Mick Unplugged
Lauren Cobello | The Power of PR: Lauren’s on Branding & PR Tips for Solopreneurs & Entrepreneurs
Thu, 21 Nov 2024
Welcome back to another compelling episode of "Mick Unplugged." In this episode titled "The Power of PR: Lauren's on Branding & PR Tips for Solopreneurs & Entrepreneurs," we sit down with the remarkable Lauren Cobello, a trailblazing entrepreneur who turned her post-divorce struggles into a seven-figure success story with an all-female leadership team. Lauren shares her insights on aligning a book with your business goals, the nuances of PR versus marketing, and strategic tips for solopreneurs looking to build their brand and achieve visibility. Delve into Lauren's unique perspective on competition—not as adversaries, but as sources of inspiration—and the importance of connecting deeply with your 'because' rather than just your 'why.' She challenges the notion that PR is dead, highlighting its enduring relevance and the pivotal role of strategic storytelling in building trust and authority in your brand. You'll also hear valuable insights on creating effective sales funnels, the significance of national television exposure, and how to leverage media appearances to create marketable assets. Lauren's journey from a personal finance website owner to a national media presence will inspire you to take control of your narrative and push beyond traditional marketing limitations. Whether you're a solopreneur or leading a growing team, this episode is packed with actionable advice and profound insights to elevate your business strategy. Tune in as Mick Hunt and Lauren Cobello explore the intersection of PR, authenticity, and the relentless pursuit of success. Don’t miss it! Takeaways: · PR is essential for scaling visibility and credibility. · Understanding your deeper 'because' can drive your entrepreneurial journey. · Women can empower themselves by believing in their capabilities. · Creating a sales funnel is vital for attracting clients. · Surrounding yourself with supportive people can boost your confidence. Sound Bites: · "I always struggled with PR agencies over promising." · "I have a heart and passion for helping other entrepreneurs." · "PR is more important than marketing." · "You need to understand your target client." Connect and Discover LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/laurencobello Instagram: Instagram.com/lauren_cobello leveragewithmediapr Facebook: facebook.com/laurencobello Website: laurencobello.com Leveragewithmediapr.com Podcast: Beyond the Cover See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: What is the importance of understanding your 'because' in entrepreneurship?
Chapter 2: Why do some entrepreneurs see competition as inspiration?
I don't like to say competition because I don't agree with competition. I don't see people as competitors. I see them as inspiration.
All of us have a because that's deeper than our why.
I love that we go deeper than the why. Because if I would say the why, I would say, you know, I do this because of my kids, right? But the because is much deeper than that.
You show care.
When like somebody fires us, I'm like, oh, like it hurts because, you know, I'm not like, oh, I'll just get another one.
Like it hurts because I do care so much, not only about them, but their businesses.
In your journey, when did you realize that PR is more important than marketing? Again, not saying marketing is not important.
I love the question when people come to me and they say, PR is dead. TV is dead. I'm like, I thank you for saying that because it's not. And this is why it's not.
For that solopreneur that should be doing PR, but they can't afford it just yet. What's something that that person can do out of the gate right now? And I want everyone to watch or listen into this because these tips are going to be very key because a lot of us, You're still a solopreneur. Don't think that it's a side hustle. It is not. This is strategy.
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Chapter 3: How can PR be more important than marketing?
And it pains me when like somebody fires us. I'm like, oh, like it hurts because, you know, I'm not like, oh, I'll just get another one.
Like it hurts because I do care so much, not only about them, but their businesses. And so, yeah, I just appreciate any of those words. Like, thank you.
Absolutely. And so now, L Boogie, we're going to get into it. We're literally going to get into it. Not you and I, but it's going to be you and I against the world right here, because I've been saying hardcore for the last year from a business strategy standpoint that publicity is and PR is more important than marketing. And here's my stance with that.
When you're marketing, and by no means am I saying that marketing is not important. So for all the entrepreneurs, the solopreneurs, the I want to be a preneur, whenever that is, I'm not saying marketing is not important, but the world has told us for so long that it's marketing, marketing, marketing.
And you normally see marketers out front because they have all these cool things that you can do, not saying you should do, but that you can do. In the meanwhile, PR and publicists are making relationships, right? And so if I'm marketing, And let's just say I've got 100 people that view me and I don't care where it is, right?
If I've got 100 eyeballs, I'm always only marketing to those 100 eyeballs. And at some point, that 100 starts to shrink. It is just natural. I don't care who you are. That email subscription that you have, that newsletter subscription that you put out there, those numbers shrink. It's just the nature of the beast that anyone telling you otherwise is lying.
So if I start with 100, within 12 months, if I've never grown that list, now I'm going to have 90 or 85 or 80. Publicity is what takes your viewing from 100 to 1,000, 1,000 to 10,000. 10,000 to 100, 100 to 500, 500 to a million. So I kind of know your answer because of the world that you're in.
