Podcasts about help a reporter out haro

Welcome Peter Shankman, the visionary founder of Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and ShankMinds, a thriving entrepreneurial community. A globally recognized keynote speaker and author with six bestsellers, Peter is known for his innovative thought leadership. His athletic prowess is equally impressive, including 24 marathons and two Ironman finishes, alongside over 500 skydives. Join us as we explore Peter's entrepreneurial journey, athletic endeavors, and his unique approach to embracing life's risks and challenges.SHOW NOTES Selling $100K in Titanic Tee ShirtsOvercoming Imposter SyndromeEntrepreneurship - Highs & LowsLiving with ADHD Jumping the Pyramids IN THE MEDIA Website | Shankman.comPodcast | Faster Than NormalPublished Books | Amazon.comMastermind Group | Shankminds.comSocial Media |  ThreadsSocial Media | InstagramJOIN OUR COMMUNITYLove the show? Help support it by becoming a member of the 20 Minute Call Community! Supporting the show gives access to a private group page where you can:- suggest who you'd like to hear on the podcast- learn what interviews will be upcoming- submit questions for future guests-receive show swagJoin our community and support the pod!Link: patreon.com/The20MinuteCallPodcastADVERTISEAre you interested in partnering with the 20 Minute Call as an advertiser? Let's work together! E-mail us at podcast@beyondmarketing.xyz

On this episode of the Niche Website Builders podcast, host Ben Goldberg talks with guest Mike Beatty. Mike and Ben move their discussion on Help A Reporter Out (HARO) from a niche website Facebook group, and onto the Niche Website Builders Podcast. Mike and Ben discuss their relative successes and failures using HARO as a link building tool. Mike puts his specific questions to Ben about Ben's techniques and approaches to the HARO program, while Ben compares his custom build systems against Mike's. Mike and Ben discuss the email list from HARO, free vs. paid subscriptions, and the drop times on each set of email requests from reporters. The two compare their respective systems for filtering HARO requests, looking for niche requests they can respond to that can generate a high-quality backlink later on to one of their own niche websites. Ben and Mike discuss how they produce content for HARO requests, what and what not to include, and finally give advice on how you can think differently before responding to a HARO opportunity. Links: Make Time Online: https://maketimeonline.com/ Make Time Online Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maketimeonline Mike Beatty on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4y4zLjG7mwdT9FPm_Y_e0w Niche Website Builders: Aged Domains – https://www.nichewebsite.builders/domains Niche Website Builders: Resources – https://www.nichewebsite.builders/resources Niche Website Builders – https://www.nichewebsite.builders/ Niche Website Builders Podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/niche-website-builders/id1548013326 Niche Website Builders on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDX_rVwDP_IQVx1tjn_h8dQ Niche Website Builders on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/nichewebsitebuilders/
Niche Website Builders' Email – team@nichewebsite.builders

I love the service Help A Reporter Out (HARO). I have been using it for years to generate additional traffic to my websites. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/andy-nathan/support

I'm thrilled to share an interview from two years ago where my PR mentor, Brittney Lynn, interviewed me for her Human Connection podcast.I enrolled in Brittney's Impact + Influence PR course a couple of years ago and had great success pitching my author clients to publications, especially by responding to journalists' requests on Help A Reporter Out (HARO).If you are thinking of pitching yourself, or your own clients, to the media, this episode is for you! We talk about:How to get started with PR Lessons learned pitching clients to publicationsWhat we both love about PRHow Brittney's course helped me land interviews and publication mentions for my clientsAnd more…because we don't call this Book Marketing Mania for nothingShow notes at kimstewartmarketing.com.Connect on IG:@kimstewinspired@brittneyllynn#bookmarketingmania

In this episode of the Niche Website Builders, Adam Smith introduces James de Lacey as one of the new hosts of the podcast. James has experience in building and operating his own portfolio of affiliate content sites. Also, James is a writer, researcher, author, blogger, course creator, and strength and conditioning coach. He is passionate about sports, fitness, and martial arts training that he has learned from different coaches around the world. Links: Income School - https://incomeschool.com/ Miles Beckler - https://www.milesbeckler.com/ Odys - https://odys.global/ Help A Reporter Out (HARO) - https://www.helpareporter.com/ Niche Website Builders Blog - https://www.nichewebsite.builders/niche-empire-project/ Niche Website Builders: Aged Domains - https://www.nichewebsite.builders/domains Niche Website Builders: Resources - https://www.nichewebsite.builders/resources Niche Website Builders - https://www.nichewebsite.builders/ Niche Website Builders Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/niche-website-builders/id1548013326 Niche Website Builders on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDX_rVwDP_IQVx1tjn_h8dQ Niche Website Builders on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nichewebsitebuilders/ Niche Website Builders' Email - team@nichewebsite.builders

Would you willingly break a bone if you knew that it was going to catapult you to success?What's In Store For YouShe's a serial entrepreneur and an award-winning inventor. She had careers in event planning, land development feasibility - she's also owned a retail store and is now the designer and manufacturer of MediFashions which are award-wining accessories to make medical devices fashionable. She's been featured in 50 media outlets in less than a year. And over her entire career, more than a thousand.How did Christina Daves turn an accident into a goldmine of success?[04:15] What made Christina stumble on MediFashions?[05:30] What is it that allowed Christina to turn a broken bone into a business opportunity?[07:29] What turned the opportunity into an invention?[09:30] How did the "Steve Harvey" moment come about into Christina's sphere?[11:15] How can Help A Reporter Out (HARO) help with media exposure?[14:16] How can I make a news outlet be interested with me?[16:44] What is it that somebody needs to do to turn their story into something newsworthy?[18:38] How do I find the media outlets to pitch to?[20:50] How much time should I be dedicating to pitch and get 50 appearances?[22:05] Are there other media outlets that I should consider aside from the big news outlets?[23:03] How can "PR For anyone" help people be newsworthy?[24:00] What fears prevent people from pitching?[25:14] What are some areas to be wary of as I increase my pitches and subscriptions?RESOURCESRescue Event Planning - If you have an event and you don't want to worry about a thing, let Melissa Jakes and her team handle everything!Text 410-936-4049 and be a part of Robert's community.Support the show, buy Robert a coffee!Storytellers Growth Lab - get guidance about how you can CONFIDENTLY CONNECT, PRESENT POWERFULLY & ENGAGE EFFECTIVELY!Christina Daves' website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The following article is adapted from a wonderful newsletter shared recently by Steve O’Keefe, author of Set the Page on Fire: Secrets of Successful Writers. It outlines ten ways you can promote your books on Amazon—as well as ten ways you SHOULD promote your books on Amazon.1. Register, Claim, and Fix Your Amazon Author PageAmazon Author Central (https://author.amazon.com/claim/welcome) enables you to register as a book author and claim your books. You can add a blog feed (from your main author blog), videos, photos, a bio, and more. Steve wrote a detailed article for IBPA on how to claim and complete your author page here: https://www.ibpa-online.org/blogpost/1734581/309773/The-Amazon-Makeover-by-Steve-O-Keefe.An Amazon author page can act as your home page on the internet (if you like to use it for that purpose). From there you can promote yourself as an author, talk show guest, consultant, expert, speaker, and more.Steve O’Keefe’s Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Steve-OKeefe/e/B001HD0BJ4John Kremer’s author page: https://www.amazon.com/John-Kremer/e/B001H6L2T42. Fix Your Amazon Book PagesYou can control the content on the pages for your books. Amazon provides six bins you can fill with content, including Editorial Reviews, Inside Flap Copy, Back Cover Copy, and About the Author. You can put anything you want into those bins, within reason, such as excerpts, reviews, special offers, rights information, tour schedule, etc.But don’t be annoying or too aggressive. And don’t link to any site outside of Amazon (Amazon does not like to send people outside of itself when people are reading about books to buy).3. Add a Media Kit to Your WebsiteA good media kit, the key to promoting your book to a variety of audiences, is foundational content for a book website. Your kit should contain a single-page printable summary with Contact Info, Book Summary, Author Summary, Book Cover, Author Photo, and META data such as dimensions, pages, ISBN, etc.Steve recommends an index to Best Lines, Power Paragraphs, and Best Excerpts, along with Keynames, Keyplaces, and Keywords. You should also include and update Author Endorsements and Book Endorsements. And, of course, you can add all that onto your Amazon Book and Author pages.Check out this wonderfully complete media kit for Words Whispered in Water: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fgJI0dZvI09JBmJGMsEuSPT2Y8SRVILhHM0OQVeHNR4.4. Review Books on AmazonReview books in your field, books you like, books you’ve just read, books Amazon associates with your book (both in the Amazon ads as well as on your book pages), and books by authors Amazon associates with you. When you do a review, always link your name to your Amazon Author Page and your book title to your Amazon Book Page.You don’t have to write long reviews, but you should show that you read the book (or at least scanned it). A one-sentence review can often get more attention and be more effective. Most important, make sure your review enhances your credibility as well as the credibility for your book.Besides reviewing books on Amazon, you can also post your book reviews to GoodReads, Facebook, Twitter, your website, and more. Again, with links to your Amazon Author Page and Amazon Book Page.Note: If you start doing effective book reviews that help sell books, you can ask for free review copies from the publicity department of book publishers.Here is Steve’s book review page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AFAEINMZMSHSFDABB5CJDQ5NR3OQ.5. Link to Your ReviewsLink to your book reviews on Amazon. Link from Twitter, from Facebook, from Pinterest, from your website, from LinkedIn, etc. Note: Your book reviews on Amazon have a unique URL which you can post to social media or include in your email newsletter, such as Steve’s review of New Orleans: A Literary History: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R24YF8OE73FXZ9.When your review gets traffic, Amazon notices and elevates the visibility of your review. This creates a positive feedback loop between your reviews and your social media that brings you to the attention of the media, talkshow producers, literary agents, publishers, and rights buyers. — Steve O’Keefe6. Create and Maintain a BlogYou can add an RSS feed from your blog to your Amazon Author Page. You can get a free blog from WordPress.com, Blogger.com, Medium.com, or Substack.com.A blog allows you to push your content to your Amazon Author Page. And with the bonus of featuring links to outside sites on your blog posts within Amazon. You can also get videos onto your Amazon Author Page using this blog backdoor. You don’t have to keep blogging if you don’t want to. However, it’s a great place to post all the book reviews you write and receive.You can follow John’s BookMarketingBestsellers blog on his Amazon Author Page at: https://www.amazon.com/John-Kremer/e/B001H6L2T4.7. Comment on Amazon Book ReviewsYour comments on Amazon book reviews can contain a link to your Amazon Author Page as well as links to one of your Book Pages (or the books of other authors).As you review books on Amazon, you’ll come across other people’s reviews that might be worth commenting on (because their reviews are insightful, because of the traffic they get, or because of the topic itself). All you have to do is write a few words of encouragement and link to your Amazon Author Page.Note: Your comments on reviews are excellent ways to introduce yourself to other authors, editors, and agents.8. Comment on News StoriesAs you peruse news stories on various websites, blogs, or podcasts, you should comment on relevant news stories. As a book author, you are an authority on the subjects you write about. So use your expertise to comment on the news stories where you can add unique perspective, added ideas, or useful tips. Most sites will welcome your authority.Note: When you comment, use a signature that includes the title of your book and a link to your media kit.Steve offers a campaign that turns the drudgery of commenting into something more entertaining and productive (sort of like a treasure hunt). Contact him if you want help with your commenting campaign. Email: steve.okeefe@orobora.com. Phone: 540-324-7023.9. Connect with One Reporter Every WeekReach out at least once a week to a reporter, journalist, editor, producer, or host. Connect with them via a short email offering a free review copy of your book or a reason to interview you. Also connect with them via comments on their social media posts, etc.Keep an email message under 100 words. Don’t include any links or attachments—or your email could end up in their spam folder never to be seen again.If you need help pitching, see Chapter 7 of Steve’s book, Set the Page on Fire: Secrets of Successful Writers, which contains detailed instructions for creating effective short pitches for books and authors. You can also hire Steve to pitch for you; he does that for a few authors every week. See his contact info in Point 8 above.Plus Tip: Check out Help A Reporter Out (HARO) for reporters and others looking for experts: https://www.helpareporter.com.10. Create a Database of ConnectionsMost authors fail to record all the connections they make every week. You should build a database of your own contacts (either as an Access or Excel data file or simply as a Word document. Use what works best for you.Personally, I use Microsoft Access for most of the data files I create, but I’ve also used Excel on occasion to develop media lists and key contact data files.Every week, you should transfer the names of any new contacts from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Email, etc. to your own database. Then you can look them up, fill out their profiles, send a thank you note, invite them to subscribe, share a special offer, etc. Keeping your own list protects you from being cut off from your contacts or charged to communicate with your own fans by these social networks. A well-maintained mailing list can be a valuable asset worth up to $25 per contact when a business is sold!One final note: A great book cover is the most effective piece of content on Amazon for selling your book. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

