Episode 318: The Power of Publicity and How It Can Elevate Your Business

Intro

0:00:18 – (Bob Woods): Welcome to the Making Sales Social podcast featuring the top voices in sales, marketing, and business. Join Brynne Tillman, and me, Bob Woods, as we each bring you the best tips and strategies our guests are teaching their clients so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. This episode of the Making Sales Social podcast is brought to you by Social Sales Link, the company that helps you start more trust-based conversations

0:00:21 – (Bob Woods): Welcome to the Making Sales Social podcast, featuring the top voices in sales, marketing, and business. Join Brynne Tillman and me, Bob Wods as we each bring you the best tips and strategies our guests are teaching their clients so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. This episode of the Making Sales Social podcast is brought to you by Social Sales Link, the company that helps you start more trust-based conversations without being salesy through the power of LinkedIn and AI.

0:01:00 – (Bob Woods): Start your journey for free by joining our resource library@socialsaleslink.com/library. Welcome to the show. My guest today is Jill Lublin. Jill is a master publicity strategist, consultant, speaker, and a four-time bestselling author. She’s the go-to person for building success through influence, marketing, networking, and publicity. Jill’s a real media magnet, and with more than 25 years of experience, she’s been pulling in media attention for a long time now.

0:01:36 – (Bob Woods): She’s made thousands of stage appearances alongside celebrities such as Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, and Barbara Corcoran, just to name a few. She’s worked with more than 100,000 clients implementing her signature formula for getting media attention and creating next-level visibility in the marketplace, which, of course, results in boosted sales. And that’s something that we all want. So those lead and generating and profit generating rather formulas are included in her signature program, which is called the publicity breakthrough boot camp, as well as in her monthly kindness circles.

0:02:13 – (Bob Woods): So let’s get right into it. Jill Lublin, welcome to Making Sales Social.

0:02:17 – (Jill C. Lublin): Oh, thank you, Bob. I am glad to be here.

0:02:20 – (Bob Woods): Great, great. So our first traditional question for everyone who comes on the on the podcast is, what does Making Sales Social mean to you?

0:02:32 – (Jill C. Lublin): You know, the truth is sales, as, of course, you know, as an expert, are social no matter where you are. So when we’re talking about social media, I like you to be, you know, from a publicity perspective, congruent with your message. That’s your publicity message. So what does that mean? You know, I’m a big believer, and I have people take their publicity message from offline to online, and that tends to work.

0:03:02 – (Jill C. Lublin): It creates that congruency and consistency, and it helps your social selling.

0:03:08 – (Bob Woods): Absolutely, absolutely. That is all that we are about here getting things started online kind of proving that you’re an expert through the content that you share as well as through comments that you leave, especially on LinkedIn, because that’s what we primarily concentrate on with the ultimate goal to at least get that conversation started and see if there’s a possibility of either a direct sale or maybe a partnership or.

0:03:36 – (Bob Woods): No, not yet, not now, but let’s keep in touch. And then we’ve had sales just here personally, a Social Sales Link that has taken a couple of years to close, but that’s because they didn’t need it then, but they need it now. So, I mean, people do need to be, people do need to be aware.

0:03:53 – (Jill C. Lublin): Of their own rhythm, but part of it is being consistent and persistent, right?

0:03:59 – (Bob Woods): Yeah. 100%. 100%. This actually gets into our next question. So, in your LinkedIn profile, and, yeah, I do check these things, as you could imagine, uh, you have the tagline, Find your voice, be heard by millions, change the world”. Now, I find that intriguing, especially with what we were just talking about. What, exactly does that mean to you?

0:04:22 – (Jill C. Lublin): So the thing about publicity is it is about creating a contribution, an impact. And when you find your voice, you can get seen, heard, and paid. You know, the other piece of that, of course, is a lovely publicity thing to remember. Right? And so I think it’s really important that you create memorability. Find your voice, and be heard by millions. Right? This is something that I think many people want, at least thousands, I hope and meaning to be.

