Pitchworthy with KJ Blattenbauer

What if the problem isn't your marketing?

What if the problem is that nobody knows what you're talking about?

In this episode, KJ explores why some of the smartest founders become the hardest people to understand, and why confusion quietly kills more opportunities than most entrepreneurs realize.

Because the more expertise you gain, the easier it becomes to forget what it's like not to know what you know.

The result?

Confusing websites, messaging, and positioning.

And confused people don't ask more questions.

They leave.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Because the market can't repeat what it doesn't understand.

And what the market can't repeat, it can't reward.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

Public relations has never been more misunderstood.

Some founders think it's only for big brands. Others assume it's just about getting featured in Forbes. And many believe great products automatically earn media attention.

None of that is true.

In this episode, KJ sits down with fellow publicist, former magazine editor, on-air television personality, and founder of Pearl Pitch Desk, Nicole Pearl, to answer real questions submitted by entrepreneurs about what it actually takes to earn meaningful press.

Drawing on years spent on both sides of the pitch inbox, Nicole shares what journalists are looking for, the biggest mistakes founders make when pitching themselves, and why building authority is about far more than collecting logos on your website.

Whether you're handling your own PR or thinking about hiring help, this conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at how media really works and how to give yourself a better chance of standing out.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Because great PR isn't about getting lucky.

It's about becoming the story worth telling.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

Every company has values.

Very few know how to make employees actually experience them.

In this Recognition Gap Audit, KJ sits down with leadership and culture strategist Jenny Catalano to uncover why the market keeps seeing her as an events company—even though she's building something far bigger.

Together, they unpack one of the most common positioning mistakes founders make: marketing the vehicle instead of the transformation.

As the conversation unfolds, Jenny realizes her community impact experiences aren't the product at all. They're proof. The real product is a leadership philosophy that helps organizations turn values from words on a wall into behaviors employees actually believe.

If you've ever felt like people keep reducing your work to the tactic instead of the outcome, this episode will change how you introduce your business forever.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Because people don't believe your values because you wrote them.

They believe them because they experience them.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

What if the thing that made you successful is the very thing keeping you stuck?

In this episode, KJ explores a challenge many experienced founders face: evolving beyond the reputation that built their business.

The market doesn't automatically update its understanding of you just because you've evolved. Which means many entrepreneurs spend years being rewarded for yesterday while trying to build tomorrow.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Because sometimes the hardest part of growth isn't becoming known.

It's becoming known for something new.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

Most founders think they have a sales problem.

Many don't.

They have a value communication problem.

In this episode, KJ sits down with sales strategist, pricing expert, and founder of Salesy, Andrea Mac, to unpack one of the biggest misconceptions in business: people don't buy because you know more, they buy because they understand the value you create.

Together, they explore why so many brilliant entrepreneurs struggle to sell their work, how our relationship with money influences the way we price and position ourselves, and why the ability to clearly communicate your value affects everything from referrals to revenue.

Whether you're trying to close more clients, raise your prices, or simply explain what makes you different, this conversation offers practical insights that every founder can apply immediately.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Because people can't buy value they don't understand.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

Most founders think they know what business they're in.

They're wrong.

In this Recognition Gap Audit, KJ sits down with professional organizer and coach Alison Kero to uncover one of the most common positioning mistakes experts make: defining their business by the service they provide instead of the transformation they create.

What begins as a conversation about organizing homes quickly reveals something much deeper. Alison isn't really helping people create tidier closets or more functional pantries. She's helping them quiet overwhelm, rebuild confidence, make better decisions, and become the person they want to be.

Through a live, unscripted conversation, KJ demonstrates how one shift in perspective can completely change the way an expert talks about their work and the value the market assigns to it.

If you've ever wondered whether you're accidentally marketing the wrong business, this episode is for you.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Because the business you think you're in might not be the business your clients are actually buying.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

Everybody gets a label.

The question is whether it's the one you wanted.

In this episode, KJ explores how the market creates shortcuts, categories, and labels for every founder, expert, and entrepreneur—and why being misunderstood is often more expensive than being unknown.

If you've ever felt like your reputation hasn't caught up to your expertise, this episode will change the way you think about positioning, referrals, and authority.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Because if people don't know what to call you, they don't know when to call you.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

Sometimes the thing that made you successful is the very thing keeping you from your next level of growth.

For years, Jess Gleim was known as "the Meta ads expert." It was a title that built a thriving business, attracted incredible clients, and established her reputation.

There was just one problem.

It was no longer true.

In this episode, KJ sits down with Jess, an entrepreneur, strategist, and marketing expert, to explore what happens when your expertise evolves faster than your reputation, and why so many successful founders unknowingly become trapped inside the labels that once served them.

Together, they unpack the difference between the service people remember and the value clients are actually buying, revealing how one shift in positioning transformed the way Jess talks about her business, and the opportunities that followed.

If you've ever felt like your market only sees one piece of what you do, this conversation will change the way you think about your own expertise.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Because the market can't recognize the expertise, it doesn't have language for.

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

Sometimes the biggest positioning breakthrough isn't changing what you sell.

It's changing what people expect.

In this Recognition Gap Audit, KJ sits down with Annie Graybill, founder of Havenwith, a marketplace for fragrance-free, non-toxic vacation rentals, to uncover a deeper opportunity hiding beneath her business.

What begins as a conversation about healthier travel quickly becomes something much bigger: a discussion about consumer expectations, category creation, and why the companies that change industries don't simply offer a better product—they redefine what people believe should be normal.

Through a live, unscripted conversation, KJ helps Annie shift from marketing vacation rentals to leading a movement that challenges what every traveler should expect when they book a place to stay.

If you've ever wondered whether your business is actually solving a much bigger problem than you're talking about, this episode is for you.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Because category creators don't just give people another option.

They redefine what people believe they should expect.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy:

There are a lot of brilliant people KJ would never refer.

Not because they're bad at what they do.

Not because they aren't qualified.

Because she has absolutely no idea how to explain them.

In this episode, KJ explores what may be the most expensive problem in business: being impossible to describe. Because people don't refer the people they like. They refer the people they understand.

If you've ever felt overlooked despite your expertise, struggled to explain what makes you different, or wondered why opportunities seem to go to people who are less qualified, this episode is for you.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

The market already has a story about you.

The question is whether you'd agree with it.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Learn more about the Recognition Report & Roadmap™:

Subscribe to SAY MORE:

Connect with KJ on Instagram:

Get your copy of Pitchworthy: