That Solo Life: The Solo PR Pro Podcast

Sealing the Deal: Is Outsourcing PR Sales a Good Idea?

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.

 

Panic, PR and the Way Forward

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.

 

Breaking Up the Band – Becoming Solo Again

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 news@celloprpro.com 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.

 

Let the Good Times Roll…And Roll

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 Problems and Opportunities of 2024

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.

 

 

The PR Forecast for 2024

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.

 

Navigating the PR Pro/Journalist Relationship: Finding Grace in Communication

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.

 

Holiday Hacks

In this episode, Karen and Michelle provide some holiday hacks – from navigating client gifts to reducing stress, let’s make the most of this holiday season.

Share your favorite holiday hack with us at soloprpro.com.

 

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, Karen?

Karen Swim, APR (00:19):

Hi, Michelle. I'm doing really good. I am ready for the end of this year. Yes.

Michelle Kane (00:27):

And how by the time this hits, I'm sure we're going to be in full on scurry mode, getting everything done. And you may be thinking, how is this going to come together in the next week or so? And that is why we're going to bring you some holiday hacks today, or at least some giggles at the least, hopefully. Who knows?

Karen Swim, APR (00:51):

Yeah, for sure. For sure.

Michelle Kane (00:53):

We know how it is. It's like, oh, client gifts. What do I get them this year? Oh my goodness. Did I get, oh, there's a white elephant I have to do. Oh my goodness. Are we doing cards? I don't know. Are we doing cards? Who's buying stamps? What's happening? When is that store open? Especially post pandemic, those stores that you might be relying on having been open until 10 or 11 or goodness, even 9:00 PM What do you mean you're closing at 8:00 PM So let's just all take a moment, grab the nearest scented candle, take a nice inhale. Let's try and get through these last couple of weeks of the year together.

Karen Swim, APR (01:30):

Yeah, and I think, I don't know about anybody else, but I always, I overthink, so I overthink.

Michelle Kane (01:41):

I don't do that at all. Haha. All the time.

Karen Swim, APR (01:44):

So one of the holiday hacks is don't overthink it and stop doing the most. There are things that you can do that are still thoughtful without just going over the top. So for example, client gifts. There are sites like SugarWish and Snack Magic that you can just go online. You can buy the credits and they'll send a nice email link and to your clients and they can choose from treats, from all kinds of stuff, and they can pick out their own gift and have it shipped wherever they want. So if they're traveling over the holidays, they can have it shipped somewhere else. Perfect gift. All you need is an email address. So you don't have to go through all the stress of like, and if you have different client contacts, you can just go in and do the same amount of credit for each of the contacts and let them pick their own thing and call it a day. It's thoughtful, you're thinking of them. It's not. It's the thought that really counts. And I think we forget that. Or places like Pack for a Purpose. If you want to ship something to a bigger group, they have nice gift funnels in every single has a purpose. It supports some type of a nonprofit. So it's a definite feel good gift. So take the stress out of the holiday gift giving part by making it easier on yourself. Few clicks of the mouse and you're done.

Michelle Kane (03:15):

Exactly. So, so true. And if you're like me who has, well, they're not business contacts, but they're personal contacts who are out of the country. I like to try and shop local, but not a lot of businesses will have gift cards. You can just have a gift card emailed to the recipient and boom, there you go. Gift is given. For my locals, I like to try and shop local. There is a beautiful popcorn factory type place literally right up the street from me. So I usually go in with my little client list and I'm like boom, boom, boom. Everybody gets a can. And then of course I always make sure that the business card is on top. I don't want them to think they're getting that Walmart junk. You're getting real popcorn people.