Entrepreneur Peter Shankman talks about how he has harnessed the power of ADHD to achieve faster than normal entrepreneurial success in this episode of the Go For Launch podcast. If you want to peer into the mind of someone who has harnessed what some would consider a “weakness”—and instead flip the script to achieve faster than normal entrepreneurial success—I can’t think of a better person to talk to than Peter Shankman. Peter is a media entrepreneur who runs several businesses, gives keynote speeches around the world, hosts a popular podcast, runs marathons and Iron Mans, is a licensed skydiver and dabbles in angel investing. He’s founded and sold several successful companies, most notably Help A Reporter Out (HARO), which was acquired by Vocus in 2010. He’s also written five books, including the most recent Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain. Peter spoke to me for this episode of the Go For Launch podcast. He’s candid about being diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of 30, and how he has learned to self-impose constraints to accomplish more in his life. As someone who also was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) late in life, I appreciate Peter’s perspective and what he’s been able to accomplish—by embracing his neurodiversity.

Learn how you can improve yourself and your relationship with the media and your customers with our guest, Peter Shankman, who is an entrepreneur, author, keynote speaker, Help A Reporter Out (HARO) founder, and Pelton enthusiast. Five things you’ll learn from this episode:Why companies should use neurodiverse marketing Common mistakes marketing and PR professionals make when approaching the mediaHow to build relationships with the mediaLearning how your brain works to keep you motivated and productiveHow to engage customers Quotables“The key really is understanding both your audience from a hiring perspective as well as from a selling perspective.” — @petershankman“Any story you do has to be making the reporter’s life easier.” — @petershankman“Understand that 99% of what you believe to be news may very well be news to you but not to anyone else.” — @petershankman“Reach out to me with good quality content, and I'll be a lot happier. And chances are, I’ll buy from you when I do have something to buy.” — @petershankman“Your audience will tell you exactly how they like to get their information if you let them.” — @petershankman“I think that my greatest fear is missing out on an opportunity because I was afraid to take the risk.” — @petershankmanIf you enjoyed the episode, would you please leave us a review?About Peter ShankmanThe New York Times has called Peter Shankman “a rockstar who knows everything about social media and then some.” He is a five-time best selling author, entrepreneur, and corporate in-person and digital keynote speaker, focusing on customer service and the new and emerging customer and neurotypical economy. With three startup launches and exits under his belt, Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about the customer experience, social media, PR, marketing, advertising, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and the new Neurodiverse Economy.Contact info and resources:@petershankman on Twitterwww.shankman.comPeter Shankman’s Books: Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Worked And Why Your Company Needs ThemFaster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD BrainZombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid FansPodcast: Faster Than Normal Additional Resources:ReviewMaxer: http://reviewmaxer.comAxia Public Relations: https://www.axiapr.com/ About your host Jason MuddOn Top of PR host, Jason Mudd, is the CEO and managing partner of Axia Public Relations. He is a trusted adviser and dynamic strategist for some of America’s most admired brands. Since 1994, he's worked with American Airlines, Budweiser, Dave & Buster’s, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Southern Comfort, and Verizon. He founded Axia in 2002.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/OnTopofPR)

In this 9-minute audio version of our blog post, “How to Succeed at SEO Without Tools,” Amanda Natividad, Head of Marketing for Growth Machine, explores the idea of creating successful content by using Google Search and focusing on the reader experience. Show Notes 0:54 - Use these tricks to figure out if there’s an SEO opportunity 2:10 - Generate keyword ideas 2:50 - Learn how to create good content 6:18 - Focus on creating valuable link-worthy content 7:37 - Share, don’t promote 8:56 - The bottom line is... Links: Question from Twitter (0:02) Growth Machine Podcast Episode 8 (0:14) How to Find Great Target Keywords (0:40) Ahrefs (1:00) Mangools (1:01) Cup and Leaf case study (8:36) Help A Reporter Out (HARO) (8:41) Contact Growth Machine (9:30)

What does it take to start a successful business? Peter Shankman is best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO). HARO is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,500 queries from worldwide media each week. HARO's tagline, “Everyone is an Expert at Something”, proves over and over [...] The post Help A Reporter Out (HARO) Founder Shares His Entrepreneurial Story appeared first on Small Business Advice Help For Startups and Entrepreneurs.

William Wadsworth ditched a $100k job in January 2019 to found Exam Study Expert, a business built on his long-standing passion for coaching students in effective study habits and memorisation strategies, helping them to hit top grades in exams at high school and university. He's now the author of the best-selling exam technique book "Outsmart Your Exams", and runs the popular Exam Study Expert podcast and blog, which together reach a worldwide audience of hundreds of thousands of students each year. Here are the key links from the episode: Exam Study Expert (https://www.ExamStudyExpert.com) The Exam Study Expert Podcast (https://examstudyexpert.com/podcast/) Help A Reporter Out (HARO) (http://helpareporter.com)

Before the Internet came along, I built my entire career using publicity. People would hear me on the radio or see me on TV or in print. I always let it be known I was available to speak. One of my quotes hanging on the wall at my school is that the only way to exceed the average income in your profession is to become better known. Publicity does that for you. Screw The Commute Podcast Show Notes Episode 280 How To Automate Your Business - https://screwthecommute.com/automatefree/ Internet Marketing Training Center - https://imtcva.org/ Higher Education Webinar – https://screwthecommute.com/webinars 02:55 Tom's introduction to Free Publicity 05:15 Publicity makes you more believable 06:32 Publicity can turn into direct sales 07:15 Be aware of "Pay for Play" 08:48 Help A Reporter Out (HARO) 09:35 Radio, Podcasts, TV, Print and Live Entrepreneurial Resources Mentioned in This Podcast Higher Education Webinar - https://screwthecommute.com/webinars Screw The Commute - https://screwthecommute.com/ Screw The Commute Podcast App - https://screwthecommute.com/app/ College Ripoff Quiz - https://imtcva.org/quiz Know a young person for our Youth Episode Series? Send an email to Tom! - orders@antion.com Have a Roku box? Find Tom's Public Speaking Channel there! - https://channelstore.roku.com/details/267358/the-public-speaking-channel How To Automate Your Business - https://screwthecommute.com/automatefree/ Internet Marketing Retreat and Joint Venture Program - https://greatinternetmarketingtraining.com/ Help A Reporter Out - https://www.helpareporter.com/ Podcast Hosts - https://screwthecommute.com/podcasthosts/ Publicity Hound Free Sample - https://www.antion.com/publicityhoundTOC.htm Internet Marketing Training Center - https://imtcva.org/ Related Episodes Andrew Allemann - Podcast Booking - https://screwthecommute.com/156/ Margy Feldhuhn - Podcast Booking - https://screwthecommute.com/203/ Rebecca Kirstein - https://screwthecommute.com/279/ More Entrepreneurial Resources for Home Based Business, Lifestyle Business, Passive Income, Professional Speaking and Online Business I discovered a great new headline / subject line / subheading generator that will actually analyze which headlines and subject lines are best for your market. I negotiated a deal with the developer of this revolutionary and inexpensive software. Oh, and it's good on Mac and PC. Go here: http://jvz1.com/c/41743/183906 The Wordpress Ecourse. Learn how to Make World Class Websites for $20 or less. https://www.GreatInternetMarketing.com/wordpressecourse Join our Private Facebook Group! One week trial for only a buck and then $37 a month, or save a ton with one payment of $297 for a year. Click the image to see all the details and sign up or go to https://www.greatinternetmarketing.com/screwthecommute/ After you sign up, check your email for instructions on getting in the group.

On Thursdays, Shontavia provides thoughts on your questions and reviews interesting things she's read, listened to or watched. On this #ThursdayThoughts episode, Shontavia answers a question about how to become an academic entrepreneur and keep your day job at the university. Shontavia's advice: (1) Read your university's conflicts of interest policy; (2) Create an easy-to-digest message; and (3) Position yourself as an expert on your own platform and on other people's platforms. Check out this episode for more. // Show Highlights00:56 BJ's question about establishing yourself as an academic entrepreneur 03:02 Tip #1: Read your university's conflicts of interest policy 04:54 Tip #2: Create an easy-to-digest message 05:37 How the COMPASS Message Box can help you create a clear, public message 07:51 Leveraging TheConversation.com to get published in places like TIME, US News, Newsweek, Scientific American, and elsewhere 09:44 Tip #3: Position yourself on your platform and others as an expert in your field // Show NotesBuild a website you're proud of in 9 steps: https://shontavia.com/build-a-website-youre-proud-of-in-8-steps/The Message Box by COMPASS: https://www.compassscicomm.org/message-box-workbook The Conversation: https://theconversation.comMy articles on The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/profiles/shontavia-johnson-203059/articlesThe OpEd Project: https://www.theopedproject.org/Help A Reporter Out (HARO): https://www.helpareporter.com/// Social Media Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShontaviaJEsq Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shontaviajesq/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shontaviajesq/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shontaviajesq/ Tumblr: http://shontaviajesq.tumblr.com/ YouTube: https://www.shontavia.tv

Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is a service which connects journalists and bloggers with relevant expert sources. But, HARO can be really useful for increasing your visibility, both in the media and on podcasts.   How? First, mentions in traditional media sources can increase your authority and credibility. And, until recently, HARO has been most relevant for traditional news sources and written media outlets. Increasingly, though, we’re seeing it being used to source expert guests for podcasts, which makes it a valuable platform to include within the scope of your podcast pitching research. In this episode I talk to Erin Ollila, a big brand copywriter and content strategist about how she uses HARO to source relevant experts. We also cover the similarities and differences between pitching for podcasts and HARO, as well as how pitching to HARO can help you to create content which can be used on your other channels. Topics covered include: How Erin uses HARO in her work and what you should expect if you sign up to this service The similarities and differences between pitching for podcast opportunities and pitching to HARO Erin’s idea of what an excellent HARO pitch looks like - plus her No. 1 DO NOT DO!  How you can use HARO to get ideas about the kinds of content that people are interested Recent trends in HARO activity, including the increasing number of podcast guest requests  How time spent creating HARO pitches isn’t wasted, even when you aren’t successful  Resources mentioned in this episode: Get your free downloadable version of Angie's roadmap for podcast pitching success to be notified when the Go Pitch Yourself program reopens Book a discovery call to see if Angie can support YOUR visibility needs Follow Angie on Instagram - and submit your screenshots when you're ready to Go Pitch Yourself Get more info at Angie's website Visit HARO website and follow HARO on Twitter Visit Erin’s website and sign up for a free mini website audit Erin on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn Erin’s Facebook page Now it’s time for you to get out there and Go Pitch Yourself! Be sure to screenshot this episode and tag me on Instagram @angie_trueblood and let me know that you are ready to #gopitchyourself! I’ll add your post to my story and help you spread the word!  Can’t wait to connect again! Feel like you need a little support in getting started pitching yourself? >>> Get a free downloadable version of my roadmap for podcast pitching success   Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts Are you subscribed to the podcast? If not, I’d love for you to do that today so you don’t miss ANY episodes. Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts! And, if you are SUPER pumped about the show, I would be so thankful if you would pop over to Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Crazy enough, reviews help other folks find my podcast and they help me get a real sense of what you love about the show. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Much love, friend. Special thanks to Steve Woodward at The Podcasting Editor for handling all the behind-the-scenes tech pieces of production.

Once you become an adult, you end up realizing that many of the things you are taught as a child, particularly in school, are false. Characteristics you may have once thought were your weaknesses, could now be your strong points. Our guest for today dealt with these obstacles due to having ADD and repeatedly being told that he "suffers" from challenges associated with having ADD.  Our guest for today is Peter Shankman, who is an author, entrepreneur, and corporate keynote speaker. He is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about customer service, social media, PR, marketing, advertising, and ADHD. Peter is best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO), which is currently the most extensive free source repository in the world.  Today we are going to discuss... What the deal with multitasking is and whether it is something that can be done effectively or not How our guest accomplishes remarkable things How our guest systematizes his workflow to ensure that his ADD enriches his ability to get things done How our guest was able to finish writing an entire book in a matter of hours   Learn more about our guest: Website: shankman.com Mastermind Group: shankminds.com Podcast: fasterthannormal.com Intelligent Investors Real Estate Conference (IIREC) is this weekend! Some of the most sophisticated investors, will be speaking at this event. The amount of knowledge you can gain from attending this conference is immeasurable. Act fast, online ticket sales end tonight! We will also be selling tickets at the door.  Visit: intelligentinvestors2020.com Use the discount code "ASYM" to get $100 off your tickets. 

Come with me, FEST friends, into a land where growing your business is a breeze and landing top-tier press is as easy as pie....oh wait, no, sorry. That was a dream I had the other night. Of course we all know none of that is easy. But it is possible. Big picture advice is great, but this week I'm all about the details, so I'm diving into real client campaigns and letting you know what's working -- and what's totally not -- this month. With tools and tech-enabled platforms changing all the time, it's more important than ever to get current information from sources you trust. If you're looking for super practical tips you can use immediately in your DIY PR campaigns and brand awareness-building, open up this episode in your favorite podcast player right now because that's what we're serving up this week.   In this week's solo episode of the Spirit of 608 podcast, I share three things I want you to hear drawn directly from this month's real client campaigns. Listen in for that's working well and what's not, from how I found success using Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and my new favorite free tool for whittling your email list send time down to PR peanuts to the reality of affiliate marketing challenges you absolutely will face if you're a FEST-ive, independent fashion brand right now.   Do you have your own strategies for securing awesome PR with success? If so, I'd love to hear about them. DM me on Instagram and let me know @spiritof608.   Learn how to stop sabotaging your PR and media and get visible instead by listening to this week's solo episode of the Spirit of 608 podcast with Lorraine Sanders.  Sign up for the PressDope weekly email to get DIY PR tips and The Dope List of media opps, calls for pitches, FEST events and more ways to raise your visibility. Mentioned in this episode: Facebook: @spiritof608 Twitter: @spiritof608 Instagram: @spiritof608 Pressdope Find more episodes featuring women at the forefront of FEST online at www.Spiritof608.com  

