalism: Read the report Call to Action: Looking for more insights into the PR world? Head over to Solo PR Pro and become part of our community. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for the latest tips and trends. --- Enjoyed the episode? Give us a rating and share the episode with a colleague. Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!

In This Episode: Join us as we dissect the implications of the Department of Labor's recent rule changes and what it means for solo PR professionals. We welcome Nathan Gibson, an authority in Employment Law and Independent Contractor Compliance, who is the Senior Director at MBO Partners. Nathan provides in-depth insights on staying compliant and the potential impacts on solo public relations businesses. Episode Highlights: Understanding the Rule Change: Explore the specifics of the Department of Labor's new guidelines with our expert guest. Impacts on Solo PR Pros: Learn what solo PR professionals need to do differently to stay aligned with the new rules. Strategies for Compliance: Discover actionable strategies to maintain compliance without compromising on flexibility and freedom as an independent professional. Featured Guest: Nathan Gibson, an expert in: Employment Law Independent Contractor Compliance Current Position: Senior Director, Risk Management at MBO Partners Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn for more insights and personalized advisory. Resources Mentioned: Join the Solo PR Pro Community: Solo PR Pro Premium Membership Signup MBO Partners: For additional tools and expertise to manage your solo PR business, visit MBO Partners. Free Resources: Stay informed with the latest solo PR trends and tips by signing up for our newsletter at http://eepurl.com/deC06f. --- Be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more episodes packed with expert advice and the latest updates affecting solo PR professionals. Share your thoughts on this episode using #SoloPR and stay connected with us on our social media channels. Thank you for tuning in, and keep thriving in your solo PR career! Note: This podcast episode is not intended to serve as legal advice. For specific legal concerns related to the topics discussed, please consult a qualified attorney.

If you’re still feeling the effects of springing forward into daylight savings time, recovering from St. Patrick’s Day or are still wondering what is going on with the royals, in this episode we talk about it and how there’s a PR lesson in everything.   Special Offer for Solo PR Pros, Freelance Consultants, and Small business owners: Lettuce is teaming up with Solo PR Pro to offer you a free, game-changing Business Assessment Program. Be one of the first 1,000 savvy PR pros to join.   Get News from Solo PR Pro: Join our email list.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:03): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane with VoiceMatters, and Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, how are you today? Karen Swim, APR (00:17): Hey, Michelle. How are you? I am, I wasn't drinking last night, but I was partying with my family. We threw my sister a big birthday bash, and so I have a party hangover. Michelle Kane (00:31): There we go. Karen Swim, APR (00:32): I'm not sure if you're seeing straight. I'm tired, but so happy. My voice just came back like an hour ago. Michelle Kane (00:39): Well, that was good. That was it. And for our listeners, this will hit March 18th, but we are recording this March 11, which is the day, also the day after the Oscar. So since that's my Super Bowl, I have an Oscar hangover. Not to mention, we all lost an hour this weekend to daylight savings, so we're all just kind of coming into this day going like, what? But we're here, so we're going to keep it a little light. We're dubbing this The Hangover Episode since, hey, not for nothing. It's going to be airing the day after St. Patrick's Day. So if you all do your due diligence, you'll be feeling like us when you hear this so, Karen Swim, APR (01:19): So true. Michelle Kane (01:20): We'll try and keep it a little quiet. Karen Swim, APR (01:21): Okay. Michelle Kane (01:24): But yeah, it was an interesting weekend, I have to say. And we're just really going to riff on some things that we have seen. Of course, the Oscars usually give you a lot of things to chew on. And during the Oscars as I was too, screening the event as I do, this weird thing came up with, in the UK it was Mother's Day, Mothering Sunday, and this weird thing came up with a photo that the Princess of Wales had posted with her kids, and four major – AP, Getty -- agencies issued a kill order for this photo, which apparently is not done very often. And due to it not being what they called a true photo, apparently there was some manipulation that caused concern. Now, I'm not going to wear a tinfoil hat today and get into the weeds of all the conspiracies of Catherine. Where is she? I mean, look, this is not Scientology and Shelly Miscavige. No, but it's just like you're already watching a major event and you're scrolling. What? Huh? And people are pointing out some Photoshop issues. And although to say AP is saying, look, we expect things like if you do some burning, you do some tone changes. Those are okay as if you're a comms pro. But I don't know, it was just weird. Another weird blip in our lives of where every day is like, huh? Karen Swim, APR (02:54): Yeah. What's interesting to me about the recall. And then she had to apologize. And so I think as communications professionals, we all know that we hire photographers for clients, for events, for headshots, and we edit the photos. I believe that we are all safely in the zone of what passes as ethical and truthful editing. Correct? Correct. You're editing out flaws, you're editing for a better resolution, but you're not changing the narrative or presenting something that may have been a previous photo as brand new. And we're starting, I feel like this leads into this whole new era where we are with AI being able to create things and to change things so easily. There's an AI tool for absolutely everything these days. And it's interesting to me that, especially in the UK, that the news agencies recall the photo when they, in my opinion, very routinely cross ethical boundaries when it comes to reporting on the royal family. So they don't cover things that are truthful. They have these backhand deals with the royal family, and the way that they operate is so far outside of what I would consider to be ethical. But you have a problem with a photo that was manipulated. Yeah. (04:30): Really, how ironic. Michelle Kane (04:32): That certainly adds to the weirdness of it all. But as you say, it does open us up to the broader concept of how AI is. I'll use the negative connotation of infiltrating. I mean, we've already had an AI-created robocall, allegedly from President Biden, to influence primary voters in certain states in a negative way. So we know to be on the lookout, but people who aren't in this field of work, they're not expecting it as much as we are. And it's really going to be, I'll say a bumpy ride, but we really all need to be vigilant about what we consume. Even silly stuff like Royal news. Karen Swim, APR (05:25): Yeah. Honestly, we are seeing more and more AI generated content, and it's not necessarily coming from our traditional news outlets where they're adhering to a standard of journalistic integrity. This is coming from other outlets and they're flat out taking articles from other outlets and just rewriting them in ai. And we're going to try to discuss this topic in depth and with some seriousness at a later time. But it's worth calling it out at this time that, again, as you, not it, Michelle, and this is really important to us as communicators. As communicators, while we can, we have a trained eye and we're looking for these things, and we understand how to tell human generated content from AI content that's not always clear to consumers of information. And it makes our jobs a lot harder because at one point, I think we were all battling the battle against social issues and political issues and fighting against mal and disinformation. He also knew that it could come for our clients. But today, it's easier than ever, as I said, with AI bots taking articles and resending them out. And that means your client's quotes could get manipulated. Information about your client can be used in a malicious way. It's very concerning. And I think, if I'm being honest, for myself personally, you feel like you're fighting it and it almost feels like playing a game of whack-a-mole that you're never going to win. Michelle Kane (07:14): Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it really amps up the reputation management portion of our work, whereas it's like, okay, keep my eye on Google reviews and things that people say and alerts, and now it's like, oh, okay. It's just a whole new sphere of potential influence that can harm clients. And again, I think vigilance is the word of the day is vigilance and just needing to try and stay ahead of this, but knowing that it is happening more and more is a definite good first step to that. Karen Swim, APR (07:56): True. Michelle Kane (07:56): So that's that. I'll be watching that silly story the rest of the day. I have a feeling it's just in case of, I dunno, they're tripping over themselves. I'm like, whatever. Karen Swim, APR (08:05): Well, we've had the photo things called out in the United States as well. There've been incidents with the Kardashians and their bad photo editing and fans have called it out on social media. Yeah, that's not your hand. That's not, and so photos, I would say, listen, the woman had surgery, apparently. Basically, she probably is not looking yet in her best self in a way that she wants to present to the public, but obviously we as PR people know, so just post a collage of old photos or post little from the past. There's so many ways that she could have managed this. She could have posted a photo to say, one of my favorite Mother's Day photos and post something that is not how you look right now in this moment and pretend that it's this year's Mother's Day photo. That was just dumb. Michelle Kane (09:02): That was dumb. There's so many different ways to play this. Take a picture of the pretty flowers that William should have bought. You Karen Swim, APR (09:09): Just photograph the Michelle Kane (09:11): That's true. Yeah. Karen Swim, APR (09:12): These are my loves. I mean, come on. There's just a million different ways to have handled that that would've been smarter than getting called out and then letting people spit out. Because even though I don't follow the royal family, I unfortunately cannot escape it when I'm reading news. And so I see these headlines about her being spotted and grainy photos, and I'm like, oh, for Pete's sake, it feels like she is a criminal. It's creepy. Michelle Kane (09:46): Well, one thing I did see, which I thought that's like a recipe for a hot mess this morning, saying that, and I guess I knew this on one level, again, it doesn't affect my day to day, but that each house, so to speak, has their own comms team independent of one another. So there really is no united fronts. So you've got the king and the, I can't say queen, the king and his wife have their press, and there's allegedly no uniform coordination. Yes. Karen Swim, APR (10:21): I think I had heard that in the Michelle Kane (10:25): They need to fix that. They need to fix that. Karen Swim, APR (10:28): Does that not speak to a lot of what happens in corporate America as well? There's no unified messaging or teams that people are disjointed. And when you have everyone operating on their own agenda, chaos rains. And so here's a lesson for brands out there, and I know that our solos have to work against these circumstances. In many instances, when you can't speak with a unified voice, you are going to have a problem at some point. And how it shows up can't, we can tell you some examples of how it shows up, but you will have a problem, not you might. You will for sure. Definitely. So it's a good lesson. You can't have that. You can't have everyone operating independently. And it's funny because now you also have the rise, or I should say it's firmly in our culture to have a personal brand. When you're an executive or when you're a rising manager and even just an employee of the company, people have their personal brands. (11:32): And sometimes when your brand has elevated enough, you have your own PR person or publicist. You might be writing a book and then you're pursuing your own interests, but you're leveraging your position in your company here too. There should be coordination because if you are a CEO of a company and you have your own PR team for your personal interests, you are still being seen as a representative of your company. So you need to loop in your company's PR team, and you all need to walk in a single step to ensure that you, in promoting your own brand, are not doing damage to the company brand. Michelle Kane (12:14): Yes. And so often the pushback that you get or the reaction that you receive is that, oh, you're just trying to control everything. It's like, well, yes and no. Yes. Within reason, because your paycheck is still signed by this entity that you are using, for lack of a better word, to raise your own profile. And yeah, we just need to know, I always say, I don't need to know everything, but I need to know everything. It doesn't mean I'm going to get into micromanage, but absolutely the united front, because that's something that certainly communicates. It could certainly harm your brand if your brand has to scurry after you. And even if it isn't a big mess to clean up, it just doesn't look, it makes the brand look like it doesn't know what it's doing, and that would instill doubt in their product or their service, and nobody wants that. Karen Swim, APR (13:11): I agree. Well, Michelle, you watched the Oscars. Michelle Kane (13:16): I did. It's my Super Bowl. And it's so funny that the infamous incident, I was sitting there watching this and that thing that happened last year, I thought, wow, was that just last year? It feels like 10 years ago. Karen Swim, APR (13:30): It does. Michelle Kane (13:32): So nothing like that happened. I don't think anything too crazy happened. At least it didn't register on my radar. It was a pretty mundane night. They ended relatively on time. There were some neat elements of the Hollywood community gathering, and I'm sure much of which were predetermined bits. It was fun to see interesting pairings like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito recreating their twins duo, and both of them having been Batman villains, calling out Michael Keaton in the audience for killing them both. Karen Swim, APR (14:12): That's fun. Michelle Kane (14:12): And they were going to have a talk at the after party, but the one thing that I really loved was the way they had the presentation of the four major acting awards. They pulled in five previous winners to do the presentation. And so each past winner got a nominee to speak to, and it was really neat. Sometimes there were some connections, and I thought, oh, you're making everyone cry before they even get up there. So that was kind of cool. Then of course, John Cena recreating the streak episode that David Nivan handled with such a plum in the seventies, but that was definitely a bit Jimmy Kimmel had coordinated. He was pretty good at coordinating some bits. So I would say it was relatively uneventful. Of course, I don't know. Anyone who knows me on social media knows that. I think I'm just Ken as an absolute banger of a song, and I get why the Nice song won. But Ryan Gosling brought it's, they did an incredible production number of, I am Just Complete with Mark Ronson, who was a co-writer slash from Roses, and of course Wolfgang Van Halen who was on the recording. So yeah, if you love movies, it was a good night. If you're a nerd like me that loves the history of it all, and oh, that's meaningful because X, Y, Z, it was a good night for you too. I hope so. That was fun. Karen Swim, APR (15:40): Well, I saw a couple pictures here and there, and of course I saw the fashion pictures, but you know what was interesting, the Essence Awards, which does not get far, Michelle Kane (15:51): No, it doesn't. Karen Swim, APR (15:51): Media attention was just a few days ago as well, Michelle Kane (15:55): Hit me up. Karen Swim, APR (15:56): These ladies brought the looks. They served looks that were incredible and fierce, and what an empowering time for women to come together to celebrate women. It was just, I wish that it got a lot more attention than it does, because this is not just a black woman event. It's just something that everyone can enjoy that you bring together this great talent and hearing from people who were in that room, just how it uplifts them and how everyone leaves feeling more creative and ready to achieve their dreams and fulfilled. And I will say, I don't know, I can't speak for men, but I know for women, period, when we get together and we celebrate one another, there is truly something special about that that leaves you on a high for a long time. We need more of Michelle Kane (16:51): That. That is so true. That is so true. And yeah, I don't like that. I have to trip over something like the essence of awards. Well, going through the remote, I love all of it. And what you said is so true because it's funny, I was messaging with a friend who is quite ensconced in her world right now, and she's like, oh, I'm not going to watch, and she's a creative, and I said, I think you really should watch, because people will slag off on award shows. Oh, it's just blah, blah, blah, and they just talk about themselves. I'm like, no, it's inspiring. It's soul food because these people, they share some of their story, many of them as they accept, and it's just a real touch point of Yeah, you're right. That's why we tell stories. That's why we do this. It's not just what are you wearing and who did what with who. It's important because so many of our films and our media are reflections of where we are, who we are, who we want to be, where we want to go. It has value within. Yeah, Karen Swim, APR (17:56): I totally appreciate that viewpoint. I've got a really good friend who is a writer and producer, and during the covid time, she encouraged people, even though everything was shut down to continue to write and create, because she saw it as their duty to chronicle history. And it's really such a beautiful thing, whether you're a comedian, whatever you do creatively, you are portraying the times. And even now we look back, we look at old films, we look at old paintings and sculptures, anything that was created in past times, and it gives us into a window, into the culture, into what was happening, the political scene, I'm sure that we'll look back. We look back at previous Oscars and we see the creatives that were unified around causes, we've seen them take stands about social justice and different things. This year, it was the war in Israel, and we see them take a stand, and I do think that you're right. It is important to sometimes, I know we PR people, we live in our world, we live in our industry, we live in the businesses of our clients. We live in the business world, but we should remember that the creative endeavors hold an important place as well, and they really do portray our history right now. So it's important to participate in that and to acknowledge that. Michelle Kane (19:28): Yeah, no, could not have said it any better myself. That is so true. So well, we hope this was a bit of a light touch for you today, and we thank you so much for taking the time to listen. If you did get value, please share it around, and of course, please check in with [email protected]. Check out what that amazing group of people has to offer and what Karen cooks up for us every week with new blog posts, new offerings. So make sure you sign up for the [email protected], and until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.  