0:04:58 – (Jill C. Lublin): And the truth is, the more that you’re heard, the more that your voice, from a publicity’s perspective, whether it’s in social, on podcasts and blogs, in your local newspapers, in radio, tv, all of it matters and all of it counts. So I want you to be heard a lot. I’ll tell you an interesting story, Bob. I actually got hired by Mark Victor Hansen. You might have heard of him. Chicken soup for the soul.

0:05:22 – (Jill C. Lublin): Yeah. He had me strategize publicity with him one year before the book was about to come out. Right. One year before why? He said to me, you know, Jill, you are here in this room today, because when we wrote Chicken Soup for the Soul, particularly in the beginning, we did every little thing that we could be heard, seen, and listened to. This is what we’re talking about. And he kept saying yes to everything because everything matters and everything counts. So he understood and still understands the power and value of publicity. And I think that’s really what we’re talking about here, is impacting and contributing to as many people as you can. That’s what publicity does.

0:06:07 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, exactly. And, and I think that that’s really cool because one of the things that I talk about when it comes to, you know, more along the lines of sharing content and commenting and things like that is pinging on people’s radars so that the, the more radar pings that you get, the more top of mind that you are. It’s, it’s almost like publicity. And it sounds like what you do is like another layer on that.

0:06:30 – (Bob Woods): And, people are potentially getting even more radar pings in areas other than like, direct social, at least. Would that be, would that be a good way to put it?

0:06:42 – (Jill C. Lublin): That’s exactly a great way to put it. I mean, the reality is, you know, if you’re featured in your local business journal, you know, it’s going to direct people to wherever you want to direct them to. If you want to direct them to your social, then do that. You want to direct them to your website and do that. The point is you got to direct them somewhere. Right. And I just. Yep, that’s actually important.

0:07:04 – (Jill C. Lublin): Please always direct people somewhere. That’s a key. Always.

0:07:09 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So I think that when everybody out there hears public relations, they all have ideas about what they are, what public relations is, whether it’s true or not. As a former journalist, as long-time listeners of this podcast know, I’m a former broadcast journalist. I know I do. And I actually like working with PR people for the most part there sometimes. But, you know, for the most part, it was always a really good relationship I had with them.

0:07:40 – (Bob Woods): I’d like to hear your definition of what public relations actually is and especially how it can help those who don’t think of it as something they can use to help themselves, both just in sales, just in selling, but in growing the business in a larger aspect as well.

0:07:57 – (Jill C. Lublin): So in my definition, public relations happens from the minute you walk out your door and I mean into a Zoom room with a meeting. I mean, you know, out for coffee, I mean, on the airplanes. The reality is you’re always doing public relations, my friends, whether you know it or not. So the first thing is, you know, be clear about who you are and your message and understand that you are representing yourself. Yes.

0:08:25 – (Jill C. Lublin): Relating to your public public relations all the time. So I believe it’s happening constantly. And then there’s the intentional piece of public relations, which is getting featured in specific publications, getting featured locally, which I’m a big believer in having a focus for where you want to be and knowing what your message is the reality is public relations is driving. And I promise you going to drive your prospects, your referrals, your reputation, your trustability, your other people’s, let me say, belief in who you are.

0:09:08 – (Jill C. Lublin): And you know what’s super amazing about it? Well, it really drives you to the front of the bus. What does that mean? When you’re featured, people are going to know your name, that credibility factor, that visibility factor, and it uplevels you beyond anyone else in your industry. And I’ll give you a great example of this. A woman who was recently in my media mastery intensive. It followed my system, and I believe in systems for public relations.

0:09:36 – (Jill C. Lublin): Well, guess what? She got the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She got one line. Okay, everything matters.

0:09:41 – (Bob Woods): Remember that? Everything matters.

0:09:43 – (Jill C. Lublin): She walked into a position interview that she was having, and the gentleman had googled her. He said, listen, I googled you. She was up against two other people, so there were three total. He said, you got the job, and that was a $35,000 job for consulting and coaching. He said, I looked you up and I saw you in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. You must be good. Do you see the assumption there? She didn’t even have a big article.

