Crafting Compelling Stories: Mickie Kennedy’s Media Insights | RR269
Today, we're diving into the world of press releases and media relations with Mickie Kennedy, the founder and president of eReleases. Celebrating 25 years in the business, Mickie has witnessed the evolution of the press release industry firsthand.
Join us as we explore the differences between traditional newswires and article-based newswires, uncover the secrets behind creating newsworthy press releases, and learn why an amazing quote can make all the difference in captivating journalists. Mickie will share invaluable tips for small businesses on how to gain national media attention and build strong relationships with local media outlets. Plus, we’ll touch on the challenges of modern media landscapes and the importance of a unique selling proposition in your pitches.
Whether you’re a small business owner, entrepreneur, or coach, get ready to take notes—Mickie’s insights could transform how you approach media relations. And don't forget, Mickie’s rainbow glasses aren't just a style statement—they're a symbol of his colorful and impactful career.
Stay tuned for an enlightening conversation!
In this episode you will learn:
- The differences between traditional newswires like Business Wire and PR Newswire, and article-based newswires such as the Associated Press and Reuters
- How building relationships with local media is crucial for small businesses to gain visibility and credibility.
- The importance of focusing on the story behind your data to make your press releases newsworthy and engaging for journalists.
- Strategies for small businesses to build lasting relationships with local media by regularly reaching out with captivating pitches and maintaining persistence.
- Mickie’s insights on book marketing, especially for self-published and smaller authors
You can reach Mickie at: eReleases2@gmail.com
Website: https://www.ereleases.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/publicity/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ereleases.press.release.distribution
A little about me:
I began my career as a teacher, was a corporate trainer for many years, and then found my niche training & supporting business owners, entrepreneurs & sales professionals to network at a world-class level. My passion is working with motivated people, who are coachable and who want to build their businesses through relationship marketing and networking (online & offline). I help my clients create retention strategies, grow through referrals, and create loyal customers by staying connected.
In appreciation for being here, I have a couple of items for you:
A LinkedIn Checklist for setting up your fully optimized Profile:
An opportunity to test drive the Follow Up system I recommend by taking the
3 Card Sampler—you won’t regret it.
Connect with me:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceporter/
https://www.facebook.com/janiceporter1
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Transcript
Hello, everyone, and welcome to this week's
Janice Porter:episode of relationships rule. My guest this week is Mickey
Janice Porter:Kennedy who's coming to us from Baltimore County. And he is the
Janice Porter:founder and president of E releases this, the small
Janice Porter:business leader for press release distribution, now
Janice Porter:celebrating 25 years in business. Congratulations,
Janice Porter:Mickey. Thank you. He is an expert at helping small business
Janice Porter:increase their visibility and credibility. And he's here today
Janice Porter:to share some valuable insights all around that. So welcome to
Janice Porter:the show.
MICKIE KENNEDY:Thanks for having me.
Janice Porter:My pleasure. And I have to start, and I know I'm
Janice Porter:sure other people have done this with you before. But I have to
Janice Porter:start with the glasses because I love them. So we have the
Janice Porter:rainbow effect here. For those of us of course, my audience
Janice Porter:can't see you. But they will see an image of you on the podcast
Janice Porter:with the rainbow glasses. They're fantastic. But it made
Janice Porter:me think, actually, before I go there, I found a picture of you
Janice Porter:on your website. They're not there. No. It's an old picture.
Janice Porter:You need to change it right? Yeah,
MICKIE KENNEDY:I started wearing them in pride three
MICKIE KENNEDY:years ago. And then people gave me a hard time because they
MICKIE KENNEDY:really liked them. And then I think that two years ago, I put
MICKIE KENNEDY:them on for pride. And I just decided to keep them on. So
Janice Porter:well. I wondered if it actually had anything to
Janice Porter:do with your branding at all, or whether it was just a statement
Janice Porter:about you know, about? lb? LB, I shouldn't say that it should
Janice Porter:just say pride, because then I can't I can't remember them all.
Janice Porter:But anyway. So
MICKIE KENNEDY:I don't know, I think it started out as just
MICKIE KENNEDY:wearing them for pride. And then it just became something that
MICKIE KENNEDY:people liked about me and something people looked forward
MICKIE KENNEDY:to. And people would say, Do you have a headshot with the
MICKIE KENNEDY:glasses? And I'm like, okay, so it was very obvious that people
MICKIE KENNEDY:really liked the glasses. So it's like, this is going to be
MICKIE KENNEDY:my thing. So
Janice Porter:they're fun. They're, they're totally fine.
Janice Porter:I've interviewed a guy from the Maritimes, in Canada, one of the
Janice Porter:Maritime Provinces, I think he's from Nova Scotia, I can't
Janice Porter:remember. And he is a marketer. And he talks about standing out
Janice Porter:from the crowd, and he wears this yellow jacket with tulips
Janice Porter:all over it with a red tulip on it. And then he's got one the
Janice Porter:opposite. It's like, yeah, standing out from the crowd. And
Janice Porter:you can definitely remember that for sure. So, okay. My audience
Janice Porter:is small business owners, entrepreneurs, some like
Janice Porter:Realtors nor mortgage brokers, that kind of thing. And coaches,
Janice Porter:consultants, and we're all like small business owners. And so
Janice Porter:I'm trying to get my head around. Do I need a peel a press
Janice Porter:release? Do Why do I need one? What would I need one for?
Janice Porter:Right?
