Are you ready to make your publicity dreams come true this year? Do you have an AMAZING message and want to share it so you can increase your impact and opportunities? Are you looking for new ways to connect with your audience?
LOOK NO FURTHER! I've teamed up with my friend Selena Soo and I'm sharing her FREE publicity calendar to help you!
I had the pleasure of also interviewing her on the She Believed She Could podcast this week and I am thrilled to share our conversation with you. Selena truly is an expert at helping others achieve their PR dreams and her team has done an AMAZING job pulling together this resource for you. Even if you're not ready for press, this calendar is also SUPER HELPFUL when it comes to content ideas for your social platforms.
Grab your copy here and make sure you tune in to the interview.
Memorable Moments:
I find with the people that I work with, the reason why they're pursuing media is because they know they have something really important to share with the world, whether it's a really powerful story, a message, a product or a service that could really transform someone's life. So it's so important to remember that you're doing this, not for you, but to really make an impact in the lives of others.
I am a perfectionist so I can understand overthinking things. But when I do a podcast interview, at the end of it or any kind of media interview I ask myself, did I show up generously? Was I present? Did I share information, stories, advice that could really help someone improve their life? And if the answer is yes, then I know that I've done a great job
I think there's nothing more inspiring than what I call a role model. But someone who really embodies a message of possibility and hope, who has maybe gone through the challenges that you are going through and has come out the other side of it and can show you how you can do the same.
I think that sometimes we can feel so alone in our pain and our challenges, but the reality is that some of the things that we experience are experienced by thousands or even millions of people, there is a universal thread there. And it can be very healing for other people, it can help them kind of let go of some of the shame.
So whenever we work with people in Impacting Millions and publicity in general, we just have them get really clear on what their goals and intentions are and making sure they get the right kind of publicity that matches their offers and business model.
if you are never putting yourself out there, then I can kind of guarantee that you're not going to get those opportunities.
Follow Selena on Social Media:
Website: www.selenasoo.com
Facebook: @SelenaSoo
Instagram: @selena_soo
Twitter: @selenasoo
Loved the episode? Check out the transcript:
Allison :
Selena, I am so excited to chat with you today. Would you mind just sharing a little bit more about yourself?
Selena Soo:
Yeah Allison, thank you so much for having me here. I'm thrilled to be here and I am the creator of Impacting Millions. It's a publicity program that helps entrepreneurs go from feeling like a best-kept secret to becoming that sought after leader in their industry, through publicity. So I just love helping people get seen on bigger stages, on podcasts, magazines, TV, doing interviews with their favorite influencers, being a guest speaker inside their program. So I'm all about helping people get the visibility to get them the credibility they're looking for in their business.
Allison :
And this can really help like everyone that's listening right now, which I love because whether you're building your brand, you're building your business, you're trying to really position yourself as an expert. It can really be transformative. And I think about just the impact it's had on my career, my life. It was really, and this audience is well aware. I struggled with an eating disorder, pretty severely when I was in high school. And part of me hoping to prevent others from going down that path was me sharing my story. And because I had this desire in my heart to do so at an early age, I was able to contribute to a lot of different publications and just continue to build awareness around what you can do from an advocacy perspective. And then of course, just then corporate America and everything else and my own companies and everything. Media has always been just such a wonderful resource.
Allison :
But for those that maybe are like, I don't know. Sometimes that imposter syndrome can creep in and it's like, who am I to share? Who am I to be positioned? What do you say to people that maybe are a little intimidated about media?
Selena Soo:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think there needs to be a driving reason for why you're doing this. And sometimes we may say things to ourselves like, well, I'm not like a natural extrovert or I am shy and all of that. But I find with the people that I work with, the reason why they're pursuing media is because they know they have something really important to share with the world, whether it's a really powerful story, a message, a product or a service that could really transform someone's life. So it's so important to remember that you're doing this, not for you, but to really make an impact in the lives of others. So yeah, I mean, I am a perfectionist so I can understand overthinking things. But when I do a podcast interview, at the end of it or any kind of media interview I ask myself, did I show up generously? Was I present? Did I share information, stories, advice that could really help someone improve their life?
