Hack Your Own PR

Annabel Bower is a Hack Your Own PR graduate who's been featured in Sunday Life (The Age/Sydney Morning Herald), Mamamia, ABC Conversations.

But she didn't just end up there by chance: she actively sought out this media coverage.

After experiencing a devastating still birth with her fourth child, Miles, Annabel was confronted with a totally unique experience of grief that few people could relate to. She decided to use her loss to write a book for other parents going through similar experiences. Miles Apart is a guide to navigating grief after baby loss, with chapters from Annabel and other parents on how they coped.

Stepping into the spotlight with such an emotional story was no easy feat, but Annabel has been superhuman every step on her PR journey with me in the Hack Your Own PR program. And her determination and passion to get more awareness for this important topic have paid off, as her roll call of media coverage shows.

I wanted to ask Annabel how she pulled off some of her impressive media coverage so I asked her for all the steps of her pitching process, how she keeps up with the news related to her area of expertise, and how she stays calm and mentally resilient when pitches get knocked back.

Small business owners, tune in for some seriously wise words from this hack your own pr graduate.

Find Annabel Bower online

www.milesapart.online

https://www.instagram.com/miles__apart/

Find Odette Barry online

https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr

https://instagram.com/odetteandco

https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

Outside of the big-name media outlets, there are dozens of local news agencies that tell the stories of their local communities. David Kirkpatrick is editor-in-chief of my own local news source, The Northern Star, which has been in business reporting on the happenings of the Northern Rivers in New South Wales for a whopping 145 years. He's been doing his thing as a journalist and, briefly, a publicist for 34 years.

Those of us living in rural and regional areas know local news outlets are a vital part of the community.

But they're also a valuable place for small businesses and local entrepreneurs to earn some media coverage that directly reaches a local audience. Make them a part of your media strategy and you're in for some PR gold.

So what makes David Kirkpatrick's ears prick up as an editor?

He shared with me the value of a great subject line to catch the eye of busy journalists, the ideal length of a press release and why he doesn't mind a bit of persistence - as long as you're not pushy!

Listen to the episode to hear how to walk that line, plus get the list of six "passion areas" that The Northern Star know its readers love.

Find David Kirkpatrick online https://twitter.com/davidkirkpatri3

[email protected]

https://twitter.com/northern_star_

Find Odette Barry online

https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr

https://instagram.com/odetteandco

https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

As a beauty editor, Amy Clark has tried everything - including poop stools, snail jizz and colonic irrigation - in the name of a great product review. This journo isn't afraid to put herself in the firing line when it comes to road testing the latest and greatest - and the downright weird. But there's one treatment she'll never try (more on that soon!)

I got into the fun and fabulous world of beauty journalism in this chat, a world Amy has been part of since 2016. She worked her way through the ranks at Mamamia from editorial assistant to senior lifestyle content producer. Now she's right at home as senior editor at Adore Beauty, one of Australia's most reputable beauty retailers, and an impressive publisher in its own right.

With Beauty IQ, podcast Beauty IQ Uncensored and a demanding publishing schedule, at Adore, Amy's job is just as rigorous as when she was at a magazine.

We chat through what Amy is looking for from writers on the platform, what her typical day looks like and the changes afoot within the beauty industry that all publicists and brands should be aware of.

Find Amy Clark online https://www.instagram.com/theamyclark/

https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/beautyiq/

Find Odette Barry online

https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr

https://instagram.com/odetteandco

https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

Who do you hire to do your PR when you work in the media business? Well, if you trust the opinion of executives at Clemenger BBDO, Leo Burnett and other world-class agencies, you turn to Katy Denis.

Katy is a PR specialist with 20 years experience, and the founder and CEO of Extollo, an agency that works hard to raise the profile of media professionals among their peers. Representing personalities like Todd Sampson of The Gruen Transfer, Laura Aldington of Havas Media and other big names in media and advertising, Katy has nailed the formula for thought leadership and building your visibility with a variety of tactics.

I knew Katy would have a treasure trove of tactics that entrepreneurs and small biz owners could take advantage of in their own PR outreach.

We talked through the art of strategic stalking (including how long Katy stalked her dream client before winning them over), and how she cements quality relationships with journalists. Spoiler alert: they're just like other relationships - you give what you get!

Katy also gives the lowdown on what thought leadership is and why it's gold dust for businesses of all shapes and sizes that want to build their profile.

Plus Katy shared her advice on how to dip your toe into the media space if you're not comfortable yet, and I got to hear about how she brushed up against a Big Brother controversy early in her career. I know!

For a smart, strategic and extremely well-reasoned approach to PR, Katy Denis is essential listening.

Find Katy online

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-denis-7681618/

https://www.extollo.com.au/

Find Odette Barry online

https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr

https://instagram.com/odetteandco

https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

So you wrote a book - amazing. But the work's not done yet. How do you get people to write about YOU and what you created? Publicity for books is a topic that Isabelle O'Brien of Allen & Unwin knows inside and out.

Despite swearing she would never go into PR, thanks to her mum's own career as a book publicist, today Isabelle is the Publicity Manager at Australia's largest independent publishing house.

I couldn't wait to hear what this smart cookie had to say about getting media coverage for books, after I worked on the launch of the Farmer cookbook in 2018, a book that portrayed life for Australia's farmers and also raised money for those living in drought. Having never worked on a book publicity campaign prior to farmer, I knew I got bluddy lucky with the incredible coverage I secured (it really pays to have a great product!).

In this episode Isabelle talks about the ingredients that go into an excellent book pitch, how far out she starts talking to media, and what her process is for researching which outlets might be interested in a book (hint: there's a bit of social media stalking that goes on here!).

Isabelle also shares her advice for authors feeling nervous about media and introduced me to the term "bookstagrammer", which sounds like the most fun job in the world but also a super valuable source of influencer love for authors out there.

Find Isabelle online

https://www.instagram.com/isabelleobrien__/

Find Odette Barry online https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr https://instagram.com/odetteandco https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

How do you go from PR Newbie to headline winning machine? Melissa Packham is what I would happily call a true and legitimate thought leader. The founder of A Brand Is Not a Logo, Melissa is a brand and marketing strategist. With over 15 years under her belt, she's managed household name fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands like Campbell's, Arnott's and Parmalat. Since establishing A Brand Is Not a Logo, Mel helps small businesses and entrepreneurs find clarity in strategy so they can make decisions quickly and effectively, and create competitive advantage with a stand-out brand. Her vision is a world where brands are a force for good, with thoughtful foundations and meaningful strategy to guide them. As a graduate from my 9 week Hack Your Own PR program, I thought it would be fun to bring Melissa back to walk us through the key steps she undertook to secure her own media headlines in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Mumbrella and Smart Company. Find Melissa Packham online https://www.instagram.com/abrandisnotalogo/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissapackham/ Find Odette Barry online https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr https://instagram.com/odetteandco https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

National fashion editor has to be up there as one of the dreamiest job titles. Throw in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald as your employer, and you're in heaven, right? I got to ask Melly Singer just that when this super glamorous, super talented human joined me to talk about product PR in fashion, pitching timelines, online versus print and so much more. Melly has worked everywhere from glossy magazines to community news, but the majority of her career has been spent with the publisher of The Age and SMH (previously Fairfax, now Nine). She's been a Sunday news editor, a consumer affairs reporter, a deputy news editor, and then she created her dream role for herself: fashion editor of The Age. It's fair to say Melly knows a thing or two about pitching a good idea. In our conversation we talked about why she loves the storytelling element in fashion journalism, the reason a mass email is an immediate turn-off for Melly and why she thinks fewer product events in a post-Covid world might actually be a good thing. We also touched on the DNA of a good image library (tip: fewer is sometimes better!), Melly's love of a good pop culture deep-dive with a side of fashion, and how you and your brand can get Melly's attention with a newsy hook. Find Melly Singer online https://www.instagram.com/melly_singer/?hl=en https://twitter.com/melly_singer?lang=en https://www.theage.com.au/by/melissa-singer-hvetq Find Odette Barry online https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr https://instagram.com/odetteandco https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