How can a small business dominate digital lead gen in the most competitive industry when it comes to online marketing? This week on The Inbound Success Podcast, entrepreneur and author Brian J. Greenberg shares the digital marketing formula he used to take on the giants of the life insurance industry and drive growth for his small insurance startup.  Brian has documented his process in his book, "The Salesman Who Doesn't Sell," but you can learn all about them in today's episode. Special Offer for Inbound Success Podcast Listeners: Click here to get your free audio copy of "The Salesman Who Doesn't Sell" Some highlights from our discussion include:  The life insurance industry is one of the top four most competitive industries to rank for in Google, but Brian has successfully grown traffic and leads to his website, often outranking major brand name competitors. Inspired by a talk given by Will Reynolds of Seer Interactive, Brian focuses on doing "really company stuff" in his internet marketing (basically, he doesn't try and game the system). He starts by building his website's link profile through high quality back links. Using freelancers he finds through Upwork.com, Brian writes keyword-rich articles that he gets placed on third party websites through his online PR efforts. He then shares those articles by linking to them on his website press page. Brian doesn't mind paying outsourced writers or PR experts because he knows the value of a high quality backlink (which he measures using SEMRush). He has a very thorough process for vetting outsourced writers that he uses to help with content creation. Brian is a contributor to online publications like Entrepreneur and Forbes and those sites have given him very high quality backlinks. He also writes long form answers on Quora and has found that these gain the attention of publications that then request to republish them. Brian uses cash incentives to encourage his staff to solicit online reviews and testimonials as a way of establishing site authority and boosting lead conversions. Brian measures ROI by determining the exact dollar value of a new backlink or online review. His marketing system has resulted in True Blue Life Insurance having a lead to customer conversion rate that is 10x that of its competitors. Listen to the podcast to learn, step-by-step, how to get killer inbound marketing results just like Brian has. Transcript Kathleen Booth (Host):Welcome back to the Inbound Success Podcast. My name's Kathleen Booth and I am your host and today my guest is Brian Greenberg, who is the CEO and founder at True Blue Life Insurance and the author of, "The Salesman Who Doesn't Sell." Welcome, Brian. Brian Greenberg (Guest): Hey, thanks for having me, Kathleen. Brian and Kathleen recording this episode Kathleen: Yeah, my pleasure. I got a little tongue tied there around saying True Blue. I think if I said it six times fast it would be a big jumble. Brian, I was excited to have you because I've been an agency owner for many years prior to joining Impact, and in that time I've worked with a number of insurance agencies and brokerages. I really came to appreciate that from an Inbound marketing and even just a broader digital marketing standpoint, it's one of, if not the most competitive industries. Because so much money is poured into digital marketing in insurance. There's so many 800 pound gorillas in the industry, and especially for independent brokerages, it can be very, very difficult to rank and to succeed with digital. You're somebody whose kind of figured it out, so much so that you've now written a book about what you're doing. So, before we dive too far into that, let's start by having you tell our audience a little bit about yourself and your background and what brought you here today. About Brian Greenberg Brian: Sure. I started in the internet marketing business back in 2003, so I'd kind of seen a lot of the evolution. Now I've always earned my money, been a business owner and passive income, by bringing in traffic through Google and Yahoo and MSN. I've always been able to rank real well in any of the main key words I've been able to do in the past. I have owned an organic internet marketing agency. I've owned several e-commerce agencies, there was one point where I owned about 8 different businesses at the same time. Kind of cut down on that, Kathleen. Kathleen: I was going to say Brian: Right now, I went into... Kathleen: You had eight businesses at once? I had one and that was enough to keep me up at night. About True Blue Life Insurance Brian: Yeah. Then I decided to go into True Blue life insurance - the life insurance industry, which is very profitable. It's one of the top four most competitive industries on the internet and it was a big challenge. I started a website a long time ago that had success and now I focus on it 100%. I am competing against a lot of big guys with a lot of deep pockets and knock on wood, I've been able to it very successfully for a long time now. Kathleen: That's amazing. You know, I think what's interesting to me is there are so many other business owners out there. I have a lot of listeners who are business owners. Who are naturally interested in marketing, either because they have to be, or because their businesses are a size where they can't afford not to be. There's a lot of marketing folks who are helping to grow smaller businesses. So, for somebody who's in a competitive industry, and looking at trying to get found online and to carve out a niche in the digital world, where do you start these days? You did it in life insurance, but again if you can do it there, I feel like you can do it anywhere. So walk me through what your approach is. Brian's Approach to Inbound Marketing Brian: Sure. The first thing I want to say you know, it was back in 2012 when Google came out with this penguin update and it kind of wiped out so many people that were doing too much organic SEO marketing. So Will Reynolds, he's the owner of Seer Interactive, he did this beautiful presentation, where he said from now on you have to do real company stuff. He had the abbreviation RCS. He had a profanity at the end of it, but it's RCS and what it means is that you should only be doing things that a real company would do. So, if you get offered somebody who is just going to do excessive log commenting or they're going to be spinning articles or they're going to put you in a private log network. You have to think, is that something a real company would do? So that's the first thing. Kathleen: Its seems like an obvious one right but it's surprising how many people don't get that one. Brian: Because people are contacted so often by SEO agencies that don't do things white hat. These days if you do things wrong you could actually end up hurting yourself, which is a terrible thing that I don't want people to do. So what I like to do is kind of build a website's link profile. Alright, so you're kind of building a foundation. You know, obviously you have content but below that I believe you have links and I'm trying to build up an authority website. So the first thing you should do is, you should go after all the easy links, all the directories in your markets, try to hit all the competitors. I don't know, get a listing on the better business bureau. Hit all the local directories and start getting known. And start getting those basic links and I think that's the good beginning of a link profile. Kathleen: Yeah, you know I had the CMO of Yext, Jeff Rohrs on the podcast a few months back. They're such a great service for doing exactly what you just described, which is getting started, getting your directory links set up, doing it right, making sure they're clean and all the information is consistent across them. And it's so reasonable. So, easy way to get started. So, let's say you've tackled that stage in the process, then what? Building Site Authority Through Back Links Brian: You want to start going after more authority links. High quality links. Now these days you don't need that many. So, you want to pose yourself as an expert. I am a big fan of doing online PR these days. Now online PR, you kind of gotta put yourself out there a little bit, but what I like doing is writing articles. Articles that I basically have a PR person, or I got on to Upwork and I have them release it to all the blogs, all the media outlets, and do my best to get those published. Now, there's a couple tricks on how to write these articles, to make them attractive to a lot of editors. Number one, you should always use a number in them if you can. It's definitely very helpful. "The Seven Ways This,"... "The Eight Ways This." I'm writing an article right now, "The Five Life Insurance Game Changers for 2019." I also recommend you use a catchy headline. I use a site called headlines.sharethrough.com. It is a free website, I have no idea why it's free, Kathleen. It's that good. You just kind of put your headline in there and it will give you a score, and it will also make suggestions on how to make it better. I've had great success with that. But if you give that to a PR person who has a good Rolodex, they have a good list, and you shop the around, it's wonderful to see it get picked up. And sometimes you'll get some interviews coming in as well. That's a great basis to put yourself out there. But you do as a business owner have to put yourself out there. It takes a little Chutzpah, to go after these types of links. Using Online PR to Get Back Links Kathleen: Now, you're writing these articles, do you have to already have published on your own site? Do you need to have examples of your work or are you really getting these articles published based purely on the merit of the article itself? Brian: Primarily based on the merit of the article to start. You know, once you start getting these published, you start building up a press page. I think that's a very important thing. I see so many people they'll get a great listing on Entrepreneur, or they'll do an interview at their local news station, but they won't put it on their website, which is a huge mistake. Those things are worth a lot of money. Because look, people see that on your website, it builds credibility and it lasts for such a long time. Especially if you can get it in some sort of interview on video, it's nice.  I just want to stress the importance of putting up a press page and listing all the placements you've got. It is not a form of bragging, it is an absolute must, to make it easier to get more pick ups. Kathleen: Yeah. You mentioned using either a PR firm or even going on Upwork and finding somebody who can distribute this kind of thing for you. I think for some small businesses, certainly working with PR firms can seem intimidating or it might seem too expensive. Can you tell us a little bit about how you've done it, what has the cost been to get placements? What should someone expect to spend and are there reasonably priced ways to go about doing this? Brian: The answer is yes. I think so many people who go to a big PR firm and people will charge you know at least $10,000.00 a month to take you on. You don't have to do that. There's so many people on free lancer websites, and that's a great way to find people. A lot of these people do have their own kind of websites that they do PR. Although, I can do a release for about $2,000.00. But more importantly, I get the people to guarantee me a certain amount of pick ups. So, I'll do a release, I use a company that's really good but I pay them $5,000.00, but they guarantee me at least 15 pickups, from authority websites that are real links back. Not just pickups that are a copy of a press release. They're real pickups. So, if you do that you can value how much those links are. Now in my book, a good link from a press release from an authority place is worth about $1,000.00 dollars to me. So I know how much I'm willing to pay for the links, and if you can get a PR firm to guarantee you a certain amount of links and they'll keep going until they get them, it's very hard to lose on that Kathleen. Kathleen: Now, how are you measuring authority of these links? Measuring Link Authority Brian: I'm not too strict on them. I like to use SEMrush. I have one of the toolbars that I keep open. As long as the website has basically organic traffic cost. I love this statistic. I use SEMrush and you know what they do? They take the keywords that you rank for and they convert it to if you were to pay for it on paper click, how much it's worth. So I know if the website is getting some traffic, if they're indexed, it's a valuable link. But more importantly Kathleen, it's an organic link, okay? So, even if it's not on that great of a website or that much of an authority of a website, it's a natural link and starts building up that link profile and it's worth actually a lot. Even these podcasts that I'm doing, Kathleen, is a way to build links. So you know a lot of people that run podcasts, they post the article and they'll link to my websites. Those are extremely valuable links that real companies do. Kathleen: Alright, I'm so glad you brought that up because, it's interesting, the push back that I often hear from business owners, when you say things like you need to write an article and get it published out there, a lot of times what I hear is, but I'm not a great writer. Or I don't like to write, or I can't write. And you know, I think it's great to know that there are options. Using Outsourced Writers Kathleen: You don't have to always write. You could go on podcasts and be a guest, if you find the right podcast with the right fit. And that's another way of doing this, so. Good point that you made there. Brian: I also want to say this. As a business owner you maybe a great writer, you may not. You don't have to write all your own articles. You know I have to have a knowledge of how to write articles. I read some books on writing and I practiced it. I love the book by Stephen King on writing well. Great book. But I hire free lancers to write articles. I do. Alright. You know it's very hard to keep generating these articles and run a business. I like to find freelancers. I do it on Upwork.com. You hire these people very similar to hiring normal employees. I like to get them on the phone. I interview them. When I give them an article, I'll actually have a phone call with them, for about a half an hour or an hour, and I'll go over all the content, and they'll provide it back to me. We'll massage it and make sure it's great, and then release it, because they're writing in your voice. You have to make sure you can edit it. But yes, you don't have to write them yourself, Kathleen. You can hire free lancers. There's a lot of firms that do so. So I definitely encourage people to do that. Kathleen: I'm glad you brought that up as well, because I think there's different ways of outsourcing article creation, and I've certainly had my experience with most of them. What I've seen is that where business owners outsource and they say, for example your article, Seven Insurance Game Changers for 2019. You know, if you just put something on Upwork and said I want somebody to write something on this, and you said go and write it, what you would get back would probably be, forgive my language, but total crap. Whereas, if you're outsourcing writing and you're willing to either write an outline with your key points, you are after all the subject matter expert, or if you're willing to be interviewed and find a writer who has a journalism background, often they can tease it out of you. I think taking a completely hands off approach is a tremendous, tremendous mistake. Brian: Yeah. You know it's about quality, not quantity. Absolutely. And yeah, I've made those mistakes too, Kathleen. I've hired people on a lot of these platforms iwriter, I don't know a bunch of them. You can't really just give somebody a topic and let them run with it. It's just not a good practice. What I've learned is that you want to find somebody you have a rapport with. And absolutely speak with them. If you're not going to be speaking with them verbally over the telephone, it's not really worth doing. You have to treat them almost like they're an employee. I like to find people that are quality writers, and I stick with them. Right. All these freelancers want long term relationships, and I find a couple and I stick with them. And absolutely keep having phone calls, get them on video, get them on zoom, and build a relationship with a writer because its so important if they write in your voice. And again, it's not about quantity. You don't want to pump these out. They have to be quality. Not little short blog posts, either. I like to write actual pages between 800 words and 1500 words. Kathleen: Yeah. Amen, on sticking with the writers, because it's like hiring anybody. Having that ramp up period can be painful and expensive and once you've gotten somebody to the point where they're doing the job you need them to do, hold on to them. So, alright. You're working on your back links, you're producing these articles, you're getting somebody to help distribute them out, so that you can get published elsewhere. What comes next? Contributing Guest Articles as a Back Linking Strategy Brian: Once you start building up that press page, there's a few different things you can do. I like to apply to become an editor, or a contributor. So right now I'm a contributor at Entrepeneur.com. And I am also on Forbes.com. There's a couple industry magazines that kind of come to me as well. I like to join organizations. If you can qualify for an organization, do it. I'm a member of the Million Dollar Roundtable of Insurance. Top 1% of financial advisors in the world. They keep coming to me and I write articles for them or they interview me for articles. I'm a member of the Young Entrepreneurship Council. They also have the Forbes Council. On those they have questions you can answer and you can get them published all over the web. So join organizations. I think sponsoring people is another great thing that you can do. You can just do a Google search for sponsors and find something locally, but make sure that they give you a link. One of the main things is I want to see if they're giving me a back link. I'll write testimonials for all the companies I do business with and I'll value them higher if they'll give me a link. I'm always after them. Now, some people say, “Oh, don't go after no follow links.” I'm kind of from the thinking of that I'm fine with no follow links. Do they help? I think they do. I think they build up your overall link profile. If you don't have a certain amount of no follow links, you're going to stand out in the Google algorithm as an unnatural link profile. No follow, follow, doesn't matter. Redirects, you'll want redirects. If you hover over that link, you want it to go to your website not a redirect. But every link that you build, everything you do, all I can say is everything I do, I'm looking for those link backs. Participating in Contributor Programs Kathleen: So let's go back to the beginning of what you just said, which was that you apply to be a contributor. And you talked about Entrepreneur and Forbes and those are two very well known, well regarded publications. I would imagine most business owners would be really excited to be able to contribute articles there. How hard is that to do? What's involved in that process? Brian: You have to have a little body of work. Again, it's so much as the press page. All these places they actually have a forum you'd be so surprised that you can apply to become a contributor. They don't hide it. You can say what your expertise is if you have an expertise in a certain niche, all the better. And if you have a body of work, these people want content. The other thing they're looking for Kathleen is what kind of following do you have? If you write an article they want people to come to the website. So if I'm building up a social media profile or my email list, I have 30,000 Twitter followers and 4,000 Facebook followers and I have an email list of 40,000, let these guys know then in the application. Huge. So those are the kinds of things that they're looking for to become a contributor. I do want to say, well a couple of other things, but I just want to make sure that I give you a chance in case you have questions. Kathleen: I'm curious about this because I've looked into these contributor programs before and what has stopped me from digging further is, well number one, I'm not sure that I could generate enough articles with enough frequency on top of doing my podcast. So I'm curious is there an expectation for how often you contribute? Is it however often you want to? How does the program work once you're in? And is it different from publication? Brian: I think they do want to a regular contributor, I would definitely say you're willing to do it for a month to begin. Use a freelancer to get started. What I found is though they don't really hold you to it. So if you give them a couple of articles, you can take a break for three months. Once you're in, you're in. They give you access to their admin console and you can submit articles whenever you want. So let them know that you want to do it for a month to begin. I just want to let people know that I've never had anyone holds me to it. Kathleen: That's good to know. So you said you had a few more things you wanted to add and I kind of interrupted you there. Let's go with what you were going to say. Other Back Linking Shortcuts  Brian: All right. There's a couple of shortcuts that I've been using lately. One is Quora. Quora is becoming a wonderful place to submit and contribute content. If you can write a really nice answer and format it a certain way, it actually gets picked up. I've had pick ups across the board on Forbes and sometimes you get picked up on Time, you get picked up on AOL. It's amazing how many people pick up Quora articles. You could also publish them on Medium and then you can build up a profile that way. So you don't really necessarily have to be a contributor to build up your kind of portfolio of work. When you're going on Quora, it's worth learning and you can see the people that are getting picked up, see the format that they're using and you put a link in those and you put a link back to your website and they let you have that. So I've gotten so many articles also published using Quora. Huge. I think it's kind of a secret that not many people talk about, but I'd like to share it with your listeners. The other is, I know it's kind of an old thing, but Help A Reporter Out (HARO), you can get a lot of pickups from that. It's such a pain to keep up with it. Although if you outsource it to a freelancer that really speaks in your voice and at least let them run with it, you can get pickups that way. Kathleen: Yeah, I get those HARO emails several times a day and they are gold mines and I have definitely gotten written up in some pretty big publications, but man, is it like drinking from the firehose? So now we can't keep going without stopping for a minute and I got to ask you to go into a little bit more detail on this Quora stuff because you are actually the first person who's talked about this on my podcast and I am always a sucker for these new channels and new strategies. So when you say you got to look at the way they format it, can you get detailed for a minute there and talk through that? Brian: Yeah, you have to format it. It's coming from you, so it has to be I and pose yourself as the expert. Those are huge. So right when the beginning you can say, look I've been doing this for 15 years. I've earned $50 million in revenue. Pose yourself as the expert and then organize it like a very good article. Now, there's a limit. You never want to go over a thousand words. The sweet spot is about 800 words. You want to give specifics, you want to organize it kind of with the headings on there and then they have kind of like internal blogs on Quora and you can submit it there as well. So that's the secondary thing you should do. They kind of have industry specific blogs in core that you can post your stuff. And then I just got to tell you, you'd be so surprised of how many editors and online publications are just monitoring Quora. It's so surprising, but go through some of these people that are contributing quite a bit and you can look in their profile and you can see what articles were picked up. They let you see it. And not only that Kathleen, I mean the traffic they can come from it is immense. It is kind of a lot of people may answer a question and you may not get the top spot but sometimes you will and when you do it it's so worth it. Yeah, go through there, find a question that you could answer, do your best. Have a freelancer help you with it and it's a great way to get those very elusive links without having to become a contributor. Now, you're not going to get published every time, but I'd say for me it's been about 50% of the time. Kathleen: Wow. Now, are you always creating original content for Quora or are you ever taking content you've published on your own website, for example, and repurposing it? Brian: I like to do original content and what I'll also do is I'll edit the article a little bit and also post it on Medium and that seems to be the formula. There's a few internet marketing firms, SEO firms that are kind of doing this under the radar and this is the ingredients to do so. Quora, then Medium, and then you also publish on your LinkedIn. All right, that's another group I think. Connect with all the editors. It's a simple thing. Very few people turn people down on LinkedIn and then you post it on your LinkedIn and that's a good thing. Also post it on your Twitter and Facebook and boom, let it run from there. Kathleen: Yeah, that's just so interesting. I'm going to have to test this out now because I have answered questions on Quora, but I've never really written them up like an article, so I'm curious to see what's going to happen if I try that. All right, what's the next step? We got our guest posts, we got our our back links, our press page. What comes next? Brian: You're starting to build up an authority website and most people are not in that competitive industry like I am. So just a few of those links and you're going to be way ahead of your competitors. You put a little bit of work and then you hired some writers, maybe hired some PR people to distribute. The next thing is working on your website and conversion rate optimization. I like building up reviews, that's my thing. I'm in the insurance industry and people stereotypically have a terrible reputation. Using Online Reviews to Drive Conversions Brian: I want to be the good guy in the industry. So I've always gone after reviews and the more I get the better. I value a review that on my own website at about $100 a piece and once I get a good review on my website I give them that exact same comment and I ask them to put it on Google Business or the Better Business Bureau. Those are my two, sometimes Facebook. Same comment, just give it to them and overwhelmingly people will give me additional reviews. Kathleen: Now you've mentioned about Better Business Bureau twice and I have to ask you, why the BBB? And I think I might know the answer, but I'm curious to see what you say. Brian: Well people have done studies and I've actually done a study myself. I paid 1500 people to do a survey and I asked them what is the most credible source that you would go to? Which one has the most weight? And I did Yelp, then I did a Google Business, the Better Business Bureau, Facebook. Better Business Bureau wins overwhelmingly. Not only that, it's inexpensive to get in. It's like $550 to get a membership, although they give you a seal. A beautiful seal on your website and that seal is one of the best seals you can get to increase conversion rates. So it's a double pop there. And then if you can start getting reviews on the Better Business Bureau and an A plus rating, which you kind of get automatically at start, when people look your business up and overwhelmingly people will, they'll still look up your name followed by reviews or complaints. I've done studies on this and they do do that and the Better Business Bureau comes up number one and two and they'll also display the stars. And usually that's the tipping point. They'll read your website, they'll read your services, they'll look you up. And then boom, Better Business Bureau wonderful. I trust this company. Kathleen: Yeah, it's interesting. There's been a lot of chatter in search engine optimization forums lately about whether Google is factoring in particularly Better Business Bureau reviews into its ranking algorithm. And I just read recently that they said they're not, but then there's all these SEOs who are saying, well, they might say that, but the data shows that they are. And so it's something that's been on my radar of, Oh, I kind of need to keep watching this because it's an interesting area that not a lot of companies focus, which if it is a ranking factor, it could be a major opportunity. Brian: I don't want to speculate on that Kathleen. I do believe so. I know the Better Business Bureau gives a link back and I do believe that that link back is very valuable. I'd be surprised if they didn't look at the ratings and I'd be surprised if they didn't look at the report, whether it's an A, B or C company and how many complaints. It'd be smart for them to do so. I also have the beliefs that Google actually ranks websites higher on the website statistics of how many people come to your website and stay on your website and how many page views and whether they go back and do another search for another company. Back in the day and Google I think it was called In The Plex, where they Google would measure what is a successful search? A successful search is when people type something into Google, go to a website and don't do another search. They found what they were looking for. And I've had pages on my website that I've had great statistics on into how many pages and time and those pages for me rank the best, they just do. Kathleen: Yeah. I always like to say that Google's in the business of delivering the best answer the fastest and that's why page load times and quality of information, which you spoke to and that they measure quality of information, exactly by what you said, which is how many people bounce, how long do they spend on the page, that sort of thing. Those are really key metrics for them because they're in a competitive business just like we are even though they're completely killing it, but that's the reason they're killing it, is that they look at that stuff. Brian: I agree. I think in the past so many people were thinking about technical SEO and in this one bothers me to do technical SEO, although I think Google keeps moving away from it a little bit. They're looking more at those statistics and how it serves the user. So I like to do a link profile and then the quality content that I want to answer the user's question, I want them to stay on my website. And the more I do that, the higher rank. I'm ranking against big companies, MetLife and State Farm and then also companies that have been getting funding, getting $180 million in funding, one of my competitors got. The other one got $50 million and I'm able to compete with them. So it's an even playing field on the internet and you could have a lot of fun if you put a little bit of work in it. Kathleen: Yeah, and I think time and time again, the data shows and the results show that if you solve for the user, you get better results than if you try and solve for the search engine. Because search engines change their rules all the time. You talked about testimonials. Do you have a process for getting testimonials because I know lots of companies like the idea of getting them, but then they freeze and sort of fall into paralysis at the thought of how they're going to get them. Brian: I touched on them a little bit. I value a review that comes into my website at $100 and these are reviews that I control. If someone gives me a bad review, I can fix it. I can contact the customer or I can choose not to display it on my website. I think that's something that everyone should do. I think so many people are scared to go out and ask them to review on my Google Business, to the Better Business Bureau because the fear of getting a bad review. Now, I also want to say I value a review on the Better Business Bureau or Google or any of these third party websites at $250 a piece plus maybe $50 each additional year because they stay on there. So I like to incentivize my team, my employees. I bonus them on the reviews that they get. I do believe that if you have a business that you focus on getting reviews, you're almost kind of like required to do a great ethical, honest and transparent business focused on customer service and I love that. So I like it when the more people that focus on reviews. I let my customers ask for the reviews. I have an automated process, but it comes from my sales team. I use ActiveCampaign. After I've delivered the service, I send them an email on the fourth, the eighth, and the twelfth day, and I make it very easy in the email. I have little stars, and if they click a star, they go to the review page. Alright? I have them enter in a comment. I like the stars and the comment, that way on my website I can include schema, or rich snippets, that show up in the search engines. And if they give me a five star review, I give them that exact comment in another email from the agent, automated, Kathleen. And it has the exact link for them enter in the review. Don't send them to your main Better Business Bureau page or just do a Google search. There's particular URLs that you can give so it gives them the pop-up right then and there, so they can put the star and the comment. Don't make people click around. The easier it is, the better. And if you deliver great service, it invokes the theory of reciprocity and people want to help you. And especially if it comes from the person that helped them, and it's a personal thing, and they built a relationship, they're worth so much, Kathleen. I have seen my conversion rates, and I have seen so many customers call me and say they chose me, they chose our company, because of all the great reviews. Measuring ROI Kathleen: Now, one thing that I find really interesting is that a couple of times now, you've referenced whether it's what a review is worth to you, or what an article or a backlink is worth to you. How important is it to your process, to understand the value of those things? Brian: It's so important. I think it's hard to measure ROI on these things, right? There's a lot of studies. Let's say you get a few five star reviews on Yelp, it'll increase the reservations of a restaurant by 10%. Look at Amazon, people are just scurrying to get reviews for their products to increase their sales. I like putting a value in there so people know the value of it. For me, look, if I'm getting a hundred dollars for each review, and 250 dollars for another review, I measure on the increased conversion rate, but I also know how much I can bonus my employees for it. I'll run a special for my employees that equates to about 50 dollars per review that they get from their clients. Normally, it's 25 dollars. But it's a great bonus for my team, and I track it, and I let people know who's winning. It's definitely an initiative and a main thing in my business. And if you know the value, I think that you can encourage your team to do so and make it more of an initiative for your company. Kathleen: Yeah. I see, very often, companies that offer customers some sort of bonus, whether it's a gift card or what have you, for leaving a review. But I really like the approach of offering that to your employees. Because ultimately if your customer is giving the review and not getting paid, it certainly is more authentic. You're going to probably get better reviews because they'll be from people who actually really care about your business, and it's great to have your team really invested. Brian: Absolutely. Look, I've tried the incentives, and it's a tricky path. I'll offer the incentives for an honest review, but I'll only do it for the review on my own website. But yeah, you're exactly right. I found so much more value in bonusing my team, rather than incentivizing the customer. I don't know the logic behind it, I think has to do a lot with the reciprocity principle. But yeah, boy, it's a great way to do it. And also, you want to bonus your team so they have the focus of giving great customer service, and that's what builds the relationship, and it builds lifetime value to the customers, and it starts building and growing your business for the longterm. Brian's Results Kathleen: You've talked about so many different and really interesting ways that you've built up your website's authority, and that's really how you get the traffic to the site, and then building up your credibility through reviews and testimonials. Can you talk a little bit about the results you've gotten from this? When did you start doing this for True Blue? How long did it take for you to start to see results in, and what do those results look like today in your very competitive industry? Brian: Look, I've seen growth every year, right? I think a few years ago, I was doing a million dollars in revenue. Now I'm doing five, six million dollars in revenue, and it's very profitable. Every time it goes up. Now one of the ways to keep it going up is increased conversion rates. Kathleen, my conversion rate compared to my competitor's is about 10 times more. Kathleen: Wow. Brian: A lot of my competitors are lead generators, and they'll just collect someone's name, email, and phone, to run an insurance quote and those leads aren't worth very much. They'll close maybe 7% of those. In my business, I collect application requests. I let people run a quote, I give them all the information, I let them view all the reviews. Not only from the customers, but I have people review the actual insurance companies that they buy from. They're able to do a lot of the research, similar to how they would do it on Amazon when picking a product. So when I get somebody apply, I'm closing about 25 to 30% of them. Kathleen: You're talking about, now, lead to customer conversion? Brian: Lead to customer, yes. Exactly. While my competitors are closing seven, I'm closing close to 30, which means I don't have to have that many salespeople. My competitors need to have four or five times more salespeople just to handle that volume. I got happier employees, my employees love working for us. We're dealing with customers that want to buy from us, too. We're not chasing down customers. They're happy with us, and they've chosen us. So it's a great way to do business. Kathleen: Now, you've got this really high lead to customer conversion rate, and it sounds like a good part of what's contributing to that is the way you've built out your site and the fact that you've really turned it into a resource center for them to do their research, and you're keeping them on your site while they're doing it which is always a great thing. How much of that conversion rate is being influenced by any sort of automated lead nurturing you're doing, and how much is being influenced by direct sales with your team? Brian: It's a little cyclical in my company. Sometimes they have insurance products that are agent-less. Those are great, Kathleen. People go online and they'll do it. It's an easy sale. You don't really have to pay commissions to anybody, you get them all. Most of the leads that come in, I have one of my sales team collect all the information, just because there's private information that we collect; social security number, and drivers license, and health histories, certain things we don't really want to ask online. As far as nurturing, yeah, look, we're asking for a lot of personal information for insurance so we let people save their quotes. We'll have them enter their email but not their phone. We want to be the good guys, and we'll send them a series of emails. We have a series of emails that goes out to everybody, even the people that applied that we couldn't contact. The more emails, the better. The more honest they are, the better. The more personable they are, the better. I like to assign an agent to somebody, I like to give them a picture of the agent. I like to give them the agent's LinkedIn profile. I like to let them see all the reviews that that agent has gotten, and I'll also include links to the Better Business Bureau and Google. But yeah, you have to have an automated system to chase down those customers. I'm constantly surprised at how many people respond to the tenth email or the eighth call. Kathleen: Yeah, persistence pays off, as long as it's done in a way that's not really annoying. Well, fascinating. And you've actually written about a lot of what you're talking about now in your book, correct? The Salesman Who Doesn't Sell Brian: Absolutely. I've leveraged the book to do a lot of marketing for my businesses. My goal necessarily wasn't to make a lot of money selling the book. I just wanted to give out the information. I've been very generous and liberal in giving out all the secrets. I don't want people to say, "Oh, he was too general." So I've given away as much as I can. I want to give your listeners a free copy of the audiobook, my website brianjgreenberg.com/inboundsuccess. Kathleen: Awesome. Brian: For anybody that wants to go in there, download the book, I hope they find value from it. Kathleen: Well, I'll download it because I love audiobooks. I listen to everything on Audible at 2x speeds. I'll hear what you sound like talking very fast. The book is The Salesman Who Doesn't Sell. So if anybody is really curious about an actionable way to do some of what Brian's doing, that's a great thing to check out, and I will put the link that you just mentioned in the show notes. Get your free audio copy of "The Salesman Who Doesn't Sell" at brianjgreenberg.com/inboundsuccess Kathleen's Two Questions Kathleen: Before we wrap up, I've got two questions for you that I always ask everyone I interview. And I'm interested to hear what you have to say as somebody who's come from an insurance background, even though it sounds like you're a better marketer than a lot of marketers. The first one is, a company or individual, who do you think is doing, in non-marketing, really well right now? Brian: In my business, there's a company called NerdWallet, and they started doing commercials right now. They're giving away such customer-friendly content. I love it when people give tables, and graphs, and they give recommendations. And they've been doing such a good job with it and building up so much of a link profile, and they get picked up so often from great publications, and they're ranking so well. It's almost bothersome to me. They've got a great team of content writers, and I have a lot of respect for them. Kathleen: So check out NerdWallet if you want to see a really good example. And then the next question is ... And this one's going to be really interesting, for me at least. The thing that I've observed is that the world of digital marketing just changes so fast. As soon as you figure out how to do SEO, the rules of the game change, et cetera. And I'm in marketing, so it's my job to be on top of it all day every day, and I still find it challenging. So for a guy whose business is not in marketing, although you certainly have mastered it, how do you make sure that you stay up to date and on top of all the latest thinking in the world of digital marketing? Brian: Good question. I watch Barry Schwartz's weekly video recaps on Fridays. I think he does a great job. I like seeing everything that's coming out, and I get most of my news that way, Kathleen. What I like to do is, I like to do everything per Google's guidelines and do everything on the up and up. That way, every time Google comes out with an algorithm update ... knock on wood ... The majority of time, I'll see my website go up. I don't want the stress of having these Google updates and having myself be penalized. I don't want it. So I play the longterm game, and I think as long as you're doing everything that real companies do, real company stuff, you're going to be alright. I don't follow too many people, I'm not on everything all the time. But I like to do a general swipe of it, and I get most of it from Barry Schwartz. Kathleen: Yeah. I follow Barry Schwartz as well, and he is with, if I'm remembering correctly ... Is it Search Engine Roundtable? Brian: Yeah, Search Engine Roundtable. Kathleen: He has a phenomenal email newsletter, and I definitely follow him on Twitter. Because if you want the breaking SEO news, that guy manages to somehow be everywhere at once, and he knows everything that's going on with Google, at least it feels like. Brian: Yeah, he knows everybody there. Kathleen: He does, he does. He also posts some really cool pictures of different Google offices around the world, which I always think are fun to see. Brian: I think Moz's Whiteboard Friday is really good. I've kind of stopped watching those since Rand left, a little bit. Kathleen: I know. But do you follow him at his new website, SparkToro? Brian: I do. Yeah, he has some great posts. I definitely am on his newsletter, and I don't miss those. He's such an honest guy. Kathleen: Oh, he is. Brian: Such inside info. Kathleen: He's writing some of the best thought leadership on no-click searches right now, or what he likes to call usurp SEO. It's so good. Brian: Interesting. Kathleen: I could geek-out over this for hours, but we must wrap up. How to Reach Brian Kathleen: So if someone wants to talk to you, learn more about what you've done, you've shared the URL. I'm going to ask you to say it again, and then any other information you want to share about the best way for people to find you online. Brian: Sure, brianjgreenberg.com/inboundsuccess and my main website, truebluelifeinsurance.com. You can see what we're doing over there and how we're leveraging the reviews and putting people in the sales funnel. Kathleen: Thank you, that's great, and this has been a lot of fun. I've definitely learned a few new things that I'm going to try out, including Quora for sure. I appreciate it, Brian. Kathleen: If you're listening, and you found this valuable, you know what to do. Please leave the podcast a review on Apple Podcasts or the platform of your choice. And as always, if you know someone else doing kick-ass inbound marketing work, Tweet me @workmommywork, because I would love to interview them. That's it for this week. Thanks, Brian. Brian: Thank you.

2-Minute Tip: Choose Your Headline   As you frame your talk, make sure you choose the headline for it.  Flip through a newspaper or magazine and look at the headlines. Their job is to give you a little bit of information in a way that is compelling enough that you want to read more. They have to be short. They can be funny, But when you define the headlines for your talk, you also need it to get people to come see you and give you their time.   Think about your headline as the kind of thing that might be the subject line of an email or go on a poster advertising your talk. If you already know your goal for the talk and what you want people to take away from your talk, you should be able to develop the headline easily. If you can't, then maybe your talk isn't quite ready yet and you need to review your goals again.   Post Tip Discussion: Meet Scott Charlston   I first met Scott through a professional job hunting workshop where we are both looking for our next adventures. If you're looking for a great PR or media relations expert, reach out to Scott. If you're looking for a corporate trainer, product evangelist, or podcaster, just email bill@2minutetalktips.com.   In this episode, you'll hear about just what it is PR professionals do and the things they work on while doing media training. While there's an obvious surface level overlap between public speaking, ultimately it goes deeper. The core themes of defining and knowing your message, understanding your audience, and telling compelling stories that I talk about all the time on this show are also the core elements that Scott focuses on in his work with executives and media relations teams.   Scott spent 6 years as a reporter and anchor at Spokane's KREM TV before moving into PR for nearly 20 years with Weber Shandwick and Verizon Wireless. He's done media training, media relations, executive coaching and even more -- all with a focus on putting people at the center of the story, distilling complex ideas into clear benefits. Links   Scott on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-charlston/ Scott on Twitter https://twitter.com/scottcharlston?lang=en Help A Reporter Out (HARO) https://www.helpareporter.com/ Muck Rack https://muckrack.com/ How the Mighty Fall on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/How-Mighty-Fall-Companies-Never/dp/0977326411/ref=sr_1_1 Andru Edwards on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/gearlive   Call To Action: What are your thoughts on this chat and PR? Let us know in the comments below. Share this episode with a friend, colleague, relative, reporter, or PR Specialist. Just give them this link: http://2minutetalktips.com/scott Subscribe to 2-Minute Talk Tips for free in your favorite podcast app. Don't get best...get better.