Karen Swim, APR (04:08):

Yes. Well, and I love that you pick a place locally and just shop for all of your clients here again, we PR people sometimes are like, I'm going to customize each gift. And to admit in years past I've done that too. But it's stressful. You're adding the whole stress of this holiday season. Another hack is with your family, pick a day that's not the holidays. If you have lots of family and you traditionally maybe hop around a lot, don't do that. Just give yourself the time. This year, pick a day. I'm doing a sister brunch with my sisters and it's like 10 days before the holiday so that I see them. I'm probably not going to see them for Christmas and I don't feel bad about that. We're doing something separate. It's low key, it's a brunch, there's no gifts involved, there's nothing. But it's fun. It's holidays and we get to just spend time together. So we have to, especially these days because I don't think they feel so much harder.

Michelle Kane (05:12):

It really does. It really, really does. And I think another hack might be to let go of some of the things that you used to always do because you always did it. I know I used to be a fierce cookie baker and I still like to bake cookies, but I'm not going to make myself do it just to say, well, I usually do this, will I bake? A little bit? Probably. But it's like I don't want to, I'm over killing myself to say I holidayed in a certain way. And I think what you said is so important to give yourself that gift of time. And I'm not saying it's easy because sometimes when then I have that what I think is extra time, which is actually just plain old time, you get a little nervous. You think, oh, should I be doing something? What do I do with this? Sit your butt down and watch a Christmas movie. That's what you should do with this.

Karen Swim, APR (06:10):

It's a beautiful idea. And I mean even when it comes to client work, not saying coast, but we're saying focus on what's really important this year does. And this year especially, it feels like people have already checked out and we're at the very beginning of December. It's very, very quiet. So this is a good time for planning, a good time for strategy, a good time for going ahead and wrapping up those. If you do monthly type reports, start gathering all the information. I try to have my reports done weekly, even for a monthly so that when the last day comes in, I've already got the information all in place and I really just have to polish it and send it off. It does take a lot of the stress out. If you are responsible for content for clients, instead of writing new content, repurpose stuff, do roundups for their blogs, look at their LinkedIn newsletters and grab some stuff and do kind of a best of mix for the end of year because people are not paying that much attention anyway.

And sometimes we fall victim to our incredible work ethic and we just want to keep going, going, going, going. But it's a good time to just take it down a notch and not put the pressure on yourself to be Mr. Or Mrs. Perfect PR at the end of the year. It's okay. It really is. Okay. You can ease up on content, you can ease up on some of the activities with our clients. We set expectations around media relations. And it's not that we don't still have things to do, it's just that nobody's around and they're not answering stuff, they're over it. Right,

Michelle Kane (07:53):

Right. No, it's true. And I feel like that's, especially it's subtly I can't talk today, it's becoming a bit of the norm, I think. Yes. Are there some projects that are fast paced, full on, get it done? But I think for some of the more regular work that we might've been a little extra about in modern times, especially the last decade or so, I feel a little easing there, of, okay, yeah, we'll get it done. Alright, it's not on fire. It'll still happen. And I think too at the same time, because I know just attention spans of the people receiving our information, they can only take so much. So I think it all tends to balance out. So yeah, please do give yourself that time. This is the first year that I actually took purposely said, I am not going to officially work the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Now, did I end up doing a little work? Yes, I did. It was okay. It kept things moving, but it wasn't like, oh, here I go, I have to go sit at my desk. And I didn't want to. It was just, all right, let me handle that and then that'll take care of, so start now is a good time. Well actually when this airs, it's not a great time. Hopefully you've already planned it in when this is hitting your, hitting your ears. But if you're still struggling with whether or not you're going to take an extra day or so, please try to do it because if you don't do it now, when are you going to do it?

Karen Swim, APR (09:25):

And it's quiet, lean into the quiet. And on the client side, I know many of us do shut down the last two weeks or the last week of the year, and it only makes sense. And if you are feeling like there's some more client hours that you want to get in there, you can do things like go ahead and hold thought leadership calls, hold some quick thought leadership calls with your CEOs, your executives, and get content now and have it transcribed so that you have things ready to go in January when things restart. So you put the hours in this month, but it's not a heavy lift to just have those thought leadership questions done, do your agenda and have quick calls to get their thinking on things for next year. And now you're a step ahead for content and for trends and for ideas that you can be working on. But don't make things overly hard for yourself. Just try to find ways to do what you need to do. Do it well. But don't forget to enjoy this time of the year because it's one of those rare times in the year and we have Hanukkah, we have Christmas, we have New Year's celebrations. People really are taking off. And it would be a team to put pressure on yourself during a time when you legitimately can just take a breath because everyone is taking a breath.

