Craft a PR Strategy for Your Podcast as a Solopreneur with Simone Sauter

6 Step Publicity Rockstar method to increase your audience and visibility.   

PR is not just for big brands!   

Simone Sauter, PR expert for Solopreneurs joins me this week on the podcast.   

Key points include understanding the ideal client, pitching to the right platforms, creating compelling content, and leveraging media coverage for growth.  

Top advice here is to make your pitch personal and offer value that will resonate with the podcast host or publication’s audience.  

"You don't build relationships by just copy-pasting something. It's like with a friendship, you also don't make friends with a cookie-cutter strategy."  

About Simone  

Simone Sauter is a certified PR Consultant & Visibility Strategist, Publicity Rockstar™, and bestselling author. She teaches coaches and consultants how to get featured in prestigious magazines and podcast shows so they get seen, heard, and highly paid – without wasting time on social media or paying for ads and agencies. The beauty of her approach is that following her Publicity Rockstar™ Method, her clients get all they need to build an impactful brand: Visibility, Authority, Credibility, and Trust. 
 
Simone has built a very successful coaching business herself solely by utilizing the power of the media and podcast shows. She has been featured in media outlets such as Cosmopolitan, Instyle, and Closer, shared her story on countless podcast and TV shows, built a blog with 100,000+ monthly organic readers, and created an advertising value of more than 3 million euro in just 18 months. 
 
Besides that, she is a certified PR Consultant with two decades of experience in the media and PR world. Before her entrepreneurial journey began in 2014, she worked as a journalist and PR manager for several Fortune 500 companies.  

https://www.simonesauter.com 
https://www.simonesauter.com/free-training 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonesauter/  

Transcript

Rachael Botfield: [00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to podcasting one on one with Rachael. This podcast is for busy female entrepreneurs who run their own businesses and want to start a podcast or who may already have a podcast. I want to share practical information and tips on how you can get your podcast started and managing it along the way.

I'll also be interviewing other female podcast hosts to give you real insight into what it's like. Have

Hi everyone, and welcome to this week's episode today. I'm excited to have Simone Sauter here with me. She's going to talk about PR for your podcast. She is a PR expert for solopreneurs. Thank you so much for being here, Simone. Do you want to tell us a little bit [00:01:00] about you and a little bit how you got into the PR for solopreneurs?

Simone Sauter: First of all, thanks for having me, Rachel. I'm really excited to be here. So to answer the question, like, how did I get into PR? Like, first of all, that's my background, right? I studied journalism. I studied PR. I used to work as a journalist. I used to work as a PR manager, but how I really got into it as an entrepreneur is like a little bit of a longer story.

So in May, 2012, my ex left me after 10 years relationship, completely out of the blue. And, uh, his new partner moved in with him four weeks later and I was devastated. I really had to go through like this two year, uh, really a challenging time. Right. So, but that's when I started with personal development.

Um, and then after those two years, I decided to start a business as a breakup and divorce coach, right. Because I wanted to help other women to go, um, to get through it, break up faster than I did. And, um, so that's what I did in August, 2014. [00:02:00] And then I did what all the marketing gurus told me, right? So I, I really did everything from, you know, social media to summits, webinars, whatever it was, I did it.

And then six months down the road, I, you know, I was kind of burned out because nothing really worked. I was busy doing everything and I was completely overwhelmed. And then I was like, okay, I should actually do PR for my own business. Right. So I didn't do it in the beginning because I had this limiting belief that a lot of people have.

It's like getting prices just for, for companies and people who are well known, right, because I used to work for Siemens. I used to work for Daimler. My last position was for match. com for the German speaking market. So all big household names. And obviously it worked because they are household names already.

And, uh, yeah, but I knew what PR can do for you, right? If you get press, if you get on podcast shows and you, how it can grow your business. And, uh, then I committed to it. I dropped almost everything else. And then I really started to see my [00:03:00] business grow because, you know, I got into like, uh, Cosmopolitan and InStyle and Closer and like a big like national German speaking podcast even been on TV and from all of that I got a publisher knocked on my door and said like hey do you want to publish a book with us it was a became a best selling book also yeah and basically I also lived as a digital nomad for three years, and I met a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of people, um, a lot of solopreneurs as well.

And they all asked me, like, how did you do this? How did you get into cosmopolitan? How, like, and I was always like, okay, it's not rocket science, is it? But people didn't understand how to do it, because that's what I understood by then, is like PR is this mysterious thing in people's heads. And they think it's not possible for them or it's only possible if they are a brand already.