Peter Shankman is the author of four books including his most recent “Zombie Loyalists” and is best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and as the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc. a boutique social media, marketing and customer service strategy firm in NYC. Peter Shankman’s latest project, ShankMinds: Breakthrough is for those who need a little mentoring, but aren’t ready to go and join a full-blown Mastermind just yet. Perhaps you haven’t fully launched your business. Perhaps you’re still working for someone else. For whatever reason, you know you need mentoring, not to mention real-world feedback from people just like you – people who are in the same boat as you, but bring their own opinions and strategies to the table. You need a group of people you can trust, that you can call your own. We’re going to help you, and I want you to join us now: ShankMinds: Breakthrough! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Shankman started Help A Reporter Out (HARO) to connect experts with journalists who needed people to quote for stories. HARO sent a simple email three times a day to subscribers and because every email had the potential to be a reporter from a media outlet like The New York Times, the email open rates were close to 80%. Most days Shankman worked from his sofa with two employees helping him remotely.  Within three years, Shankman was generating $1.5MM from selling simple text ads on his email blasts. That’s when Shankman’s largest advertiser approached him to buy HARO. In the episode you’ll learn: the remarkable relationship between ADHD and entrepreneurship the surprising upside of selling instead of scaling your business the truth about who is most likely to buy your business the best way to find a strategic buyer for your company