0:10:13 – (Jill C. Lublin): And because she was in front of the bus, because she had name recognition, because people will google you and find out where you’ve been, who’s been talking about you, where you’ve been seen and heard. It has an inherent credibility that escalates and elevates you. And I like to say that publicity is the gift that keeps on giving because the reality is you can use it again, again and again, consistently for many, many years.

0:10:40 – (Jill C. Lublin): So it has a braggability factor that’s actually really important in your business.

0:10:47 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, exactly. And you touched on something there that gets into my next question. And that has to do with credibility because we all can be out there on social and kind of brag about ourselves. And although you shouldn’t be bragging about yourselves, you should be sharing really quality content that helps educate and everything else and building yourself up as an expert. It seems to me that when you get the publicity through the channels that you’re talking about, that credibility is coming from another source that you don’t directly have anything to do with. It’s actually someone else who’s gonna call you an expert because you are being quoted in this, in this article and, you know, on TV or whatever or, on a podcast.

0:11:42 – (Bob Woods): Because I think the word expert gets tossed around way too much nowadays. And I always go by what my wife told me years ago on the subject, which is, that you should let other people call you an expert. So, what is your definition of an expert? Where does that credibility come from? And, you’ve kind of gotten into this a little bit already, but how can people use this in their self-marketing for PR?

0:12:06 – (Jill C. Lublin): Okay, so I beg to differ with you for just a moment. And that is.

0:12:09 – (Bob Woods): No, please do.

0:12:11 – (Jill C. Lublin): I actually think you really oughta, shall I say, claim that being an expert? And yes, do many people call themselves experts? Well, maybe. Or maybe not. Because here’s the reality. Those who are experts do get interviewed, period. I mean, look at any channel. Who do you think they’re interviewing? Experts. Absolutely. People in their fields, people are recognized. People who maybe the producer googled and found that there’s somebody who, yes, is an expert. So I’m really big on the claim that. Claim it, claim it, because experts get interviewed.

0:12:48 – (Jill C. Lublin): So from my perspective, from a publicity perspective, and, yeah, you better have the message to back it up. The ability to communicate simply, which is learned, Do not be concerned. You can practice, you can perfect it, you can pitch it. And the reality is that a clear message does lead to you being the expert picked. So I do think it’s important because experts are featured. So tell me the second half of that question again, if you would, please.

0:13:22 – (Bob Woods): So how can people actually use that more? So in your mind, embrace an expert, and call yourself an expert. What is the next step from there, I guess, is the easiest way to put it.

0:13:36 – (Jill C. Lublin): So, okay, knowing that experts get the gig, meaning their publicity, right? And that’s why I’m saying, hey, jump up and down, and yes, declare yourself an expert with an appropriate, credible message. And then frankly, you go out and you pitch, meaning to the media specifically, you write an article that’s really good and get, well, get featured on like Medium.com is a really great resource for that, where you can get your articles featured.

0:14:13 – (Jill C. Lublin): So I’m a big believer. Have one good article ready to go just in case, because sometimes the media loves to read your article. What did you say about this? And that actually is a really good thing. So I just want to put that out there. As far as I’m concerned, part of this is, well, you know, honestly, a bit of a mindset thing, meaning I’m good enough. Because, listen, I’ve had one person business, solopreneurs. Right?

0:14:41 – (Jill C. Lublin): Entrepreneurs. I work a lot with entrepreneurs and small business owners. These are not big companies. And why they’re ahead of the game is because publicity has become a big part of their strategy that they use consistently where somebody else might be heading down, grindstone kicking it away. But that person who got that $34,000 consulting job, who is a consultant, one person, by the way, doesn’t have any team members, is what did that. So I think one beats the other very beautifully. And the power of when you’ve got a meeting with a client to sell to them to promote your services and you say, hey, listen, I was recently featured in the fill in the blank or this podcast, and then it becomes a tab in your website which says the media is raving about Bob woods and has the different places that you’ve been featured.