MICKIE KENNEDY:So potentially, you could? So
Janice Porter:I'm open to it. I just want to know, why do I need
Janice Porter:one? Right?
MICKIE KENNEDY:So it depends if national media attention is
MICKIE KENNEDY:important to you. And for some businesses, it's not like if
MICKIE KENNEDY:you're a local mortgage broker or something like that, PR and
MICKIE KENNEDY:media could be valuable for you. But you're probably looking at
MICKIE KENNEDY:local media. And my service, e releases are big value is the
MICKIE KENNEDY:national distribution. Okay, that's good. So, okay, so I do
MICKIE KENNEDY:tell people that for local media, you are the best person
MICKIE KENNEDY:to get it. The thing is, if you think about it, in most local
MICKIE KENNEDY:markets, there's probably less than a dozen people that would
MICKIE KENNEDY:cover you, you know, at your local paper, you know, find out
MICKIE KENNEDY:who covers your industry, that reporter and reach out to them
MICKIE KENNEDY:get their email address it, you know, have people say, Oh, can
MICKIE KENNEDY:you do that, and I'm like, these are not celebrities, these are
MICKIE KENNEDY:members of your community, they should be accessible for you to
MICKIE KENNEDY:pitch them. And if you if their email addresses on their website
MICKIE KENNEDY:or easily locatable, you can just call and say, Hey, I'm
MICKIE KENNEDY:trying to get this person's email address, because I'd like
MICKIE KENNEDY:to pitch them on a local story. And that's completely
MICKIE KENNEDY:reasonable. They'll either give it to you or patch you through
MICKIE KENNEDY:that person. But just start building your local Rolodex. If
MICKIE KENNEDY:you happen to be lucky enough to have a business newspaper or
MICKIE KENNEDY:business magazine, and in the Baltimore market, we're lucky
MICKIE KENNEDY:enough to have both. Again, find out what writer would probably
MICKIE KENNEDY:cover your industry or covers at most regularly get their email
MICKIE KENNEDY:address. And and then you know, maybe consider TV and radio are
MICKIE KENNEDY:their segments occasionally that spotlight local businesses. We
MICKIE KENNEDY:say hey, they did that with a chiropractor, but I can envision
MICKIE KENNEDY:be as a dry cleaner, or a mortgage broker in a different
MICKIE KENNEDY:light. So call and ask for the booker or producer of that
MICKIE KENNEDY:segment. And you do have to distinguish in some markets,
MICKIE KENNEDY:whether you saw it on the morning news or the evening
MICKIE KENNEDY:news, just be as specific as you can. And they'll, they'll
MICKIE KENNEDY:usually put you in touch with that person, or give you that
MICKIE KENNEDY:email address. And, you know, other things are, you know, are
MICKIE KENNEDY:their specialty magazines or newspapers that might be
MICKIE KENNEDY:appropriate. We have Baltimore magazine, which is, you know,
MICKIE KENNEDY:mostly for consumers. So it's not appropriate for b2b. But,
MICKIE KENNEDY:you know, if you're a business, that's your clients are made
MICKIE KENNEDY:above just regular people and not businesses, then perhaps
MICKIE KENNEDY:some of those could be a good fit. And then, you know, look at
MICKIE KENNEDY:like, neighborhood weekly papers that are given away, a lot of
MICKIE KENNEDY:people overlook those, and they are so focused on advertising,
MICKIE KENNEDY:that content is an afterthought. So if you approach them with a
MICKIE KENNEDY:story, and even if you come up with a ready made article for
MICKIE KENNEDY:them, they would really like that. And I've had many clients
MICKIE KENNEDY:say, Hey, I took your recommendation, and pitch them a
MICKIE KENNEDY:monthly column. And they really wanted a weekly column. Of
MICKIE KENNEDY:course, they do, they want the free content, but I stood firm,
MICKIE KENNEDY:and they agreed to do give me a monthly column, I get to mention
MICKIE KENNEDY:my business works really well, I've got a dentist who did this.
