Using Earned Media to Elevate Your Business

My friend James Patrick is an award winning photographer, best selling author, entrepreneur, coach, podcast host, and public speaker. We recently sat down to discuss the opaque world of earned media (put simply, this is when you get featured on things like magazine covers or podcast episodes not because you’ve paid for it but because you’ve been invited to participate). 

This is a part of the industry I’ve experienced firsthand, and it can be an intimidating one to navigate. There are so many content creators out there, which means there are more opportunities possible than ever before but also increased competition. So how do you set yourself apart? James gave great tips from his decades in the media industry – starting from his early days as a journalist. 

Interested in leveraging earned media to amplify your authority or generate leads for your business? 

Try it yourself:

• Don’t let imposter syndrome keep you from thriving. Part of our conversation touched on imposter syndrome and the danger of not putting yourself forward because you think you aren’t good enough or unique enough to enter a particular space. James mentioned that when he first picked up his camera, it wasn’t like the world needed another photographer. The same was true when he wrote his first book or posted his first podcast episode. Still, he has carved out his space and found success because he has moved with intention. If you want to put something out into the world, don’t let yourself wait until you have the perfect idea or the most professional equipment. An audience will overlook a lot of those details if they feel a connection to you and what you are saying. 

• Deepen authentic relationships. James has been in the industry for 20 years and shared that less than 10% of the media features he has done have been with people with “celebrity” or “influencer” status. Does that surprise you? What it really means is that the majority of people who end up on magazine covers or online platforms land those spots because of the strength of their idea and the relationships they’ve built. Hopefully this is encouraging; it means that you don’t necessarily have to wait until your Instagram following is in the hundreds of thousands before pitching yourself for these types of opportunities. 

• Make it easy for people. Think about everyone you would interact with in the process of landing earned media. Podcast guests, magazine publishers, your social media or podcast audience… the list goes on. Now, imagine they are 50 times busier than you. How would you make it as easy as possible for them to give you their attention? Maybe that means providing your guests with video cuts and social media content they can push out after their appearance. Perhaps it looks like pitching a handful of topics to the publisher based on research you’ve done about what their audience would appreciate. Making someone else’s job or life easier will help cement your reputation as their go-to person.