It’s no secret the media landscape is changing and it’s only intensifying the effect on how PR pros do media relations. In this episode we talk about taking the time to evaluate our tactics and get creative  to reach our client’s audiences.   Special Offer for Solos: Lettuce is teaming up with Solo PR Pro to offer you a free, game-changing Business Assessment Program. Be one of the first 1,000 savvy PR pros to join.   Get News from Solo PR Pro: Join our email list.   Transcript Speaker 1:           Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen, how are you doing today? Speaker 2:           Hello, Michelle. I'm doing good. We are currently in the month of March. I had a client that was asking me for Q1 stuff this week and I'm like, yeah, I'm going to give it to you when Q one's over. And they were like, it's still March. And I'm like, it barely started so that many people are feeling exactly like my client. Speaker 1:           Yes, yes. I've had to remind myself what month, wait. Oh, okay. Speaker 2:           It seems to be running over us. It's not that it seems like it's later in the month, it just feels like it's running over us and then backing up in reverse and doing it again. Speaker 1:           Yeah. Yeah. I wonder if it's that we're just so eager to maybe get through this calendar year for many reasons or maybe just afraid of falling behind. I don't know. There are a lot of factors at work, I think. Yeah, stuff's been a lot. It's been a lot. And to add to that, I mean we talk about this often about how our job is as the storytellers for our clients to really sing their news and their praises and their efforts and how the media landscape has changed. And it's really even changed that I've seen on the hyper-local level that what used to be the extremely low hanging fruit of Yay you gave so-and-so a something, lemme send a picture and it would be an easy get. And it's not so much anymore, which in a way it's been kind of fun to pull back and think, alright, challenge time, how do we get more creative about telling our story to the people we want to see and hear it? So we thought we'd riff about that a little bit because I'm sure many of you out there are experiencing that on a number of levels Speaker 2:           To say the least. Media relations has undergone a significant shift and a lot of that is really due to the shrinking number of outlets and the lack of money with publications. So in addition to layoffs, there's just fewer publications altogether. And then publications that even used to be free are now charging. So you can get in there if you for a fee, but then that really harms organizations like nonprofits and smaller companies that had a fair shot at doing some of those things. And those publications targeted their audience. I mean, I think the other thing, Michelle, and I'm sure that you're seeing this, is we really do have to take a step back and say, where's our audience at these days? Because it used to be pretty clear cut, but I feel like that is changing so much. And it's because coupled with the shrinking media outlets is that consumers do not trust institutions. They don't trust employers, they don't trust companies, they don't trust media outlets. And so where are people really going for their information, Speaker 1:           Right? Because we also know that while some may give social media as the easy answer, that's not the complete picture either. There are people that you might think, oh, I bet you're on Facebook who don't have Facebook accounts, or are you doing TikTok? Are you not doing TikTok? So you really do. It's not as simple as it was not too long ago. Speaker 1:           And I think in many ways, perhaps the answer is in hyper targeting your digital advertising efforts, but that's a whole other conversation for a whole other day. But perhaps even doing that to an extent with your information. I mean one perhaps snooze worthy example is just the small thing of, okay, you have a client that yes, they still want to grow their Facebook page, that's great. But I have found over the last couple of years it's far more effective if I use interesting, informative content than the blah like my page ad. People don't they want. So people want to interact with your information. It's like you say, it's finding them and making sure that we are in front of them and keeping in mind that any given client's audience is in a multitude of different segments at any given time. You've got the casual people, the ready to make a move. People, I don't even know who you are people. Speaker 2:           And I think it's also important because of all the challenges, more important than ever, this has always been true for PR pros to really take a step back and force their clients to answer the right set of questions. What's my goal with this? I have announcement, and we all know that clients think every announcement is news. A product announcement is not news. That's not something that reporters will be interested in. Product announcement will be interesting if it helps the people who buy your products and services. Yes, they will be interested in new features and new things or people that were looking at you. So potential customers, so who can use that information, your sales team, your customer's teams, and then any outreach that you have to your audience. The media is not always the answer. And PR pros really, I get it. Our clients always see this as this is the thing that's going to change our life. And that's never been true, but it's definitely not true today. I feel like in this day and age, we cannot assume that everybody's on social media. They are not. Speaker 1:           Right? Speaker 2:           They really are not including younger generations. This is funny, yesterday I caught 10 minutes of the news. I wanted to see the weather and they were talking about a local trial here and the jury questions and they questioned a juror that was younger and she had not heard about the trial because she doesn't watch or read the news and she's not on social media at all. And they were like, yes, she's not on social media. And they were like the anchor people were shocked. Speaker 1:           But you know what? Speaker 2:           Don't think that just because someone is in a demographic that they're on a social media site. Exactly. Facebook too. Facebook usage, I'm sure the daily usage has declined greatly. And if you're targeting people that are making decisions about your product, Facebook is probably not your answer today. It was 10 years ago, but in 2024, it's not the answer. If you already have a nice community there and they do engage with you, definitely you want to nurture that, but you really need to rethink these strategies. The one thing that has consistently over the years been effective and is I believe and underutilized tool is email. Speaker 1:           I was just thinking that email and even I'm going to say it, direct mail depending where you're, but yeah, I mean your email database, that's your gold mine. Truly, these are the people that I don't care if they want to engage with you, if they hear from you once a year for a special offer depending on what your type of business is or these are the people that have said, yes, I want to hear from you and you own that land, so to speak, and you can really be effective. And Speaker 2:           Yes, and I mean that means investing in email marketing software. We're not talking about sending emails from your company email account, whether or not a lot of companies still do. We actually want to go to the process because you need to be smart about sending emails. So you don't want to send out an email every day. That's just because people will feel like they're being spammed. You really want to use the analytics, you want to segment your audience types you want to target specifically because you want to really personalize it and tailor it for the members of your audience. So there will people that will gobble up more. There will people that maybe just want to hear from you for certain things. You need to give them options about what they receive. Email marketing software allows you to do that. But when you build a healthy list, you really have such a golden opportunity to really nurture those relationships and really build your audience and you can build community with an email. Speaker 2:           It's funny because a lot of journalists have turned to Substack and other communities like Substack for that exact same reason. It's very focused, it's very targeted around content and a very specific type of content. It's not the noise of social groups. You really have to opt into this information to receive it and all the content is not free. So keep in mind that there are still ways to reach people today, but you really do need to think about maybe walking away from some of the broader, throw it all on the wall and see what stick strategy and getting down into more niched communities and really refining those processes that still work. And I love email for marketing. I love it. I think we're all missing out on leveraging it for the powerful tool that it remains in 2024. Speaker 1:           Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And just remembering too, the broader integrated picture of, I forget what the number is these days. Is it 14? 27? How many times does someone have to see something to engage with it, even when asked, oh, so what made you actually contact us? Oh, I saw a billboard. It's like, well, no, we didn't do a billboard, but okay, fair enough. You saw something. So keeping that in mind too. But yeah, I mean these are certainly challenging times and you definitely need to step back and take a look and say, okay, what am I doing? What's working, what isn't? And I would hazard to guess that many of us have clients that are underusing their email marketing tools and they could be using them more to do deeper dives to engage on a deeper level with their base and grow it from there. Because how easy is it to then say, oh my goodness, I got this great piece of information from you, I'm going to forward that to a friend. Boom. Speaker 2:           Yeah, I see this. The challenges really are an opportunity for PR posts to be more strategic, to really demonstrate the value that they have beyond media relations. And I'm not saying that media relations is dead, it is not. It just different today. And I know lots of public relations consultants who have completely left the profession because media relations and they said it's just too hard. Many of those are not, of course, our members who are well-rounded and very strategic, but I say this for anybody who's out there who really has been just pushing that lever hard because you came out of the traditional agency world and that's what you did. You got hits that it's really time to leverage your full skillset. We believe you have the skills. We know that you do. We know that you know more and you're going to have to really start to counsel your clients a bit differently and really start to make sure that you are forcing them to answer the right questions so that you can develop a strategy that's more robust than just hit, hit, hit, hit, hit. Speaker 1:           Exactly. Speaker 2:           That does not. Speaker 1:           And you know what? The good news that doing this makes us all better at what we do makes the profession better. It will help our clients get better results. And we want to hear from you. What are you thinking these days? What are you experiencing? Tell [email protected] and maybe we'll talk about it on a future episode. We'd love to hear some feedback because it's just our brains at the moment. But we do. We so appreciate your time, we appreciate you giving us your ears every week. And please do sign up for the [email protected] so you know all the goodness that is happening there. And until next time, thanks for listening to that solo life.    

Today we’re talking about the challenges we face as self-employed professionals in a world where certain sectors of the business world and governmental policies just don’t get us, favoring traditional employment over independent work. From pricing of tools and products to respecting the value solos bring to the table, it’s time to give solo PR pros our respect.   Special Offer for Solos: Lettuce is teaming up with Solo PR Pro to offer you a free, game-changing Business Assessment Program. Be one of the first 1,000 savvy PR pros to join.   Get News from Solo PR Pro: Join our email list.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:02): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane of VoiceMatters. And my ever steady co-host, Karen Swim with Solo PR Pro. Hey Karen, how are you today? Karen Swim, APR (00:19): Hey, Michelle. I forgot how to turn on the recording and use my mic and all those things and it hasn't been that long. Just my brain's all over the place today. Other than that, I'm great. How are you? Michelle Kane (00:32): Yeah, if I'm going to be honest, it's a little bit of a discombobulating day. I don't know. I didn't, some days are just like that, right? You make sure you read the email two or three times before you send, just to make sure Karen Swim, APR (00:46): I'm telling you. I mean, February is the shortest month, but it is really like it's gotten Napoleon syndrome this year. It's like, yes, I'm short, but I'm the big guy around here. I mean, it's really been shoving us around and showing us who's boss. Michelle Kane (01:03): I'm going to show you what's up. You're going to rue the day you talked crap about me. Karen Swim, APR (01:09): Yeah, call me the shortest month. Michelle Kane (01:12): Yeah, I'll show you. I'm going to stick around for a while. Oh my goodness. Yeah, for real, for real. And I think everyone is feeling it. It's always one of the most difficult months to just get through. Karen Swim, APR (01:26): Yeah, and it's short, but boy has it been jam packed and Michelle Kane (01:31): Yes, it's a lot. Karen Swim, APR (01:36): Yes, I'm ready for a spring break or something. Yeah, Michelle Kane (01:40): Well, and of course it has to be rude and be a leap year this year, so it's like I'm even going to add a day. Yeah, take that. Karen Swim, APR (01:49): Well, Michelle Kane (01:52): How can I flip this? Speaking of Napoleon complexes? No, (01:56): No. Maybe a little David and Goliath. Anyway, what we're going to talk about today or attempt to is just how, I don't think economy's the right word, but how our business world is set up really to favor the employed as opposed to the self-employed. We saw that with the pandemic where for the first time ever self-employed people, even though if you're a corporation of someone who is self-employed, you still pay unemployment tax. And yet what for the first time, oh, we could file for unemployment. Oh, well, gee, thank you very much. We too contribute to the economy, whatever. But we see it a lot as solos in the tools we use, and we've talked about that, touched on that before of course, but just how, oh, the enterprise version of this is only $12,000 a month. Well, thanks. Karen Swim, APR (02:57): Yeah. So it feels like this is one of the areas of discrimination that we never ever talk about, and it really is discriminatory because it's not just in the pricing, it's really the recognition and respect that many of us choose to be self-employed, and we're going to tackle that whole issue with the Department of Labor very, very soon with an expert. But to put it into context of where we're going with this is from the government. The US government does not like people that are self-employed. They don't understand people who are self-employed. When you say independent contractor, which is a big broad category and definition, the government thinks about Uber drivers and now technicians and other people, they do not think about strategic consultants like us who have really chosen to build a business of one who are very happy working on our own until we aren't, because some people go back and forth, and that is okay too. (04:07): So they don't understand, I'm going to say the flavors of independent work, and there's no good definition that takes into account the people who are truly independent and want to be, and the people who might be forced into being contractors because we know that there are a lot of companies out there that quite frankly just don't want to pay people as employees. Nail technicians are a great example, and they're one of the industries that is under target because your nail technicians show up at the same place every day. They have work hours, they're not working for other people, they're not marketing themselves to other people, and yet they are considered contractors. Construction workers is another category, and we could argue about Uber and Lyft because these are people that work on a platform, but even in that category, there are people that truly want to be independent. What you can't do though is say, I want to be an independent contractor. I don't want to work for a company, but I do want benefits and I want to unionize because now you're mixing. So again, the United States has a very murky view of this. Michelle Kane (05:23): Yes. Karen Swim, APR (05:24): The disrespect continues with how we're treated by companies just all around organizations, when they do content for public relations people, it's largely geared towards people that are employed traditionally, not people like us. Michelle Kane (05:43): Right. That's so true. And it's interesting, even as you talk to people who are in larger corporations, well, what do you do? I'm like, well, I run a public relations and marketing agency. Well, what do you mean? I'm like, well, what do you mean? What do I mean? Do I need to have 30 people standing behind me? And what I like to say is, I mean, to be honest, I've done the same job in essence my whole career. And whether that was in an ad agency or leading comms in a nonprofit, whether I'm running up the old metal staircase to my art department in my agency days, or I'm emailing someone saying, Hey, can you jo that over and make the logo bigger? Tell me the difference of what I'm doing. And I did that in varying degrees a little bit as employee, now I run my own company. And it's just interesting just the mental shift, not just amongst perhaps colleagues and acquaintances, but yeah, the government, although they seem to understand it at tax time very well, how you're organized. It's amazing to me. Karen Swim, APR (06:52): Technically, it's always a little bit frustrating, for example, when even you go to take some industry surveys and it's all skewed for people who have an employer, and it's like, what about the rest of us who have valid opinions and have experiences? You're not taking into account that we work a little bit differently. And then people automatically looking at us as though we're not businesses. We are, we're entrepreneurs. We founded a company, and it doesn't matter if your company has zero employees, it's still a company, and we don't always get treated that way, but things are not sized for us. So conferences are not sized for us and content is not sized for us. And definitely the price of technological tools are not size for us because these companies forget about a big segment of the public relations and marketing industry by only targeting people that are in these corporations and those big fat dollars. (08:04): But sometimes, and we've seen this in Solo PR Pro, which is why we don't do special offers anymore with new companies. We're very, very, very, very, very, very strict about it these days because too many companies have built their company on the back of solos, and so they give you a great price that's priced for us, and then as soon as they get on the map, they raise those prices and forget that we ever existed. I just won't allow that anymore. I just don't go for it. No, thank you. I'm not interested in giving you access to our audience, only for you to snatch the rug from up under us a year from now. Michelle Kane (08:42): Yeah, in many ways, I mean, I don't want to sound too pompous here, but in a lot of ways, solos, we experience whatever the next wave is going to be. We experience it first. We're like the college radio of the marketing and PR industry, or Bob, I'm going to stay in our industry silo because I liken it to, Hey, I love my radio station, WXPN in Philadelphia, and I will hear a song on there, songs on there. Next thing you know, oh, suddenly, maybe eight months later I'm hearing this song on satellite or commercial radio and everyone's saying, oh, did you hear that new song? I'm like, WXPN has been playing this for a while. So I see the solos that way, and it's not to be all full of ourselves, but it's because we are the ones, whether we have people working under us or not, we're the ones who experience this stuff first, whether it's something new in social media or just a new way that you have to operate your business. We literally feel the pain or the pleasure of the certain things, whatever the thing is. And so we have that much more experience at running the business because face it, a lot of larger businesses kind of run themselves in many ways, Karen Swim, APR (10:05): And the responsibilities are decentralized that everyone doesn't get the perspective of the whole. Whereas as solos, we really do, and we get that insight into organizations as well. And I think that that's a valuable contribution for people to seek out our viewpoint because we do get exposed to more, and it's no slam on people that work in companies. You guys are doing great work, and we respect you as colleagues. Our jobs often though, require us to learn things and to upskill a little bit faster because there isn't anybody that's telling us that we can't. Whereas in corporate America, your career track is often defined by the position you're in, the department you're in, and you're doing that in collaboration with your employer. As a solo, though, we are often the ones that adopt in demand scales very quickly because we have to. We don't have a backup, we don't have a department behind us. It's us. We're a very, very small team. So yeah, again, and with that, sometimes I have attended educational opportunities and the stuff that is being taught is not at our level. And then I think, and I know that that doesn't just pertain to solos, but you want to say, well, what about the seasoned public relations professionals among us employed and self-employed? Are we always only going to scratch the surface at the beginner and mid level and not go above that? And I understand they need to learn as well, but then we want to keep learning and growing as well. And often that's just not taken into account. Michelle Kane (12:02): Yeah, excuse me. That's so very true. I mean, even back to what you said about surveys. I can't tell you how many times I've started a survey and I get four or five questions in and I'm like, eh, you're not really talking to me, but I am still, yeah, but I'm still a segment of your audience. So what's up with that? Karen Swim, APR (12:23): Right? We want to be sane and we want to be heard. We want to be included. And I think we're past time, and let's be realistic. It is 2024. If the pandemic taught us nothing, it's that people in this country know how to start a business and there are a number of people that want to be in business for themselves. Can we not in this year in age, acknowledge that we exist, that we're economic engines, that we actually create jobs, that we have money, that we spend it, and that we're valuable sometimes being self-employed and then being a woman of a certain age too. I just feel like I'm completely invisible to the world. It seems like no one cares. No one cares about you, girl, you don't matter because you're not our target demographic. I don't care that they don't treat me that way. I'm going to insert myself in the conversation or I'm going to start a whole new conversation anyway, but we solo should not have to build that. I'll also say though, this is exactly one of the reasons why Solo PR Pro exists, because we do see Michelle Kane (13:31): You. Karen Swim, APR (13:33): This is why we can't create all the technological tools that you need, but we can fight for you Michelle Kane (13:39): And validate your experience, validate the idea that you had. If not for Solo PR Pro, I probably wouldn't have been brave enough to take a step forward. It is you and I'll name check her. Gloria Bell, I don't know if you're out there, but I saw her speak on a panel and she had her company at the time, and I thought, oh, she's doing it. And I was at a place where I knew I could see the bottom starting to fall out, where I was the safe space where I was getting paid. And that's another thing that whole experience taught me. Yes. Is it scary being on your own and having your own company sometimes? Heck yeah, but you know what? That direct deposit isn't the a hundred percent surety that you think. But yeah, those two things. And I went, oh, oh, okay. So I'm not a weirdo for having this instinctive notion that maybe this is a possibility. So if you are hearing this, you are not alone. And it does bogle my mind that in a country where we pride ourselves on our whole bootstraps thing and forging out on your own and being an American went really, because in some ways it's like, oh, how is it? Oh, we're not like that. Well, too bad because we're here doing it Karen Swim, APR (14:59): Enterprising Americans, but we don't really want you to do enterprising. We want you to be employed because it feels like America's just like an old school rusty model of work in so Michelle Kane (15:13): Many control freak ways. Karen Swim, APR (15:15): Yeah, Michelle Kane (15:15): It's a control freak. Karen Swim, APR (15:17): We built this whole tax system, and it's really designed for you to work for a company and just stay there and retire from there and get your gold watch. And I know we don't do pensions anymore, but we need it to be this way. This is how our system works, and we don't want to build a new one, but I say time to build a new one America. Michelle Kane (15:39): Wouldn't that be nice? Well, hey, we hope we've inspired you, even made you giggle a little bit because goodness knows we need that. But please do go to Solo PR Pro, check out the ongoing offer from lettuce even though we don't do special offers. There is this opportunity through lettuce. And just get on the mailing list too, because there is good information that will come your way. And please do share us around. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.  