MICKIE KENNEDY:I've got a couple of people in fitness, they talk about
MICKIE KENNEDY:nutrition, and exercise and things you can do around the
MICKIE KENNEDY:house to stay fit. But you know, also people in therapy, you
MICKIE KENNEDY:know, practices, where they provide mental health things
MICKIE KENNEDY:they can do, like monthly check ins, you know, like how, you
MICKIE KENNEDY:know, maybe as we get closer to June, they do a column about
MICKIE KENNEDY:people who are planning for weddings and all the stress
MICKIE KENNEDY:that's related with that same thing with end of the holidays.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And so, you know, these are opportunities for you. And all
MICKIE KENNEDY:you have to do is, you know, build that Rolodex want, stay on
MICKIE KENNEDY:top of it, you know, because people leave relationships,
MICKIE KENNEDY:right. And then, and then just reach out to them and just
MICKIE KENNEDY:introduce yourself, you know, that you're a member of the
MICKIE KENNEDY:community, and what you feel that they might want to cover
MICKIE KENNEDY:today. You know, it could be something that's trending in
MICKIE KENNEDY:your industry. I'd mentioned dry cleaners before, and going green
MICKIE KENNEDY:and getting away from chemicals and stuff like that you could
MICKIE KENNEDY:talk about, hey, I'd love to share with you something that we
MICKIE KENNEDY:did recently, it was a huge investment, but it's so much
MICKIE KENNEDY:better for both the environment and individuals, you know, just
MICKIE KENNEDY:sort of, you know, make your pitch. If you do have some
MICKIE KENNEDY:candid photos, feel free to attach one or two of those. If
MICKIE KENNEDY:you have a ready made, quote, you know, put that in there,
MICKIE KENNEDY:because a journalist can build an article around an amazing
MICKIE KENNEDY:quote. And, you know, the first thing people ask us, Well,
MICKIE KENNEDY:Vicki, what's an amazing quote, and it can be, you know, how
MICKIE KENNEDY:beautiful it was that you wrote it, you know, like, I'm a poet,
MICKIE KENNEDY:so maybe I'm a wordsmith, but it doesn't have to be, you know, a
MICKIE KENNEDY:quote can also be amazing, just because how well you condensed
MICKIE KENNEDY:and really made that sentence so tight, that if they were to
MICKIE KENNEDY:paraphrase it, it would be a loss, you know, and so just
MICKIE KENNEDY:really spent a little bit of time on a great quote, quotes
MICKIE KENNEDY:are probably one of the most overlooked things in press
MICKIE KENNEDY:releases. And here, you're not including a press release,
MICKIE KENNEDY:you're just writing a few sentences of a pitch, but put an
MICKIE KENNEDY:amazing quote in there. And often, you may get the interest
MICKIE KENNEDY:of local media, local media is a little hard to break into, but
MICKIE KENNEDY:it pays off because generally, if you do this, say every other
MICKIE KENNEDY:month, or at the minimum quarterly, you know, brainstorm,
MICKIE KENNEDY:keep an eye on competitors and other cities. That's a great way
MICKIE KENNEDY:because you see somebody in another city that is covered in
MICKIE KENNEDY:your industry on a hot button item. You can, you know, don't
MICKIE KENNEDY:tell them, Hey, I saw this in another city, or another
MICKIE KENNEDY:journalist wrote about this person, but you say, Hey, I've
MICKIE KENNEDY:noticed in my industry that people are really paying
MICKIE KENNEDY:attention to whatever the focus of the story was it I would love
MICKIE KENNEDY:to talk to you. That's why I, you know, a local business and
MICKIE KENNEDY:your community would fit perfectly. Here's an amazing
MICKIE KENNEDY:quote, here's my contact information. Here's a link to my
MICKIE KENNEDY:website, whatever collateral you want to include, maybe a photo
MICKIE KENNEDY:or two, and send it off. Now, I've had people who've done this
MICKIE KENNEDY:and they've gone nine months and nothing's happened. And then all
MICKIE KENNEDY:of a sudden, something happens within the year and often it's
MICKIE KENNEDY:not what you pitched. But it's them reaching out to you under
MICKIE KENNEDY:deadline saying, I'm working on a story on XY and Z, I thought
MICKIE KENNEDY:that you would be a perfect example to put in there, could I
MICKIE KENNEDY:get a quote from you, and you're like, Sure. And, and the reason
MICKIE KENNEDY:that you came to their attention is, you've reached out to him a
MICKIE KENNEDY:few times, you're on their radar, they weren't, you know,
MICKIE KENNEDY:inspired by anything you'd sent to that point. But now they have
MICKIE KENNEDY:a need for you. And as that happens, it happens more
MICKIE KENNEDY:regularly in the Baltimore market, I see in the Baltimore
MICKIE KENNEDY:Sun, the same company that gets plugged into articles two or
MICKIE KENNEDY:three times a year one might be about HR, you know, talking
MICKIE KENNEDY:about the trend of people doing hybrid and trying to, you know,
MICKIE KENNEDY:establish a workplace culture, how difficult that is. So
MICKIE KENNEDY:they're talking to the HR person at this ad agency. And then
MICKIE KENNEDY:later, they talk about, you know, creative things that
MICKIE KENNEDY:people do to give back to the community. And they talk about
MICKIE KENNEDY:their program, where people are allowed to do certain amount of
MICKIE KENNEDY:days per year, where they work out in the community, and it's
MICKIE KENNEDY:counted towards work inside there. And they just get plugged
MICKIE KENNEDY:in, because they're a go to, and they know that the people will
MICKIE KENNEDY:give an amazing quote, every time they'll do candid shots,
MICKIE KENNEDY:they make it very easy to work with the media. And, you know,
MICKIE KENNEDY:whenever the media is under deadline, they just reach out to
MICKIE KENNEDY:them, because they know that they can get what they need very
MICKIE KENNEDY:quickly. And it'll be of a quality content. And so those
MICKIE KENNEDY:are the types of relationships you work on, I say the first
MICKIE KENNEDY:year is the hardest. And usually after that, it gets a lot
MICKIE KENNEDY:easier. The exception being those weekly neighborhood
MICKIE KENNEDY:papers, those are usually very easy to, you know, get columns.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And if you have ready made articles, they love that as
MICKIE KENNEDY:well. We call it as features, as opposed to a press release. They
MICKIE KENNEDY:really are looking to copy and paste. It's just to have
MICKIE KENNEDY:something to look like there's content with all the ads and
MICKIE KENNEDY:those things. But the thing is people read them, there are
MICKIE KENNEDY:people who look at the ads, they look at the offers the coupons,
MICKIE KENNEDY:whatever it might be in those. And so it can be a great way to
MICKIE KENNEDY:sort of get recognition in your neighborhood. If you have a
MICKIE KENNEDY:vibrant neighborhood and you're part of it. So I you know, I
MICKIE KENNEDY:tell people, local media, go out there, get it yourself. It
MICKIE KENNEDY:really is one of those things. That seems like a lot of work.