Selena Soo:
And if the answer is yes, then I know that I've done a great job. So it's not because we're looking to show off or be perfect and like stroke our ego. It's because we're looking to make an impact. So I think when people remember why they're doing it, it really kind of takes some of the pressure off because there's no need to be perfect.
Allison :
Absolutely. And that's such great advice and I'd love to just get to know more and the audience to get to know more about your story and how this became something that you are so passionate about and helped so many other people do.
Selena Soo:
Yeah, absolutely. So when I was in my mid 20s, I had a quarter life crisis was working at a nonprofit in New York City at the time. And I had low self-esteem, I found myself clinically depressed and things got so bad that my mom flew all the way from Vancouver, Canada to New York to be by my side. And just to make sure I was putting food in my body, to make sure I was getting out of bed in the morning. And she would even accompany me on the subway to work. And at times I felt like I was this little school girl with my mom and I felt so helpless. And I asked a friend, "Do you know someone that I can work with? I need to find a way to feel better." And that's when I got introduced to this female life coach and through her, I got exposed to this world of incredible experts, authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders. And that's when I realized that when people are struggling and suffering, they don't just need more information. They are also looking for inspiration.
Selena Soo:
And I think there's nothing more inspiring than what I call a role model. But someone who really embodies a message of possibility and hope, who has maybe gone through the challenges that you are going through and has come out the other side of it and can show you how you can do the same. And so I just became really passionate about all of these incredible ideas and people that I was learning from. And I would ask my friends, have you heard of this person and that person because they're changing my life? And most of the time my friends had no idea who I was talking about. And that's where it really dawned on me that sometimes the people with the most powerful message, story, product, service are that best kept secret.
Selena Soo:
That's why I'm so passionate about publicity. And even though I identify as an introvert, the reason why I get publicity for myself is because I had this burning message and desire to help more people. And I find that it's the same for all of the people that I work with is that they're really driven by impact. So I love doing it because I think that publicity is also the fastest way to get that credibility. It's also a really powerful way to reach more people and it can really build that know, like and trust factor. And over the years, I mean, I've talked a lot about using publicity as a way to grow your business and make a bigger impact, that is kind of like the core thing that I do when it comes to publicity.
Selena Soo:
But more recently, I mean, you shared about some of your personal experiences and a couple years, oh it's actually last year, I opened up for the first time about leaving an emotionally abusive relationship. And it was a story that I think I knew deep in my heart I had to share it, even though it was incredibly terrifying. And I just share that with people because I think that a number of as want to inspire and help others, but we really feel afraid because we're like, what's going to happen if I share this story? Who are the people that I'm going to offend? What is my audience going to think of me? Are they going to think that I'm so stupid that I stayed in this situation? There's a lot of shame, whether it's an eating disorder or a health issue or a relationship issue.
Selena Soo:
And I don't think that we have to share every shameful story through the media. But I think for each of us, our soul knows whether there's a story that's meant to be shared, that can impact other people. And so I'm just so grateful to have the tool of publicity that I can use for myself and help share that with so many others that they can really share the stories they know that are meant to be told.
Allison :
And I love this because I know you believe this as well too, but you're like your story can be somebody else's survival guide.
Selena Soo:
Love that.
Allison :
And I think that [crosstalk 00:07:48]. Yes. Yeah. Well, in these types of situations that we're talking about, like these are vulnerable moments in our lives where yes, of course we could have kept it to ourselves, but people need to know that others have gone on through other situations. Sometimes that's the borrowed confidence that they need to make change in their own lives.
Selena Soo:
Yes.
Allison :
To do something different, to ask for help, to reach out for support, whatever it may be. And so in stories like this, like it's so wonderful. And I think sometimes, and I don't know if you felt the same way, but it's almost like it gave some purpose, was that like knowing like, okay, yes, I went through something difficult but I was able to navigate this and hopefully help other people so they don't get to that same point. And it almost made sense in my mind as to why, like it just kind of gave it a different meaning. And I know I've walked alongside a lot of people that have ended up sharing their stories too in different situations. And it can be incredibly healing too, and very therapeutic.