On this episode we're chatting about how different generations handle criticism, especially after some Super Bowl ad backlash. We dive into why tough love is key in PR and how it's essential for solo PR pros to get real with clients. Plus, we tackle the big question: How do we teach the next gen these crucial soft skills? Tune in for an honest, straight-talk session on the art of handling the hard stuff in PR.   Special Offer for Solos: Lettuce is teaming up with Solo PR Pro to offer you a free, game-changing Business Assessment Program. Be one of the first 1,000 savvy PR pros to join.   Get News from Solo PR Pro: Join our email list.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:02): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim with Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen. It's another week, another beautiful podcast time, not our goodness. Karen Swim, APR (00:22): Hi Michelle. I'm doing so well and just glad to be here and been in this time with you and our listeners. How are you doing? Michelle Kane (00:34): I'm doing well too. Yes, we're making it through February, which is fantastic. I was just talking to a client and we were both marveling at how it is flying by. Karen Swim, APR (00:45): It really is. I cannot believe that next week is the end of February. It's the last week in the month that went so quickly. Michelle Kane (00:54): Even with the extra day in it, it's just seems to be just going poof, which is fine. Karen Swim, APR (00:58): Yeah. Michelle Kane (00:59): It means more daylight for us to soak in and that's good. We've made it through the darkness of the season, so congratulations to all of us. And speaking of how darkness can have an impact, we're going to talk today actually about constructive criticism and how we're kind of sensing a little bit, we're feeling our generation a little bit in light of, I think, Karen, you brought up some comments over on LinkedIn about some Super Bowl ads and just some of the pushback that would you say, is it Gen Z mainly? What were you finding? Karen Swim, APR (01:43): Yeah, it's interesting. So there was some criticism of Super Bowl ads and for a certain generation of us it's like, okay, that's normal, right? Come in the marketing industry, push back at the criticism saying, let's all be kind. These people work so hard and it's the biggest stage, blah, blah, blah. And then another person of a different generation, older, not maybe a millennial, stepped up and said something completely different. Basically like Boohoo, get over yourself. And I thought that her point was well taken and I immediately saw that these were generational differences. So all of the people that were team know criticism were younger and all of the people that brought up the point of criticism is beneficial. Michelle Kane (02:42): Yeah, absolutely. Were older Karen Swim, APR (02:44): And it made me think about how this plays out in the PR profession, what it means to our clients and what it means to this new generation of practitioners. Michelle Kane (02:57): Yeah, that's very true because I mean, let's be honest, part of our job as PR practitioners is to be that voice of honesty, to bring the stark realism in, even if it's just to prepare people for the landscape they may face. I always borrow, I borrow a line from Billy Bragg and say, I am that little black cloud in a dress. That's my job. I'm not saying that I'm not coming at you to be negative or to put a downer on our efforts, but just this is the component that we need to keep in mind in everything we do that might happen. Yeah, it's Karen Swim, APR (03:36): Important. I love that line. That is such a perfect line, and I know it seems a little morose, but it cannot be more true for us as communicators that we have to deal in reality and we have to tactfully deliver news and we have to be honest with our clients because that trust is sacred. And as strategic advisors, we're not looking at just the now, we're looking ahead. We're looking at all of the around every corner where people may not think to look. And I think that this failure to understand that criticism is valuable, criticism sharpens, you can take insights for criticism, but we have generation of kids that grew up being shielded. So you talk about bad things, everybody got participation trophies and everybody's nice, and I'm all for being kind. So we're not talking about trolls and hatred. What we're talking about is criticism that's necessary. (04:53): When you put anything out into the world, it will be judged. That's part of the creative process. It really is. And so as a company, would you want to produce a product or service, have no one say anything about it that's negative, but then have it bomb and you have no idea why? Because no one spoke up. Well, I'm seeing this generation that just cannot confront the hard thing. So we see this play out in our business development landscape for PR professionals. I hear this all the time about clients ghosting you or potential clients ghosting. You have a meeting, maybe you have a couple of meetings, you talk through their needs. You put together what you discussed on paper in the form of a proposal, and then crickets forever. (05:46): Often it's because they can't afford the budget, but they're afraid to say that. So they just don't say anything and they just don't talk to you. Well, and it also deprives that PR professional of the courtesy of understanding what the market landscape really is. If somebody presents something to you for a particular price, you've deprived them of the opportunity to walk you through it, the opportunity to examine their own services and how they're presented and whether or not their pricing makes sense for the marketplace. And it also deprives you of the opportunity for them to do a scope of work that actually fits your needs a little bit better. So you have just decided to look at one component and then walk away because it's too hard to talk about. Michelle Kane (06:41): Yeah, and there's so much value in talking about it because, okay, well, tell me why you think this is too much and how can we still achieve results for you perhaps at a different price point or taking a different tactic. There are always usually, unless the budget is just ridiculously low ways to be of service, and it's a shame both sides are missing out on that. Karen Swim, APR (07:07): It is really sad. And managing conflict is such a fundamental tool for human beings, period. Life is not all rainbows and sprinkles. It is not. And you cannot simply say nothing all of the time. It does not work. It does not serve you and it does not serve others. And I wish that we would take this communication void seriously within the PR profession. And those of us who are more experienced and companies need to recognize this too, you need to be, begin to teach the soft skill sets to your next generation of workers. Do not assume that they have these skill sets. They do not. They cannot write business emails. They do not know these things. Does that mean that they're not smart? Of course not. They're brilliant, but they just don't have these soft skills. And so I think it's on us to ensure that we train them and that we as an older generation teach them how to tackle the difficult things and the difficult conversations. I am sure we've all had experiences, I've had this with the younger workers who are so eager to say that they can do things, that you ask questions and they say they can do it, and they don't have a clue because they're afraid to say, I don't know how to do that, so that you can actually teach them and walk them through it. We've got to get past this because it is going to be disastrous for the workforce if we don't address this issue. Michelle Kane (08:45): That is so incredibly true, and I love what you said about setting projects up to fail, especially something as massive and as high budget and high spend as a Super Bowl spot. I mean, those are high, high stakes. And to spend all that time and energy on something that whether you don't realize is going to just bomb out or you know it, but I can't say it. Oh my goodness, that's not going to end well for anyone. It's going to be so demoralizing to you. And also please, as you are going about practicing the craft to public relations, we've got to keep our industry in mind. How does that present as our profession of what we do? I mean, we especially need to have the capability to have those hard conversations. And it doesn't have to be, it's like they say, oh, it took me five seconds to do that task. I've been putting off for five months because I thought it would take five hours. It's kind of like that a lot of time. Those hard conversations that's going to earn you more respect with your clients. They may be relieved that you brought it up. And the point is, it is coming from your caring about the work, your caring about how the client is going to look. So even though it may feel like a negative thing, it may feel like the most uncomfortable, the thing you've ever done. It really is going to lead to a positivity of better work, more progress. Karen Swim, APR (10:39): I will tell you that clients absolutely will respect you for standing up for what is right and looking out for the reputation. Not every client is going to like it. Not every client is going to accept your advice. And so there's having the heart conversation, but then also learning how to navigate the solution. So you have to understand how to pick your battles, but you can't understand that if you're never addressing tough things. This is just part of the job and you become better and better at it. So clients will push back, they will tell you, no, I want this, and you can give them your professional counsel and then you have to make some decisions. How important is this? Is this like a fundamental no-No, that we absolutely will not do it. We cannot do it. I'll give you an example. If your client wants to quote someone in print, but they want it to be anonymous, we already know that's not going to fly with reporters unless you're talking in the political arena, deep Russian secrets, murder investigation. But in the business realm, that's not going to fly. You can't have somebody that's an anonymous or a made up name. I've confronted all of these issues over my career once had someone that said, oh, this person is willing to be quoted, but can we just use a fake name? No, we cannot. No. (12:04): So let's not quote that. So that was an absolute no, no, I am not doing that. If a client wants you to break the law or do something unethical, obviously you're not going to do that. But you're not going to go to the math over a semicolon or over a headline. That is not the greatest. But it doesn't break any rules. There are just some battles you have to choose because this is the negotiation of a client relationship. But again, have those conversations and I think people, they misunderstand difficult conversations with fighting. You're not fighting. Exactly. It's not ugly. It doesn't even have to be, we're not talking raised voices. We're talking being a professional and understanding that in this role, you're not always going to get agreement. And the more that you advance in your career and as you begin to lead people, whether you're in an official leadership role or not, I promise you, because this is something else. (13:15): I've seen this trend of the younger generation, not aspiring to be managers, but please understand that leaders are not always leaders by title. You can be leaders by virtue of the way that people listen and respect you, your experience in the field. And so as you advance in your career, whether you have an official leadership title or not, you will be a leader. And these are still issues that you'll have to learn to navigate. You can't just go through your career in your life just going along to please and never saying anything that conflicts with someone else's opinion. Michelle Kane (13:51): Yeah. In fact, that could lead to some disrespect to be completely honest. Karen Swim, APR (13:55): Most definitely. And if you are a woman in the workforce or any other ethnicity, Michelle Kane (14:04): Yes, yes, exactly. Karen Swim, APR (14:06): This is something you don't want to do. And I know that women who stand up for themselves and speak their opinions are often regarded negatively. But I will tell you this, I would rather be respected than popular Michelle Kane (14:21): Any day. Karen Swim, APR (14:21): This is not a popularity contest. I love my clients. I am committed to them. I will not work with someone if I do not respect them, the individual, the people that I will be working with in addition to the organization. So I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to fight to make sure that we are excellent, that we are buttoned up, and that we do everything that we can to safeguard the trust that your customers put into you. And so that means I'm looking out for you, and if I give you counsel, it's coming from a place of me as a strategic advisor, understanding something that you may not, this is my area of expertise and that's why you hired me. So realize that too. Your employer, your clients, they hired you, not so that you could just say yes to everything or be nice. Oh, okay, I'm going to do that. They hired you to do your freaking job. Michelle Kane (15:18): It's hard, Karen. It's hard. And you know what? It's hard some days. Karen Swim, APR (15:22): Some days Michelle Kane (15:24): You have, but you have to stand your ground and stand up for the right way to move forward. Not that you're always going to be battling something that's unethical, but just if you've made it to the point where you are working as a professional in public relations or communications, you have what you've had, what it takes to get you to that point. So trust that, trust that instinct. And I know it can be very difficult in a world where increasingly sometimes it feels like our profession is not regarded as a profession on par with other professions that have designations. And even though there is a designation in public relations, but hopefully my point's coming across so I get it, but we are every bit the professionals. We know our world, and even though other people dabble in our world that does not make them expert and trust, there are things they haven't thought of and are things they would never even have considered. That to us comes firsthand. So try it. We're going to challenge. If you're in that generation, we're going to challenge you to try it. It'll feel good, it'll be scary, but you know what? I call those a good scared. Take a step into the good scared. And if you're looking for a community that will help guide you, shameless self-promotion, plug segue, (16:53): Sign up for the [email protected], join the community because that is where I call it the ultimate staff meeting. It is a safe space where we can ask what we might feel is a dumb question or we can say, Hey, I'm facing this situation. I'm really unsure how to handle it. I'm not comfortable. Have you ever experienced this? What did you do? You'll get such wise and supportive counsel, it will blow your socks off. Karen Swim, APR (17:24): Agreed. It is a really spectacular community of peers that are not just takers, but givers. And there is a wide range of experiences. And so it really is unique in that you don't have people that are confined to just certain industries. There's wide ranging areas of expertise. Us and I could not ask for a greater group of people to hang out with. And so yes, please. I of course selfishly would love for you to join solo pr, but we also would love it if you told people about this podcast that is geared to communication professionals. We've been doing this for what, Michelle? 300 episodes or so? Michelle Kane (18:12): We're getting there. This might be 237. Yeah, Karen Swim, APR (18:14): So this is not a fly by night operation. We are committed, we are passionate, and we have been consistent in broadcasting week after week after week. And we still love it today as much as we did on episode one, and we hope that you do too. We're always open to topics that you want to see covered, guests that you may want to have appear. I would say stay tuned in March. We have, oh my God, I'm so excited about guests that we have in March and the things that are going on talk about March Madness. It is just going to be a huge celebration. So please, please share it your episodes. We put them out on social media as well. So if you could follow us on social and share, we would so appreciate it. Michelle Kane (19:03): We absolutely would. And we thank you and we value the time you give us each week. So until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.  

In this episode, Karen and Michelle discuss the pitfalls of blindly following trends in the PR and marketing world. It’s important to keep strategies aligned with a brand's core values and mission. “Going viral” is not a meaningful goal if it doesn’t translate into meaningful engagement or revenue.     Special Offer: Lettuce is teaming up with Solo PR Pro to offer you a free, game-changing Business Assessment Program. Be one of the first 1,000 savvy PR pros to join.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:17): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and as ever, my wonderful co-host, the Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen, how are you today? Karen Swim,, APR (00:35): Hi, Michelle. I'm nice and dry, which I understand is not the case with many across the country. Michelle Kane (00:41): So true. This is true. Karen Swim,, APR (00:43): How are you? Michelle Kane (00:44): I'm well. I'm well. By the time this airs though, this will have been at least a week or so ago, but we're in the midst of February, which shouldn't be a surprise that you get a big dump of snow, but it was definitely one of those storms that was supposed to be a nothing that turned into a something which always shakes up the day. I am spinning this for myself in that the cover of snow is making this rare sunshine that much brighter. So I'm soaking all that in. Karen Swim,, APR (01:09): Yeah, and the sunshine has definitely been rarer. This year I went ahead and invested in a happy light for myself because I was being affected by January where we had endless days of gray, dreary dark zero sunshine. Michelle Kane (01:26): Yes, yes. That is a wise investment. I had one of those and it broke, and I've yet to replace it, but given that I have a dark sense of humor, I'd make myself chuckle that even my sad lamp broke. I love that you call it a Happy Lamp. What do you do when sad lamp breaks. Karen Swim,, APR (01:46): Well, you replace it. Michelle Kane (01:51): Oh my goodness. So yes, being that, oh goodness, we're at that wonderful time in winter where we're smack between the Super Bowl and the Oscars. Karen Swim,, APR (02:03): Yes. Michelle Kane (02:03): Which for some is our own Super Bowl, but that's a topic for another day. But it brings to mind trends. Clients will see something that has hit the pop culture psyche in a way that everyone's talking about it, and next thing you know, we want to do something like that too. How can we take advantage of this? And I said that in that particular tone because it's not always appropriate, is it? Karen Swim,, APR (02:31): That's so true. And of course we have all had those clients that maybe saw something go viral and they want you to do something for them that will make them go viral. Of course, we all know as communication professionals, just as we can never guarantee media placement unless it's a paid opportunity, paid ethical opportunity that we can't guarantee whether something will go viral or not. No one knows what will go viral. That's sort of the surprise and the fun of it all is that you never know what's going to grab hold. And by the way, going viral doesn't always necessarily translate into revenue. It can translate into a fun moment. So I do think that for professional communications people as well as marketers, it's important to sort of have a framework that you can share with clients like a decision tree. And we talked about this before as it relates to social justice issues and things that are happening in the external world, you have a series of questions that you can work through, so that helps the client to become a little bit logical about whether or not this is something that they should tap into. Michelle Kane (03:49): I love that. I love that it brings to mind, I had the pleasure and good fortune a few years ago to sit through a nonprofit board training as far as creating your vision, your mission, and the most important of all was just bringing home the point of viewing everything through that lens. Because whether it's a nonprofit or a corporation and you're trying to think of marketing ideas, if it doesn't pass the muster of passing through that lens of let's say in this situation, what are your goals for your public relations? Then even if it's the best idea in the world, that might be fun. If it's not going to solve for one of your distinct goals, you may want to say, yeah, it would be great if we put time and energy into this, but is it really going to be the best use of our resources? Is it going to really provide what we're looking for? Karen Swim,, APR (04:44): I love that. That is such smart advice, and it's interesting because we as PR pros, we love tapping into trends and we love spinning analogies and we'll take a metaphor and we will metaphor it to death and it's fun. I mean, that kind of stuff is really fun. We've even done it at Solo PR Pro, but for your brands, again, when it's business, and really you have to really first of all look at your audience. So if you're tapping into, we just were off the Super Bowl and it's all about Taylor Swift, unfortunately because Swift was not one of the players. I'm just saying, so you saw millions, she's not so many articles on Taylor Swift and the Taylor showed Craft and Taylor Swift, this and Taylor Swift that and Taylor, Taylor, Taylor Taylor. But if your brand is a investment firm, is that going to really matter to their audience? And so I think that it's always important to take a step back and to think about who you are as a brand and help your clients to own who they are because that's step one of all of your communications. It's really having mission, vision and values and being true to that, even if that means ignoring trends because trends are trends and people are entertained, but we're seeking to do more than entertain. We're seeking to actually engage people and we're actually seeking to move the needle where people do business with us. It’s a different lens that we're viewing it from. Have fun and yes, it's fun. You can go on TikTok and your CEO can dance, but are people going to trust them with their investments just because you dance? Will they love it? Will they share it? Maybe. Michelle Kane (06:36): Because let's face it, if it's not received well or if you kind of bomb, then that's a whole new problem. I will say one thing I'm seeing in the past week or so, and again, those that are jumping on it are doing it well and it's timely and it makes sense. I don't know if you're seeing these, but the series of Valentine cards that are arranged themed according to the brand. So the Philadelphia Orchestra did a series and it's like based around the kiddie Valentines, simple things. And it's like “You are on my Listz” using composers, or the best one today I sell is from the National Park Service. Something like, you give me a kick and it's a figure of a buffalo hoisting someone into the air. I mean, they're funny, they're timely, they align with the brand, they give you a chuckle. Something like that I think as far as I've seen, has been pretty successful. Now do you need to do those? No. Am I going to run out and make my client do these? No, because first of all, it's too late. And second of all, we have other things to do that will, like you say, move the needle. Karen Swim,, APR (07:45): So I love some of the customizable trends that I think that those, like what you just described, it's clearly it's a holiday here in the United States. And if your brand is somebody that recognizes holidays, tapping into some of those thematic trends that can be customized to your brand are perfectly okay. So that should go on your decision framework. Is this a seasonal or some observance that is recognized by our entire audience? And if so, are we just doing it to have a little fun with that particular observance or to bring awareness to that observance? Then those things are yes. And again, it's all about setting expectations. And your client is using this as a moment to either inform, educate, or entertain your intended audience in a way that's on brand. Then maybe it is something that you tap into. I will say we have all of these things that happened in the start of the year. We also, it's still February and I believe this will still air in February. It's a black history month. Michelle Kane (08:53): Yes. Karen Swim,, APR (08:53): This is one of those trends that you don't want to just ride the coattails up and start all of a sudden sharing Martin Luther King quotes, particularly if your organization is not diverse, knows nothing about diversity, is not doing anything to move the needle on diversity, please just opt out. And I can say that this is one of those months that you can isolate rather than be inclusive. Maybe this month it's better for you to learn and to be silent. I would honestly rather you be silent than to screw it up. Same with any of Women's history month. If your entire company is all men and you're not doing anything to advance, women probably want to stay out of the public facing promotions, actually fix the problem. I would love it if you all would do that. The problem Michelle Kane (09:50): That's so perfect though, because it really brings to the forefront of mind. If you don't have something to contribute in a positive way, black history month fun trend, then just don't. That's okay. But please just don't do it because you feel like you have to be in the room of conversation about things. If you truly have nothing to contribute and you're just doing it to be a face value contribution, it's again, your time and energy is better spent elsewhere, including yes, learning and becoming more diverse.   Karen Swim,, APR (10:31): And I know that some people, some leaders and some organizations are critical of what they refer to as the easily offended era. So they feel like there's so many landmines. We can't say that anymore. We can't do this anymore. But I want to put that in context as well. And here's how you can help your clients navigate these potential landmines. You are right. Many more landmines exist today, seemingly, although there's always been an etiquette that we all followed in communications and in behavior throughout our entire history. There's always been rules, there's always been cultural things. But today the awareness is particularly heightened because we have so many ways of sharing information and you're exposed to so many more people. When we didn't have the internet, our day-to-Day interactions were really limited to in-person interactions. So you office and whatever makeup of your office, that's what you were exposed to. (11:34): You didn't have a lot of outside opinions. All of your customers could not get on a social media platform and do a video about your product. And so you don't hate those things. You love it. I'm sure the pink stuff loved it when they had been making products forever and suddenly this little clean influencer, not for money just said, I love this. And she was talking about it and it went completely viral. Did they say that? Gosh darn internet, it put us on the map and we've been doing this forever. No. So you can't rage against the machine that give it because that same machine will take it. And these landmines are opportunities for us to become better educated about how to be better at speaking with our audiences, but also not isolating groups of people as we have done in the past. So I don't think that this is a bad thing. (12:28): I think that this is all a great thing and it's just awareness, right? And I think at the core of what we're talking about today, we know this as communicators, it's all about encouraging your clients to be true to their brand, to be true to who they really are. Authenticity, that big word that we throw around a lot really brains here. If you're authentic, you don't have to observe a single holiday, but if the content that you produce on any communication channel is truly you, it's representative and it's seeking to add value to your audience, you really can't go wrong. Will you possibly make someone mad? You will. No. Getting around that in 2024, someone will be mad, even if it's the greatest thing in the world. People are mad at Elma, Michelle Kane (13:20): Right? Yeah, exactly. There are people who just love to be contrary as a hobby. So we always used to say, if that happened with anything we did, well, we've done our job. We've made them happy by allowing them to express their misery. Karen Swim,, APR (13:35): Yes, I love that. Michelle Kane (13:39): But it's so true. So I think self-awareness goes a long way for your brand. And like you say, knowing who you are, how you want to present yourselves, you do not have to be everything to everyone because not everyone is into your brand. And that goes, if you're a popular soda brand or even the bigs, not everybody's for you. And that's all right, but Karen Swim,, APR (14:06): Just I think we all have to get back to the idea that why is everybody wanting to be famous? There's a downside to fame. And so that's really not our business proposition. I'm going to make you famous. No, you only need to be known by the people that matter to your purpose, your mission, your organization, period. No one else has to know your name. You don't have to be famous. You don't have to be a viral sensation to matter in this world. And if we could sort of dial it down from that and back up and say, what are we really trying to do here? What are we trying to accomplish? It really would make the work of communication professionals a lot easier. So that little message is for anyone who may not be in the comms business, please don't put these expectations on your communication professionals that are just trying to do their job and do the right thing and have plans that make sense and be strategic on your behalf. We know what to do if you'll let us do it. Michelle Kane (15:11): Right. And it all comes down to vanity metrics. I mean, how many times I like to think these days are over, but probably not. But the clients that are saying, oh, look at all the Facebook likes this account has, I was like, yeah, okay. How many of them are bought? How many of them actually do business with them? I don't care if they have 12,000 likes, if only 1000 of those are actually potential customers. It's just numbers. Yeah. And let's face it, most of the time going viral, like that example you gave is total serendipity. And how did that happen? Because that company was leading with who they are and how they help people, and that is what caught fire. Karen Swim,, APR (16:02): So Michelle Kane (16:03): I mean, there it is. Karen Swim,, APR (16:04): An influencer from the UK did not get on the internet and say, my mission in life is to become famous and to put pink stuff on the map. She just liked to clean. And people found that deeply satisfying to watch someone cleaning, and she was sharing what she was using and it took off. I mean, I think the folding lady, I love the folding lady. The folding lady is my stress reliever. I don't think that she started folding. Let me learn how to become an expert in folding so that I can be completely famous. She just shared something that she genuinely loved to do with people on the internet because we can do that these days. And so yeah, I do a lot of stuff that I love and that I'm happy to do and pass on information. And I've never been a viral sensation, and that's okay. I'm okay with that. Michelle Kane (16:58): Exactly. No, no one wants to be a virus these days anyway, Karen Swim,, APR (17:01): Yes, Michelle Kane (17:02): I might have to check out the folding lady because if I ever conquer a fitted sheet, it will be a miracle. Karen Swim,, APR (17:11): She folds fitted sheet as beautifully as my mother did, and that is something amazing compliment that I can possibly give her. Michelle Kane (17:18): That’s a gift. Karen Swim,, APR (17:19): So beautiful. Everything she folds is so beautiful, and I love her. And whenever I pull out my own folding board, I think Thank you folding lady. Michelle Kane (17:29): I love it. Well, Karen, do you have anything to tell our listeners about what's happening at Solo PR Pro? Karen Swim,, APR (17:35): I do. I'm so happy to be able to share some news because it feels like forever, since we've had news and we're doing something very special with the lettuce and it's lettuce.co, we will have the address in the show notes where they have made a special offer where the first 1000 solopreneurs to sign up for this will get a free business audit. So Lettuce is a company that will help you to manage your business finances in a way that makes sense to all of us and it's app base. No privacy concerns here, but hop over to the link in the show notes and register for your freebie because it's free, but they're only taking a thousand people. But we also, they've also agreed to do a little workshop for us on escorts and how to go from a solo proprietorship to an S corp, which is great, whether you've been in business for a long time and you started as an LLC or you're thinking of starting your business, or you just started your business because they're going to walk us through some of the benefits and what it means to be become an S corp. And there are tons of benefits to it that many people may not be aware of. So please follow us, subscribe to our channel, sign up for our newsletter, and we'll have this information in the show notes for you. And we hope to just continue to bring you things that are meaningful to you in your business. Michelle Kane (19:02): I love that. And Karen and I, we love chatting like this all the time, but ultimately we want this to be helpful for you. So let us know at solopro.com. If you do find these episodes valuable, please share us around your socials. We're not asking you to make us viral, although we won't complain, but we would love that if you would share us around. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.    

The whole point of operating as a solo PR pro or small agency is the ability to build the business that is right for you. But let's face it, there are many people out there who are only going to be comfortable with a certain budget level. In this episode, we want to help you to think creatively about when someone comes your way and they maybe don't have the budget that you desire.   Bonus: information about the exciting Solo PR Pro offer courtesy of Lettuce.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:03): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with The VoiceMatters and my ever wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hello, Karen. We're here. It's another wonderful episode. Karen Swim, APR (00:22): We are here in the dead of winter, but thankfully here, the sun is shining today. How are you doing, Michelle? Michelle Kane (00:31): I'm doing well. Sun is shining here as well in southeastern Pennsylvania, thank goodness. And what are we, I forget what the name of it is, but we're technically at the halfway point, so spring is on its way. I believe the Phillies equipment truck is leaving for Clearwater today for spring training. Karen Swim, APR (00:53): That’s nice. Michelle Kane (00:54): We had Phil doing his thing a couple weeks ago and that's all well and good. He predicted in early spring. But the true mark for us, Philly people is when the truck leaves baseball's on its way, Karen Swim, APR (01:08): Baseball is on its way. And you know what? That is good news for all of us because we look forward to spring the new season with hopefully some milder weather and longer days. So that's good. Yay. Baseball. Michelle Kane (01:23): That’s good. It's good. Karen Swim, APR (01:25): Right. The start of our baseball season is typically a bit nippy, sometimes snowy, but it's okay because we know that when baseball starts up, spring is on the way. Michelle Kane (01:37): Yes, and we'll be complaining about the heat soon enough. But when I think of spring, I think of opportunity and that's a bit of what we're going to talk about today because sometimes you're presented with client work, a client who has, it sounds like it's going to be a great project to work on. You really want to help them because if PR people, most of us, we love to just help people, but we also need to make money and sometimes the budget's not the best fit. So we're just going to chat about how you maneuver that, how you might make that work for you, or how you just might say maybe next time. I know we have often had those situations where, and I know it's crossed my path as well, where you'll be presented with a budget that's just like, it's just a no, it's a non-starter. You'll have those $500 tire kickers who say, well, my budget's very small. I either don’t know what it's, or well, last time we had $500. And you think, no, first of all, we recommend, unless God forbid, unless you have an electric bill that's overdue, don't do that to yourself. And secondly, my point of view with that is always I can't do the job you need for that low of a budget. So you're better off. Karen Swim, APR (03:08): And I think one of the things that we want to make sure that we do on this show is we want to always be upbeat, positive and support you in having the business that you want to have. And so I want to be clear that we are never about hustle culture or you have to want to be a millionaire. That is not us at all because we want you to be happy and that definition of happiness is different for all of us, but we also want you to value the work you do and the expertise that you bring to the table. But let's face it, there are many people out there who are only going to be comfortable with a certain budget level. So we want to help you to think creatively about when someone comes your way and they maybe don't have the budget that you desire. Are there creative things that you can do without selling yourself short? So perfect example, $500 of course, please don't be out there running PR campaigns for $500, but can you consult with the client? Can you do an hour long conversation and provide some recommendations? That doesn't mean that those recommendations are then followed by some big PowerPoint or big report. They would have to pay for that. But is that something that you can offer them for a $500 budget? If somebody has a couple thousand dollars, can you write a press release for them and say, listen, I can't really pitch for this amount, but here's something that I can do. So it's okay. I don't want anyone to feel bad when you are just wanting to take projects that might be easy for you to do, but do it within. The one thing that we always preach in Solo PR Pro is that you should never negotiate your rate. Whatever your minimum rates are, don't negotiate those, but you can negotiate a scope of work. So yes, even within a very small budget, sometimes there are things that you can do. Now, these are individual decisions. What I highly recommend is that you have your own rate sheet, and it doesn't have to even be shared publicly, but putting something in writing, having a typed rate sheet, maybe you post it in your office somewhere or have it on your computer of your minimum project budget, of your minimum hourly. What is your hourly rate? Knowing that and having it written down and designing your business around those things. User rate calculators, solo PR pro has resources. There are lots of rate calculators out on the web. MBO partners has one that you can utilize so that you're factoring in your overhead expenses. We forget about that. Remember, you've got to pay taxes, you've got to buy business insurance, you have to take care of your entity, you need to have savings for your business, you need to pay yourself all of those things. Sometimes people are not charging enough to really allow them to live. You are putting yourself in a hole. So having what you need to live and what you need to pay your bills and take care of your business written down, gives you those boundaries. And then you can make decisions smartly when people come to you with a lower budget about, okay, what can I really do for that? If anything? And if you cannot help them, that's okay too. It's okay to say no, but we wanted to address this because again, we talk a lot about upping your budget and how to sell yourself into those bigger accounts, but we don't often talk about is there something that you really can do with small budgets and small projects? And yes, the answer is absolutely. Michelle Kane (07:15): Yeah. And you might choose to engage for a number of reasons and it could be this person that's contacting you has business relationships with other people you'd like to know you. That could be it. And I'm a massive fan of scaling to the budget. It's like, okay, well we can scale it to this and it'll still be effective for you. Anything beyond that? No. But if I can be of help to you and I still receive payment for my value, that's absolutely true. And I loved what you said about have a rate sheet, even if it's not something you publish or want to make known publicly, that's a promise to yourself. And it's a reminder in these times where you might look, because look, days are busy, we have distractions, we have deadlines. We might just get stuck and think, oh no, I really want to, and now I have to think about it. And energy drain, energy drain, energy drain. Do you have that rate sheet that you can pull up and go, no, this is what I do and this is how much I will do it for. If we can make this work great if not, and that's okay. And I know we've been talking lately about, it's interesting. I personally have been finding a power in saying no, that no longer interests me having to twist myself into a pretzel to accommodate something that may not serve me entirely. I'm going to take a pass on that and that's fine. You never know what that is going to free you up for around the corner. Karen Swim, APR (08:55): Yeah, I will say it's that leaning into the power of no and really looking out for yourself is something that we don't all start off in business with, right? Because we feel some people, you're new when you're a new entrepreneur and you almost feel like you're at the mercy of others. But really learning to take care of yourself and your business just as everybody else takes care of themselves and their business is truly empowering. I also want to make sure that we caution you that whatever budget levels you're working at, it is so crucial to have a very defined scope of work. And if a client comes to you with a small budget and you decide that you have a scope of work that can fit that, don't be afraid. First of all to say that is below what I normally do for PR work. I can do this for you, but I cannot do these things for you. If you want these things, I'm happy to do them, but they cost X and quote them your rate so that they understand. It's also important to not only set the client's expectations but your own. Do not ever take on a small tiny project that's below your minimum rates, devaluing yourself doing a bunch of work by saying, well, I can grow the account 90% of the time. That's not true when somebody hires you for cheap and trust me, they know that it's a budget rate because people are not stupid as to what PR costs. Not all the time. There's too many other people out there and they may have gotten to other people and gotten quotes and then they happen upon you kind sold who's willing to give it to them on the cheap, cheap. People don't pay more money. They just don't. That's almost like telling somebody who shops religiously at the dollar store, you know what? I want you now to go and pay retail prices. They're not going to do it because they're cheap. And let's face it, there are clients out there who are just cheap and they're price conscious and they are never going to pay you more money. So you will be stuck in this cycle of somebody who constantly wants to pay you on the cheap. So set your own expectations. If you take on something, fix the scope of work, stick to it, put it in writing, set the expectations about what you can actually do for that budget and don't move off of that. And if they ask you to do more, then charge them more and let them know it'll cost more. Michelle Kane (11:39): Sorry, go ahead. Karen Swim, APR (11:41): No, I mean that's important. Michelle Kane (11:44): Yeah. There's another factor to this too. Maintaining parity within our industry. When we start lowering our prices just to meet a specific need, that's a detriment to all of us across the board, especially in this world where I'm sure many of you out there have had this have where people think, oh, I post to social media. I have ai, I can do your job, we can all this is a profession. And if you don't have your a PR and if you work more in integrated comms, no, we're not licensed like teachers. We don't have a doctor in front of our name. But it is a valuable skill laden experience season requiring profession. And one way to combat against reducing that or minimizing that is to charge what we as industry peers are worth charge what the work is worth. Karen Swim, APR (12:54): Yes. And I mean, here's the thing I love, love, love what you just shared because that is a good consideration. And many of us advocate for pay parity, for gender pay parity Also, which is, our industry is overwhelmingly female. Think about as a whole what you do when you devalue yourself, you bring down the entire profession, as you said, we have to stop letting people believe that somehow when you hire a smaller agency that you're getting budget rates, budget pop, budget, Betty, we are not that also you said it, you hit it on the nose, people are not paying you for the task. Stop making yourselves tacticians. They are paying you for the depth and breadth of experience that you bring for the value that you offer, which is not just an hourly rate. And if I were honest over the years, I've talked to far many small business owners, n PR and out, who basically would make more money if they went to go work for Burger King because when you look at what they're doing per hour, their hourly rates, you would be better off. Listen, you can go get a job at Target these days for $25 an hour. You would make more money, you would take home more pay, but you don't even realize it because you're not doing that calculation for yourself and you're undercutting yourself. You're doing so much. There are people out there, I'm just going to throw out a number, charging $2,000 a month for pr. They're doing media relations, they're writing press releases, they're writing bylines, they're managing social media, and they're meeting with the client for an hour. I want to tell you that I'm not trying to make you guys feel bad, and I'm not trying to value you, and I'm not saying that I don't want you to feel bad about the budget, but you're doing too much work for that budget. And so again, if that's, Hey, listen, if you want to charge $3,000 a month, but do you in a way that respects the value that you bring to the table, and that means the scope of work needs to fit that budget and adjust your scope of work. You're not giving them the world. And if you ever hope to grow your business and scale up and be able to have fewer clients to make more money, then you really have to think about your rate structure. Michelle Kane (15:42): Yeah. Yeah. And I think we're at a point in the economy right now where it's a good time to take a look at that. Really, they keep dangling the carrot of interest rates going down. And I was just on a call with a client who they perceive it's going to be a good spring. So now's the perfect time. We're coming the pandemic's farther in the rear view mirror, thank goodness. And it's just an ideal time. As we do, we look out the window and the sun is shining and it's feeling a little warmer. It does give you that energy, and we just encourage you to take a look at how your prices are structured, what kind of work you're either looking for or taking on, and just make sure that you are getting the best that is due to you. And if you've appreciated this time together, please tell other people. Check out solo pr pro.com. Is the membership door still open, Karen? Karen Swim, APR (16:43): The membership door is still open. And also I have kind of a sneak preview announcement today. So we are partnering up with lettuce, L-E-T-T-U-C e.co. We will have links in the show notes for a special promotional offer for our Solo PR Pro family. And we're also, stay tuned. If you're not on our email list, hop over to our site and join our email list. Keep listening to the show because we'll promote it here as well. But we are doing a special workshop with them all on S Corp. So whether you're going to start your business this year, you're at the start of your business, or you've been in business and you've been in business a million years ago and you never went the S Corp route because there's too many steps, this workshop is definitely for you. And the promotional offer is fantastic. So our partnership with them, they're doing something special for our family. So visit that landing page, we'll drop it in the show notes, and we're so excited about this and I'm happy this is the first time that I've talked about it out loud. So hey, hot off the presses. Michelle Kane (17:52): Fantastic. That's wonderful. Well, hey, see, it's worth blah, blah. I can't even talk right now. I'm so excited. It's always worthwhile checking in with us here at That Solo Life. And until next time, thanks for joining us.