MICKIE KENNEDY:But it isn't, because like I said, once you break it down,
MICKIE KENNEDY:it's not a lot of people.
Janice Porter:Yeah, that's there are a lot of there were a
Janice Porter:lot of nuggets in everything that you said there. And but
Janice Porter:what I found, what I have found is I remember like years ago,
Janice Porter:when I was getting started in working for myself, and I was a
Janice Porter:professional organizer for about three years. And I was involved
Janice Porter:with the Chamber of Commerce at the time, and the local
Janice Porter:newspaper was more vibrant than it certainly is now today. And
Janice Porter:it was easy to get articles in there. And they'd have pictures
Janice Porter:of me and we talked about being organized in your office or your
Janice Porter:home office. And that was that was just from knowing the people
Janice Porter:in the community. Today, it feels so different. Because
Janice Porter:number one, as I said, the newspaper the local newspapers
Janice Porter:are ones gone and the other ones disgusting. Now, it's not really
Janice Porter:much in it. But you know, to your point that they're looking
Janice Porter:for things. And then the other thing is that everybody's
Janice Porter:online. So does that fit? Well, your business is called E
Janice Porter:releases, right? So you do things online, right? And that's
Janice Porter:how you distribute things so many so much more easily today.
Janice Porter:So I think that what you just said makes total sense for
Janice Porter:entrepreneurs, solopreneurs. And people like that. I remember an
Janice Porter:it I don't know why I got into their emails, but I did. But
Janice Porter:there's an organization I think it's called Hero. Is it, harrow
MICKIE KENNEDY:harrow
Janice Porter:out? Is that still happening? It
MICKIE KENNEDY:is. I think it's mostly paid though, I think
MICKIE KENNEDY:there still might be a free, there still might be a free
MICKIE KENNEDY:component. But what I have found is it doesn't work as well as it
MICKIE KENNEDY:used to used to be a secret. And what happens is the journalist
MICKIE KENNEDY:says, I'm working on a story. And I would love to speak to
MICKIE KENNEDY:someone who is a, I don't know, a consultant and beauty or you
MICKIE KENNEDY:pick something and all of a sudden you're like, ooh, and you
MICKIE KENNEDY:write in and you tell them about you and why you'd be perfect for
MICKIE KENNEDY:them to do and it used to work because it would be like you
MICKIE KENNEDY:know, 4050 people competing for one spot. And you know, if you
MICKIE KENNEDY:were media ready, and you could fire off a really well written
MICKIE KENNEDY:pitch. You stood a good chance of being picked up. I hear of
MICKIE KENNEDY:journalists today saying aye. Aye. To get to three 400 people
MICKIE KENNEDY:competing for one spot, and that just makes it really, really
MICKIE KENNEDY:unlikely that you're going to stand out enough. Now, if you
MICKIE KENNEDY:believe that you have a strong, unique selling proposition, and
MICKIE KENNEDY:you are very distinct or unique, then maybe you could rise to the
MICKIE KENNEDY:top more often than not, but for most people I'm finding, it just
MICKIE KENNEDY:doesn't have the magic that it used to.
Janice Porter:Like so many things. So that means that we
Janice Porter:have to be more creative and do things in a different way.
Janice Porter:Right. So what makes your company stand out in that
Janice Porter:regard?
MICKIE KENNEDY:So I think for us, the big thing is that,
MICKIE KENNEDY:number one, every distribution that we do is a national
MICKIE KENNEDY:distribution over PR Newswire. In the US, there's two news
MICKIE KENNEDY:wires a press releases. Its PR Newswire and Business Wire. And
MICKIE KENNEDY:so it's largely a duopoly, there was a third player who tried and
MICKIE KENNEDY:tried to get market share. But here's the problem. Journalists
MICKIE KENNEDY:are busy. And they're always under deadline. And they have
MICKIE KENNEDY:the situation where they can go fish into ponds, and get like 90
MICKIE KENNEDY:some percent of all the releases that are important. And so then
MICKIE KENNEDY:this third player says, Hey, come Come here, too. And they're
MICKIE KENNEDY:like, Ah, I don't have the time. I don't have the energy. I like
MICKIE KENNEDY:it would just to be honest, I'd like it if there was one. So
MICKIE KENNEDY:they they just haven't been able to make inroads with
MICKIE KENNEDY:journalists, like Business Wire and PR Newswire. But what they
MICKIE KENNEDY:did is a pivot, where they said, Hey, we meet all the SEC see
MICKIE KENNEDY:disclosures, you know, getting you on MarketWatch getting you
MICKIE KENNEDY:on Yahoo Finance, getting you on certain places. And so they've
MICKIE KENNEDY:gone to these publicly traded companies, many of them smaller
MICKIE KENNEDY:and saying, Hey, you don't even want to journalists looking
MICKIE KENNEDY:through your numbers. Just use us. We're a lot cheaper than
MICKIE KENNEDY:Business Wire and PR Newswire and so that that's their pivot.
