10 Ways to Turn Publicity Into Profit in ONE Day

I am coming to you today with low energy and a sexier voice than you may be used to because I am under the weather. I don’t have COVID, just took the test, but I am not feeling hot. However, I did not want to skip this episode because I created an awesome freebie for you that you will get in my newsletter in just two days. 

My 40th episode when I started this podcast was titled 35 Things to Do After You Earn Media Coverage and I share this episode with people all of the time. It’s been nearly five years since I recorded it and because it is how you turn publicity into profit, I wanted to make sure I updated this. 

But instead of rehashing the 35, I am going to share my top ten out of the 35 and elaborate a little bit more on those top ten things. If you are subscribed to my newsletter, you will get a free cheat sheet that you can download of these things. It’s a cheat sheet/checklist, something you should use every time you earn media exposure or even create content for that matter. So make sure you’re signed up. You can just go to MediaMavenNews.com and you can sign up. 

And speaking of the newsletter, which may be better than the upcoming checklist, I am going to give away a copy of Alex Hormozi’s new book, $100M Leads, so make sure you’re subscribed for a chance to win one. I’m super excited about this because nobody loves doing giveaways more than me. I love them so much. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I love Christmas and it’s like I’m giving gifts away, I don’t know. And then I love nothing more than books, so it’s like the perfect giveaway.

Before I get into the ten things, I want to shout out a podcast reviewer who said she is a new listener and she is hooked. Her name is S Brannish. She said, 

I heard Christina on the Heart and Hustle podcast. She shared about pitching yourself as a guest to podcasts and it was fire. Being on the Heart and Hustle podcast is a dream of mine and I’m so excited to revamp my pitch in the near future so that I can pitch the ladies again soon. I’m currently listening to a recent episode about the content Flywheel, which I’ve never heard of before and I’m so excited to learn and get new ideas about creating content. 

Thank you so much, S Brannish, for that review. I appreciate it.

And as promised in the title of this episode, all of these things that I’m about to share with you can be done or put into motion in just one day. So let’s get into it. 

Number one, repeatedly share on social media. Don’t just share at one time and while you’re sharing, tag the journalist and the outlet, but especially the journalist or the podcast host, etc. 

I just had this conversation in a group I’m in called Pitchcraft. I’ve spoken about Pitchcraft here before and I was watching one of the interviews that Kelsey, the founder, did with a journalist. And obviously, I’ve told you many times before, they want you to share this stuff on social media because their bosses like to see that what they are doing is getting a lot of clicks. And you can help them get the clicks by doing that, which makes them happy.

They don’t know you’re helping them if you don’t tag them. And yes, you should tag the media outlet. That’s good for you and your credibility and your authority. But you also want to tag the journalist because the journalist is the person who made that happen. If it was a podcast, you want to tag the podcast host because the podcast host didn’t have to have you on. And when they see that you are sharing their work with your audience, they are so much more likely to bring you back on or use you again for a relevant topic or a different angle to whatever your expertise is. Plus, this is you doing PR on your PR. This is how you build your credibility and authority.

I have told this story before on this podcast where I wrote for Inc. Magazine for a couple of years and a lot of people would not know that I did that if I did not share the articles on my social media. So it’s a way to make that publicity live longer and show people you are credible, you do have authority and this is why. 

Number two, give anyone else mentioned in your media hit a social media shout-out as well. 

Again, this drives more clicks, more likes, and more shares. It can also help you build relationships with these people. So maybe somebody was on a podcast that you were on the following week. You can say, here’s a link to my episode. Also, don’t forget to listen to the episode that aired a week after it featured so and so and it was fabulous for XYZ reason. That’s another way that you can loop somebody else into your publicity and build a relationship with that person. 

If you are in a roundup in an online article, then tag the other people who were included in that roundup. It only helps you and it also helps them. 

Number three, add it to a press page on your website with a backlink to the coverage. Don’t just throw up a logo and I will link to my press page so you can see what mine looks like. I link to every single piece of coverage that I get. I don’t just put up a logo. Yes, I do also have logos for that social proof on my website because that’s important to see at a glance.

But something that really irks my chicken is when I see people have these logos and then when I go into really looking at what the coverage is. It was something put there by a press release distribution service or it’s an ad. Like, they really didn’t earn the coverage. So I think it’s important to link back to the coverage because people actually want to see that coverage. And again, it just adds to your credibility when you do this. 

Number four, put a link to the coverage in your email signature. 

Right now, my TEDx Talk is hyperlinked in my signature, and it’s five years old. I did that in 2018. However, it’s still relevant. People are still watching it. People are just finding me. They didn’t know I did a TEDx Talk. And I think this is something that you could do, not just with the TEDx Talk. 

You could do your whole press page. You could do your favorite media hit. You could do your most impressive media hit, something that will add credibility and will make people be like, wow, she’s there. I want to be there, or she’s there. That means she’s legit. I want to do business with her. Just put it in your email signature. 