As a solo PR pro or small agency, is it ever a good idea to outsource your sales? It depends. In this episode we talk about how there is no right or wrong answer, only the answer that works for you and your business.    Transcript Michelle Kane (00:03): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. How are you today, Karen? Karen Swim, APR (00:18): I am a little bit cold, a little bit sad because as we are recording this, we now know that the Detroit Lions will not be in the Super Bowl this year, but other than that, life is good. How are you? Michelle Kane (00:35): I'm good. I'm so sorry you can join. The ranks of the football season is over for us. It's never fun, especially the Lions had such a great run this year. My gosh, I was hoping they would get there. Just to shake things up a little bit. Karen Swim, APR (00:53): I had hope too, for the first time since I've lived in Michigan, I actually had hope that our football team would be in the Super Bowl. I'd never had hope before if I'm being completely honest, but Michelle Kane (01:05): Well, Karen Swim, APR (01:05): That doesn't, what are you going to do Michelle Kane (01:07): That makes it hurt a little more? So I get that. Totally get that. Anyway, but today we'll focus on bright, shiny new things. Actually, today we're going to talk about something that's been bopping around in our thoughts for a while. Should you outsource your sales for your solo business? Sometimes you think, huh, I'm a solo. What does that entail? Why would I want to do that? But at the same time, I don't know about you, but last time I had my resume, updated my resume like an overhaul. I had someone else do it, I hired it out. Sometimes talking about yourself and selling yourself is far more difficult than selling your clients. I remember getting the product, the resume back and reading it and thinking, who is this person? I did that, Karen Swim, APR (02:02): And I think that's why I can see the appeal of all of these new agencies that have popped up that want to do the sales process for you, because this is a very, very common pain point for solos. I mean, very common where everyone is like, how do I bring on business? And if you did not come from a traditional agency where business development is required as part of your role, then it can be very uncomfortable to figure this out. You don't really know how to sell and people equate sales with, here's what I see. I was in sales and I manage sales teams. So when you say the word sell to many people, they instantly think that it somehow means overcoming someone's will. So it feels like force process of overcoming someone's will to get what you want. That is not what sales is at all. It really isn't. You're not forcing someone to choose you. You are talking to people who have problems and to gather you're collaboratively coming up with a solution. Sometimes that solution isn't you. That's a part of the sales process. Sometimes it is something that you actually can solve. And so the key is to find the people that have the problems that you actually can solve. So there's firms out there, and I get it. I get the appeal and I understand why there's so many firms that are now in this space. Part of it is because many people are trying to find other avenues for PR careers as they're transitioning out of PR because of the changing landscape. And some people are very good at the sales process, they're great at discovery, they're great at having these sales conversations, and for other people, it's not their natural talent. But is it a good idea? And if so, when is it a good idea? Michelle Kane (04:08): Yeah, I mean, even as you're giving all these pros and cons, I often, my first question would be, okay, so if I hire someone to do outsourcing my sales because I am a solo or even a smaller shop, even if it's a micro agency doing this, is the prospect going to feel like, well, this is a little top heavy. Is this going to affect your pricing? Is it going to feel like a bait and switch? I don't know. I think it would probably work best for a very specific business. Karen Swim, APR (04:45): Yeah, so here's where I land on it. When you think about the sales function within a large organization, typically the salespeople are employees of your company, so they are integrated into your brand. And so when they're selling, they're not selling something that's a part from them. This is a company that they have a connection with that they're a part of, so they're a part of your brand. I do think that there's this principle in sales that people buy from people that they know, like trust. Michelle Kane (05:22): Exactly. Karen Swim, APR (05:23): So when you bring in a third party company, they're trying to establish no and trust for you and they're removed. And also, remember, a lot of these companies, here's the caution, they're not just selling you. And so if you're in an agreement with them to get a percentage, that doesn't mean that they're going to put you forth and that they are acting on only your behalf. They're just selling and they're just trying to place and match, make a PR agency to a client. So it's not a one-to-one agreement where this is your outsource sales team. Now, there are people that you can hire as an outsource salesperson, but in my viewpoint, there are a couple of cautions. And I'm not saying that it will never work. I would never say that. And we always want to be mindful about not being so locked into tradition that we're not open to change. But in my viewpoint, you never ever go wrong when you manage sales in your company, and if you are growing a bigger agency, even your job really should be developing business. You take yourself not out of the sales process, but out of the day-to-day, tactical stuff, that's what you outsource. But business development you keep, this is your company. No one can tell your story like you. And unlike some other businesses, we're not selling widgets. This is very much a service business and pr, the way that it's purchased has not changed that much, except when you're talking billion dollar budgets where they're hiring big global agencies and they're putting out feelers. But even in that process, if we really dig down into it, we know that often with those big, huge million dollar budgets, they're inviting people that they know trust to bid on the business. So it's still a handful of firms. It's not just a big cattle call. Yes, RFPs happen, but those have to be winnable for you to even participate in that process. So from my viewpoint, you never go wrong by taking on that function and outsourcing something else. But if you're going to go this route, I would say there are a couple things that you need to be cautious about. You need to really look at the agreement that you're entering into for not only the length of time, the process that they're going to utilize to sell on your behalf. The percentage that you'll have to give up, is it a flat rate payment? Is it an ongoing percentage of your fee? You have to understand confidentiality and how much you're disclosing to this firm in order for them to be able to sell you. So again, if they're just out there and they're selling everybody, including your clients, because this has happened with some outsourced firms where they're supposed to be selling for you, and then they're offering up your clients on behalf of other agencies, that's not a good situation. So I would say I would have legal counsel go over any agreement that I was planning to enter into and make sure that you're not trapping yourself in something that's going to work against you. Michelle Kane (08:45): And you know what? If you hadn't outlined all those things just now that's making me tired and thinking I'll just do it myself. Karen Swim, APR (08:55): You can learn how to develop business. That's the thing. You don't have to be a quote salesperson to learn how to develop business for yourself. It's getting over that fear and understanding and having some kind of a process that is your natural skillset. So for example, networking may be your jammed, you're good at it, you're comfortable doing that, do that, but do it consistently because business development is not something that should happen when the house is on fire. It needs to happen on an ongoing basis. So you need to have structures in place that you constantly do. And outsourcing sales has to make financial sense for your company. So if you are somebody that only needs five accounts that are $20,000 a month, it might not be worth it to outsource your sales. But if you're really trying to build a larger agency, again, I would say, why don't you outsource other things that are going to get you bang for your buck? Because the more you free up your time to lead strategy to develop your people and to develop business, that's going to put the money in your pocket, not outsourcing the sales function. I mean, I think sometimes when we start our own business, we forget that at some point you're going to have to let go of some things if you want to grow. Michelle Kane (10:23): Yeah. Yeah. No, I think that makes perfect sense. Karen Swim, APR (10:25): It just is what it is. It doesn't mean that you have to, if doing the work is like that is where your heart lies and that's what makes you happy and excited about going to work every day and you're happy with your income, then you won't have to outsource anything. But if you ever want to get past that point to where you're bringing in more income, you're going to have to let go, and you're going to have to give up control of some things. But business development should not be that thing, in my opinion. Michelle Kane (10:52): No, I couldn't agree more because all business is relationship, and people want to know who they're doing business with, and if they choose to do business with you, it's because of you. Not that you're holding hands 24/7 and overdelivering, but they want to know who they're doing business with. And I think, look, unless I'm like LeBron James and I have an agent, to me it almost pings of, oh, I'm hiring an agent and well, who am I? No one that's for, well, for the most part known entities, right? It's not for unknowns. And if people want to know how I'm doing business, they want to know how I work, I'm the one that should be cultivating it, and I couldn't agree more. If you want to outsource things, it's the day to day, and it's really, it comes down to, and this goes for any businesses. I've had this conversation with clients who are solos in other arenas when they're struggling with scaling, and it's like, look, what kind of work do you want to do? Do you want to just dig in and do the work or do you want to be growing this to be a larger concern? So you have to decide where you want to be and where you want to go. And in that case, this might be for you, but I think just for generally speaking, for the solos of the world, I think it just kind of goes against the structure that works for us. Karen Swim, APR (12:24): I completely agree. And I mean, here's the other thing too. The sales cycle, it is typically long. It's not like you're going to hire somebody and boom, boom, that business is going to come rolling in. I will say maybe different than somebody who completes the whole sale cycle. Maybe you enter into relationships, referral relationships, or maybe it's a matchmaker service. But again, I say look at those and don't believe that it's going to be a magic fix, but you want to make sure that you understand all of the terms and make sure that it's going to be worth your time because I know that that also feels like such a relief if you just get leads and it's a matchmaker type service, that could be great. And I agree. When you're getting leads from verifiable sources, that's beautiful. But then in your local area, there may be groups that already do that. I know of some groups in different cities that it's basically a community of people and they refer business to each other within the group. If they don't have the skillset within the group, then group members will go outside to their broader network. That's a beautiful thing. It doesn't cost anything. There's no fee for entry. It's just these people that have formed a relationship with one another, much like the solo prs have done with each other that are referring business to one another. Sometimes maybe you have, we have venture capitalists that we have relationships with, and we get leads from them. You can develop your own lead source. Michelle Kane (14:13): Yes, exactly. Karen Swim, APR (14:14): Yeah, you really can do that. And Michelle, you hit the nail on the head. It's relationship. What I have found when selling new business is that people don't just want to understand your capabilities. They want to understand how you think and how you do business. That's something that's not always on paper. It's in those conversations that you have with people, the things that are in between the spaces of here's what we're able to do, here's who we've done it for. Michelle Kane (14:48): Yes. And it even comes up with just try to be helpful. I love making connections that have absolutely no benefit to me. If I see, oh, hey, you know what? This person will be fantastic for what you're looking for, and I hope it works out. That's great. Just sprinkle that goodness around. But that also speaks to the way you do business and to who you are and to just have some third party cold calling. Because look, we get these emails and what do we do? We delete them. I had one this morning where it said, just reply, no thanks. I'm like, no, that's, that's seven too many keystrokes for me. I'm just going to hit delete. Karen Swim, APR (15:29): Oh, I love the templates that now force you to unsubscribe. I never asked to subscribe. You randomly grab my name from the internet, are emailing me and then saying, this is the final time that you're going email me. And then you lie and you email me again, and then I have to unsubscribe from your emails that I never asked for. Nope. I won't be doing that. Thank you. I'll however, report it a spam and get you blocked. So I'll do you that favor. But yeah, and I'm not, let me be clear. There are some legitimate PR sales agencies out there. I don't want to just throw shade on all of them. I'm just not a fan of that business model for the type of work that we do, even if it's by former PR people, because there's a disconnect between who they are and really positioning yourself, your brand to potential clients. Michelle Kane (16:34): I agree. And something you said earlier, worth your time, your time is worth something. And just consider the time you would spend getting something like that going for potential payoff. Is it worth it where you could really be spending the time doing that on your own, work, LinkedIn, go to the networking things both in person, and there are still some virtual things that you can pop into. And as we know, building business, it's a slow burn. It takes easily six months, two years even. I've served on certain committees for years. Is it partly to hopefully build business? Yeah, that can't be my only reason, because that's not realistic. It took about, I don't know, six or seven years until one of those committee slots turned into really good business. Timing has to be right. Need has to be right. But you know what? When they needed someone, thankfully I was the first person they thought of. Karen Swim, APR (17:44): And I would say for solos, remind people pretty frequently it'll feel like too much for you, but remind people what you do. We don't do that. It's interesting. I was on threads last week and this amazing woman just said, Hey, this is what I do and I'm looking to be a guest on podcast. And she just stated her value proposition and her comments were flooded with people, and then she was like, okay, here's how to reach me. So just by reminding people like, Hey, I'm here. We're connected. This is what I do. And she was bold about it. I think that solos could use a bit of that confidence. Don't assume that just because you're on LinkedIn and you're sharing articles or you're on social media or you have a website or even because you have a client that is working with you, that they remember everything that you do and can offer or that you want business, you have to open up your mouth and remind people, including your clients. So periodically, even if you've been serving a client for five years, you need to say, Hey, I have an open slot. Do you know anybody who could use X, Y, Z? Would you mind making an introduction? Do not be afraid to share your areas of expertise. And don't forget that we're bombarded with so much information that people may not readily recall everything that you offer or even know that you're in the market for new business. So you have to speak up. Michelle Kane (19:15): Agree, agree. Well, we hope this time together has been beneficial, especially if you've been receiving these inquiries and wondering, gosh, I don't know. Should I outsource sales? So I know Karen's offered some amazing advice, and at the end of the day, you need to do what's right for you. And we know that in your gut what that is. So if you got value from this, please share it around. Check us out  at solopro.com. I believe Karen is the window to membership still open. Karen Swim, APR (19:47): It is! Michelle Kane (19:48): Excellent. So if you want to join our incredible community, that would be amazing. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.  

As we begin 2024, there are a lot of unsettling developments in the media industry. Layoffs and the shuttering of legacy media – it can cause a panic. But we know that change is constant and there is always a way forward.   Axios article: "Challenger" firms rising: Top PR talent defect from big agencies   Transcript   Michelle Kane (00:02): Thank you for joining us for another episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and I am joined by my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen, how are you? Karen Swim, APR (00:19): I'm doing great, Michelle. How are you doing? Michelle Kane (00:22): Oh, I'm doing really well. Thank you. I can't complain because no one wants to hear it anyway, there Karen Swim, APR (00:29): You haven't. I think that we're all in that same boat. We actually all could complain, probably judging by the way, 2024 starting off. Not nice 24, Michelle Kane (00:40): Not Karen Swim, APR (00:40): Nice. Michelle Kane (00:41): It's being a little rude. Maybe it'll start rude and end nice. Who knows? But speaking of not being okay, we want to talk a little bit about the PR panic that we've seen and felt in the air. I mean, there's been a ton of uncertainty as the years go on the pandemic, just our sources diminishing, our media pitching being so much more difficult on an ever increasing pace. And there was an article in Axios recently that sort of speaks to that, but it sort of speaks to an overall theme of the pivot of pivoting to something new that the Axios piece specifically was speaking about the rise of challenger firms. How much of the top talent is leaving the larger PR agencies and either striking out on their own or forming smaller concerns, which, gosh, that sounds so familiar. Is there a model about that, about being a solo PR pro? So if you're listening to this as a solo, you're like, I've already done that, but it's just interesting to note for sure. Karen Swim, APR (02:03): Yeah, I think what's also not in that particular piece that we are definitely seeing a lot of is that we're seeing PR people as well as the media pivot their careers in different ways. So we're seeing PR people turn away from delivering PR services to serving the PR industry. So we've seen all kinds of PR sales agencies pop up. We're seeing paid media services, we're seeing people start newswires or database companies, or they're coaching, they're doing something adjacent to PR but not doing pr. And when you really think about it, because it can be a little bit disconcerting when you are bombarded with all of these changes, and you're also bombarded on a personal basis with how these changes are impacting your day-to-day job, the traditional job market has been tumultuous since the pandemic. And so it tracks that. We're seeing some of that chaos impact the PR industry. And let us not forget, unfortunately, that the industry at large for so many years has been driven by traditional PR services, meaning your in-house or it's a big agency. So that chaos now in the broader workforce market is really coming home to roost for PR people and automation has kicked it into a whole different gear. (03:48): So we're seeing a lot of uncertainty about not only the economy, but the work market, how much you have to work with, how much you'll be able to get resources to do the job you do. What people really think about your job is they are like, could I replace some of these functions or could I downsize and have two people do what a team used to do? Because I have automation? And those are all fair questions, but it definitely can be a little nauseating for PR people watching the spin and trying to figure out, okay, how do I keep my footing in the midst of all this? Michelle Kane (04:27): Right? And it can be very disconcerting and disturbing. I mean, look, we know that traditional outlets have been losing advertising dollars for years just because of the way we're consuming our media is changing. I mean, that's a given. And I think a lot of it is partly due to that change outpacing the juggernaut of the industry as a whole, being able to make up for that. So seeing something like, unfortunately, the entire Sports Illustrated staff just be obliterated, is jarring because Sports Illustrated has been such a part of our pop culture or our cultural psyche for so long, and it's like, whoa, what? What's happening? So just at that base level, it's very, very disturbing. But when you kind of sit with her for a while, you think, well, I guess it kind of makes sense in a way. So how can we best position our businesses to deal with that? Karen Swim, APR (05:35): Yeah, these are great questions. And you're right, it's some of those old institutions, trusted institutions are failing. And so here's the reality. Yes, things are changing. Yes, jobs will go away. Yes, some people will lose clients. And yes, there may be fewer jobs in certain sectors, that's reality. But let us not forget that that has always been reality, period. Some jobs have gone away and new jobs emerge. And so for the Sol PR Pro, what I would encourage us all to do is to look up from our to-do list and really do some future proofing of our business instead of being caught in the tailwind of what's happening right now, look ahead to where, because I believe that we all are equipped with the knowledge of being able to look out into the future and say, this is where I think things are going. And so I think it's important to do a little of that reflection and to think about what you're seeing in your business, what trends you're seeing, and what you believe lies ahead and preparing for that. (06:43): So right now, you should already be working on having a business for 2027, not just on what's happening in 2024, because this is all going to settle out, but what's going to remain standing? And here's the thing. Within these dark times and within these times of crisis and chaos, there is something called opportunity. And economists understand this very well. There's opportunity. So look at the problems that you believe will exist and start to work on how can I solve those things instead of getting caught up in the now and for the now, the way that you manage it is you do what are the right things. So you build in some of that innovation, but you also make sure that you are not being seen as someone who's just a tactician. If people see you as just somebody who gets media heads, then you're not going to be okay in the short term. (07:47): Maybe you're just not. And it doesn't mean if you are a media relations specialist, you are doomed. That is not what I'm saying, because there are plenty of people who are going to continue to thrive as media relations specialists, but those media relations specialists who will last are those that are strategic who have made themselves invaluable to the c-suite. Because what we don't understand is a lot of those people whose wholly focus on media relations aren't just writing pitches and connecting with the media. They actually are offering strategic counsel. They're probably doing a little bit of executive coaching and leadership training as well. They're doing some messaging workshops, even if it's not formally a workshop, they're helping the brand tell their story. So there's a lot of other things that are wrapped up in that. So we shouldn't be swayed by the title, but if you are not making yourself invaluable in other ways and elevating what you offer, then in the short term as somebody who just relies on tactics, you're going to get shuffled. Michelle Kane (08:51): Yeah. Yeah. And I think the key phrase there is strategic counsel. I think anyone who works as a solo, that's certainly what we offer without even thinking about it. So it's kind of like five, seven, however many years ago it was because time is a blur. When integrated marketing became the new buzzword, it hit me personally as strange because even when I worked in an ad agency, we offered PR services. So I'm like, well, that's what I've been doing. But if your work has been more siloed, now is the time not saying that you have to become a specialist at everything, but now is the time to consider shifting, to not consider, to shift your practice into a way that meets the needs where you can continue to be that answer to your client's question, that solution to your client's problems. I am in this bleak mid-winter. I am keeping the mood in my TV viewing, I'm watching the true detective, whatever, is it night country. And I love what Jodi Foster's character, who is the chief police, keep saying to her younger proteges, no, you're asking the wrong question. You have to ask the right question to get to the right answer. And that stuck with me because my goodness, if that doesn't work for life as well as fictional crime solving, I don't know what does. Karen Swim, APR (10:22): I love that. I haven't seen that show, but I love that line because you're absolutely right. We do have to ask the right questions to get the right answers, and it's going to be an interesting year. So if you thought differently by now, you've probably had a rude awakening, doesn't mean that it's going to be bad, but that there is going to be a lot of change. And in the US we know that whenever we are in an election year, it drives a level of uncertainty, period, because you don't know what the next administration will do with policy. So it's really important for us to find a lane that we can dig deep into. As you were saying that too, I would advise all solo PR pros to go deeper into your clients. I know that we all usually work with a couple of key primary contacts, and we may have interaction with other staff members, but as you just said, Michelle, about asking the right questions, you need to do some relationship building beyond the current department. (11:34): So get out of communications marketing and make some time to talk to somebody in finance and just ask, say, for my own knowledge, can we hop on the phone for 20 minutes? And I just want to hear more about your function of the business and what you're seeing so that you start to understand the future. And if you can't do that with your current clients, I understand sometimes that's not possible, then you need to make it your personal mission to network outside of PR people and start to talk to people in other functions. There are plenty of ways to do that. You can attend virtually webinars that are geared to other job functions, to learn about what they're seeing and the challenges they're facing, because the more that you understand business at large, the better equipped you are to begin asking different questions to get the right answers that are going to carry you through not only this year, but the next several years. Michelle Kane (12:40): That is so true. And I did see something recently, of course, by the time this hits, it won't be so recent, but I was checking what the muckety mucks at the Davos meetings were saying, and they actually had a fairly bright outlook for 24. So amidst all this uncertainty, we're certainly not saying that the sky is falling. And they also noted that, which was a bit satisfying to me, to see that yes, we like ai, but they're not as gung-ho. Everyone's like, we're just going to use it for everything and it's going to be fine. These leaders and decision makers are saying, yes, we like it, but we realize that it has its limits. So the sky is not falling solos. But my goodness, there are opportunities out there for us to pursue, which is a wonderful thing. And that's the wonderful thing about being a solo. Karen Swim, APR (13:35): It is. And honestly, if you feel like your head is spinning, you're not alone. I am going to be 100% transparent and tell you that I have those days where I think I'm over all of this. Can I just retire right now and not care about any of this? So it can be exhausting to try to keep up and to continue to try and innovate and recreate your workflow and stay ahead of things, which is why you should definitely plug into our community. If you're a communicator, either in a small, in-house team or functioning as a solo or micro agency, go to solo pr pro.com and on our homepage, you'll see a join now button, and we encourage you to connect up with us because life is definitely a lot better when you have a room full of colleagues, a virtual room full of colleagues that understand what you're going through and can offer useful advice, Michelle Kane (14:37): They will, and they will make you smarter, and they will help you remember how smart you are. And so many times they will talk you off the, because they have me, I can give that unvarnished, vouch, vouch for respect. And we all need that. Karen Swim, APR (14:57): We all need that. I'm sorry. We have, and we're all hitting that ledge a little kind of frequently these days. Michelle Kane (15:04): Yeah, right. It's like, oh, because yeah, even though you work for yourself, it doesn't mean that you should do it alone. So we hope hundred percent. Yeah. Well, we hope this time together has been helpful for you. It's always helpful for us, even as we record these episodes. So please do go over to soloprpro.com, check it out, see if it's for you. I think it'll be, and please share this around if you found the content of value, we would really appreciate that. And until next time, thank you for listening to That Solo Life.  