MICKIE KENNEDY:But outside of that, people probably know of other news
MICKIE KENNEDY:wires, like the Associated Press, Reuters, Dow Jones, those
MICKIE KENNEDY:are not wires of press releases, those are wires of articles
MICKIE KENNEDY:they've written. So for example, the Baltimore Sun in my
MICKIE KENNEDY:backyard, if there's breaking news at 6pm, like the Supreme
MICKIE KENNEDY:Court came out with a late ruling, rather than the
MICKIE KENNEDY:journalist who reports they're at the Baltimore Sun has already
MICKIE KENNEDY:gone home for the day, they can just license that article that
MICKIE KENNEDY:was written by the Associated Press, they know the Associated
MICKIE KENNEDY:Press, you know, all these places produce really good
MICKIE KENNEDY:content. So they can just use that article and not have to use
MICKIE KENNEDY:the labor of someone or pull them out of their, their their
MICKIE KENNEDY:home life and able to get something done. So a lot of
MICKIE KENNEDY:people do rely on those types of wires. They don't run press
MICKIE KENNEDY:releases, but they do accept press releases. And again, if
MICKIE KENNEDY:they're inspired enough, and you could possibly get them to turn
MICKIE KENNEDY:that into an article that they've written. That is rare.
MICKIE KENNEDY:But it's not impossible, it does happen. But that's pretty much
MICKIE KENNEDY:the landscape. Despite that, if you go to Google and type in
MICKIE KENNEDY:press release, you'll probably see another 30 companies with
MICKIE KENNEDY:wire in their names. They're not real news wires. A lot of them
MICKIE KENNEDY:are syndicators of press releases. And that's what it's
MICKIE KENNEDY:called when the press release appears on Yahoo Finance and
MICKIE KENNEDY:market watch and a bunch of these financial websites as well
MICKIE KENNEDY:as other little websites. The thing to know is that's usually
MICKIE KENNEDY:part of SEC compliance, meeting some disclosures and things like
MICKIE KENNEDY:that. But very few people see that, you know, you're not going
MICKIE KENNEDY:to no one's typing a stock ticker in for you, because
MICKIE KENNEDY:you're a private company. So you know, the fact you're on one
MICKIE KENNEDY:section of Yahoo Finance doesn't really mean anything. Very few
MICKIE KENNEDY:people are going to read it, no journalists are going to see it.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And so that's not very important. So there is a lot of,
MICKIE KENNEDY:you know, mis communication in the industry. People come to us
MICKIE KENNEDY:and say, Hey, why would I pay you guys four or $500 to move a
MICKIE KENNEDY:release? When I can go to XYZ wire for $59? So I'm like, well
MICKIE KENNEDY:with us, you go out through PR Newswire and they charge
MICKIE KENNEDY:$1,600 600 Word Press release through us. It's about a third
MICKIE KENNEDY:of the price of what you would pay directly with PR Newswire.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And with these other, you know, XYZ wire or whatever it is, you
MICKIE KENNEDY:don't reach journalists at all. And so there's never the
MICKIE KENNEDY:opportunity for an article to be written. That being said, I
MICKIE KENNEDY:would say that the majority of people who use the $59 service
MICKIE KENNEDY:and a $1,600 PR Newswire have a very similar result in that
MICKIE KENNEDY:nothing happens. They might have the sense though, they will
MICKIE KENNEDY:definitely have the syndicated releases that appear on those
MICKIE KENNEDY:little websites, but they both probably will get no earned
MICKIE KENNEDY:media. And that's because most press releases don't result in
MICKIE KENNEDY:earned media. Most people look at press releases that everyone
MICKIE KENNEDY:else is doing. And they write it and they send it out and nothing
MICKIE KENNEDY:happens, you know, my, the most popular release we get an E
MICKIE KENNEDY:releases is a new hire. And it's usually not an executive, you
MICKIE KENNEDY:know, a new director or President or Vice President, you
MICKIE KENNEDY:know, really important person. And it's also usually not an
MICKIE KENNEDY:industry veteran that people know. And so for that reason,
MICKIE KENNEDY:that people who would be interested is very small. This
MICKIE KENNEDY:is a case where you take that person's picture, you write a
MICKIE KENNEDY:few lines about, you know, their story, you don't need a whole
MICKIE KENNEDY:press release, send it to your local paper, maybe send it to
MICKIE KENNEDY:the local business, magazine or newspaper, and then pick a
MICKIE KENNEDY:couple of trade publications, often those that have like on
MICKIE KENNEDY:the move section, and send it directly to them. Because
MICKIE KENNEDY:outside of that, it's very unlikely anyone else is going to
MICKIE KENNEDY:cover it. And it's not worth spending money to go on the wire
MICKIE KENNEDY:for that. The second most popular release I get is a
MICKIE KENNEDY:product launch, press release. And in theory, that could be
MICKIE KENNEDY:newsworthy, but most of the time we get, here's our new product,
MICKIE KENNEDY:here's the list of features, here's a page to learn more and
MICKIE KENNEDY:buy it. And at the end of the day, journalists are
MICKIE KENNEDY:storytellers, and they like a story arc. And they basically
MICKIE KENNEDY:have to protect their biggest asset, which is their audience.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And so they have to decide is this important enough to that it
MICKIE KENNEDY:will really educate or entertain, or ideally, both to
MICKIE KENNEDY:their audience, and a list of features probably isn't gonna
MICKIE KENNEDY:rise anywhere close enough to interest their audience. So you
MICKIE KENNEDY:know, the thing that you can do is to inject the elements to
MICKIE KENNEDY:make a great story, you have that for