0:15:38 – (Jill C. Lublin): The air, it just speaks for itself. You hardly have to open your mouth and people know you are credible.

0:15:48 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, that’s a really great way to put it. And I can’t wait to tell my wife what you just told me. You might have started an argument there. I’m not sure. No, I’m kidding. She’ll be great about it. But I think that everything that you’ve said leads excellently. And my next question, and that has to do, with media scripts, because it sounds to me like you had talked about messaging before and how important that is. And you can even practice these, it sounds to me like all of that comes from media script. So what specifically is a media script?

0:16:24 – (Bob Woods): And, you know, how does someone who isn’t media savvy, like, yourself, create one for themselves or at least start, start thinking about creating one for themselves and start thinking about what should, especially what should be in there and what shouldn’t be in there.

0:16:42 – (Jill C. Lublin): Great. So first of all, I’m glad in a way that you called it a script, because the truth is, you need a script. You do. I want you to feel confident, meaning to go out there when you’re talking to both your prospects and when you’re networking and when you’re talking to the media, which my media scripts work for all three cases, networking, prospecting clients, and media. That’s four, actually, four places it works in because again, consistency factor. So, also, what I notice and people I worked with for many, you know, over the many years, is that when you have a script, which I again call a message, what’s super great about that is you’re confident.

0:17:27 – (Jill C. Lublin): And what I’ve noticed is confidence levels go way up when you know what to say. So do not fear that you’re going to sound too scripted because, of course, it will become more natural. And yes, you’re going to practice a little bit. But stop. I just want to say, don’t think about this. Just do it. So here’s your formula. And that is, this is the formula for a media message that really works. Let’s do it, let’s fill in this first line.

0:17:54 – (Jill C. Lublin): The problem today is, what is that? I didn’t ask you what you do. No, no, no. I said, what’s the problem out there? So, you know, I have a healthcare practitioner and she says, the problem today is, you know, people are more sick than they’ve ever been. Which is true, by the way. I actually just read an article on that and then I called her up and I said, hey, there was recently an article that just appeared. Xxx, you’re the expert. This is your message.

0:18:20 – (Jill C. Lublin): Do you see how we start putting things together? Right? So what’s the problem out there? And then I want you to give three solutions. What does that mean? Tell people what to do. Do it in a five-year-old language. That’s key. And give them simple strategies. And here’s the fun part. Appetizers, not whole meals. So please don’t give all of your secrets away. We want people to work with you. Yes, give golden nuggets. Always be a value and benefit. Right?

0:18:52 – (Jill C. Lublin): And give them simple things that they can actually do. Like you don’t say, well, hire me as your coach. You might say, work with a sales strategist to help you define your message. Great. That could be one piece. So I think that’s really important that you find. We’ll call them easy ways to translate your message. And then in my system, which I believe in system for publicity, you’re going to look at your message every 30 days.

0:19:20 – (Jill C. Lublin): And make sure that it’s congruent with you, that it says what you wanted to say, that it’s who you are, and that you can say it well and don’t keep changing it, please. I just want you to look at it every 30 days and make sure that it’s the right message for what you’re talking about, what you’re ahead promoting, and where you’re focused on.

0:19:42 – (Bob Woods): Yes. So your very last point is interesting because that just popped up in my mind a little bit. What if you feel like you have more than one message? Should you just go out with just one message or have like a couple of different things for different messaging or how do you feel about that?

0:19:58 – (Jill C. Lublin): Probably separate them. However, in your bio, you know, you could say as a, you know, sales strategist also, or, you know, the thing that I have people do that’s a really good phrase is when you’re talking with someone, not necessarily the media, by the way, with the media, I want you to be consistent on one message, but in your bio and in larger documents, you can talk about an also. But one thing that you could do, like, for instance, I write the book The Prophet of Kindness.

0:20:34 – (Jill C. Lublin): Did you know that I also run a kindness circle every single month where you can network with other great people and promote your products, you know, so, yay. That’s different than my publicity, media mastery intensives, and the book guerrilla publicity. But it becomes a. Did you know that I also. And it’s also in my bio and it’s also in other places.