There are seasons in every solo PR pro’s career. If you’ve built a successful virtual or micro agency but you’re feeling burnt out and considering paring down your practice to a solo endeavor, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:03): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen. How you doing? Karen Swim, APR (00:19): I am grateful, Michelle, grateful to be here, grateful for a new year, all of the things. How are you? Michelle Kane (00:26): I think that is wonderful. I too am even though, yeah, I feel like so far my theme has been discombobulation, but I think that's because everyone's back and just trying to get things organized for the weeks to come. So out of the perceived chaos, clarity, just work in the list. It's all we can do. Karen Swim, APR (00:50): I think we're all feeling discombobulated. And that's a nice segue into our topic today. Michelle Kane (00:59): Yes, it is. Yes. Today we're going to talk about, we often talk about solos who set up their shops as virtual agencies and really micro agencies, but what if you'd just rather prefer either making that shift or you just like working as a straight up solo? We haven't talked about that too much lately, and I think that's a lot of, that's where many of us sit. I know that's where I sit. I'll pull people onto a team, but I gratefully both consciously and just the way I have designed my business, I don't have people at the ready depending on my plate of work for theirs. It's just they're fellow solos I guess I would say. And we just try to work together. Karen Swim, APR (01:55): And so there are seasons in every solo's career. I think sometimes we forget that. We forget that just as in a corporate career, our careers will not always look the same year after year after year. There's nothing wrong with running a small agency. I do the same thing. However, I've had periods where it's less stressful to just do the work and to be on your own and as you said, to tap into help when you need help with something or to have somebody like an administrative person that can help with reports and help with some of the administrative tasks. And so I think that this topic arose because last year, so many solos and people, period, just professionals, people that were working were not happy in their jobs. And I want to speak to those people who have built that agency, have a team of people, but you are feeling the weight of it and you are burned out. You're not sure if you even want to continue this job. Here is another option if you're not quite ready to pivot out of PR and do something completely different. Michelle Kane (03:24): Right, right. I think in many cases, working as a pure solo gives you a little more fluidity. Karen Swim, APR (03:32): It does Michelle Kane (03:33): The direction that you can take your work. Karen Swim, APR (03:37): It definitely does. I feel like when it's just you and I've had those periods, it can be beautiful because in a weird way, you feel like you have more control over your time because you can do things exactly when you want them exactly the way that you want to. And so there's a freedom that comes with it being just you, just you and the work. I will also say for me personally, in those periods when it's just been me, it's allowed me to once again touch and feel all of the work and reconnecting with that, even if it doesn't all go as planned initially, as you streamline down to just yourself, there is something satisfying about that. And it allows you to spot things that you can improve. Because when you take your hands off of the day-to-Day and the tactical, and you step into that role of leader full on, you do, and you have to become disconnected from the day-to-Day work out of necessity because your role changes. So going back to that can not only be fulfilling, but it can be a great thing for your business. Michelle Kane (04:54): Yeah, that's so true. And I think too, it really helps you sharpen your tools because it's just you. And I know when I say that, your listeners might be thinking, oh, stop saying that. It's so scary. But honestly, it allows you to do certain types of work, types of work where, I mean, here's the deal right now I've got a plate where I'm in charge and there are some things where I am not in charge. And it's a nice mix I have to say. It gives that part of your brain of rest and it does allow you to get in, do the work, experience it in the midst of the new AI tools and everything, and it just keeps you in the game a little bit. And I think in a way it's kind of wise because it keeps you prepared no matter which way you decide to go. If you decide to ramp up and build out your business again, to have an active team that's with you all the time, great, it makes you that much better for it. But if you just want to pare down, if you decide to say, you know what? I've had it. I just want to write. That's all I want to do. I don't want to do strategy. I don't want to think about those things for a while. I just want to seek out writing projects. Okay, totally do that because you know what I would think in many cases, you're going to at the very least brush up against fellow professionals and you're still going to get to glean things from them. You're still going to have some level of interaction. So it's not like you're holding up somewhere and just hiding. You're not. You're just doing your work in a different way. And if that feels better for you in this moment, I say go for it. Karen Swim, APR (06:44): 100% agree. I would also say that when you pare down and you decide to go as a solo, I think one of the scarier things for people doing that is that they're worried about their income levels. So here's where you have to be strategic with your own business. Sometimes we're strategic with our client work, but we forget to be strategic with our business. Sit down and do a little bit of math. When you have a team of people and you're paying people and you're paying higher taxes and you're doing this and you're adding up your time, what is your true income to yourself? To yourself, not revenue for the business, but to yourself. So those big numbers can be deceiving. Now sit down and think about if I had a couple of accounts that were small accounts, 10,000 a month say, and I had fewer accounts and it was just me, how much is my income? You might surprise yourself in discovering that you know what if you hair down to what you can really handle on your own? And remember, you can also add other income streams because you can have multiple income streams working that produce a little here, a little there. With your main business being your client accounts, you could make more and maybe relieve yourself of some stress. I saw a story on social media this week, and it was from a woman founder who had handed over the reins of her company to a different leader after seven years. And she described the final meeting where she was handing over the reins via Zoom. And by her own words, she said she cried through the entire meeting, but she didn't cry because she was sad. She didn't cry because she felt she had fell. She cried because she felt the weight lifting from her shoulders of carrying the people, carrying the organization, carrying the cause. Some of you right now are feeling that burden and we don't often talk the other side of running an agency, particularly in these tumultuous times that we have lived through that responsibility for other people's income. The responsibility for setting the tone and keeping everyone upbeat and enthusiastic, the responsibility for overseeing all of the work. Leadership has such great joys. I enjoy it. But it also comes with responsibilities. Let's be honest about that. And sometimes we need a break from it. We need a break from that. We need to step back and recharge ourselves. And I don't want anyone to feel that you failed. If that's your decision today, it's not a failure, it's just another step in your journey. And I want to encourage you to be brave enough to take that step if that's what you need to do. And as I said, it can be so freeing. It can feel so good to just let it be about you and the work, there's a weird peace that comes. It's just like a peaceful way to work. It's like it's just you and it's like, I'm going to work a couple hours and then I'm going to go walk my dog or do a little laundry, or I'm going to cook myself a really nice lunch and sit down and actually enjoy it. I mean, whatever moves you because you can structure your workday the way that you want because for once, you're only in charge of yourself. And if you haven't experienced this in a long time, I'm telling you, it can be really beautiful. Now, if you're humming along and you are happy leading a team and doing the things, then this is of course not for you. Tuck it away for the day that may come in your future where it will be for you. Michelle Kane (10:40): Yeah, I agree. And I think sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves. I know that's a shock, but not just in this profession because I have friends and colleagues in other professions that feel like, oh no, I should have a buzzing office, or I should have a lot of people working in my business. And I ask them the question, well, what do you like to do? If you were able to make enough money to support yourself either way, would you rather be managing people and cultivating people or would you rather be doing the work that brings you joy? And there's no wrong answer there. That's the beauty of it. There really is no wrong answer. But if you're definitely, you're seeking a little peace and a little just ability to not be in charge all the time, then it could be time to just be a pure solo for a while. That's okay. It doesn't mean you're not going to pick up work that involves a team along the way. No, I think that's what comes down to it, right? The way we run our businesses is because we want to structure them in the way that best suits us at any given time. Karen Swim, APR (11:52): I love that you said a mouthful, and you're right. And I feel that we're in this time where we are, the past couple of years, all of us collectively, the collective we of human beings that work have really began to take a deep look at how we work, why we work, what really brings us satisfaction and fulfillment in our careers. And so we've pushed back against some of those old narratives that were pushed on us. Thank God. We've seen death to the hustle culture. We've seen grinding go out of fashion. I never liked that. I don't think that. Why are we grinding as human beings, grinding ourselves down to a stump? And that's really what we did. And really we've reclaimed our desire and our hunger for having more in our life than just work and striking a different balance. So I feel like in this season, it is a good time for us to consider why we're building and scaling in that way. Is it because we were on that train of build, build, build, and I got to have more and more and more because sometimes less truly is more and less can give you the freedom to explore some avenues of your business that you might be missing now that you really enjoy. And I will say that the older I get, the more this message resonates with me, that life is truly too short to not be fulfilled in your work, to wake up every day dreading what you do and to carrying around burdens and weights that you don't have to. So if you need to free yourself, free yourself, and guess what? There's so many clients out there that actually want to work with a solo, especially in these times. They want you, so don't be afraid to do it. Michelle Kane (13:56): Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I think that's what we've been speaking to as well. Life changes whether you're raising a family. And so as your children get older and age out and maybe you just want to work differently, and that's totally okay. And I think yes, the business landscape is speaking to that. Companies don't, even if you say, oh, it's a micro agency, or it's a small agency that may still, who knows some people that may still scare them away. But if you just say, no, I'm your comms pro, I'm your marketing department, you don't have one, now you do. It's me. And I think you can still have a very fulfilling, fulfilling career. And I encourage everyone just sit back and take stock. I think it's so easy for all of us to just steam ahead, okay, this is what I do. This is what I do this month. This is what I do this time of year. And just take a minute and think, check in with yourself. Alright, how does this feel? Does this still feel good to me? Am I still doing this out of necessity or am I doing it because I want to? So there's all of our challenges. I'm talking to me too. Well, we hope you've gotten something out of our time together today. If you do, please do share this episode around. We would so appreciate that. Pop in a review here and there, and always be on the lookout. Sign up for [email protected] because as we announced last week, the doors will soon be opening for membership. So until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.  

Did you start the new year determined to keep a calm and purposeful pace? How’s that going so far? In this episode, Karen and Michelle talk about how it is – really, it is – possible to be as productive as ever and stay off the hamster wheel.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:03): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. I don't know, maybe I'm working on a theme song for you. Karen Swim, APR (00:25): I love a good theme song. I think we should all have a theme song. Michelle Kane (00:30): My friends and I used to joke about that. What would be your walkup song? Of course, I don't have a good idea at the moment, but Karen Swim, APR (00:36): Yeah, when you're a speaker, you have those songs. I have songs that get me going, and sometimes I have a few that I have on rotation like, okay, I need my song. It's mine. But I mean personalized custom theme song. I think we should all have one. Michelle Kane (00:53): Yeah, absolutely. All right, well, that's something for all of us to think about and hit us up at soloprpro.com if you have some of them ready. But that kind of aligns with our topic today, since we are likely around mid-January by now, and the newness of the year might be the luster might be falling off and fading. So we want to talk about all the ways that we can keep ourselves motivated and keep ourselves shiny and just ready for this year, ready to make it as best a year as we can. And if that's a walkup song, awesome. Karen Swim, APR (01:37): I love it. We all know what happens in January, bright shiny new year and we're ready for it, blank slate. And we're all full of, we're coming off that holidays where we celebrate it, although this year we're exhausted, but January's a good month. It's fresh, and we have these resolutions or these goals that we set collectively not just as solos, and then somewhere around mid-month, a lot of stuff starts to fall away because reality hits. Yet you come back to an inbox that's overflowing and your clients want stuff and the dog threw up and the kids got kicked out of school. There's projects due. There's too many athletic events. Your mother-in-law's is being a pain, whatever it is, life intervenes and suddenly those goals you miss a day, then another day, then another day, and then it's just a memory. Michelle Kane (02:41): Right. Then you're back on the hamster wheel. Karen Swim, APR (02:44): Yeah, you're on the hamster wheel. So what today we want to just talk about some of the ways that we can keep that positive momentum that comes in January going through the rest of the year. Michelle Kane (02:59): Yeah. I think one way that I'm really trying to be conscious of is to just take a pause when you sense that steamroll mentality or when that steamroll activity is about to set off and it does help, I think for nothing else, the primary point of I do have the power to take even 30 seconds and say, okay, what's next? And I think if you allow yourself those moments, even if it's just once a day, I think you'll see that your sticktoitiveness is definitely helpful. Yeah. Let's face it, by the time this time of year hits, we've blown through all the Christmas chocolates, so our sugar cravings are kicking in and we're like, what do you mean? I only have rice cakes and maybe you've finally taken down the holiday lights, which I am always sad about. I'm thinking leave them up through February. Winter is bleak enough. But I think just taking whatever time you need to reset yourself as often as you need to, I think is one helpful way. Karen Swim, APR (04:23): I also think getting in the habit of gratitude, so we know that gratitude journals or writing something you're thankful for on a piece of paper, putting it in a jar, so now you have a jar that you're collecting that you just pull out. But something that I've gone back to doing this year that I had gotten away from is at the end of every week, I just take a couple minutes and I already have a physical planner and I already have little blocks set up. I write down what went well this week and then what I need to improve. So if I am working on a goal and I didn't hit the goal every day, that's okay. What can I do to make sure that next week I'm getting better at it? And I always keep this mantra that has stayed with me for years progress, not perfection. I think sometimes when we set out, we think that we have to be perfect at things, and then when we become imperfect, we let it go. I don't do that. I just look at, hey, this is my baseline and you're not going to start out something and be perfect. That's what the whole goal is about, and the whole journey is about, it's learning to get better at it. And so taking that time every week to just be honest about, okay, what could I have improved this week? And then write that down so that next week I have a plan to handle those little stumbles. And then what went well? What were the wins? Because what I find is that if you don't write it down where you can look at it, you forget about all the things that went really well because something goes well, and then 10 million things come at you and you forget and you're running to the next thing and you're doing the next thing, and it's like you forget, Hey, my client sent me this really nice email that said how great I was. Or Wow, this campaign went off flawlessly or, wow, this media hit that I've been chasing finally came through. We forget. And when you write it down, you have this nice little record from week to week. And I think that that keeps your positive energy going when you reflect on that routinely and you're not sucked into of it all. Michelle Kane (06:43): Yeah, I mean, it definitely gives you reminders of what you have accomplished. Not that accomplishment is the be all end all, but they're nice little pick me ups, little, little sunshine notes of, Hey, it's okay. And I think all too often we do not celebrate our successes enough. We don't celebrate our wins. And I think it probably has a lot to do with the fact that we're sitting at our desk by ourselves. I'm like, do I high five myself? I do. I might let out a little woo. But I think it is important to document those, and I think that's a great idea to keep track Karen Swim, APR (07:21): Yeah. I think also, I love what you just said about celebrating ourselves when you're working on a goal, they always have you build in a reward for yourself when you hit your goal, there's a reward, but I think that we should build in rewards for ourself, period. As so will PR pros, why not just reward that you're doing the work and that you are working towards something? It doesn't have to be fully formed for you to celebrate your progress and what you're learning along the way. And so treat yourself, maybe it's a once a month or a once a quarter thing that you do. Doesn't have to be something big, but write down a list of rewards that would really motivate you personally and build them into your year. Write them in your calendar when you're going to give yourself that reward and sit down right now and plan out the next three, six, or even the rest of the year with your rewards because that again, is a way to keep your energy levels high and to be positive. Michelle Kane (08:28): Yeah. I think too, especially coming off a holiday season where you may or may not have gotten the quality time off you thought you would, and I just mean that, hey, let's face it, it's buying gifts…it's so tough for some of us, it's cooking more, right? We're doing holiday meals and they are special things to us and we're glad we do it, but it may not have been actual time off. And a wise person once said to me that I should at least once a quarter have a three day weekend and have I done this? No, I have not. But this year I'm thinking, yeah, I probably need to do that. And when you plan for it, it's easier to actually have it. And I know this sounds so basic and probably borderline silly, but I have a feeling many of you are nodding your heads of like, yeah, Karen Swim, APR (09:23): Put it in your calendar. Last year I had marked off three days off the week after next, they were in my calendar. So guess what? Nothing got scheduled. It was already on my calendar. I made an appointment with myself to give myself three days off. And I don't know why I picked those days last year, but I'm glad that I have this practice of looking ahead and just looking at some days and blocking them off. Now, you also should block off time for, obviously you want to plan longer vacations for yourself or go away, but don't neglect to plan out those days where you're just off. And whatever you choose to do with those days, if you choose to go away for a weekend where you choose to stay home, whatever, just have the time off already planned for yourself. And don't give in to somebody saying, oh, well, can you meet on that day? No, I'm going to be off. Michelle Kane (10:20): Yeah, yeah. It's so easy to succumb to, oh, I can catch up on this or that. I mean, I have a friend who, she's had an ample break over the holiday and that's wonderful. And she's like, oh, I'm going to clean out my cupboards and we'd wipe this down. I'm like, wow, deep cleaning. That's awesome. I think, when would I ever time to do that? I'm like, oh, right, you have time off. Karen Swim, APR (10:49): You have time off. But there's something to be said for time off, really being time off too and a break and not doing any of those things that feel like work. Cleaning and organizing is my happy place, but I've also learned that there is something special about not doing those things and actually having a day off where you just are resting or reading a book or seeing a movie and not doing work-like things, things that are productive and adult Michelle Kane (11:24): Well, and isn't that the key? Right? Don't feel like you always have to be productive. Having a work ethic is a wonderful thing, but I think all too often we can use it as a bludgeon on ourselves of, well, I can't just sit here. I can't just sit here and stare at infomercials all day, even though sometimes that's what you need. You just need to disengage. But don't raise the bar so high all the time. It's okay to just not try and think of what would a perfect day look like if you could do whatever you wanted to do. And I'm not saying take the private jet that you don't have somewhere. I mean, realistically, what would you do? Would it be a novel thing to get your nail, go have a nail appointment at 2:00 PM on a Thursday? Probably do it. It's those little things that'll get you through. Karen Swim, APR (12:22): Yeah, but plan it. Write it down. I think that's the key to staying positive this year. And it doesn't mean that we're not going to have those days and have your go-to things that lift your mood. Maybe it's a playlist. Maybe it's a friend or a colleague. Maybe it's a particular book that always lifts your spirits, have your go-tos so that again, focus on remaining joyful and upbeat and positive this year because there's a lot of things around us out in the wild, in the natural environment that are trying to bring us down. And while we live in this world and we need to participate in it, you don't have to let it drain your mood. And so we want to make sure that you keep your energy level stable this year and that your enthusiasm for living your best life remains high all year long. Michelle Kane (13:19): Couldn't have said it any better myself, and doing this for yourself will only make you better at your business. Well, we thank you for listening. We thank you for taking this time with us, and until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.  