Janice Porter:a second, stop there for a second, because I
Janice Porter:want to ask you, so if somebody has that need, they've created a
Janice Porter:new product, or they have a new product launch, or whatever, and
Janice Porter:they come to you. And they've got this laundry list, like you
Janice Porter:just described, and you say, this isn't going to cut it, do
Janice Porter:you guys then rewrite it for them. So
MICKIE KENNEDY:we, if you come to our website, and upload a
MICKIE KENNEDY:release and schedule it, and you've written it like that, we
MICKIE KENNEDY:just distribute it, right, I used to go back to them and say,
MICKIE KENNEDY:Hey, I make this recommendation. And about a third of the time
MICKIE KENNEDY:they cancel their order. And, and would write a bad review
MICKIE KENNEDY:saying I'm trying to upsell them. So I don't unless they
MICKIE KENNEDY:come to us and say you're not
Janice Porter:creating, then you're just the, the vehicle for
Janice Porter:them to
MICKIE KENNEDY:for most clients, we do offer writing.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And if someone approaches us and ask us to take a look at their
MICKIE KENNEDY:release, we'll do that. Whether you use us or not, you're always
MICKIE KENNEDY:welcome to send a Release to us, and allow our editors one to two
MICKIE KENNEDY:business days to review it and get back to you with some tips
MICKIE KENNEDY:and advice. And it may be to completely rewrite it. And in
MICKIE KENNEDY:which case, we'll check in generally give you some notes as
MICKIE KENNEDY:to what to incorporate into it. But I find that just people who
MICKIE KENNEDY:have already made press release, and that's often how people find
MICKIE KENNEDY:us, they go online, they they do a search saying I've got a
MICKIE KENNEDY:release, I'm looking at where to send it, they come to us they
MICKIE KENNEDY:upload it they date, schedule it, and then again, not much
MICKIE KENNEDY:happens. So after the sale, I then try to educate people
MICKIE KENNEDY:because I find it doesn't work to educate them in the
MICKIE KENNEDY:beginning. Because they just want to send that release out.
MICKIE KENNEDY:Well, and
Janice Porter:yet that's kind of a license to print money.
MICKIE KENNEDY:Right? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Janice Porter:I felt that you you're a heart centered person
Janice Porter:and that, but you just answered the question. So you wait until
Janice Porter:maybe they call and say hey, nothing happened or that you
Janice Porter:found it interesting, that client interesting enough for
Janice Porter:the presser that you knew you could help them. So you give
Janice Porter:them that opportunity to work with you.
MICKIE KENNEDY:Right, we actually follow up by email, and
MICKIE KENNEDY:we actually follow up with new customers with ideas for their
MICKIE KENNEDY:next release that are a bit more newsworthy. Now
Janice Porter:it's is that a team of people that does that,
Janice Porter:or is that you know,
MICKIE KENNEDY:is not me, it is a team of people. We have 65
MICKIE KENNEDY:editors, one managing editor and assistant, some freelancers as
MICKIE KENNEDY:well. And as a team, we work to get it done. And we do sort of
MICKIE KENNEDY:help out each other and try to provide the customer service.
MICKIE KENNEDY:The one thing I don't have in the business is salespeople. My
MICKIE KENNEDY:customers don't want to talk to a salesperson. They want to talk
MICKIE KENNEDY:to an editor and I just find that editors couldn't provide
MICKIE KENNEDY:better ethical customer service than a salesperson and, and all
MICKIE KENNEDY:my people are empowered to tell someone if they just don't feel
MICKIE KENNEDY:like we're a good fit. Because I don't want to take money from a
MICKIE KENNEDY:small business. If it doesn't look like we'd be able to help
MICKIE KENNEDY:them. Wow.
Janice Porter:Yes, that's that just sort of, I think I missed
Janice Porter:the boat originally on that, that people just they use the
Janice Porter:service, you're not necessarily creating the press release for
Janice Porter:them. But you do have that opportunity when to work with
Janice Porter:you that way.
MICKIE KENNEDY:Yeah. And another thing I have is a free
MICKIE KENNEDY:masterclass where I try to teach anybody who will listen, people
MICKIE KENNEDY:on podcast, as well as my clients, the types of releases
MICKIE KENNEDY:that were because like I said, you know, 90, some percent
MICKIE KENNEDY:don't, but the small numbers of people who do have releases that
MICKIE KENNEDY:work, they are patterns and similarities. And so I put
MICKIE KENNEDY:together, it's an hour long video masterclass, that goes
MICKIE KENNEDY:through the types of releases that people should consider. And
MICKIE KENNEDY:if anyone's interested to you, releases.com/plan, PLA n, I
MICKIE KENNEDY:don't charge anything for it. Because I really just want
MICKIE KENNEDY:people to do more meaningful press releases, because I know
MICKIE KENNEDY:if they follow this, some of them are a little involved. But
MICKIE KENNEDY:there's a great reward for those. But at the end of the
MICKIE KENNEDY:day, if you follow these, you're going to have more hits than
MICKIE KENNEDY:misses, because these are the types of releases that
MICKIE KENNEDY:journalists are engaging with, and finding high value and being
MICKIE KENNEDY:able to build good stories with. That's
Janice Porter:very generous. That's great. So that's on your
Janice Porter:website. I'll put that in the show notes as well. I want to
Janice Porter:shift gears a little bit before we wrap up, because I know we've
Janice Porter:got a few minutes yet but you said and I also saw in your in
Janice Porter:your one sheet that you're a poet. Yeah. And did you study
Janice Porter:poetry in university?