0:20:58 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, yeah. Definitely. So, now let’s talk about taking that message and giving it what you call the ooh ah factor. So back when I was in broadcast journalism, writing scripts for air and things like that, we had scripts. Sometimes we would look at a script and go, oh, that’s a meow. And other times we would go, oh, that’s a meg. So meow. Stanford stood for my eyes open wide, and Megs was my eyes grow sleepy.

0:21:27 – (Bob Woods): So, um, sounds like what you’re talking about is definitely meow type of material. So what is that? And how can we use that, especially with? With everything you just shared about the message?

0:21:38 – (Jill C. Lublin): Wonderful. Thank you so much. And I love those acronyms, by the way. I think that’s really fun. You know, the truth is, you’ve got to get your eyes wide open. Right. And it can be done in different ways sometimes it may be exactly what your business is about, but here’s the truth. Often it isn’t. Often you will get into the media because of a side door, a back door, top door, honestly, getting to the media in whatever way you can, because once you do, you control the message.

0:22:09 – (Jill C. Lublin): Okay? You control the message. So what the ooh ah factor is about is using everything you’ve got. And so I’ve had, for instance, I have a business communications client. We’re doing great and getting great stories about how to communicate effectively in business. And then when black History Month comes, because she’s a black woman, we do a story about how to communicate powerfully as a black woman. In today’s time, it’s a slightly different story.

0:22:40 – (Jill C. Lublin): She’s in the black enterprise because of it, using her, everything she’s got. This is what I really want you to think about and be with today. Like, how could you use different parts of who you are? A different woman I work with is a Christian woman who does voice and helps people show up better that way. So guess what? Not only are we doing business stories because of using your voice in business and getting into business journals across the world.

0:23:11 – (Jill C. Lublin): But also because we are getting, because she’s a Christian woman, we’re getting into Christian media, women’s media, and Christian women’s media. That just effectively increased our publicity odds by three times because we added in three different markets. You know, those are some of the obvious things I want all of you to look at that some people really never even touch. And it’s just super great. That will help you get more media quickly using your own story, whether it’s vulnerable parts or happy parts, you know, and start looking at other ways you can get into media that touch on something interesting.

0:23:51 – (Jill C. Lublin): Like, here’s another one. My dating strategist, spent a full day on Fox News on Zoom, by the way. This is what’s so great about media. Now you are on Zoom.

0:24:01 – (Bob Woods): Yeah.

0:24:02 – (Jill C. Lublin): And what was she talking about? Can a Democrat date a Republican? And can a Republican date a Democrat? You know, turns out, by the way, they can. Depends on communication. That’s my whole point. A whole day. She never would have thought about that angle had we not been talking about news. Everything you’ve got. And that means what’s happening in the news that you can fit into also.

0:24:27 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, hang it on that peg. Like we always used to say, you know, definitely find a topical peg for your message if you can. And that obviously can happen all the time. But I think that if you really think about it, it can happen more often than you probably think it can.

0:24:44 – (Jill C. Lublin): Yeah. And just really listen, you know, check your, check your headlines every day on your phone. Just see what’s happening and where can you fit in. That’s the key.

0:24:54 – (Bob Woods):  Yeah, exactly. I love that. That’s fantastic. So, so there are, there are some people out there who I would call sticks in the mud, but, you know, whatever they want to put an ROI or return on investment number on anything and everything that’s done in the business, including intangibles. And I think that PR probably fits a little bit more into intangibles, although you may argue with that. So what do you think the ROI is on publicity? And how can a business measure it if it can be measured at all?

0:25:29 – (Jill C. Lublin): Well, let me tell you, the power of the intangible measure of publicity is actually sky-high. Do you know why? Again, I’m going to go to, I’ll call it braggability factor. Please take that lightly. But what I mean is, as a company, to be able to show that you’ve been seen and heard. I mean, really, what’s the first thing you see on social, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, featured in, you know, with Forbes and Inc. And Fox and entrepreneur. You bet. It’s all over my social media because that does create credibility. So that is very tangible.