Selena Soo:
Yes.
Allison :
When you [crosstalk 00:08:47] that story to really impact others.
Selena Soo:
Yeah. I think also when you start telling your story, it changes your relationship to it from being just sometimes we can feel like we're in that victim place where this terrible thing happened to us, which very much can be the case. And there's a way to share your story where you become a leader and a beacon of hope for others. And they're a survival guide. And I find that with what happened to me as I started to share my story, well I certainly wouldn't want to repeat what happened, but I do feel like there was so much benefit that was gained and there were so many people that I helped. And I remember when I released my story, I had emails back from my audience and people saying things like "Selena, I had the same story, just different details."
Selena Soo:
And I think that sometimes we can feel so alone in our pain and our challenges, but the reality is that some of the things that we experience are experienced by thousands or even millions of people, there is a universal thread there. And it can be very healing for other people, it can help them kind of let go of some of the shame because I think the shame is the worst. When you feel ashamed of something, then you don't seek help and then you hide and then you stay stuck and then you get smaller. And when we can talk about what happened, we give other people permission to know that it's okay, that they went through that. So yeah, definitely just one of the most important things I've done. And I always feel so excited to be able to support people who are sharing a story that has been in their hearts, that has felt scary to share and they finally find that courage to do that.
Allison :
Well, and you've been able to do this now so successfully. You've helped thousands of people be able to do this, which I think is so cool. And so whether you're wanting to share your story, whether you're wanting to give advice or tips or be positioned as the expert that you are, like there's so much that can be done. So would you mind sharing more about what you do?
Selena Soo:
Yeah. So in terms of getting publicity, yeah. So I think one of the first things is getting really clear on what is the publicity that makes sense for my business. So if you were to wave a magic wand and were someone was to listen to your podcast interview, what is the next step? What do you hope that they would reach out to you to have a discovery call? Do you hope that they would join your Facebook group and eventually join your signature group program? What is really your intention behind the publicity? And also understanding, yeah, with your business model, where does the majority of the revenue come from? That 80 20 rule where 20% of your activities lead to 80% of the results. So at one point I had a mastermind and it was a general business mastermind and we would talk about a lot of different topics involved with growing and scaling your business. And a topic that people talked about a lot in the mastermind and needed support around was like growing their team.
Selena Soo:
Now sometimes, when we talk about the same thing over and over again, we're like, oh, I want to talk about something else. But if I were to go on the podcast circuit and talk about how to grow your team, then people would listen to me and learn about me and think, oh, I want to ask Selena questions about growing my team. That's who I want to learn from for that. But when I look at my business, more than 90% of my business is really connected to publicity work. And so if that is really what people coming to me for, that needs to be my main expert topic and what I talk about in podcast interviews. And so whether you are a life coach, a therapist, inspirational speaker, what do people come to you for? What is that main message? What is that main challenge that you help people solve? And how can you make sure that you talk about that when you're doing publicity so that your publicity matches your offer? So I think that is really key.
Selena Soo:
And then I also think it's important to understand what kinds of publicity opportunities make sense for you. So part of it is also our personal preferences. Are you someone that really loves to express yourself through the written word? I've worked with a lot of creatives and copywriters inside Impacting Millions and they just likely love to write. And so they're pursuing different guest post opportunities and things where their writing can shine. And there's other people that I've worked with who are coaches and maybe they may like to write too, but they also really love to talk and share their ideas as they do with their client. And they love like longer form podcast interviews.
Selena Soo:
And then if someone is looking to get more into the mainstream, maybe they're looking to get a book deal, and maybe they have a lower end product that really the masses could consume and purchase. Then maybe that is more mainstream media like magazines and TV, where you could be literally reaching millions of people but it's also a low enough price point that a lot of people could be interested. But if you have a high end business model where you're charging 2,000, 3,000, $10,000 to work with you, that's probably not going to necessarily be like a front end offer for the masses. And it might make more sense to actually be in front a smaller, but more niche and relevant audiences like a podcast. So whenever we work with people in Impacting Millions and publicity in general, we just have them get really clear on what their goals and intentions are and making sure they get the right kind of publicity that matches their offers and business model.
Allison :
Well, that is such great advice. And I think in general, making sure that there's alignment in everything that we're doing because you dilute your focus, you dilute your results. Period. With whatever you're doing. And so making sure that if you're going to put the effort in there that there is a target in mind, or at least, an anticipated outcome, or that you're really focusing on where you need to be spending your time, energy and effort. So that's great advice. So share more about what happens with your programs, with those that are really leveraging all of the tools and resources and talent that you put out to the world.
Selena Soo:
Yeah. So one of the things that I really love about our program, is it's a high touch, one year program. So it's not just a course where you have information and then off you go. I think when it comes to publicity, there are a lot of fears and areas where people need that support. So we also dive into mindset. Because one thing I will say is the difference between people that are getting all the opportunities and the ones that are not is that the ones that are getting opportunities are just putting themselves out there. And I'm not saying that every time you pitch yourself for an opportunity, you're going to get a yes. But if you are never putting yourself out there, then I can kind of guarantee that you're not going to get those opportunities. So we love supporting people and taking that imperfect action, but also preparing so that they can get those opportunities, so that they are putting their best foot forward.
Selena Soo:
So with Impacting Millions we have 31 live calls from media hot seat sessions where people are getting individualized feedback on their pitches or story ideas, messaging to get stuff done sessions where we are coming together and making sure that you're focused on those needle moving publicity opportunities. We also have quarterly publicity check-in calls with me, and as a group, we meet and we are tracking your publicity progress. So there's all these different things that we do. But yeah, I really love that. And when I think about publicity, some of the key components of it are what we talked about, like really getting clear on the opportunities that will make sense for your business.
Selena Soo:
And then also number two, getting clearer on what makes you a credible and interesting expert because there are other experts out there, but you want the media to be really excited about you and your message. So what are the things that you can do to stand out? And I think oftentimes we are too close to ourselves to know what is interesting and special. And so we break that down in Impacting Millions for you. And then we also help you get clear on what are the right story ideas and the kind of pitches that the media love and are going to say yes to them. Really understand what their needs are so you can deliver it to them on a silver platter.
Selena Soo:
And then last but not least, well, actually two other things is the opportunity itself, whether you are writing a piece, you are doing an interview, how do you make sure that you really shine? And through this content, people are falling in love with you and they want to work with you. And they're also coming back to your website or opting in or taking that next step.
Selena Soo:
And then I would say that the last piece is like really promoting your interviews to your audience and to others. And just like leveraging to making sure that they make the biggest impact possible in your business. So we cover all of that and it really is an art, getting publicity. But I think that every entrepreneur needs to have the skills of knowing how do I put my best foot forward? How do I get others so excited about my work that they want to open up their platform, their email list, their podcast, their social media following? Or if it's an editor, like their magazine or their TV show to introduce thousands, tens of thousands, maybe even millions to my work?
Selena Soo:
So yeah, I'm so excited to share this with your audience. And also I feel like it's a part of us stepping into our full potential. We've done so many scary things to even have the business that we have today. And I love the saying that I didn't come this far just to come this far. And for many of us, we know that if we were to get these big visibility opportunities, it would also open up the door to so many more things for our business. But I think many of us need a little bit of support. And so that's why I love that we're able to really serve and support people quite deeply in our one year Impacting Millions program.
Allison :
Well, and it's so thorough and it's so comprehensive and I love that you really take somebody from maybe no experience ever to being able to shine that spotlight. Because it's so important that we do this, like step into your greatness, like step into your full potential, allow yourself to shine bright like the diamond you are. We talk about that all the time, because you don't want to play small. Like there's so many opportunities. You don't know about half the things that are out there and available to you unless you put yourself out there. And just like you said, like you're going to get nos. That's okay. It might just be a not right now.
Allison :
But on the other side of things, like when there's yeses and you can develop relationships, you become like that go to source for them. I know that there's many reporters that reach out directly to me on certain subjects still to this day. And it's because I made the relationship. I put myself out there, I followed up, I was a pro and I did it, like just built that relationship just it's like any other. And now it's a go to source.