Michelle Kane (10:51):

And like you said earlier, we are overthinkers, we are people who, it's in our nature. We want to dazzle. And I don't mean in a vapid way, we we're always striving to do the best work possible. And it's okay if you just again, just kind of relax a little bit and really, I don't think we can say this enough in this and maybe we're talking to ourselves, take that time to enjoy. And I can even feel it in my body right now as I'm saying it. It's going to feel uncomfortable. It's kind of like when I go to those every once in a while, my yoga studio will have a two hour, a special class where you really are deep relaxation and I am horrible at it. Okay, we're going to stay here in this pose for four minutes. And I'm like, okay, great. Halfway through. I'm like, are we done? Are we done now? Is this okay? Are we good? So don't be me,

Karen Swim, APR (12:01):

Don't be Michelle. No, enjoy the holidays. And on that note, we want to wish you all happy holidays. Whatever you celebrate during this time of year, we hope that it really is a joyous time. And for those of you who may be struggling during this time of year, we have you in our hearts and our thoughts and hope that you are surrounded by supportive people. And we just ask wherever you are, whatever you're celebrating, whatever you are going through, good or bad, just know that you're not alone. And we are sending our audience lots of love.

Michelle Kane (12:39):

Yes, indeed, we are. And to our friends who have celebrated Hanukkah by the time this comes around, we hope it was a really joyous occasion. We know this year hits a little different for many reasons, and we hold you in our hearts as well. But we hope just as we all move forward toward a brand new year, which I'm so excited for, we just want you to all be well and we care about you. And thanks for listening to us. We hope you get something out of hearing us jabber every week about the business that we so love. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.

 

Everyone is Amazing! Does Your PR Biz Need Personal Branding?

You make sure your clients are developing and working on their personal and corporate brands but when it comes to you and your solo practice, well, do as we say, not as we do. Does this sound like you? In today’s episode we dig in on personal branding and its value.

Let us know what you think 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 ever steady co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. We're all the savvy smarties gather. Hi Karen, how are you?

Karen Swim, APR (00:23):

Hey, Michelle. I'm doing great. How are you doing?

Michelle Kane (00:26):

I’m doing well. Can't complain. Can't complain. Here we are. By the time this episode airs, we will be in December. Oh my gosh.

Karen Swim, APR (00:34):

Yeah, that's a little scary. It's that time of year. It is that time of year.

Michelle Kane (00:39):

Yes. All the dates kind of cascaded upon each other and oh my goodness. We all have just an extra layer of things on our minds as we're trying to wrap up work and make sure we don't miss any holidays. And there's always family members and people with birthdays in December too. I don't know how they allow that, but

Karen Swim, APR (01:00):

I know

Michelle Kane (01:01):

It's okay

Karen Swim, APR (01:02):

Not to mention the layers of extra clothing and extra tasks for those of us who live where it rudely snows. So yeah, there's all the things and it's all happening so fast, and I just want to make like a bear and hibernate.

Michelle Kane (01:21):

So while December is being all extra, we're going to talk a little bit about the extra of personal branding today. How's that for a segue way? It's important. I was just skimming an article from Forbes saying that yes, you needed to stand out, and I think it's the Gen Xer in me, or I don't know, the introvert, whatever. It's like, oh, do I have to? And the answer is, yeah, you kind of have to.