Number five, amplify it via paid social. 

So you can turn any media hit into an ad. And I like this more than I like just an ad because with an ad, there’s no credibility or authority. But when you turn your media hit into an ad, that’s where you get that built-in perception of this isn’t you paying to tell other people, you’re great. Somebody else did that, and you’re amplifying it. 

Another thing that you can do and I haven’t done this before, but it is on my list of things to do is you can give money to the podcast host that hosts the show you were on and have them amplify it so you heard I was just on the Heart and Hustle podcast. I could take that episode, and I could turn it into an ad and bust it out all over Twitter or X or Facebook or Instagram. That’s me sharing their podcast. Or I could give the ladies the money, and I could say, hey, here’s $200. Could you please amplify this episode to this audience? I’ll pay for it. And you get the traffic on your social media, and you get the traffic to your blog post. So that’s just an out-of-the-box way of thinking to amplify the kind of media that you’re earning.

Number six, mention it in some future pitches to prove your credibility and authority. 

Okay, I need to find some synonyms for credibility and authority. I feel like I’ve said it a million times, but I always at the end of all of my pitches, I always say I’ve appeared on Smart Passive Oncome, EOFire, Boss Babe, blah, blah, blah. And then when I say that, I hyperlink to where I’ve appeared, because, again, it adds credibility and authority. 

So, for example, if you are pitching a bigger outlet, like, say, we’ll always go to the ones that people are like. It’s their dream outlet. If you’re pitching the Today Show or Good Morning America, it will really help you if you say I’ve appeared on TV and then you list two or three of your local TV stations, because when you pitch, if they’re interested, they’re going to want to know if you have experience on TV.

When I got Amy Porterfield on CNN, they asked me if she had TV experience, and she didn’t. However, it’s safe to say she’s comfortable in front of a camera because she’s done hundreds of webinars. So I made sure to mention that in the pitch. 

Number seven, use it in your marketing materials. 

This could be in your newsletter, on your podcast, at speaking events, at trade shows. You might have a folder in your Google Drive that is just for marketing. Find a way to incorporate some of your impressive media hits there. Find a way to put a link in there that goes to your press page that you keep building, because again, this is what people are going to see when they decide if they want to work with you or not.

Number eight, capitalize on the earned media to garner brand endorsements. 

This is something my Media Mentoring Program client did. So if you are not in my $37 bootcamp pitch Publicity profit, I will link to this and you will hear step by step on how one of my clients did this. Her goal was to reach more local moms so she could work with their children in how to help them eat healthier. However, as a side effect of being on the local news, these local food brands assumed she was an influencer right off the bat because she was on TV. Even though this was her first time ever being on TV, this is the perception that they got. And they sent her an email and they were like, hey, can we pay you to promote our product on your website? And she started making brand deals literally that day. 

So even though that may not be your goal as a thought leader, you could also be a brand ambassador. You could be a quote-unquote influencer because there’s so much overlap in that space. So if you are interested in doing some brand endorsements with brands that are in your niche or relevant to your audience, that is something else you could do, because that is something that sets you apart. There’s a lot of content creators doing this, but there’s not a lot of content creators who earn media exposure. So that’s something that’s a big differentiator for you. 

Number nine, turn the media hit into an image if there’s not one already available. And you can share this in different ways, or you can use it as a header photo. So a lot of times if you’re in an online article, they will use a stock image as the photo, or if you just screen grab it. Things don’t line up exactly to make it look pretty in a screengrab.

So it’s like sometimes you have to maybe use a photo of yourself, put the publication somewhere on that photo, put the headline, maybe screen grab, and cut out a quote just so it looks pretty at a glance. And you can tell what you’re looking at at a glance. So find a way to turn it into an image to share on social media in addition to that link that we’ve talked about sharing.

One thing I do not suggest, because this just takes it to a level of dishonesty. And I have seen this a lot by people on the Internet, and a lot of these people are like legit thought leaders, and I feel like it just really dilutes their brand is say you’re in Forbes. Forbes is a big one for this. You’re quoted in Forbes do not edit a faux cover of Forbes and put your picture on it as if you were on the COVID of Forbes. Not only is that misleading, but in my opinion, you look like an idiot. It just looks dumb.

Instead, take different screen grabs on the page the article is in and then rearrange them so you can see everything at one glance. Because nine times out of ten, you’re going to need to scroll to see everything that you want people to see. So re-edit it that way, but for the love of God, don’t put your face on the cover of a magazine you’re not on the cover of. 

Thank you for hanging here with me. One more to go, and then I’ll do a quick recap and tell you more about that freebie you can expect. 

Number ten, ensure that your systems and processes are set up so you can respond quickly and efficiently to coverage reactions. There’s nothing that sucks more than earning an amazing piece of coverage. It results in you getting more traffic, and then you don’t know what to do with that traffic. 