Allison :
So it's so nice when you can see that all of the hard work and experience and everything that you've done up until this point can actually be leveraged in a different way and can attract so many other opportunities. And I think that I can pinpoint so many pivotal times in my career, or in business where honestly, the connection came through. I read about you here. I heard this there. I watched you here. And it's like, yes, thank you. This is great. So I love that. So anyways, well, I love that we had the chance to chat, but I would love, I ask everybody that comes on. What is a book that you are reading or that you recommend? Or who else should we be following? We love to kind of like pay it forward and kind of get into the minds of the greatness that come onto this podcast.
Selena Soo:
Yeah, absolutely. So my favorite book is the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. And it's all about doing less to accomplish more. And I think as busy entrepreneurs, we can have that shiny object syndrome, or even feel like we need to do 1,000,001 things to grow our business. And it really just has you like simplify. And so, yeah, I'm very passionate about that book. And connected to that, that's also why like I love sharing publicity as a tool to grow one's business because there's lots of great things people can do to let's say, build their authority. They could write a book. They could try to get, I don't know, 20,000 Instagram followers. But those things can be important and they can take a really long time. And what I love about publicity is once you learn how to do it, you can get incredible publicity opportunities in a matter of weeks or months, not years and years. So yes, I'm all about helping people work smarter, not harder, and to do less and accomplish more.
Allison :
Love all of that. I'm just going to subscribe to everything you just said as I'm sure so many will be as well. Well, Selena, thank you so much. And I know we are so excited about all the cool things that are coming up with Impacting Millions and you've got this amazing publicity calendar that is incredible. So do you want to share a little bit more about that?
Selena Soo:
Yeah. So I'm really excited about this. So every year we come out with a new publicity calendar. So we have the 2022 publicity calendar and it's 40 pages worth of publicity tips, story ideas, special dates, and hooks to appear in the media because a lot of people will say to me, "Selena, I want to get publicity, but I don't know what to say. Like how can I get the media's attention?" And it really comes down to knowing what's the right story to pitch. And during certain times of the year, there's certain stories that the media is waiting for and interested in. So in this calendar we have, I mean, it's incredible. So for every single month, we list out special days, dates and themed months that they can really kind of piggyback on to get publicity. And then we have so many different story ideas for them that they can use to pitch the media.
Selena Soo:
And people love this publicity calendar. It's completely free. And this is something that you can use, not just for your publicity efforts, but to plan out your content for the entire year, from social media to newsletter content. So if you're ever feeling stuck and like, what is my next step with publicity? What do I say? How do I pitch? I would highly recommend that people get my publicity calendar and they can download their free digital copy and they can get it at impactingmillions.com/allisoncalendar. So again, it's impactingmillion.com/allisoncalendar.
Allison :
Thank you for sharing that. And the tip about using it for content, I was actually talking to a client this morning. I was like, you're going to love this. Not only for like pitching, but like just to keep you ahead of schedule, as far as what's next, what content you can create, how to really kind of theme what it is that you're doing, your business, what's in season for you right now, alongside whether their ideas are in there. So it is amazing. I love it. I'm so grateful that I have a copy of it too. And I'm just really excited to see, and I can't wait to see what people do with it. Like that to me, [crosstalk 00:23:49] one thing to have, it's another thing to use it.
Allison :
So I'm really challenging this community to do something about it. Find your hook, tell your story, use it to put yourself out there, just start doing it. Like it doesn't have to be perfect, but you got to put one foot in front of the next if you want to get anything done. And I love what you said about you can't always guarantee the yes, but you can definitely guarantee the no, if you don't do anything. [crosstalk 00:24:08] So anyways, well, Selena, thank you so much. And how else can people follow you?
Selena Soo:
Yeah, so they can also find me on Instagram. I'm at Selena_Soo and I would love for people to reach out and just say hello and let you know me know that they found me through this awesome podcast. But I love connecting with people and Instagram is the best way to communicate with me.
Allison :
Excellent. Well, thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate it.
Selena Soo:
Thanks Allison.