Karen Swim, APR (01:48):

Yeah, we've all, for many of us, we obviously we're in public relations, and so we believe in personal branding as well as corporate branding. We have probably helped many executive in our careers to ensure that their executive brand was as polished and as thorough as the corporate brand. And we build thought leadership programs to support and amplify that. But when it comes to us and looking at our colleagues and our peers, I know for me it's easy sometimes to become jaded when you've been doing this job for a long time. It's like the way that we feel about email marketing. We know that it works, we know the right way to do it, but we don't want to do it ourselves because we struggle with inboxes that are constantly overflowing because we have to, as per our job, we have to have a lot of information coming at us.

So sometimes when I look at personal brands, I do, I'm like, “Ugh, everybody's perfect. Everybody's smart, everybody's winning, and you feel a little exhausted.” So I guess what we want to look at today is looking past our own fatigue at what's really working in personal branding, and is it really effective anymore? It seems like everybody has a brand. I mean, 10 year olds have a brand, they're adhering to their own brand guidelines and everybody's got perfectly polished Instagram worthy photos, and everybody seems to have a platform and they've all got their stuff. And in a world where personal branding is super accessible in terms of the visual look and feel, and even with content these days, which used to be the differentiator, everyone has access to be able to create content that aligns with their personal brand, is it all worth it? How do we stand out? Do we want to stand out? Do we care?

Michelle Kane (04:03):

No, I know what you mean. And I think it's especially difficult for us because we work in branding people and places and things that we can see it a mile away. We can see it when it's so shiny. And not that there's anything wrong with that necessarily, but I almost feel like we are all craving, audiences are craving a lot more authenticity. And I know that buzzword’s been around for a while, but I mean real, keep it real, because we've all seen the templates and we all know sure have the photo shoot, that's great, but I feel like we're at poised on this next layer of personal branding of, no, I really want to know what you're about. I want to know what truly makes you different. Not just, oh, well, oh, she's lit really well. Oh, okay. Everything's saying all the right things. And I think the additional differentiator is going to be letting more of yourself show, if that makes sense. I want to know what makes you tick what you're about. If it's a situation where I'm looking to work with someone, show me the warts, I don't necessarily need to see the sheen.

Karen Swim, APR (05:30):

Yeah, I think we've always talked about this in public relations and in marketing. We've talked about transparency, and we understand that you're never fully transparent because that's not a smart move to make. But we've talked about authenticity a lot over the years, and I think I agree with you that being the personal branding today, in a lot of ways, it's missing personality. So it's shiny and it's bright and it's happy and it's beautiful and it's visually appealing, and the aesthetics are amazing, but sometimes a little grit, a little of you really does help to stand out because at the end of the day, we know that today more than ever, people want to connect with people. They connect with corporations often even because of the people side of it, because of how that company shows up in the world and what they stand for. And that doesn't always have to mean social values or political viewpoints.

It can sometimes mean a brand that's true to being funny and they bring humor, they're light or a brand that cares about issues. It can be issues driven, but that they're true to who they are, and that you see something that says, yeah, that's that brand. And we talk about Patagonia a lot. That's a great example. Even Apple's a great example of a tech company that's really true to who they are. They are who they are. They make no apologies for it. With the personal branding, sometimes it does feel like everybody's interchangeable. It's like, okay, you're great. You're smart, you're winning another award. Good for you. Yay. You. What a beautiful picture. And you, sometimes I want to know, I want to see the grit. I want to see behind that shine. I want to know, how did you really get there? I want to hear some of the reality, because we know that your story, what you're sharing, your expertise didn't come without some bumps along the road. And you don't have to bear awe, but it's nice when people are honest about what it really takes.

