The Art of Creative Publicity on Any Budget

Have the right message and then be willing to shift and change and refocus at times. So one of the things in my system is look at your message every 30 days. Is it current? Is it resonant? Is it true to who you are? That all matters and that counts, right? But here's the fun and and, shall we say, quick pivot that most people can do.

Welcome to the ReLaunch podcast, and today, you are going to walk away with so many amazing nuggets that you will be able to leverage immediately. How good is that promise? Why am I saying this because today's guest is none other than Jill Lublin, a true media powerhouse, international speaker and four time best selling author, Jill has a knack for turning publicity into impact, whether through her acclaimed book guerrilla publicity, or her kindness centered bestseller, The Prophet of kindness, which reached a number one in four categories. She's known for her powerful teaching in media mastery intensives and her leadership in consciousness kindness, community, conscious kindness, community that's kind of a mouth jerker, a tongue twist, but Jill's story is one of resilience, passion and impact. So get ready to learn from a master of connection and kindness. She's here to share insights that just might change the way you see yourself, and it will absolutely change your business. Jill, it is so great to have you here.

Thank you. Hilary, I'm delighted to be here with you. Oh, okay,

so you have been doing this for over 25 years, but I gotta ask, you know, the most significant relaunch that really shaped you into the person you are, can you weave that into 25 years of doing something? I mean, we talk wise women in my in my courses, you are the wise woman of guerrilla marketing and all of this. So help us understand what brought you here? What's the relaunch? Well,

the relaunch was going right along, you know, and, and doing my thing and having a blast in teaching publicity and supporting entrepreneurs, you know, always, and, and then I fell, and you're talking about that relaunch pace, I'm

talking about that one because I was so unbelievable. Yeah, share what happened there. Yeah,

I fell literally over a rain. Great. It was nothing. Even, you know, I wasn't, like, jumping off of the Andes or flying high. I mean, I was just, you know, being picked up for a speaking engagement, and I fell over a rain grow great, and actually broke both ankles at once in multiple places, ended up in a wheelchair for a little over five months. And you can bet, you know, I looked at this, I called it, stopped in my tracks, and that, you know, was really something that I had to deal with and use as a certainly, was a relaunch. But everything I did go through during that time too, that was tough. Again. How long ago was that? Oh, gosh, over 10 years now, okay, but

you've been in, you've been in PR, you've, I might have said, marketing, earlier, public relations, and 10 years ago, all of a sudden, you have this, this double break you're in a wheelchair. What exactly, what did that do for you? Because you're sedentary now you are a highly active woman. Yes, everywhere you're speaking everywhere. And now you're, I mean, this is like, kind of, you know, almost the opposite of what you've ever been used to? Yeah, literally,

I had to move out to the living room because of the pull out couch, because I couldn't reach the bed. You can't, you know, when you're at both ankles in a cast, you can't really do much, you know, I mean, literally, I, I couldn't do really anything. I had to have caregiving pretty much all the way around. I couldn't get to the bathroom, couldn't get to the kitchen. Okay, that was my favorite part, because I didn't have to cook. You know, seriously, I mean, really, anywhere I had to go, every I needed help and support. So that was really something to have to well, you know, learn to receive. Isn't that interesting? Because I was very independent. I was a woman on the go, literally, woman on the go. And half the month I was going somewhere, usually giving speeches on publicity and going to entrepreneur events and helping others or teams. Teaching one of my publicity classes, something, I was doing something, and then all of a sudden, you bet, sedentary, having to ask for and receive help, one of my biggest lessons, by the way, let me just say, and really, you know, stopped in my tracks, truly. So it was a very intense experience, and for two months, at least in the beginning, especially because of an injury. You know, if you've ever been injured, it's just your whole brain's a little wacky in terms of, I might call it foggy, perhaps, and certainly, the painkillers didn't help.

Let me ask you, during this time where you're kind of, as you said, you're you're stationary, you're not moving around. Did you reassess your business model? Did you reassess where you were going to focus going forward? Was this a pivotal time in the business aspect of PR as well? Well,

I will tell you, not in the first, not the first, maybe two months. I mean, honestly, I just couldn't think I was lucky to be able to maintain, frankly, and certainly, if anything, my business went down, because there was just nothing to do. I mean, I had, didn't have the wherewithal to reassess, or the thought patterns to be able to reassess. Certainly what I credit that toward is, you know, as time passed on, I certainly had the opportunity to re look like, wow, what do I want to do from this? What do I want to create from this? Yes, that took a little longer than the first few months during the injury. I wish I could tell you that wasn't true, but I just felt like a blob, you know, and that's pretty much what I was just I couldn't go anywhere,

yeah, no, it's, it's really, you know, when you have to have a change of lifestyle. I kind of had that with having twins. I was like, oh my goodness, it really does kind of re it redefines who you are, what you are, and what's important, and you get a lot of time to think so, marketing, PR, branding, all these things I feel like have kind of changed over the last, especially 10 years. Let's dive deep into PR. What changes have you seen in the PR space, and even in your book, you know, Gorilla public relations. What are you recommending these days for you primarily work with entrepreneurs. What do you recommend for entrepreneurs to do with PR in their business?

So the thing about guerrilla publicity, which is really, you know, our focus, the name of the book, all that fun stuff. It's really about using time and imagination instead of a ton of money, which, you know, if you've got 5000 a month to drop on PR, yeah, hire a PR agency, but I know that most people don't, and so I I have this commitment to really support entrepreneurs at all levels, to to get your name out there. So what's changed? Okay, call me an eternal optimist, which I am, but I will tell you I am thrilled about the changes. Okay, yes, we've lost some newspapers and some some tactics have changed, but here's the good news, because of podcasts like we're on right now, and the creation of so many people doing such great work like you, guess what, we have even more opportunities than ever for people to be seen and heard and to get your message out. I To me that is so exciting. So certainly, podcasts and blogs have really elevated the opportunity for more publicity opportunities, plus TV stations and radio and all the magazines and newspapers, guess what? They have online and you know the field, you know, print version, so you have double the opportunities. Plus in TV, your archives forever, you know, mostly forever, as well as in radios. So good news is, I see the duplication and multiplication of media opportunities now more than ever. That's, you know, plus, frankly, you can also take it in your own hands, so that people are doing LinkedIn lives and Instagram lives and tiktoks and showing up in all kinds of different ways, to me, that is such good news.

So do you feel it's necessary these days to hire a publicist or hire somebody to help you actually get on to these platforms. Or are you feeling like you're actually the one that with your book and with your courses that you're teaching people how to, you know, DIY, right?

Yeah, I am. I'm a DIY er, and because I've had a public relations firm. Which I did. I know the game, let me just say it like that. And you got to learn to play the game and do it right with right systems, blueprints and things in order, in the right way. Yes, good pitches, good messages. Yes. Do I know how to do all that? Absolutely, I do. Are there some people I would say, yes, go and hire a public relations firm, you know, if they just want everything done for themselves, and frankly, they have the budget. And then I know who's good, and I will, you know, refer people. So I think, though, that the truth is, you can get a lot done by yourself. And when I say by yourself, having an assistant do some of the doing, and getting things actually done makes a huge difference. So I've got systems and processes in place for people to get things done. Absolutely. And do I think that most people can get a lot done? Yes, so let's try that first.

Yeah. And I gotta ask you, because it would be, I would be, you know, kind of people would say, Why didn't she ask this question? And the question is, is there anything that is truly bad publicity? You

know, listen, in most of our cases, and I say, you know, the people watching this, the truth is, you're not going to get bad publicity. Bad publicity comes from doing bad things. I don't think most of the people watching this, or even most entrepreneurs, are going to get bad publicity that's, you know, usually reserved for bigger companies, corporations, politicians, you know, that kind of stuff, people doing bad things, like criminals, etc. I mean, yeah, you're going to get bad press when you do bad things. And realistically, I don't think that most of people are going to have this issue at all. Crisis communications, which is what it's really called, is really another kind of sport and and the truth is, most media people don't want to make you look bad. They really don't. They want you to have a good interview. They want to, you know, propel you up and help, help you shine. They're generally good hearted people who are focused on making a difference. And, you know, having people know the stories. You know, they're, they're journalists. I mean, that's journalists jobs. They want you to know the stories. And when, when that bad publicity happens is because there is something there to tell. So I'm not, I'm not concerned for most of the people I know, but I will point out one thing that I think is interesting about, what does happen if you get bad publicity? So let's look at Ottawa, the juice company, Ottawa. Well, guess what? They got bad publicity because, well, somebody died. Actually, a few people died drinking their juice. So here's what happened. They did the right thing. They said, I'm sorry they did. They frankly, did a lot of correction. They then told the public what they did and came back. Guess what? Their sales are better than ever. The company is thriving because they took responsibility and did the right thing,

you know what? And that's, I think, a huge part of being transparent enough to say, you know. And I love the I love the emails that come out that say, Hey, I screwed up. We forgot to do this. Yeah, because we all do right always going to be, you know, those times where it's like, oh, I hadn't thought about that. And you know what this, this happened. I get asked a lot in what I do and when I'm helping people. What? What can people do to have that that kind of like, ooh, ah. Factor, the it factor. What, having owned a PR agency, what do you suggest to people that are coming to you that want to stand out in a, you know, a sea, an industry that is, you know, heavily saturated. What do you first and foremost suggest to people Well, the