MICKIE KENNEDY:I did. I actually pursued a Masters of
MICKIE KENNEDY:Fine Arts and Creative Writing with an emphasis in poetry. And
MICKIE KENNEDY:I that's I graduated 27 years ago. And my career plan was to
MICKIE KENNEDY:wait tables and write poetry. And I did that for a summer
MICKIE KENNEDY:after I graduated. And I tell you, my my feet never stopped
MICKIE KENNEDY:hurting, my back never stopped hurting. I felt so
MICKIE KENNEDY:psychologically wiped after every eight to 10 hour shift. I
MICKIE KENNEDY:didn't read or write anything. So at the end of that summer, I
MICKIE KENNEDY:said, I need to pivot to a safe office job. But I didn't call it
MICKIE KENNEDY:pivot, because that wasn't a word thing. But I do I need to
MICKIE KENNEDY:define something. So a basketball player, I got hired
MICKIE KENNEDY:to the telecom research firm in DC as employee number three. And
MICKIE KENNEDY:because I had writing on my resume, even though it was
MICKIE KENNEDY:creative, they said write press releases and figure that out.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And I sent out releases with our data in it, and nothing
MICKIE KENNEDY:happened. And then I realized that the journalists are
MICKIE KENNEDY:interested in the story behind the data. So I would look for
MICKIE KENNEDY:anomalies in our data to find out why that was, report that
MICKIE KENNEDY:story. And the first time I did that, it was like there was a
MICKIE KENNEDY:Caribbean country that had more inbound and outbound traffic to
MICKIE KENNEDY:the United States than all the other Caribbean countries
MICKIE KENNEDY:combined. And I was like, why is this I researched it. And I
MICKIE KENNEDY:found it as because that was the call center for one 900 numbers,
MICKIE KENNEDY:which were popular 27 years ago. And so I put that together as a
MICKIE KENNEDY:story oriented press release. I started out that release got
MICKIE KENNEDY:picked up by the Economist Financial Times, Washington
MICKIE KENNEDY:Post, Wall Street Journal, and three telecom trade
MICKIE KENNEDY:publications. And they just thought I was a god there at
MICKIE KENNEDY:that little telecom research firm. And so I did that again
MICKIE KENNEDY:and again. And I didn't get as many hits with the subsequent
MICKIE KENNEDY:ones. But I consistently got hits, because I was finding the
MICKIE KENNEDY:stories and getting them out there. And one that was
MICKIE KENNEDY:meaningful was patterns where we'd see growth in certain non
MICKIE KENNEDY:industrialized countries over a period of years, and then all of
MICKIE KENNEDY:a sudden, you'd see huge swings and strong economic growth. And
MICKIE KENNEDY:that one got picked up. And we got so many orders from hedge
MICKIE KENNEDY:funds, investment firms, and before that every single order
MICKIE KENNEDY:that we got for our research reports was from telecom
MICKIE KENNEDY:companies. And so it just opened us up to a whole new customer
MICKIE KENNEDY:base that we didn't even realize was there and we find value in
MICKIE KENNEDY:it. Well, hopefully
Janice Porter:you had it, you got a raise.
MICKIE KENNEDY:I did really well there. I loved it. When I
MICKIE KENNEDY:started the company didn't know how to price their data and it
MICKIE KENNEDY:was literally $600 a year, a ticket, a physical book. Now
MICKIE KENNEDY:it's a license that starts at $30,000 a year per person. Yeah.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And so they really recognize the value today but It was a fun
MICKIE KENNEDY:time to work and I learned a heck of a lot. I'm sure you
Janice Porter:did. Okay, back to poetry for a second. So, tell
Janice Porter:me who your favorite poet is.
MICKIE KENNEDY:Oh, there's so many of them that I just love.
MICKIE KENNEDY:But I think right now, Diane Seuss. I just love everything
MICKIE KENNEDY:she writes. And she wrote a book recently modern poetry that's
MICKIE KENNEDY:just phenomenal. Okay,
Janice Porter:what about the classics? Um,
MICKIE KENNEDY:let's see. Sylvia Plath. And Elizabeth
MICKIE KENNEDY:Bishop are two of my favorites.
Janice Porter:I don't know Elizabeth Bishop, but Sylvia
Janice Porter:Plath very dark. Very, very, yeah.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And Elizabeth Bishop is she she's very strong.
MICKIE KENNEDY:She's got one, I think called the fish that I just really
MICKIE KENNEDY:love. It's just a great poem.
Janice Porter:Do you still write,
MICKIE KENNEDY:so I quit. I didn't write. But I was running
MICKIE KENNEDY:my own company and building out after the telecom startup. But I
MICKIE KENNEDY:started writing about five or six years ago. And this past
MICKIE KENNEDY:Friday, I signed a contract to have my first book published in
MICKIE KENNEDY:February of 2026.
Janice Porter:Fantastic, congratulations. Thank you. So
Janice Porter:do you write short poems? Do you write long poems? Do you write
Janice Porter:story type poems?
MICKIE KENNEDY:So I've write very narrative poems. For the
MICKIE KENNEDY:most part, I have written some that are kind of lyrical. But
MICKIE KENNEDY:most of them are narrative. And they tend to be small. There's
MICKIE KENNEDY:some that are two pages, but most all of them are under a
MICKIE KENNEDY:page.