Today's question comes from Brandi, who is feeling overwhelmed by the existing competition in her market. Is it even worth getting started? How can she get access to big name media properties for exposure? Also, how does she add the ability to ask audio questions, like I have for the AskPat Podcast? The tool that records questions is called Speakpipe, which allows you to embed an audio recorder on your webpage (http://askpat.com/speakpipe). Listen to Smart Passive Income Podcast Session #145 to learn how to get coverage from large media outlets (http://smartpassiveincome.com/session145). Another great tool is Help A Reporter Out (HARO), which will connect you with reporters who need sources for their stories (https://www.helpareporter.com/). Do you have a question about gaining exposure for your website? Record it at http://www.askpat.com/. Today's sponsor is Freshbooks. Go to http://www.freshbooks.com/askpat and enter "Ask Pat" for more information.

Peter Shankman, my guest in this podcast, truly believes that ADD and ADHD are good for you. He believes they're not just good for you, but that they can be keys to success. He hosts the website , a blog that focuses on the benefits of having ADD/HD and a podcast that interviews CEOs, celebrities, and other successful people who have ADD/HD, and have turned it to their advantage. For several years, Peter has been public about the fact that he's ADD/HD, and that he blames ADHD for most of his success. He's best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and as the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc. a boutique social media, marketing and customer service strategy firm located in New York City. Peter spends the majority of his time on the road, keynoting corporate events for clients including AmericanExpress, Sheraton, Saudi Aramco, Cisco, SAP, Sprint, The US Department of Defense, Walt Disney World and many more. In his little spare time he is a NASA Advisory Board member, angel investor in multiple start-ups, sub-4 marathon runner, Ironman and B-licensed skydiver. A tweet of his was voted one of the top 10 Tweets of 2011 by ABC News and Twitter. He also recently authored the bestselling book . He lives in New York City with his beautiful wife and daughter, and two psychotic cats. During our discussion, you'll discover: -Why Peter thinks that ADD and ADHD are good for you...[7:30] -How do you know if you have ADD or ADHD or if you're just a "busy" person...[16:20] -The best book to read if you have ADD or ADHD...[16:46] -Famous people who have ADD and ADHD (you'll be surprised), including Ben Franklin, Seth Godin and more...[18:17] -Whether ADD and ADHD is an actual condition, or just an overdiagnosis for people who are busy and get stuff done...[21:35] -Peter's three top easy and simple ways to "fast reboot" an ADHD brain...[30:14] -Specific supplements that can help with ADD or ADHD...[38:27] -How to eliminate decision-making fatigue and keep too many choices from "paralyzing" you...[41:40] -What are the most important things you can do if you live with someone who has ADHD...[45:50] -And much more! Resources from this episode: - -Book: -My original interview with Peter: Do you have questions, comments or feedback for Peter or me? Leave your thoughts at and one of us will reply!

Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you merge the power of pure creativity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a dose of adventure, all to make it work to your advantage. The New York Times has called him "a public relations all-star who knows everything about new media and then some," while Investor's Business Daily has labeled him "crazy, but effective." He founded Help A Reporter Out (HARO) in 2010 from his apartment before selling it to Vocus. Peter is the also founder of ShankMinds: Business Masterminds, a series of small business entrepreneurial-style masterminds in over 25 cities worldwide. Additionally, Peter is also the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique Social Media, Marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Innovation through exploration Why you need to hold your ground with clients and force them to trust your expertise How to get your customers to tell your story for you Peter’s book “Zombie Loyalists” Peter’s company The Geek Factory How agencies can make customer service attractive for their clients Why rewarding someone for being your 10,000th follower is an insult to the rest of your followers Why everything you create has to have value for someone How to create invested customers with the way you respond through email How Peter carves out time in his schedule for everything Peter’s preferred methods for professional development What Peter’s agency of the future would look like How Peter helped his employees with professional development The things that get in the way of corporations hearing their customers Things agencies can do right now to implement the ideas from this episode Ways to Contact Peter Shankman: Book: "Zombie Loyalists" Twitter: @petershankman We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

In this weeks episode , Matty A. interviews angel investor, keynote speaker, award-winning author & podcast host, and founder of Help A Reporter Out (HARO), Peter Shankman! Tune in as Matt taps into one of the fastest moving millionaire minds on the scene and finds out how Peter maintains balance, manages to take excellent care of himself, AND runs the current largest free source repository in the world by owning his priorities.   Show Notes

I last had Peter Shankman on my show the night of Hurricane Sandy. It was, by far, the biggest audience I have ever had for this show. Peter asked me if he could come back, this time to talk about ADHD. He didn't have to ask twice! Peter Shankman blames ADHD for most of his success. He recently launched Faster Than Normal, a blog and podcast focused on the BENEFITS of having ADD/HD.  Peter is best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and as the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc. a boutique social media, marketing and customer service strategy firm located in New York City He spends the majority of his time on the road, keynoting corporate events for clients including American Express, Sheraton, Saudi Aramco, Cisco, SAP, Sprint, The US Department of Defense, Walt Disney World and many more. In his little spare time he is a NASA Advisory Board member, angel investor in multiple start-ups, sub-­4 marathon runner, Ironman and B-­licensed skydiver. A tweet of his was voted one of the top 10 Tweets of 2011 by ABC News and Twitter. Peter recently authored the bestselling book Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans. He lives in New York City with his beautiful wife and daughter, and two psychotic cats. You can connect with Peter online http://shankman.com and on Twitter @petershankman

Inadequate customer service keeps rearing it’s ugly head. The good news is that any company of any size can do something immediate to make their service better. Enter Peter Shankman, the New York Times dubbed “PR all star”, to discuss how being super-excellent may be as easy as “being a little better sometimes”. It's Nice to Be Nice Peter attributes his success to “trying to be nice”. In today’s customer service economy, many people expect to be treated “like crap”. Since customer experience is trending as the main thing driving revenue, ensuring that your customers truly feel like they are a part of the company and taken care of must be a driving goal. Peter’s latest book, Zombie Loyalists takes this idea and runs with it. A zombie loyalist is someone who is in love with your product and who drives much of your business by fighting for your brand. By consciously creating a single positive experience for that customer, you have created a loyalist. They will stick with your brand and fight to refer you, bringing their friends along with them. And since customer service tends to be so bad that consumers expect poor service, the simple act of treating people “a little better than normal” can go a long way. As Peter points out, customers generally don’t mind when a company screws up, they mind when the company doesn’t respond to fix the problem. "The only thing that’s worse than a hater is someone who used to be a lover”, says Peter, so ensure that your customers stay loyal by treating them right. After all, it’s nice to be nice—and it's nice to be able to pay the mortgage. Looking for easy, actionable tips on how to maintain your customers’ loyalty and create a brand that people will love? Tune in! About Peter Shankman Peter Shankman is a worldwide connector, presenting radical new ways of customer service thinking. He is a corporate and conference keynote speaker, a consultant for a number of Fortune 100 companies, an Adjunct Professor of Public Relations at New York University, and an author of four books. In his spare time Peter runs a series of business masterminds (not to mention marathons and triathlons). He was one of the founders of the AOL Newsroom and Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and has been dubbed by the New York Times as the “public relations all star on everything about new media”. Peter has been featured on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and The Wall Street Journal. As if that wasn’t enough, he also advises NASA. Connect with Peter LinkedIn Twitter Instagram www.shankman.com peter@shankman.com Peter's Business Masterminds, www.shankminds.com Related Content Peter's book, Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans Help A Reporter Out, www.helpareporter.com SCOTTeVEST, mentioned in the episode Sponsor Message  Customer Experience is hot… but are you taking advantage of its huge potential to make your services business more prominent and profitable? Join Service Strategies for an informative Customer Experience Workshop in San Diego on October 27th. You’ll learn how to create customer success while generating profitable revenue for your services business. The workshop is part of the Service Industry Summit event, which bring together leaders from companies like Cisco, Dell and others to discuss the challenges of a changing service landscape. Visit servicestrategies.com to learn more.   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A best-selling author, speaker, and serial entrepreneur, Peter is best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO), the social media website that redefined how journalism and PR works by connecting millions of sources with hundreds of thousands of journalists around the world each day, for free. Peter is also the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique Social Media, Marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide. Peter sits on the advisory board of NASA, is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Dell, and is a successful angel investor with multiple start-up companies in his portfolio.  

[Thihs show was broadcast live during Hurricane Sandy, with Peter living in Times Square, on the borderline of the power outage.  A true man of his word, he did the show.] Tonight I chat with the amazing PR and social media maven Peter Shankman (@petershankman), who simply has the Midas touch: a little Facebook group he started called "Help A Reporter Out" - better known as HARO -- in barely a year became a huge company that he sold for a substantial sum, and then became named Vice President. When Peter tweets, people pay attention, as Morton Steaks did when Peter jokingly tweeted a wish for Morton's to greet him at the airport with a steak... and they did!  A little bio: Peter Shankman blames ADHD for most of his success. A serial entrepreneur, Peter is best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO), the social media website that redefined how journalism and PR works by connecting millions of sources with hundreds of thousands of journalists around the world each day, for free. HARO was acquired by Vocus in 2010. Peter sits on the advisory board of NASA, is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Dell, and is a successful angel investor with multiple start-up companies in his portfolio. 2011 marked his entry into Hollywood, when he became Executive Producer on Right Next Door, a new film premiering soon. When he's not spending 90% of his time running through airports to catch a connecting flight, Peter is based in Times Square, New York. Learn more about Peter at www.petershankman.com and follow him on Twitter @petershankman. Buy Peter's new book, "Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over--and Collaboration Is In" on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nice-Companies-Finish-First-Over/dp/0230341896

Peter Shankman, Internet entrepreneur and founder of Help-A-Reporter-Out (HARO), has recorded a public service announcement urging participation in the 2012 Cupid's Chase 5K Run sponsored by Community Options Inc., a Princeton, NJ based national nonprofit organization that develops innovative housing and employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities. Shankman recorded the announcement through the Professional Podcast studios of Lubetkin Global Communications, a Cherry Hill based Internet audio and video production company. Community Options operates in 37 cities across 10 states supporting thousands of people and their families with the help of more than 2,500 employees. The public service announcement is available through the download link below for use on radio stations around the country.