biggest thing is have the right message and then be willing to shift and change and refocus at times. So one of the things in my system is look at your message every 30 days. Is it current? Is it resonant? Is it true to who you are? That all matters and that counts, right? But here's the fun and, and, shall we say, quick pivot that most people can do what's going on in the news that you can use, or using everything you've got. So I have a woman who's a veteran, served in the Marines. You bet for Veterans Day, we're going out. We're going out. Also for her, talking about the elections, but not political, but to talk about Compassionate Leadership. And what do you do? How can you be a compassionate leader in today's times? So that's called, use everything you've got, right? Also being a woman. We'll take her out for International Women's Day. When there was a earthquake in Turkey and Syria, a terrible thing that happened. Uh, one of my clients. She is a well former firefighter, one of the first women firefighters in North Carolina, in a particular small town area where she was here's what's interesting, although she's helping people put out fires in their business as a coach. Now, super interesting and wonderful, uh, approach when there was a an earthquake in Turkey and Syria, I said to her, talk about being a first responder. What do you do in an emergency? Because that's what people need to know right now, and that is using everything she's got, which actually got her some fabulous, you know, features. So that's really the part I really want to open up for people that's kind of new for a good, New Thought for many of you, and that is, how can I use every thing I've got that makes a big difference,

that is so good, everything I've got, and you're not limited to, I'm in I'm, you know, in this business, this is what I do. You're saying, look at all areas of your life, absolutely. And that is really what if you think about different platforms are for. I think there's a lot of people using platforms in in the wrong way, and then they're not gaining, you know, the traction that they want when you're suggesting to people they want to get out there. There's so many different places, there's so many ways that you can spread yourself. Then what are the ones that you feel really should be like, the first ones that you need to make sure that you that you nail, that you really are there and present.

Are you talking about first actions or platforms from a social media perspective?

Let's talk about, let's talk about the platforms for social and then I'd love to hear your you know, philosophy on like, okay, what are the steps to even now that I want to do this, now that I'm ready to do it, you mentioned, you know, a bunch of things we'll go into, but first and foremost, let's talk social media platforms.

Well, first of all, I want to say your social media is not a replacement for your publicity. So please, for any of you watching, do not think, Oh, I got my social media going, so I'm doing my publicity. Not true.

You know, social media is a great point. Tell us the differences? Well,

social media is a more of a one hit wonder. You'll be lucky if somebody sees your posts. And that's a beautiful thing. It's a percentages piece. Publicity is a gift that keeps on giving. Because, you know, you're featured, let's say in Forbes fortune Inc, you've been on ABC, NBC, CBS and so on TV. Guess what? That's a leverage point, a brag ability, piece that will get you a lot further, frankly, by showing it, by leveraging it, by walking into a client, consultation with it, or an interview. Always great as a as a backup, as a look where I've been featured as an elevation of your expertise. And social media, you know, you do a post, you hope someone sees it, there's some engagement. Great. I do like lives. I think those are good because it gives you the opportunity to be seen and show your expertise. And then I think, you know, as far as which platform, it depends who you want to reach. I mean, obviously, if you're a business person, LinkedIn is a good one. You know, if you're selling certain things, you might be more on on Instagram or, you know, depending on where you want to reach, people, I think, is really the focus. Visuals are tiktoks with quick, simple, fun messages, right?

You know, here's another thing that I'm getting asked all the time. I mean, it's become like one of the number one questions, and that's this whole concept of pay to play versus the organic Can you explain the question so that people know what I'm even referring to? And then can I get your thoughts on which one do you really suggest for your clients?

Yeah, well, you know, there are, there are opportunities to be featured in media that you can pay for. That's pay to play. They're really called advertorials, for instance, in the newspaper business, as an example, you can look like you had an article written about you, and frankly, you paid for it. That's considered advertising. That's really advertising. Now, I'm not opposed to it. I might mix one in here and there, but on the whole, publicity. In other words, when you are being interviewed on podcasts, on radio, in TV, featured in magazines, newspapers, even newsletters, blogs and etc, is typically free. I wouldn't be paying for too many of them. That's just my opinion. I. Um, because there's many you can get that are completely free,

and so you have something that you are willing to kind of put out there to the people listening today. It's a great offer to work with you. Can you share what that is and how we can find out more? Yeah,

well, what I did was I put together a free publicity action guide for you, where I give you more great tips than even we've had the opportunity or time to cover today. So Ann included in that is a free publicity master class, interactive and live with me, where I will spill more great content and also answer your questions, direct and live with me. So where you can get that is Jill lublin.com/guide All right, so that's where it is, and I look forward to supporting and helping all of you, and

we'll have that in the show notes as well. And so is there a last piece of advice that you give people that maybe we haven't discussed, but you're like Hillary, they've got to know this one piece.

Well, one thing I would do that for all of you is check national day calendar.com. I love that resource, and it is fabulous for pulling out holidays or days of the year that perhaps you didn't think about before, where you can use everything you've got, and really, most importantly, I want to leave you all with an important message for you, and that is that your message matters. It's time to get it out there.

Let's go. Jill Lublin. Thank you for being on the relaunch podcast. Such incredible takeaways. We will definitely go check out. And thank you for giving us this resource, and everyone out there, you know what? As she said, you know you got to get yourself out there. You got to make this happen. You've got to show up. And when you show up and you're really in your like, what we say that, ooh, la, la, that it factor zone. It's when people really connect with you, and that's when the magic happens. So Jill, thank you for being here and everyone out there. What I always say, live, now, love. Now, relaunch. Now, relaunch into that best version of you out there in that PR world. And again, PR is not social media. Thanks again, Jill, we'll see everyone next week.