Michelle Kane (07:59):

Yeah, I can think of people that I follow on Instagram both professionally and just for fun, and yeah, they have their polished brand, but they'll also just pop on. They'll just shoot a quick video, whether it's sitting at their desk or in their car and just talk about something quickly and just be relatable. It's not like, oh, I have my ring. Like, oh, wait, oh, oh, oh. And they're like, okay, now they just say, Hey, you know what? This crossed my path today and I'm dealing with feeling like an imposter, and sometimes I feel like that, blah, blah, blah. And it's just these little moments of relatability. And I think, yes, thank you. Exactly. And that doesn't take away from the professional expertise that they offer, not one bit. So I think, and I'm not saying that that's a new thing, it's not, but I think that's a way to go a little deeper with your personal branding.

Karen Swim, APR (09:07):

And I think you hit on something that's really key. It's not really all the shiny aesthetics. That's great because I look at those and I'm learning because I do videos and I am a hot mess. I don't have it all together. I don't have all the tools and all the shiny stuff. So I'm an example of somebody that's like, if you want to see a hot mess, but I am who I am, and probably still to a degree going to be kind of a hot mess. It's not that. I think what you said as communicators, we really know this and we drive this into the companies that we work with. Far too often people hide behind their playbook, and executives do this all the time. It's corporate jargon and sometimes it feels like pulling teeth to just get them to communicate. Talk to me like I'm a human being.

So I think what you said is really key. It's focusing more on connecting with your audience in a real way, by using words that are relatable and understandable and not defaulting to your industry playbook, whatever industry you might be in. And being so concerned with sounding smart to your audience that you lose them because you're not relatable. That to me is one way to stand out and understanding the reality. And it's interesting. I feel like companies have really had to grasp this with the tension between work, from home, return to office. They finally figured out, look, we got multi-generations and the workforce. We have a diverse group of people that we're working with, with diverse opinions, with diverse preferences. We ain't going to satisfy everybody, so we got to just do what we got to do. And some people are going to be unhappy, and we just have to live with that. And I feel like more of us need to adopt that attitude, realizing we are never going to be able to satisfy all of the people all of the time, and that should never be our goal. So be yourself. It's funny because I even feel like sometimes that when we think we're sharing a bit of ourselves with people, that too just becomes so sanitized. It's like, oh, I am the yoga wearing meditating PR professional, and it's so pretty and perfect. So now you're just incorporated fitness influencer into your brand, and it's annoying. I don't look that good in my yoga pants. I'm sorry. No,

Michelle Kane (11:49):

No, no.

Karen Swim, APR (11:51):

Five minutes to meditate. So it just, it's not, but that's okay. That person probably is not for me, and I'm being a little facetious. I'm not attacking people. Please don't take that away. I really am being a little facetious. But the point is, we should be relatable. Just communicate down a notch. You're still winning. You're still beautiful, wonderful, smart and shiny, but just make sure that you talk to people in a way that's real. Be your true self as a communicator.

Michelle Kane (12:26):

Yeah. Well, and it's important what you said, because not everybody is going to be for everybody, and that's okay. And to your point about those that stick to their playbook and the jargon, and flip that around, because if that's all you're doing and it's like you have a really difficult time being relatable, that's almost going to make me question your credibility. Because if it feels like you're just being stilted all the time and reciting the right things, I'm thinking, gosh, is if I don't have any other evidence of it, or is this all just a bit of a show? So that's something to think about. Don't be afraid to be yourself. I'm not saying be Rodney Dangerfield and Caddy Shack, although there's people for that persona too.

Karen Swim, APR (13:23):

But I mean, it's funny that you could lose people even when you're being creative. I read this funny Buzzfeed article, it actually, it was kind of funny, but a Buzzfeed article that was asking people, what movie did you see? And you thought, what the heck did I just watch? So we all can name a movie that we watch. Movies are entertainment, therefore, your enjoyment, your pleasure. And sometimes the writers, the people behind the movie are so busy being clever and different that they lose you. And you do, you sit through the movie and you go, what was that?

Michelle Kane (14:08):

What just happened?

Karen Swim, APR (14:12):

I can't get that two hours of my life back. And so don't be that. Don't be the movie The Circle, which was horrid. I promise you. I sort of got what they were trying to say and do. But that was one of the recent movies in history where I was like, what did I just watch? Because that was pretty bad.