Janice Porter:You know, it's funny, I know this is a complete
Janice Porter:sidetrack from your business. But I was just fascinated and
Janice Porter:curious about the poetry and then it reminded me that the
Janice Porter:other day I was trying to entice my granddaughter who's going to
Janice Porter:be five next week. Two, I told her, like, I have a lot of books
Janice Porter:up in my cupboard here that were from my kids, right? And I saved
Janice Porter:the ones I love. And there's two books there that I've that I'm
Janice Porter:waiting to, you know, lure her into. One of them is a a Milne's
Janice Porter:poems, when we were very young, and when we were five or
Janice Porter:something, anyway, Emile, and the second one is Shel
Janice Porter:Silverstein. And, and, of course, they're just so great in
Janice Porter:terms of kids poems. And, but there's no real pictures in the
Janice Porter:book or anything. So it's like, how are you going to get a kid
Janice Porter:to? It's probably the rhyme or the, you know, finding one that
Janice Porter:like I I could talk about James James Morrison, Morrison,
Janice Porter:whether it be George Dupree, who love to go down to the city,
Janice Porter:although he was only three and that's like, a Milan poem that I
Janice Porter:remember when I was a kid, right? So it's interesting to
Janice Porter:see how I'm gonna get her to find a love of of those
MICKIE KENNEDY:are there is one that has sketches in it. That's
MICKIE KENNEDY:just an adorable book called The Bat poet by Randall Jarrell. I
MICKIE KENNEDY:don't know that one that that is illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
MICKIE KENNEDY:But that's not typical Sendak. It's very just nature oriented
MICKIE KENNEDY:for the most part, but it's a very adorable book that I think
MICKIE KENNEDY:a young child would appreciate. Okay, I'll check it out. Thank
Janice Porter:you. So before we wrap up, I want to just ask you
Janice Porter:a question that I love to ask some of my guests. Not always,
Janice Porter:but I feel like wanting to ask you this question. So my
Janice Porter:favorite word is curiosity. And I want to know if you think that
Janice Porter:curiosity is innate, or learned, and the second part of the
Janice Porter:question is, what are you most curious about these days?
MICKIE KENNEDY:So I'm not sure whether it's learned or innate,
MICKIE KENNEDY:I know that I have an insatiable curiosity. I you know, just go
MICKIE KENNEDY:down rabbit holes and try to learn as much as I can. Right
MICKIE KENNEDY:now, I have a you know, that book coming out a long time. But
MICKIE KENNEDY:also I do press releases. So I wanted to learn about a lot
MICKIE KENNEDY:about book marketing. So I bought 40, Kindle, book
MICKIE KENNEDY:marketing books, I've, I've plowed through 11 of them in the
MICKIE KENNEDY:past two weeks, and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can
MICKIE KENNEDY:about book marketing and how, you know, different people
MICKIE KENNEDY:approach it, and see whether I might be able to utilize it, you
MICKIE KENNEDY:know, for myself. It's also you know, also whether I might be
MICKIE KENNEDY:able to offer something of value to to people who come to us as
MICKIE KENNEDY:authors, because we do get a lot of authors and E releases. And
MICKIE KENNEDY:it used to always be self published until about 10 years
MICKIE KENNEDY:ago. And then we started getting traditionally published authors.
MICKIE KENNEDY:And it seems like even you know, the big companies are saying,
MICKIE KENNEDY:hey, you know, we don't do marketing unless you're really
MICKIE KENNEDY:big, and so you're on your own, and so I do see a need for
MICKIE KENNEDY:people to have access to book marketing options that are out
MICKIE KENNEDY:there. So that that's the big thing that I'm passionate about
MICKIE KENNEDY:at the moment. That's
Janice Porter:exciting. Thank you. Thank you for that. So one
Janice Porter:last question. If you could give me your favorite or best piece
Janice Porter:of advice around your business for my audience, and you've
Janice Porter:given us a lot of actual, actually a lot of hit hints and
Janice Porter:tips around what to do, but your your, your pet phrase, perhaps
Janice Porter:your pet piece of advice.
MICKIE KENNEDY:I think that you know, don't don't feel that
MICKIE KENNEDY:you're too small to matter to the media. Journalists love to
MICKIE KENNEDY:be seen as curators. And you'll often find that they put the
MICKIE KENNEDY:spotlight on a small business, more likely than a larger
MICKIE KENNEDY:company. Of course, they have to cover the big companies in
MICKIE KENNEDY:particular industries. But they love to spotlight the small
MICKIE KENNEDY:businesses because their audience gives the most love to
MICKIE KENNEDY:journalist and accolades. When they profile a new tool or
MICKIE KENNEDY:resource from someone they've never heard of before. So many
MICKIE KENNEDY:times, being small and unknown is an advantage because
MICKIE KENNEDY:journalists love to put the spotlight on those types of
MICKIE KENNEDY:businesses.
Janice Porter:That's great advice. Thank you. Thank you for
Janice Porter:being here today. It was a lot of fun to talk to you. And I
Janice Porter:learned a lot. And I wish you well with your book on your
Janice Porter:poetry book. And, again, thank you to my audience for being
Janice Porter:here. If you like what you heard, please, I will put
Janice Porter:Mickey's information in the show notes please check out his
Janice Porter:company and his services and in case you want a press release
Janice Porter:and have it sent out to the National Blood Services, I guess
Janice Porter:I would call it Yes. So thank you again and remember to stay
Janice Porter:connected and be remembered
