Coaching

Private “The Media Is You” Coaching With Me!

If you lead a small, independent business, you are probably not in a position to pay thousands of dollars a month for a publicist.

But you know that if word doesn’t spread about what you have to offer, your business won’t survive. In other words, you know that if it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.

You Don’t Need Thousands Of Dollars!

You may not have thousands of dollars, but if you have a great product or service and a computer, you don’t need all that cash. At least not in the beginning. All you need is a solid suite of branded media outlets that work together to connect you and what you have to offer with the world.

But where do I start?

Good question, and I used to ask it too.

Here’s how you do it. What you don’t have in money, you make up for in spunk, drive tenacity and passion. You have to decide to take matters into your own hands and start creating my own media outlets. That’s what I did, and now, I want to show you how to do it.

What Do Oprah, Martha and The Today Show Have That You Don’t Have When It Comes To Communications Outreach?

Well, let’s see:

- They have a website: you can have a website
- They have a blog: you can have a blog
- They have audio podcasts: you can have audio podcasts
- They have video: you can have video
- They have magazines: you can have magazines
- They have newsletters: you can have newsletters
- They have a network: you have a network
- They have an audience: you have an audience

Do you see where I’m going with this?

The Media Is You!

How do I know this? Because I’ve been my own media outlet since January 16, 2000, the day I simultaneously launched the Indie Beauty Network and the companion newsletter. You can view the first issue right here, and you can view nearly 10 years or archives here.

Today, I’ve added much more. I host a weekly radio show, publish a (nearly) daily blog, publish a weekly newsletter, produce periodic audio podcasts (examples here and here) and publish regular content at the social network I manage. I have hosted and produced a cable television show and published a magazine.

Then there’s FaceBook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

I have also been featured in every kind of traditional media outlet there is: radio, television, magazines, domestic and international newspapers, blogs and just about everything else.

The Media Is Me! And The Media Is You Too!

I am sharing all of this so you an idea of how much I can help you. This is not a lot of theory and it’s not based on anecdotal evidence. It’s real. I have lived it myself.

Lots of people can talk about how small business owners can market themselves. I go a step further and actually teach you how to create outlets that produce continuous streams of content that not only promote your products and services, but which also create new opportunities for you to expand and grow as a business owner and as a person.

I offer one-on-one phone coaching and in-person strategy sessions lasting up to 3 days.

One-On-One The Media Is You Telephone Coaching

Here’s how one-on-one coaching works works:

1. You are subscribed to my blog and newsletter and are familiar with my views on the importance of being your own media outlet. It is important that you are aware of my viewpoints and have a general idea of the work involved in advance. I work best with people who have a notion of what they’re getting into and the degree of dedication and tenacity it takes to do this right.

2. You have something specific you want to discuss with me, such as:

* how to maximize the use of Twitter as a media outlet for your business
* how to make your blog look more professional
* how to cross-promote using Twitter, blogs, websites, newsletters and more
* how to use audio, incuding radio shows and podcasts, as a strong, branded media outlet for your business
* how to understand and embrace your position as a business leader and the main media outlet for your business

The above list is not exhaustive. If I’ve blogged about it, featured it on my radio show or published it in my newsletter, I’m game to strategize about it on the phone with you.

3. Once you know what you want to discuss, and what you wish to accomplish (sharing your goals is very important to making this work), send me a short email letting me know what you’d like me to coach you on. Please include some URLs so I can have a look at what you already have in place.

Once I look things over, I’ll reply to you. I will either let you know how I can help you or I will let you know why I’m not the best choice and will give you some other resources.

4. If I know I can improve your position as the best media outlet for your business, I will send you a request for payment for the amount of time that seems most reasonable to me, at the $200 per hour rate. (This rate is reduced to $150/hour for members of the Indie Beauty Network.

5. Once payment is received, I will send you a questionnaire and we will schedule a time.

6. I try to be flexible as, like many of you, I am married with young children. Having said that, if you miss your scheduled appointment, there is no refund of the advance payment unless the circumstances are extenuating. (Meaning serious illness or worse or a once-in-a-lifetime media opportunity for your business.)

7. I will come to our session armed with some questions and ideas to prompt your creative juices and help you make technology perform better for you and your brand.

I will record our call if you wish, so you can listen to it later and take notes. ($15 fee applies for recording.) You can record it yourself if you’d like using your own conference calling account at Free Conference Call or whatever you use.

I do not take notes during our session, and I do not issue a written report.

8. Within the next month or so, you can email me with follow-up questions as long as it is something I can answer quickly. Sometimes, I will refer you to other resources (mine or those of others) to answer your follow-up questions.

Personalized Two or Three Day In-Depth The Media Is You Strategy Sessions

I lead 2- or 3-day (depending on the number of people) The Media Is You strategy sessions to help you and your employees and team members work together to create and maintain the continuous flow of media needed to keep your audience (yes, you have an audience!!) informed about what you are doing.

You and your team will learn:

1. How to think like the media thinks, and how to apply this thinking to your business
2. The latest free and nearly free digital technologies that you can use to created branded media outlets of your own
3. How to cross-promote your branded media outlets for maximum search engine optimizaton (SEO), and position them to work for you 24/7
4. How to empower your team to help you work your media outlets without stressing them out and without adding significantly to your operating costs
5. How to appeal to your target audience and add the readers, listeners and viewers who will tell their friends about what you are doing and encourage them to become a part of your audience as well
6. How to use your branded media outlets to drive mainstream media to your front door.

We accomplish a lot more depending on your particular needs and resources, which translates not into how much money you have, but into how much time and help you have to accomplish your media outreach goals.

To schedule a Personalized Two or Three Day In-Depth The Media Is You Strategy Sessions, contact me at donnamaria at carolina dot rr dot com.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you!

dM