Michelle Kane (14:35):

Oh man. Yeah. I'm trying to think. Nothing's coming to mind super quickly. Of what?

Karen Swim, APR (14:42):

Yeah.

Michelle Kane (14:44):

Well, and it's harder when you can see it, right? You can see them trying so hard and it's almost painful, and you think, no, no. Yes.

Karen Swim, APR (14:54):

So even if you're funny comedian, you're entertaining. That's part of your personal brand. Make sure that you're not too clever for your audience or it won't land, right?

Michelle Kane (15:06):

Right. So what we're really saying is what, keep it as natural as you can be yourself. Don't be afraid to show parts of your personality and your branding. Honestly, at the end of it all, it's really a way to let people get to know you. And there's that know, like, and trust factor of people wanting those three items fulfilled to do business with you. So we hope this chat today has been helpful as we enter what some call the silly season. We hope you're keeping your wits about you, and if you did get value from this, please do share it around. We would really appreciate that. That would be the best gift you could give us this year. And until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.

AI Shake-Ups, Solutions and Ethical Standards

In this episode we cover the turmoil at OpenAI, AI vetting PR pitches, and the newly-released Guidelines, Tips, and Best Practices for using AI from PRSA. Let us know what you think at soloprpro.com.

 

Transcript

Karen Swim (00:04):

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?

Karen Swim, APR (00:20):

Hello, Michelle. I'm doing great. How are you doing?

Michelle Kane (00:24):

Doing well, doing well. We're coming on this episode after Thanksgiving, so we hope all of you had a really terrific holiday with your family and friends and got to relax a little bit and are easing your way into the return to the workplace.

 

Karen Swim, APR

Except this year, was it really Thanksgiving or was it just pre-Christmas? Because in my neighborhood, people skipped right to Christmas before Halloween was even over. So I am surrounded by lit up subdivisions and Christmas lights. Not that they set it all up because the weather was nice, which would be smart, but they actually just pulled the trigger some people in as well. The weather was good. They just go ahead and set up all the outside stuff and then turn it on for Thanksgiving. No, no, no, not this year. We have full on Christmas here in Michigan, and that was before Thanksgiving, long before Thanksgiving. So I'm thinking Thanksgiving is, it's really losing its way.

Michelle Kane (01:35):

Yeah, it is. I mean, thankfully we have parades in football to keep us in check, but it is strange because I consider myself a pretty flexible Gen Xer, but there are certain societal cues that I need and some that I miss. So you have to have, the stuffing has to digest before I pull out the red and the green and the yellow and the blue and all that stuff. Back in the day, the Jerry Lewis telethon final tote had to happen before I would set foot back in my school. None of that happens anymore. It's

Karen Swim, APR (02:09):

Anything happens anymore, and I'm feeling like Thanksgiving is, it's going to go the way of Pluto. It's going to get demoted,

Michelle Kane (02:17):

Although

Karen Swim, APR (02:17):

It's going to come to be known not as Thanksgiving, but as carb loading for Black Friday. I don't know.

Michelle Kane (02:24):

Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, I think everything's faster. I mean, we've seen the online sales early Black Friday, but in a way that's good. I am seeing, I can't give you the list, but it's nice to see that some big box stores are having sanity, sanity has prevailed. They're either not opening on Thanksgiving or they're having relatively, I don't want to say decent, but their hours aren't too wild. But yeah, it's weird days. Weird days. Maybe it speaks to our general anxiety as a society. Let's just get it done.

Karen Swim, APR (03:01):

This could be, was the thought sparked by the great toilet paper raid of 2020? I don't know. Is that where it all started to turn?

Michelle Kane (03:10):

Hey, I don't know. I don't know but that would speak to my inner Girl Scout. Be prepared.

Karen Swim, APR (03:16):

This is true. So why not have Black Friday four weeks ahead of schedule so that the planners and the preppers could make sure that they got everything that they need on sale.