The data indicates the U.S. economy closed 2023 in a much healthier state than anticipated. So why do so many feel the opposite? Will this perception continue into 2024 and what can each of us do to remain resilient?   Reference links: Weekly Workforce Newsletter Kyla Scanlon Instagram   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:17): Thank you for joining us for That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, my ever-steady co-host, Karen Swim with Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen, how are you today? Karen Swim, APR (00:32): Hello, Michelle. I'm so excited. We are now. When our listeners hear this podcast, it will be 2024. So excited for a brand new year. Michelle Kane (00:43): Yeah, for real. It's really 2024 this time. Listeners. I know the last one that dropped on New Year's Day. We kind of did that before the whole new year thing happened, but we're here, we made it. We made it to January, 2024. And I know we spent a little time looking back last episode, but of course we're going to do the looking forward thing and just kind of taking stock really of what's been happening, what people have said is happening and is going to happen, and maybe do a little reality check against some of those things. Karen Swim, APR (01:19): I love it. Michelle Kane (01:21): Which is a good start. I know you looked up some great data just talking about how we spent a year, again, doom scrolling, being told a recession was on the horizon and oh, the sky is falling and hey, given the past few years we're kind of like, yeah, probably. Okay, why not? But according to reports, it's not exactly, it's not exactly been the case numbers, year-end numbers were far more cheerful than, well, at least as we in the public have been told to anticipate, if that makes sense. I know there's an economist on Instagram that I follow that, forgive me, I cannot remember your handle, but she brought up this amazing point about the actual economy versus the vibe economy and how that kind of predicates where we are. Karen Swim, APR (02:18): I love that because you know what? It doesn't matter what the numbers say, it matters how you feel, period. And I think we saw that in 2023, economically, it doesn't matter. That actual statistics now show that in many cases headcounts remain the same. It matters how you felt when layoffs were happening and how companies felt. Did they pull back and stop hiring because of the layoff news looming so large? Did PR pros perceive that there was less opportunity because there were cutbacks? So I think that's great that this economist calls out what's being recorded and then what the reality is, but most importantly, how people feel because the economy can be good, but if people don't feel confident, they're not going to spend period data be darned. We had so many people last year saying, we're going to have a recession, we're going to have a recession, and then we did not have a recession during the holidays. People spent more spending was up. And it's weird that that happened, but people felt either they were doing a little retail therapy or they thought this trash year is almost over and I'm going to buy gifts for everybody and celebrate because I deserve this. I mean, I don't know. But again, feelings do play into what really happens in the economy. Michelle Kane (03:44): Yeah, that's very true. And let's not discount that corporate greed still reigns. So some of our grocery prices are still a little bit up there, and that puts some of your restaurant prices up. And I know it has been, I've seen, at least in my region, it's been a very tough year end for some of those smaller entities and I totally get it and empathize with them. So here's my little shout out. Go to a locally owned place this week, just buy the coffee. Don't do as Susie Orman says, buy the coffee. Karen Swim, APR (04:20): 100%. So one of the trends that we think that we're looking at for this year is that the economy, there's going to still be uncertainty, but for our PR pros, we say that uncertainty is where we thrive. I think that it's easy for us to allow this weight, and now experts are calling this in the workforce space. They're saying that we're now in the great gloom. People are just depressed about their jobs. I can confirm I was among those people last year as many of our audience members were too, where you just are like, Ugh, do I even want to do this or anything anymore? We were not very happy. However, I believe that all of this presents opportunities for us, but it's very important for us to first take care of our own mindset. We can't control everything that goes on in the environment and we never could, but we can impact the environment on behalf of clients. So it's important for us to remember our value. Write it down. Have your value points somewhere where you can look at them frequently as well so that you remind to tell people, clients, potential clients, what it is that you offer. Let's remember that no matter how the world wants to just shove us into that media only niche that we offer far more. What can you do with internal communications? What can you do with all the new global opportunities? One of the trends that's happening is that there is still some remote work while people are still being called to the office, but there's some remote work. So that has spurred a trend of more diverse workforces and that diversity extends to global diversity because if you don't have to be in the office every day, then you can actually tap into talent from all parts of the world. Well, many of our PR pros have global experience. Many of our PR pros have experience working with global teams and understand how to navigate things. That's a selling point for you. So I think look at the problems of the world and say, you know what? Problems really are an opportunity. Problems are how products get created. Products are how new innovations come about because somebody looks at that problem and goes, how can I solve that? And so I want our audience to do the same thing, look at these trends, look at the problems that we're having and say, how can I fix that? How can I be a small part of this solution? You don't have to fix the whole thing. We're not asking you to fix our US economy, although if you can please do, but there are parts of it that you truly can't impact. Michelle Kane (07:13): That's so true. A couple points that you said. I mean, it's never a problem, always an opportunity. And I first heard that take on it from the former manager of my favorite band in the world, Squeeze, when we had the good luck to be in their company and they were, I forget what the situation even was. And he said, oh, never a problem, always an opportunity. And that stuck with me. So I'd love that you bring that up. And really, what are PR pros other than problem solvers? That's what we are. Karen Swim, APR (07:44): We are, Michelle Kane (07:45): We're like a Sherpa. I mean, we've seen all kinds of businesses, we've seen so many different kinds of businesses. So we have all of that institutional knowledge as seasoned pros and we can offer counsel, no, are we attorneys slash MBA slash this, that, and the other one, not by degree, but by experience. You betcha. We bring a whole lot to the table as far as counsel. So I think it's so important. Like you say, oh my gosh, forget the vision boards. Remember your value and write it down and put it in front of you. I'd much rather stare at that than some picture of a beach somewhere that I maybe might forget to schedule. Karen Swim, APR (08:30): I feel like every PR pro should have that written and prominent and look at it daily because it's one of the things that I believe that we forget about ourselves and we take ourselves for granted. And if you're taking yourself for granted, it's going to impact who you target. It's going to impact your confidence going into sales meetings and it's going to affect your business. And so again, we're dealing with our own mind and how we think and how we show up in the world. And we've allowed other people in 2023, a lot of us to dim our light. Let's not do that in 2024. Let's go into the year. And when you look at these problems and you say, it's only a problem when I make it a problem, but you pick something that you're particularly passionate about, guess that's where your excitement comes back. And when you're excited about something, think about how different your attitude is and how you work differently. We deserve to love our jobs again in 2024. I don't care that everybody else is in the great gloom. I'm not going to be gloomy. I'm not going to hate my job. I'm going to get rid of the things that I do not care for. I'm going to get rid of the types of people that I don't care to work with. I'm just going to keep saying no to the wrong types of clients. I'm not going to be driven by my bank account because I'm not driven by that anyway. I know that if I choose the right clients that allow me to do my best work, everything is going to work out. And I feel like we all deserve that. We should work with the people that energize us, that give us joy, that give us the types of work that make us happy. There's always going to be problem clients. There's always going to be times that work feels like work, but it shouldn't be drudgery day in day out. We don't have time for that. Michelle Kane (10:22): No, no. And I think, look, we're all realistic. Just because the calendar page turned to a different number of a year doesn't mean that everything is magic. However, coming off the holiday time when things might've slowed down, ha did not. But it was still a bit of a mental pause in many ways. And I know for myself as I'm doing my own reentry, whereas the last month or two, I would just hit it hard in the morning, okay, what do I have? We have to prove and not stopping to think, okay, why are you alarming yourself, Michelle, address this email and then move on. And yes, even take 15 minutes to just kind of check in with yourself and go, okay, what are my priorities today? We can slow ourselves down because rare is the time when something is 10 seconds from going to press or it's not. And I'm so guilty of that because you just want to keep going, keep going, keep going. Oh yeah, yeah, I got to think about that. Alright, okay, well one of these days and you end up being in the middle of that avalanche snowball going down the hill. And we don't want that. I don't want that for myself. So I'm trying very hard and I may still be in that reentry disillusionment bubble that it's possible, but darn it, I'm going to try. Karen Swim, APR (11:50): Another thing that's really been coming up is obviously AI and its continued role, and I can't say this enough, watch those trends, but be quick about making your own pivots and deepening your knowledge about the use of AI and thinking about different problems that AI uses are bringing up. Because again, where the problems are, there's opportunities for us as PR people. We're seeing that journalists are concerned when we look back at the challenges that they faced last year, I think it was a cision study, a big study on the journalist. One of the things was misinformation, but also accuracy of content. And AI plays into that. We're also seeing media companies suing AI companies for training on their content. So there's going to be a lot of battling, a lot of backlash, a lot of competitors springing up. And as always, we PR pros need to remember that a tool is a tool, is a tool. Doesn't matter if it's the latest sexy technology. Where our value lies is in being strategic, understanding the appropriate use cases, watching out for ethical considerations, watching out for all of the nuances that AI models cannot handle, such as language around DEI and inclusivity. It's important. Those things are things that you as an expert in a professional can do. What about when you serve markets that are global, watching for those language nuances? AI can't necessarily do all of that. It can be a tool to help you with ideation and even with some content creation, but it still is going to require human oversight. There're more and more jobs calling for people in ai, AI script writers, people that are good at chat prompts. I find that with it being so new to the general public that many people are already stepping up and proclaiming themselves to be expert when it's very much an evolving field. But whatever I'm going to ask you. Michelle Kane (14:03): Yeah, right. We've seen it before. Social media gurus. Karen Swim, APR (14:07): Definitely. Definitely. So yeah. Michelle Kane (14:11): Yeah, I agree. I mean, we've long said it's a tool. It's here. There's no denying it. So rather than run away, it's best to be savvy about it, know about it, get good at it, get good at using it. You may just learn to like it a little bit, but just be aware of, yeah. I mean some of the shakeups it's going to be that are bound to happen. But I think most anything else, things do level off. It's just learning how to master yet another technology. And I think I found we tend, PR pros tend to be at the forefront of that. Honestly, we do. Because I've talked about it in some circles. I mean in some circles they think, oh, this will just do everything for me. I'm like, yeah, check the quality. I think you'll find that you'll be disappointed. And the others are like, what? Karen Swim, APR (15:00): Yeah. Well, in every profession there are those that will try to take the shortcut weight out. And those are not the true professionals and that's not our audience. I feel like our audience is the best of the best. The profession. Michelle Kane (15:14): You betcha. Karen Swim, APR (15:15): So one more stat that I want to say is I'm sure that you're all familiar with this longevity report. It's been 85 years studying this population of people. And one of the key predictors of long life and high quality of life are connections. And so personal plug, we know that these past few years have just been so different, but they're so much easier when you don't go it alone. So while you may be the founder, the CEO, the boss, while you might be a true solo or micro agency this year, please make this the year that you surround yourself with community because you do not have to do this journey on your own. It makes a huge difference when you can tap into your peer network with the highs, the lows, your questions, when you can be supportive to other people because that regenerates us as well. The doors of Solo PR Pro will be opening back up probably next week. I was supposed to do in December, but I did not. I encourage you to watch on social media. If you subscribe to our newsletters, please watch our newsletters because I'll make the announcement. But join this community of talented people so that you don't give in to the great gloom that's consuming other people because it is more depressing when you are on your own. And just because you're a solo doesn't mean that you can't have community network and a virtual office of colleagues that will be supportive to you. And yes, this is a personal plug, which we don't do very often in this way. And I'm offering it up because I don't know that I would've lasted in this profession without this community myself. My personal testimony, this community has been life, life-giving to me. And it continues to be a place unlike many other places on the internet. It's a place where there's trust, where there's genuine love for one another and care for one another. And I just don't find that same mix everywhere else. And so I think that we're pretty special and would like you to take advantage of that as well this year. Michelle Kane (17:46): I concur. I can vouch for that. Solo PR Pro was the first organization that I found when I was starting my business that led me to believe, oh, I can do this because look at all these other smart, successful people who have been doing it. And every word you say is true. It is a place of trust, compassion, care, smarts. I mean, I only almost feels like every time I go in the group, I feel like I might be. It's as if you're walking down the hall of the office and you stop in the doorway of a colleague and say, Hey, got a minute. I'm facing this thing and I really don't know what to do. And instead of just one person's feedback, you'll have dozens coming at you and saying like, oh, me too. Or, well, yeah, this happened to me once. Here's what I did. Or maybe try this. It's really an incredible place and I agree. I have not found or seen anything remotely similar to it. Not that other groups have their pros and cons. Of course they all do, but I've not seen something that even gets close to the value that it brings. So yeah, when the door's open, I can't say strongly enough to check it out. Well, on that note, we hope you've gotten something out of this today. We hope we've helped you to deserve, know that you deserve to have a year without gloom. We're going to kick out the gloom this year. Please share this episode around we would've really appreciate that. Shoot up some reviews about us. That would be kind of awesome. And until next time, yeah, and until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.    