Actually, you build your brand by getting publicity, right? By getting yourself out there. So yeah. And then in 2018, [00:04:00] I thought, okay, you know, let's, let's start some like a side hustle, right? So like my PR side hustle, um, and my side hustle pretty quickly became my main business, like within four months, because I had so many people asking me to, to help them.

And that's when I then shut down my. Breakup and divorce coaching business. And I fully focused on my PR business. And now it's, uh, 2024 and I'm still doing it.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. I hear what you're saying about, you know, PR being this mystical thing, because I guess my perception of PR has always been, you know, media execs in London, like say big brands, that's what you're doing.

You know, you're, you're getting that PR. And as a solopreneur entrepreneur, how do you leverage that? PR because thought, you know, no one's going to want to hear from me. So, and getting that traction if they don't know who you are. And even more so with podcasting, trying to think how, how can you get that PR for your podcast and [00:05:00] for your, for your business, for your solopreneur business.

That's so interesting that actually you can do it. And there is a way.

Simone Sauter: Yeah, yeah, there is a like, and, and, you know, I can, I, so I have a framework that's called Publicity Rockstar Method, and it's a six step framework, which is like actually really simple. And once you understand what you need to do, you can do it yourself.

Right. All right. So let me explain the framework. So the first step, so six steps, the first step is your rockstar offer, right? Your rockstar offer that stands for the foundation and the foundation is that you need to understand your ideal client. To be able to pinpoint the right publications and the right podcast shows, right?

Because, well, there's no point being published, um, or interviewed for something that's not consumed by a deal client, right? Um, and then you also need to understand what you want to be known for. Because if you don't know what you want to be known for, it's going to be really hard to come up with story [00:06:00] ideas or with what I call core topics of impact that you want to talk about.

And then the third thing is you should have something in place that you have sold before, something that you know that works, or at least a lead magnet, like a free gift that you can give away so that you can collect email addresses and then market to them. That's always what I say, come up with a lead magnet that is really appealing to our client.

And then promote this wherever you published or featured, right? So that's the foundation. Then the second step is the audience, which stands for either building your media list or building your podcast list, right? So really do your research and take your time and make this list and see where does your ideal client hang out.

And where can you contribute something that is of value to either the host or the editor, the journalist, and I write, write this list, right? So that's the second step. The third step is the HIT. And the HIT stands for grabbing either the media's attention or the [00:07:00] podcast host's attention. And that's where the biggest difference basically is.

So a journalist or an editor is interested in three things, which is your story, like a story, your expertise, or a strong opinion. That's what you want to pitch to a journalist or an editor. And then for the podcast host is what I call core topic of impact, right? So come up with two to four core topics of impact that you talk about and offer them to the podcast host, but tie that topic to their audience, right?

So you need to understand their audience. You need to understand what the show is about. And then tie your topic to what they do and what the podcast is about. And then the next step, the fourth step is where we send the pitch or where we write and send the pitch, right? And for the, the editors, for the journalists, you need to build rapport and you need to come up with your story ideas, but what's really crucial for the podcast host is Is that as what I just said, you need to understand the podcast, [00:08:00] right?

So you need to build rapport and has to be a very personalized email. So with a journalist on editor, they are employed and they write for publication. And yes, they want, they want you to research them and you need to build a little bit of rapport, but a podcast host build the podcast. It's their baby and they are the gatekeeper.

They decide whom they are, whom, whom they will have on the show. And if you copy paste cold pitches, like no podcast host will accept you because they, they can see through this. Like podcast hosts, they get a lot of like, obviously, depending on the size of the show, but they get a lot of pitches and they can see right through the BS if you cold pitch, right?

So that's the fourth step. And then the fifth step is the. Uh, the performance, which is, you know, either you giving the podcast interview as I do now, or you do a media interview, if you want to be featured or you write your guest article, right? So you can write for big publications and get paid for it.

And yeah, you [00:09:00] write it and then you hand it in. And then the sixth step and the final step, which so many people get wrong is the promotion, which stands for leveraging, leveraging your media and podcast coverage for clients, cash and reputation. So a lot of people, they go and they promote the article that they've been featured in or that they wrote or the podcast interview that they did once.

If they are really brave, they do it twice and then it just disappears. Right. But you really need to understand that your audience grows. Everybody who, you know, and, and even if people see that you promote the same piece, um, a couple of times, you know, it's not bad and people will not recognize, like, think of yourself.

Do you know, like from the people that you follow, where they all have been featured and published you don't, because it's, you know, you see it. And then it's like, oh, wow, that's interesting. Maybe you read it and that's it. Right. And then when they promote it four weeks later, it's like, okay, yeah. So, right.