Michelle Kane (03:28):

That's right.

Karen Swim, APR (03:29):

Someone else, before it's all gone.

Michelle Kane (03:31):

I will say if you are still eating your tuna fish from 1999, please don’t.

Well, in the name of prepping, I don't know if this segue is terrible, but there's been some activity. I know this is shocking in the world of AI, artificial intelligence, especially as it touches upon our profession, by the time this hits your podcast queue, not sure where the situation with OpenAI is going to be because it seems to be every day there's something new happening. But recently, the board ousted the chair, and now some of the board, the employees are signing petitions to bring him back. And as someone pointed out on the news today, such an influential change-making organization in the hands of the number of people you can count on two hands, not a great thing.

Karen Swim, APR (04:40):

Well, it's interesting from so many perspectives, it is huge in the world of AI because when there's that type of a shakeup, so Sam Altman, the CEO was ousted, as you said by the board, but then some other key members, I guess left and then they appointed an interim, and then Microsoft hired Sam, but then there was a push to bring Sam back, and Sam I think was part of that push. And the whole thing is just weird.

For users of OpenAI. It does make you take a step back because first of all, when the CEO is ousted by the board, sometimes those are due to concerns that don't speak to the product or the quality, but it does make you pause and wonder if you can trust the product. When there's this level of turmoil at that level, it really does make you think about that. Is this really something that I should continue to use? Can I have faith in it? And AI is so, it's growing so fast and things are changing so quickly, and so it brings a level of hesitancy that I don't think that the company really needed, and who that heck knows where it's all going from here. It's been a day-to-day drama.

Michelle Kane (06:03):

Yeah, it really has. Well, for me, it seemed to come out of nowhere because I'm not exactly paying attention to that company 24/7, but I thought, wait, what? What? Yeah, and what will that mean for the future of AI? But we have also learned that PRSA has a little something to say about the future of AI, at least in our practice. They have released a document on the ethics of using AI in your writing within our industry of public relations, which is a nice thing to have.

Karen Swim, APR (06:39):

That is a great thing to have.

By the way, again, this could change again, but OpenAI named three interim CEOs in three days. So I'm feeling like if you have solely been relying on ChatGPT, you might want to just add some other tools to the mix because this is not giving stability vibes.

Michelle Kane (07:05):

No, no, it is not. But yeah, if you have been wondering or concerned about the ethical use of AI in your everyday practice or as a whole, we will put the link in our show notes. But please do head over to PRSA.org. It is a 10-page document and just lays out potential risks, ethical challenges. Like I said, we're going to put it in our show notes, but it really does lay out the ethical risks and best practices, which is what we all need, because let's face it, this tool is here to stay in so many ways. And as we've said many times on this podcast, it's best to get to know it, get good at it in an ethical manner, because it's really going to help you to not only stand out, but to be competitive as we move forward.

Karen Swim, APR (08:15):

And shout out to Michelle Egan, who is the 2023 PRSA chair, and Mark Dewar, who is the best man ever, I adore Mark and have had the pleasure of serving with Mark. They headed up this effort, and I know that the people behind this are so thoughtful, and it's cool that it doesn't look like you have to log into PRSA. So even if you are not a PRSA member, you should be able to grab this resource, which I think is a thing we do need to pay attention to. And a nice resource, thank you so much PRSA for providing that, for leaving the way as well as to other organizations who have really taken this seriously and outlined some guidelines for communication professionals.

Michelle Kane (09:12):

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And then there's the other blip on the radar of AI, which is pretty significant. I know, Karen, you had discovered there's some developments regarding AI in pitching stories.

Karen Swim, APR (09:30):

Yeah, apparently. So, AI, not human beings, may be reading your pitches, which is a little demoralizing considering how hard we all work to craft those personalized targeted pitches. And so media relations is really becoming very different these days. You even have resources that used to be great for aligning sources and reporters that are now not even being vetted and verified, and I'll go ahead and call them out. It's HARO specifically.