This episode was inspired by a recent blog post on SoloPRPro.com – The PR Forecast for 2024. What can we expect in – and from – our industry? How can solos get the most out of our businesses this year and beyond? Let’s find out together. Transcript   Michelle Kane (00:17): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, and my ever steady co-host, Karen Swim of the hive of PR, the fabulousness of Solo PR Pro, and I should say, Karen, officially Happy New Year. Karen Swim, APR (00:40): Yay. Yes. By the time this episode hits, it will be 2024. So hello and Happy New Year, Michelle. Michelle Kane (00:48): Can you believe it's, we made it out of 2023. Hopefully Karen Swim, APR (00:56): Got out by the seat of our pants Michelle Kane (01:00): New year. Let's hope it's not a new dumpster fire. Karen Swim, APR (01:04): Let us hope, because 2023 was just a year. Michelle Kane (01:10): It definitely had a lot of moments, but we're not going to look back. We're going to look ahead. We are going to address some of the things covered in a recent blog at soloprpro.com, and I encourage you all to head over there and read it. The PR Forecast for 2024, who would we be if we didn't kick off the year just taking a look at what we think is to come? And there were some excellent points that you made, Karen, as always one. Of course, the big thing, and we seem to be talking about this a lot, of course, because it has become a part of our PR lives, is AI. In fact, you say it's raining AI. Yeah. Okay. No, I won't sing it. Karen Swim, APR (01:58): It's true. And sometimes I feel like, oh my God, AI again. But the reason that we're talking about it is because it's evolving so quickly. It's being adopted in so many ways in the workplace. And here's the thing that I think PR people need to really watch for, is that there are errors along the way as we're all learning to use the technology. And so we see companies quickly adopting it and feeling like it can replace human beings. It can never do that. And we're seeing this shakeup of people wanting to use this technology and harness the good things that it can do, become more efficient, streamline as everybody's looking to save dollars. So it does create this tension where there's this shakeup towards the end of 2023, we really saw content people being affected by AI and losing work because writing is being done quicker and faster. The AI tool, however, we also see things that are coming out that are not good. We see agencies that are getting pushback from clients because they're using AI to write everything. So we can't lean on the tool too heavily still. I think that the big story in 2024 for us should be the story that we should be writing is AI is a wonderful tool when used ethically, responsibly, and as a tool, not as the replacement. This is not Megan. This is not body in the firm of Michelle Kane (03:36): Yeah, no, I completely agree. It is definitely just a tool, a wonderful tool, Karen Swim, APR (03:42): A wonderful tool. Michelle Kane (03:43): But the fears of replacement, those that use it that way, well do it at your own peril because it is not perfect. I don't care how good it's getting. It's never going to replace the human touch. It's never going to replace, and I'm saying it - never. Just the experience and the depth and the layers that a person can bring. Does it help us? Absolutely. Does it help unpack parts of our brain? Because honestly, I love to write, and yet sometimes depending what I'm writing as I'm loving it, it so it drains you, right? But having this little bit of a help is great, but only you know how to finesse a sentence. Only you know how to make it sing. I forget, I saw it was one of those Facebook posts that goes around, but talking about writing and having a cadence and a rhythm and how that's important to the way your brain receives it, and it's just not there. And I know we were joking off before we started recording, and I won't mention it or read it, but I saw a social media post last night that was so glaringly AI written thanks to the flowery prose that did not sound natural or even it was just bad. I thought, oh, tell me you had ai write your social media posts without telling me you had ai. Write your social media posts. Karen Swim, APR (05:10): And let's face it, AI is being integrated into almost every single tool that we're already using media databases to our signature stamps. The world has gone AI crazy. And you know what? In some channels, in some instances, AI completely 100% AI written content may be just fine. It may pass. It's not very good, and it's not very good because for the people who are utilizing AI in that way, because there's plenty of social media platforms that now have an AI component, and yes, they'll generate your posts and generate your visuals. Inherently, there's nothing wrong with that as a starting point or as an ideation point. But again, what happens is that AI should not treated like another member of your team. So you don't want to do away with your marketing team and replace it with AI or you're going to be in trouble. And the laziness, like all laziness in the work setting, you're only going to be able to ride that train for a little while. It's going to stop at some point because people, your audience deserves more and they're going to want better from you. But the scary part for I think communications people is that you will have these companies, we saw it in 2023 in a way that I have not seen in a long time with a lot of people not believing in PR anymore. They just don't see the value. Big companies, you have groups of CMOs who no longer see the value. And so for those people, they think AI is fine. We will just AI our press releases. We'll AI the stuff, we'll do everything on our own. We'll have marketing handle it because we can draw a straight line and AI will take the place. So I feel like there'll be a little bit of tumult, but I do believe that there will be backlash to anyone who is misusing AI in this way pretty quickly. Michelle Kane (07:18): Definitely. Because the people who are receiving these messages, they don't want fake, they don't want glossy, they don't want stuff that's churned out whether they're realizing it or not. Eventually, there will be a backlash. And I mean, think of it this way, as a company, do you do anything without reviewing it first? Do you put anything out there without taking a look at it? Because for those that just rely solely on AI as anything but a tool within your processes, really. Okay, good luck with that. Karen Swim, APR (07:59): Yeah, for sure. Michelle Kane (08:01): We'll be here to help you pick up the pieces. But yeah, and that is another thing that you did mention in this blog about just the value of PR and how yeah, it really does matter. And like you say, PR has always had a PR problem, haven't we? We're so busy singing the praises of clients and doing client work that all too often we ignore ourselves and our industry and how important. Karen Swim, APR (08:29): And I think that we've allowed, unfortunately, everyone else to write our story. We're not the best as an industry at owning our narrative. And it's unfortunate because we get reduced to being media hits and you're only as good as your last media hit. There are PR people, as we all know, that don't even offer media relations services, and there are some that specialize in that. I'm not diminishing the value of media relations. However, the people that specialize in media relations are far from what the public believes they are. They are strategic, they are aligning with the organizational goals. They are providing counseling much more than just, Hey, they're pitching all day. That's all they do. That's not what they do at all. And I believe that a big part of the public really doesn't understand the depth of things that we do as practitioners and the value that we bring to an organization. Unfortunately, what that means is because they don't see the value. We did see a lot of cuts in 2023, but I would like to say that I do believe that particularly for solos and small agencies, don't allow the negative news, the layoffs, and the cuts to drive your 2024 strategy. Michelle Kane (10:00): Agree, Karen Swim, APR (10:01): There is opportunity in 2024. You have to be willing to innovate the way that you approach things. You have to be willing to take a step back and look as a whole and see the gaps that you can fill and understand. And we did a blog post on this too, what your secret sauce really is, and lean into that because I'm telling you that those who differentiate themselves, those who are willing to modernize their approach, you are going to win in 2024. If you are so busy trying to make yourself look like the traditional agency, you're going to get lost in the mix because there are a lot of companies that would prefer to work with agile, non-traditional agencies. And again, I'm not bashing the traditional agency model. I'm saying don't try to be like them. Stand out and be who you are and lean even further into that special ingredient that is really unique to you and market the heck out of it because there's a place for us. But you have to own that place. You have to step up. You have to be bold, you have to be willing to do your branding. You have to be willing to do your business development outreach. But there is business on the table. This is a huge opportunity for people like us, and I do not want you to miss it in 2024. Michelle Kane (11:25): I love what you said. Lean into your secret sauce. And it's so true because all of us as solos at the very outset, our clients are getting advisement from a senior professional. And you're just not getting that elsewhere. And again, again, right? Not to bash agencies, of course not. But if someone needs someone who can come in, assess the situation, get things rolling without having to wait a week for 60 different approvals with the processes, again, that's fine for some. But if there are clients out there who don't necessarily need all that, not that we're not careful, I am the most paranoid, uptight, careful person in the world. But you, you're getting, as Liam Neeson would say, a special set of skills when you go with a solo. And we haven't said this in a very long time, and I am talking to myself again, but yes, put yourself on your client roster this year for 2024. I know I need to get back on that horse. I have not mostly, and I'm sure it's to my detriment, it feels good. It feels comfortable and safe to just serve our clients. Karen Swim, APR (12:37): Yes. Michelle Kane (12:38): But it's important that we put ourselves out there. We have to poke our heads up and go, “Hey, here I am. This is what I can do for you. This is how I can help you.” And I think getting back to what we were saying about what you were saying about the value of PR, everything we do, everything a company does, everything a brand does tells a story about itself, and PR professionals are the ultimate storytellers. We are the ones who can even look at a customer service interaction and help advise. We can advise on so many levels. Our consultancy is not merely, let's get you in the paper. It is. Okay, so the way that that transaction was handled, that's telling this kind of story. If we make these small changes, it's going to tell a different kind of story, and you're going to walk away with a heavier customer. This is how we affect the bottom line. And again, no, is it widget based? Not always. And that makes it difficult to prove your worth. But we do bring so much to the table at a senior advisory level and as solos, that's what we're bringing. Karen Swim, APR (13:46): I also want to speak to a troubling trend that I'm seeing, and that's fewer people accepting less than your market value. My desire is for everyone to have the practice that you want. And so I am not going to be that person that says, if you are not making millions, you're a failure. You are not because you have your own set of income levels and your own goals, but I want you to have what you want to have, not what I want you to have, but what you should have and what you desire. And I want you to have the lifestyle that you want. So we all know that all of us we're experienced, and if we were working in corporate America, we might be making $500-650,000, a million dollars a year, getting bonuses. But that would also come with another price tag. It would mean less flexibility. It would mean that if you have kids that you couldn't always be home for dinner, that you would miss out on key moments. It mean that you couldn't take off and take three day weekend. So that price comes with another price. So consider all of that, because I know that 2023 was really hard on our industry and hard on us as individuals. We saw lots of talk and lots of attention paid to the mental health of solo PR pros or PR pros in general because PR is very stressful. And many solos really came to a moment of wondering if they wanted to even continue as a solo or if they wanted to go back into corporate America. Sometimes I think that we do look at salaries and benefits and paid vacations, and there are times in all of our careers, and it can happen multiple times where you're like, yeah, that looks pretty good compared to what I'm doing now to work where I want. But in 2024, I really want you to be really strategic about the services you offer, how you package them, and the price points that you offer. And again, I'm not telling you to aim for a specific number because that's so tailored and so individual, but what I will say to you is, if you're somebody that's looking and saying that, Hey, the salary over here looks really good, I want you to make sure that you do the math that you should be doing, and look at what does that salary really mean? What is it taking to get there? How many hours are they putting in? And make a comparison that actually equates to what you're doing as a solo. And if that number is your goal, I promise you, you can get that number as a solo, whatever that number is, yes, you can get it as a solo. And if that's your goal, then I want you to be more strategic in achieving your own goals because number one, you don't have to go it alone. I think all solos know that, that we can team up, that we can join forces. You can join forces as a true partnership, or you can join forces as just a consortium of solos. Working together on specific projects can offer a whole different set of services. I love the way that our solos are getting smarter about productizing things and realizing that, Hey, I can have my own little side hustle within my practice by packaging this up and offering this separately. We can all do that. I love that. Yeah. Strategy needs to reign at the top of our list for our own business. We are strategic for our clients. But now I need you in 2024 to make the trend that you're strategic for yourself and how you approach your business and how you offer your services and how you price your services. There is no reason that you should feel like you are struggling in the ghetto of the PR industry while your peers in corporate are thriving in middle and upper middle class status. That line does not have to be drawn. It's up to you. So I want you to be happy, and I want you to be successful because you have what you need that is going to make you feel satisfied. Michelle Kane (18:07): Absolutely. Well, with that, you've inspired me. Darn. I'm ready to go. Let's go until we stop recording and my to-do list takes over. But yeah, you know what? Let's promise ourselves, this is a promise that we can make to ourselves as PR pros. And why not start right now with this year? Well, we hope that this has been valuable to you. We hope this is giving you a juicy start to 2024. We will put the link to this particular blog in the show notes, and if you hey, inspire others, share this around, we would love that. And until next time, thank you for listening to That Solo Life.  

PR pros and journalists share a lot of common ground, including stress levels. Sometimes communication breaks down. Sometimes, whether it’s beyond our control or not, we can’t give the other what they want or need. But what we can do is continue to do our best to work together. Let us know what you think of today’s episode at soloprpro.com.   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:02): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen, how are you today? Karen Swim, APR (00:19): Hi. I am doing so great, Michelle. How are you? Michelle Kane (00:22): I'm doing well. Not bad. For a Monday. Monday, Monday. Isn't that how it goes in the wrestling ring or I think dirt track races. Anyway. Yeah, not bad for a Monday. We're in the midst of the holiday season, but we thought we talked today about something kind of, well, it's kind of funny, we saw, but it also is all too real in our world. A little bit of a PR/Journo SmackDown Karen Swim, APR (00:48): And the smacks went both ways. Yes, Michelle Kane (00:51): Would you say about me? Karen Swim, APR (00:54): But Michelle Kane (00:55): Yeah, it happens. It happens. We all get frustrated with each other and wonder why we do the things we do the way we do them. Karen Swim, APR (01:07): That's so true. But my favorite smack downs always come with a caveat from a journalist that said that they used to be in PR and as justifies or that they know all, and maybe it was 20 years ago, and we all know that the world has changed dramatically since that time. So that would be like any of us pulling out an old job and going, yeah, I did that job, but did you do it this year? Michelle Kane (01:38): This year especially. Karen Swim, APR (01:40): This year especially. I'm just asking for a friend because there are, and I think that goes both ways. There are plenty of PR people that started on the journalism side, and if they did that 15 years ago, the world is vastly different for our journalist friends as well. So it is funny, but that they add that in as though like, well, I know, and that somehow gives me the authority to be completely icky to you and criticize your entire profession based on the actions of one person who may be new to the job untrained or completely stressed out and about to jump over a cliff and probably has the mental health hotline on hold as they're trying to hold it all together long enough to get to the end of the seer, Michelle Kane (02:30): Right? Because a lot of the times the issue is, oh, you reach out to us, you don't get back to us. We don't hear from you. And all the while not really realizing, well, we're herding our own cats over here. Our clients are equally busy and stretched out. So sometimes it is difficult to get them when the opportunity arises because they're not fully cognizant of the notion that when the opportunity hits, they have to be ready and not just, of course they can be mentally prepared, but no, you have to be available now. And sometimes that just doesn't get conveyed. Karen Swim, APR (03:12): And so in this particular latest SmackDown, it happened in a private forum which was so much nicer than it happening on X or happening on one of the open social media platforms because that's usually where you see it. And I will say that while we joke about this because, and we can laugh about the things that are said as a professional, whether you're a journalist or a PR person, it is so demoralizing to go to your feed and see something that is belittling your entire profession. And I think that there's a few things happening. One is that we do have multi-generations in the workforce, and I think we all have to stop and think about that and that every generation does not work in the same way that another generation works. And I don't mean that. I'm not saying that one generation is superior, has a different or a better work ethic. What I'm saying is that some of the things that we assumed early on in our career are not true for every generation. And so we either have to come to a place where, and I do feel some of this is on employers to get everybody aligned on the same page. You need to teach people. Do not make these assumptions. If you are running a PR team, then you need to set the expectation, here's how you follow up with journalists. Here's the information that you provide in emails. Here's when you use email, here's when you use Slack. Here's when you make text and phone numbers available so that your entire team is operating from the same playbook. Don't just send them out into the world and expect that everybody is going to do this job The same way we have a generation of digital natives. We have actually more than one generation now, digital natives. They do not use the phone to make phone calls. They really do not making a phone call seems invasive, and so they don't do it. And by the way, it's not natural to them to provide a phone number in a signature when people just don't use phones like that anymore. They use email, they use text messaging. And so I think it's unfair when you say there's no phone number in your email signature because not everybody does that anymore. And to be honest, a lot of people have been warned against doing that because phone numbers aren't an identifier and there's so much fraud out there. We're all trying to protect as much of our information as possible. I get that there are workarounds, believe it or not, everyone knows about those workarounds and not everybody wants those rounds. Michelle Kane (05:57): Right? Right. And I think one of the key things that you honed in on there was establishing systems. If you have the systems in place, then everyone can at least be on the same page. So much as just from the thinking of, okay, all of us might have to step a direction outside of our usual comfort level or patterns for following the systems for press follow up or press contact. I think that's one way to work around it, but you're still not going to fulfill everyone's expectations just for you and your team. That's not for every single journalist out there journal. And there are particular proclivities. Karen Swim, APR (06:37): It's interesting that you brought that up because we all probably devour those how to pitch. One pitch does this, how to pitch, so-and-so it's X publication. Those are great. However, the way that one person likes to be pitched is not the way another person likes to be pitched. Sometimes you'll go on track and there are notes like, I only want to be pitched in the morning from nine to noon in my time zone. I will not answer you if I'm interested. You'll just have to wait. I point out that as a PR professional, we are doing outreach to so many journalists. It is impossible to follow everybody's rules to the letter all the time. Sometimes you're just going to blow it sometimes with good reason. Sometimes you're needing to pitch a set of journalists on something that is time sensitive and you are trying to get your work done and serve your client. So you may send an email that comes at 1230 rather than by the new cutoff. God forbid. I personally try to adhere to all those rules, but I'm saying it's really unfair and unrealistic to burden PR people do the best. Always be respectful, make sure that you're pitching on target that it's relevant to that journalist. But outside of that, there are just some things that we may not get perfectly. Please do not burn us at the stake if we miss one of your particular rules. If we use three sentences instead of two, or if our word count is five words over your maximum, please do not berate a poor PR person for that because they're not trying to be disrespectful. They're not trying to ruin your day. And I would say the same if journalists turn that around and you have to memorize all the rules for working with the PR people that you work with, you would go insane and you already have enough on your plate. We honestly are trying to make your jobs easier and we're also trying to get our jobs done. And by the way, sometimes the people that we work with and are working on behalf, they're not being the easiest. So give us a break. Michelle Kane (09:05): Yeah, I think what you hit on there is that, look, we're all doing our best and sometimes if someone's best doesn't measure up to your best, well give it some grace. Just count to five, scream, write the scathing post and delete it. But sure, are there absolute buffoons in any profession? Absolutely. What are you going to do? But don't always go from zero to you are the worst. I'm going to scream about it somewhere, Karen Swim, APR (09:37): And I mean this one particular rant was about a journalist and a PR pro that were working together and then one couldn't find the other. The communications weren't being answered. I want to tell you that that happens on a daily basis in media relations for every PR pro that I know, at least the solos. I don't know what's going on, but I can tell you every solo PR pro, 100% of us experience this routinely. Sometimes it's just because the journalist is just overwhelmed. It can't answer everybody when you're already establishing working together, because I promise you, every single time, even when there's a yes, even when there's interest, even when you're happy that we brought you information, even when you're in the middle of writing, sometimes you guys go away and we don't hear from you. Even when we've recorded something or done an interview and you tell us to do something and we come back immediately, we don't always hear from you right away and we get it. Life is overwhelming right now for everyone. God forbid though, that the tables are turned and it's you who can't get in touch with a PR pro. Now I will say, I don't think that that's ever professional. I'm sorry if there's a problem, speak up. But here's the thing that I've noticed, people don't know how to communicate and they don't like to communicate bad news. They don't like to communicate. If you're a PR pro, we have a younger generation that just does not know how to speak up and say, Hey, I'm working really hard to get the response back from my client and they are not answering me. I'm so sorry. I know this is frustrating. They don't understand the value of protecting the relationship with the journalist. You're not throwing your client under the bus, but your tackle in how you're managing it, they just say nothing because they're just not comfortable with it. I mean, have you ever gone into a store and watched how people don't even want to say hello because it's like this foreign thing now and it's sad to me. Of course, and I do think that if you're in PR that we need to do a better job of training our incoming PR people on soft skills as well as the heart skills. But Michelle, I love that you use the word grace. It's so appropriate. We just need to all give each other some grace and yes, it's frustrating. It makes everyone's job so frustrating, and we've all had those moments where you want to scream into a pillow or go throw axes after work because can I just get my job done? Michelle Kane (12:17): Yeah, no, it's so true. And what you said about communication is so important. It's like we're reluctant to give an update that maybe isn't ideal, but I always tell people, I would rather you tell me the same information two and three times, then not at all. Just hit me with it. I know how to hit the delete key if I don't want it to hear it again. It's really not that hard to do and it is true. So almost used to this passive means of communication that we just don't want to do it. It's like, oh, do I have to do that? It's like, yeah, just do it. We've all seen the different memes or the comics of that feeling when I did that task that took 10 seconds that I've been dreading for 10 weeks. Just do it. Karen Swim, APR (13:07): I mean, it's part of being in business and being a professional, and we really do need to get back to training people how to talk to one another and how to handle difficult conversations because I feel like this is becoming a loss art, and it's playing out not only in the workforce, it's playing out in families. How many parents are just not having hard conversations with their kids or teachers are dealing with parents when they tell them something that's not favorable in the nicest way possible. The parents are going off on the teachers. We are going to become a society where we just don't want to talk to anyone and we never address anything, and that's just not a good place to be. And so what we're not defending the actions of a PR person or a journalist who just drops out of communication with you unless they're sick or something else is going on. And that's the other thing. You never know what people are dealing with in their personal lives. Sometimes people are working through illness, sometimes they are grieving and they just really are not themselves. Maybe they're dealing with pressures at work that just are overwhelming, and so we do have to take a step back. But even with those hard things, if you really are just not yourself, you don't have to disclose all of your personal information, but if it's about communicating and letting people know, at least like, Hey, I got your email. I'm so sorry. I have some things going on and I'm really behind. Here's where we are. Yeah, Michelle Kane (14:46): Exactly. Just to check in. Hey, I'm sorry if I've been unavailable to you. I really apologize. Apologize. Here's the latest status. That's it. It doesn't have to be a big deal, even if the other person's making it a big deal. You don't have to answer at that level. You don't have to meet them at the same volume or level of annoyance you can just sail on. That's the beauty of email. You don't have to just respond like that in the same tone, Karen Swim, APR (15:14): But please be available by a channel that you have set. Don't just ignore that channel. Michelle Kane (15:21): Exactly. Yeah. That's all we ask. Have some grace. Don't ignore it. It really won't hurt. Let's just keep each other updated. Let's help us do what we do because goodness knows there's enough going on around us to add to our stress, so we don't want to do that. But we hope you've gotten some value out of our time together today. If you do, please share it around. Please hit us up with your best stories at soloprpro.com. We would love to hear that. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.