But even in your journey, when did you realize that PR, publicity, viewing is more important than marketing? Again, not saying marketing is not important. But when we have a hierarchy, I promise you, PR is more important. El Boogie, your stance.
I love this question. And I love the question when people come to me and they say, PR is dead. TV is dead. I'm like, I thank you for saying that because it's not. And this is why it's not, right? Is we still have 5 million people tuning in to the Today Show. 5 million. So you've now taken that 100 right from your email list and turned it into 5 million people. And from that 5 million, that...
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Chapter 4: What are effective PR strategies for solopreneurs?
That what we're seeing is a rush back to traditional media for people that are smart. because you cannot pay for those appearances. You can't pay for a Today Show appearance. You can't pay for a TV segment. There's some pay-to-play segments that are out there, but everybody knows what they are. You can't pay for a GMA or a Cheddar or any of our CNBC segment.
Those are earned because you are valuable enough for your story to get featured, right? And so you have to have the combination of marketing and PR.
But if you go to two different Instagrams or two different TikToks and you see two different platforms and you land on each of their pages and you see one that just has reels and you see one that has reels with As Seen On Today, As Seen On GMA, As Seen On CNBC, which one are you going to listen to more? The one that has a scene on Forbes, CNBC, Fox, CNN, you know, all of those things.
So you have to sprinkle in PR because if nobody knows your message and if nobody sees that you're getting these really amazing earned media segments because you are the expert and the thought leader in that, you're going to blend in with everybody else. And the goal is to stick to the top and to be the number one and to have your message number one.
The people that are standing out right now are the people that are having that national media exposure and all of that press. It's just the way it is. It's the way it always has been. And marketers will say, well, we have an ROI. So, yeah. So do PR and turn those into marketable assets. And then we can judge the ROI of those. But there's still an ROI in PR.
There's just a different way to measure it, you know, through what's called AVM, the average, you know, you look at the average millions of views on articles and TV segments. And, you know, our clients are getting millions and millions of views. We have one client in the past year and a half who's had over 35 million eyeballs on him, new eyeballs.
And you can't tell me that that's not worth something.
Exactly. And again, I'm going to keep saying this. I'm not saying marketing is not important, but there comes a time for most people where PR becomes the most important thing. And then again, I don't ever think that anyone should try to be a celebrity, aim to be a celebrity. You should always be your authentic self. And we're going to come back to that in a second.
But when you see these A-listers and B-listers, they all have publicists. Like they all still have publicists. They all still have PR teams that handle all of their public relations because that is what you need. And that's what I think the solopreneur, the entrepreneur with small teams, the people that are trying to get there is the biggest miss. is that you focus on the marketing strategy.
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Chapter 5: How can a sales funnel help attract clients?
The 15,000 followers that I have and connections that I have, when I start doing all of this leadership stuff and the things that I actually pull the curtain behind, like I'll say the real Mick, it's gonna be different. And that's when I understood PR is more important than marketing, because I could market
To these 15,000 people, but the message isn't going to connect because they know this one instance of me, this one version of me, right? And that's when I said, oh, PR. And the light bulb went off and it was like, it's more eyeballs and it's more views, but I am always authentically me. Right. So even though I talk insurance, I still talk my style.
I still talk about the same things in insurance that I talk about elsewhere. But for those 15,000 that were connected with me, the couple of hundred other thousand people that really know me, like this is who I always have been. And so it was like, OK, PR, I get it.
And I think about it this way. PR is if nobody tells your story, somebody's telling your story, just not you. If you're not the one that's doing it. And so PR is a way and a methodology of telling your story online and through TV segments and articles and podcasts, right? So it's all strategy of how do we want Mick to show up in the world? What are the things that we want?
And it even comes down to like, what do we put on the lower third of every single TV segment that we do? What are the talking points that we put in front of TV producers, making sure that they're crafted so that you can answer the way that Mick wants to answer, right? Everything is perfectly crafted so that you can amplify the message that you need to amplify to bring in new clients.
And so it's not like we're just going to throw spaghetti at a wall and hope that you get clients. It's very strategic. And how do we put the brand story out there in a way that resonates with people in a relationship way, but also resonates with people that see you and say, oh, like, I need to go and follow him. You know, and I think that then you can turn those into marketable assets.
But it's a it's a method of storytelling and warming up your audience and building trust and likability and like, oh, my gosh, I saw you on TV. Like, I have to work with this person over this person. And if you don't tell your story, somebody else will in a way that you don't, you know, really like probably or control or control.
So.
it's a way that you can control the narrative. And then we turn them into marketable assets. Like every time I was on the Rachel Ray show or the today show, I would always take the picture that I took on set and then, you know, create an ad to that audience. Like, Hey, did you see me on the Rachel Ray show yesterday or see me on the today show?
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