Michelle Kane (10:15):

So that's a thing.

Karen Swim, APR (10:15):

It really has kind of become, I've not really paid attention to HARO's in quite some time because they don't verify the sources. And you do see a lot of content shops and SEO specialists -  nothing wrong with SEO specialists. However, when you are working on behalf of clients, you're looking for something different. You're using HARO as a source to really support your thought leadership efforts. And so some of these publications are not always that, and so you're looking for more editorial. And so that's really, it's just an interesting and somewhat concerning use of AI when you don't have humanity involved in these decisions. But at the same time, I'm seeing a lot of journalists move over to the content side because let's face it, journalists are not really being paid the amount of money that they should for their talent. And I still, I don't know about you, but I still get so excited when I read a piece by a journalist in a publication that really allows them to exercise their craft.

And the writing is so sharp, and sometimes the things are so beautifully written and so deeply investigated and researched that it just still makes me excited. I am also sad that there's not more of that, that is no longer the norm, but it is really exciting when you have journalists at a publication who really get to do what they do best, which is right. Investigate, really present all sides of an issue. I love that. I love it. Whether it's about a societal problem or politics, I just really still enjoy good old fashioned, great writing, and I don't want to see that disappear.

Michelle Kane (12:02):

Right? And it's our loss as a society that is not valued. And I don't know, there's so many moving parts these days and people's lives, we just whizz along. And I don't think people, it's not to say they're ignoring it or that they're making a wrong decision, but guys, well, I know preaching to the choir, but people in general have got to value our journalists and demand it. Demand it. So that's why we say things like, subscribe to your  paper. You may not appreciate it, but then when you realize you don't know what's going on in your community, oh, who used to do that? Oh, that boring old paper that I used to slag off on.

Karen Swim, APR (12:51):

So very true. And journalists are continuing to be under attack, which in 2023, moreso for being truthful, but we need them. We need unbiased professional reporting. But you know what? We also need journalists outside of that realm of really holding us accountable of telling our stories and writing history. They're so good at that. Even I read a journalist tribute to Matthew Perry following his death, and it stuck with me. And I thought, wow, we need people who have this gift, who have this talent, who love this job that they do, who to speak these words in a way that not everyone can speak them. And I don't want to lose that. I'm sorry. And thank God for the Hollywood writers fighting for their right to exist with ai. They're not eliminating ai, but they also were able to bring out their role and fight for their rights and get what they wanted. We can coexist with ai, but I don't want AI to take over.

Michelle Kane (14:13):

Agree, agree. We need to maintain the humanity of it, because if that's lost, what's really, what's the point of our existence? Was it Winston Churchill? Back in World War II. He said, if we don't keep the arts and things alive, then what are we fighting for? So definitely, and we'll put sports writers in there. I’ve got to tell you, sometimes a beautifully written article, like if it's a championship or something, sports writers can make me cry. There is a special romance to sports writing that is often underappreciated.

Karen Swim, APR (15:00):

Completely agree. Completely agree with you. We are not talking about sports broadcasters though, however, who may up their sideline commentary. Can we not talk about that?

Michelle Kane (15:11):

Yes. No, we are not talking about that. No. No, we are not.

Karen Swim, APR (15:17):

We don't talk about Bruno, and we're not talking about sports broadcasters today, but maybe on another day we will address that

Michelle Kane (15:24):

Issue. Agree? Yes. Yes. Keep it real people. You know what? We're going to find out

Karen Swim, APR (15:32):

100%.

Michelle Kane (15:34):

We always, oh my goodness. Well, we wanted to let this digest along with your holiday meals, so we kept it short and sweet today, and we hope you got some value out of this. And if you did, please share it. I was going to see if you did not, what if you did, please do share it around and hit us up at soloprpro.com. Let us know what you want us to talk about. What can we dig into and talk about in a future podcast? But until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.