As technology editor at The Australian, David Swan's name will be familiar to anyone who lives and breathes the latest in startups, apps, gadgets, Silicon Valley and innovation. He got his first media gig at 15 years of age writing mobile phone reviews, but has spent the last six years of his career writing for The Australian, picking up numerous awards along the way at The Lizzies, Australia's IT journalism awards. He also appears regularly on TV and radio as a technology commentator. We got to touch on all that and more in this super insightful interview that has everything from tips for shaking up a media interview that feels a little robotic (hint: keep it real folks) to all of the things that will help you get a brand mention in an article. We also talk about all the things that won't get your story over the line, what David likes in a case study, and his tips on preparing for live TV appearances. Getting to pick the brain of such a talented media all-rounder was a total luxury - there's plenty of gold in here for startups and small biz regardless of your industry. If you are interested in tech PR, this is the second episode focused on technology journalism in Hack Your Own PR: Season 2. For more, head to episode 2 with Natasha Gillezeau of The Australian Financial Review. Find David Swan online https://twitter.com/swan_legend https://au.linkedin.com/in/davidswanoz Find Odette Barry online https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr https://instagram.com/odetteandco https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

Sam Koslowski is the co-founder of the social-first news platform The Daily Aus, read by 88,000 Australians each day. Creating news recaps and explainers in a social media-friendly format that prioritises Instagram first, The Daily Aus is on a mission to arm millennials with the tools and information to begin their own deep dive into the news. So, what did Sam have to say about Facebook's sudden ban on local news, given his business's entire distribution platform is social media? I couldn't wait to ask. This conversation was recorded prior to Facebook's reversal of the ban, but both Sam and I were of the opinion that the ban would be a short-term thing, a tactic used to get the government to the table to negotiate. You can hear us unpacking what the ban meant for the media and audiences in Australia, and the big lessons to take away. Sam shares insights into the decentralised team structure of Sam and Zara's mobile first freelancer model, which ethically supports up and coming journalists with fair pay, who create all of their social content, directly from their phones, from team WIPs on Whatsapp through the drafting posts and creating social assets on Canva. If you're wondering what the future of media publishing looks and feels like, you're staring it straight in the face. Find The Daily Aus online https://www.instagram.com/thedailyaus/ https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-daily-aus/id1552309889 https://www.thedailyaus.com.au/ Find Odette Barry online https://www.odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr https://instagram.com/odetteandco https://instagram.com/hackyourownpr

Georgie Quigley is a dream publicist. Working on brands like Avène, Pukka Tea, Klorane, Outland Denim, Le Tan, Vittoria Coffee, Georgie is seriously well-connected, a breeze to work with and consistently generating amazing results for her clients, all while making it look completely effortless. The reality, as always, is that there's some serious hustle going on beneath that calm and polished exterior! I sat down with Georgie, who recently established her own agency working with some top names in fashion, beauty and interiors, to explore the mysterious world of product PR. Before going into this interview, this was a blindspot for me too. But I knew that it was very, VERY, different to securing coverage for people, services and ideas. Get those notebooks out, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to expand your lil PR toolkit with some rolled gold tips from Georgie, one of the best in the business when it comes to securing coverage on products. Among other things, Georgie shared when to start pitching to long-range media, how to do a stellar product send-out that looks great and won't end up in the office rubbish pile, and what to think about when you're getting your products photographed. We also talked about managing expectations when you're first starting in PR, how to structure your pitch emails and how she uses her social channels to leverage the coverage she secures for her clients. Find Georgie https://www.instagram.com/georgiequigley_pr/ https://www.gqpr.com.au/

Find Odette Barry online odetteandco.com.au/hackyourownpr instagram.com/odetteandco instagram.com/hackyourownpr