I made this mistake when I was starting out. I still benefited from the coverage. I still benefit from the coverage. That happened a long time ago today. But it could have been more. When I was on Smart Passive Income, I think it was like in 2016, for the first time, I didn’t have a lead magnet. I didn’t know about that part of online business. So when Pat asked where people could find me, I shared my social media, I shared my website, and that was it. 

The next time I was on Smart Passive Income, it was a couple years later, I knew better. I said, oh yeah, you can join my newsletter every Thursday. I give you strategies on how to earn exposure without ads. Go to MediaMavenNews.com and I’ll see you there. Or I created a gift, a freebie just for the Smart Passive Income audience. If you go to MediaMavenAndMore.com/Pat you can get it there something like that, something to drive people somewhere. 

Now, the good news is this is pretty easy to make. Like you could do something like this in an hour, less than an hour, just a place to capture emails. And you usually have an hour heads up before something’s going to happen. For a podcast interview, you most likely have a few weeks, if not a few months, so you have time to do this. 

I had another client, a local restaurant client, who we got great coverage for, and the service at the restaurant was bad. Like people just didn’t have a good experience there. And for that reason, they got a lot of complaints. And this is something that was completely out of my control. As their publicist, I could give them feedback all day, every day. But if they didn’t make those changes on their end, there was only so much I can do. 

And this is why I always harp on. There is a difference between marketing and sales. I can lead the horse to water, but it’s your job to make the horse drink it. So you just want to make sure that you are ready for somebody to react to that media coverage. 

And I also want to be clear, do not use this as an excuse to not get started. Do not say, Well, I’m redoing my website, or I don’t have a website up, or I don’t have my neat lead magnet ready. I don’t care. People can do business with you one way or the other. They can call you, they can find your Facebook, your Instagram, your TikTok, whatever it is. There is a way for them to reach you. I’m just saying have that way ready, so when somebody wants to reach you, they can reach you. In a perfect world, you’d have all the things in all the places, but most people don’t. So please don’t use that as an excuse to not reach out. 

Out of the 35 ways that I shared back in the day, these are my favorite ten. And I do believe that these are the ten where you will see the most ROI from that publicity that you earned.

So if you haven’t joined my three hour boot camp, turning publicity into profit is the focus in hour three. It originally launched as a three day boot camp. I did it live a few times last year. Day one was about pitching, day two the publicity, day three the profit. Now, you can hop in there anytime, you can binge it in 3 hours, or you can do an hour a day over three days. 

This is also where I get into specifics about that media mentoring client who started making brand deals literally the day she was on TV. And it was her very first TV appearance. You will see the pitch she sent. I walk you through her being on TV, what happened after, and everything you need to do to implement that success. So if you want to learn more about that, you just go to pitchpublicityprofit.com. 

Again, I will link to that in the show notes so it’s easy for you to find. You can always find the show notes for these episodes at becomeimediamaven.com. 

Be on the lookout for my next newsletter because I am turning these into a checklist so you can download it. Make it into your list of things to do after you are in press coverage. Make sure you are signed up for this at mediamavennews.com. 

Again, you can also get into that giveaway for Alex Hormosi’s new book. I gotta tell you, I was shocked at the size of this thing. I was expecting like a normal book. This is like a textbook. Like it gave me nostalgic vibes because it’s freaking huge. It’s a huge hardback. For that reason I am only shipping in the US. This thing would cost a ridiculous amount of money to ship overseas. So I’m nice, but I’m not that nice.

I’m also going to link to my press page so you can get an idea of what mine looks like because I did mention it in this episode. So I want to show you what it looks like. It’s not very pretty because over the years I have gotten a lot of press on. My list of things to do is add some images of the coverage and throw that up at the top like I talked about. I think it was number nine. Turn the media hit into an image. So I will do that to make it prettier, but you can see what it looks like now. That is it.

That is ten ways to turn publicity into profit in just one day. Repeatedly share on social media. Tag everybody when you’re doing it, give other people mentioned in that outlet a tag and a shout out as well. Add it to a press page on your website. Put a link to the coverage in your email signature. Amplify it via paid social media or paid ads. Wherever you choose to advertise. Mention it in future pitches.

Use it in your marketing materials. Use it to get some brand endorsements. Turn the media hit into an image. But for the love of God, don’t put your face on the COVID of Forbes if you’re not really on the COVID of Forbes. And finally, ensure that your systems and processes are all set up so people can take that next step with you if they want to. 

Thanks for hanging out with me today. I’m not going to lie, I’m glad this is over. I am full of snot and it’s hurting me to continue to talk.

So thank you for being here. Can’t wait for you to see that spreadsheet that I am sending you. It’s going to be in a Google Drive format so you make a copy of it and then you save it that way if you are a Google Drive user. If not, you can just download it and use it however you prefer. 

All right, that is it. Thank you so much. I will see you here next week. Hopefully I’m feeling better here on the Become a Medium Maven podcast.