0:26:02 – (Jill C. Lublin): And the RoI on this and how we in the publicity business measure Roi is. If you had paid for that piece of publicity, how much would you have paid for it? If it were advertising? That’s how you actually measure it. So, for instance, I had a woman, who was on NBC Nightly News, by the way, using everything she’s got, completely unrelated. Guess what? It was a four-minute spot, four minutes on NBC Nightly News.

0:26:32 – (Jill C. Lublin): It would have cost her $720,000. Yeah, that’s a RoI sheet and paper, completely free. That’s exciting. So that’s how we measured. If you get a quarter of an inch in a newspaper, find out how much that would have cost for advertising, you’re going to find out that advertising actually costs a lot. Publicity is free, and that’s the Roi plus. And I’m going to include the major bonus, the expertise, escalation, and elevation.

0:27:03 – (Jill C. Lublin): Because you’ve been teaching.

0:27:05 – (Bob Woods): Yep. So all you people who are always concerned about ROI, you now have something to hang your hat on there. And. And I think that that’s a that’s a great way to look at it. Plus, there are going to be intangibles that you just can’t measure. But we. You actually can put an ROI number on the. That, which I think is fantastic, especially if you. If you determine that, um, that a deal gets closed because of something that they read directly in there. This is why you should always ask people if you don’t already know how they found you. Or whatever, too, because.

0:27:38 – (Bob Woods): Because then you can track it even better.

0:27:42 – (Jill C. Lublin): Yeah. Perfect.

0:27:43 – (Bob Woods): Yep. Absolutely. So, Jill, I love those one thing you can do right now, kind of takeaways and tips. So what’s one actionable tip someone can do right now to start getting the media attention that they want?

0:27:59 – (Jill C. Lublin): Beautiful. I go to nationaldaycalendar.com. I look up a holiday, a significant time, that completely aligns with who you are or what you do or might be related to who you are. Like, my business consultant has a son who’s autistic, and he goes out for a National Autism Day talk. Excuse me, National Autism Month, talking about, you know, how do you be a dad? How do you be a parent stay in business and take care of your children?

0:28:31 – (Jill C. Lublin): Interesting story. Right? So something like that. I think that’s a really good first step that will open up a whole new world that maybe you never thought of before and get you started with excitement.

0:28:45 – (Bob Woods): Yeah, that’s a great idea. I love that. And we’re actually going to have that link in the show notes to nationaldaycalendar.com dot. That’s all one word, nothing funky going on with the URL or anything like that. So that is fantastic stuff. Jill, if our listeners want to get in touch with you, find out more about you, or if you have something going on that you want to flag our listeners to, why don’t you go ahead and talk about those real quick?

0:29:16 – (Jill C. Lublin): Sure. So I have a wonderful free gift for you. It’s an action guide loaded with more great publicity tips. I’d love to share that with you. And the super good news is I created a free publicity masterclass. You come in, it’s live with me and I’ll answer your questions. And it’s all part of this gift. And both are completely free. And what you do is you go to publicitycrashforce.com freegift.

0:29:47 – (Bob Woods): Very good. And again, that will also be in show notes along with Jill’s main website, which is Jill Lublin lublin.com as well as her LinkedIn, in case you want to find out a little bit more about her on there, because we, of course, love LinkedIn here with that media magnet and publicity Sherpa, Jill Lublin. Thank you so much for joining us in Making Sales Social today. Glad to have you on.

0:30:16 – (Jill C. Lublin): Thank you, Bob.

0:30:17 – (Bob Woods): You’re welcome. And, thank you for streaming this episode of Making Sales Social. So remember, when you’re out and about this week and any week, be sure to make your sales social. Don’t miss an episode. Visit socialsaleslink.com podcast. Leave a review down below. Tell us what you think, what you learned, and what you want to hear from us. Next. Register for free resources@linkedinlibrary.com you can also listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play.

0:30:51 – (Bob Woods): Visit our website, socialsaleselesslink.com for more information.

Outro:

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