So it's, it's really, you need to. Really incorporate this into your marketing strategy. [00:10:00] And I share, I think, 30 plus ways with my clients on how they can actually use this to enhance their marketing so that, um, all the effort that you did is not for a one, a one time promotion, right? Because. You have to do the research, send the pitch, come up with, or like come up with ideas, send the pitch, like deliver.

And it's quite a lot of work, right? But it's really fruitful if you understand how to actually make the most out of it.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. And I say that often with our podcast as well, we don't often repurpose or reuse our own episodes enough, um, when we're talking about them in our social media to our audience. So the same kind of goes, like you say, for when you feature on guest episodes.

I would say that people and myself included kind of underestimate the amount of work that goes into actually pitching for a podcast. I've recently been doing some of that myself and looking at, you know, podcast guesting as a strategy to increase your visibility. [00:11:00] And, you know, Actually, when you're looking into it, listening to episodes, and I know you don't have to listen to all of the episodes, but you have to listen to quite a few to get that sense of what the host is like and, you know, even there's that initial research into, do they actually have guests?

Are they publishing new episodes? Because there's a lot of podcasts that actually haven't published episodes in the last year or so as well.

Simone Sauter: Yes, or they don't have guests. Like I, I, I get pitches. I used to have two podcasts, right. And I don't run them anymore. And they were all solo episodes. I never did interviews and I still get pitches still now, although I didn't publish for like four years or something.

So like you have an amazing podcast. I would love to be a guest on it. And I'm like, Really? Like, did you listen? Did you actually do your research? Because, you know, and it's just, it, it just shines such a bad light on you because you can see it's a cookie cutter strategy. It's like, Oh, okay. No, I made this copy paste template.

And then I, I changed the first sentence and you get it. So it's a little bit of personal or also not. And then I send it and I just cross my fingers and [00:12:00] hope for the best. Like, that's like, so cool. Throwing spaghetti to the wall, hoping that one sticks. And if it just doesn't work like this, especially with a pitching podcast host, but also, um, journalists and editors, it's about building relationships and you don't build relationships by, you know, just copy paste something.

It's like, it's like with a friendship, you know, you also don't, uh, you, you, you don't make friends with a cookie cutter strategy, right? So you have to put effort into building a relationship because this is what you do. And it doesn't stop after the interview, right? So you have a relationship with that podcast host and, you know, I have podcast hosts that I've been on, on shows.

And they really loved my products and they are my affiliate partners. And then the other way around, sometimes, you know, a podcast host has a product that I think, Oh, this would be amazing for my audience. Then I become an affiliate partner for that. Or, you know, you meet back at a summit or there's like, you start a relationship and you have to put effort into it.

And that's also where I always say it's quality over [00:13:00] quantity, right? So it's not, there's no point in sending 25 pitches a day, just that you send them when they're all cold pitches. Right. Send one or two per day, um, but send high quality pictures and really show the host that you relate to the show and you will be much more successful.

Rachael Botfield: It's starting that collaborative relationship as well, isn't it? Really? Because like you say, you know, you've come into their world. Do you really want that to be your only interaction? You've literally guested on their show, but then that's it. You never speak to them again, you never do anything with them again, and it doesn't seem to make sense, especially when you have picked their podcast, that you have similar audiences, and there's a lot of opportunities to collaborate from, from moving forward there as well.

So I, I definitely get the quality over quantity. And I think as well, that if you're You know, you're confident in your niche. And I know everyone liked that word, but you know, you're talking to specific people. [00:14:00] I don't always think there is hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there specifically for, uh, trans people.

Those specific people and that's not a bad thing because you really want to be able to get the right people in your audience. You're not doing it just like say, throw spaghetti at the wall and hope, uh, everybody listening will, you know, want to either get your, buy your services or listen to your podcast.

But I think that that makes that collaboration. element more important, finding those people that are in the same, you know, adjacent to you, that you can all kind of build that community around it. And that's a more sustainable approach as well, because I think sometimes, and I've had this myself, that when you're starting a podcast, and I started mine with a relatively, you know, low audience.

I, I haven't been doing this a long time. I switched careers. So, you know, three years you're building up your audience. And sometimes you do get a bit caught up in the numbers where you think, Oh, you know, I've not, this person's doing this and that. But actually, if you're [00:15:00] trying to fill it with people that actually want to hear from you rather than filling them full of people that, uh, might tune in every so often, but they never, ever engage with you, that's not really worth anything.

Is it really? Cause they're not doing anything with that information.

Simone Sauter: Yeah, no, but that it's like the same when people say like you have to build your email list. Yes, you do, but you have to build it with the right people, right? In other words, just random people, like, I mean, yeah, you can build an email list of 20, 000 people.

If nobody's interested in what you have to offer, well, there is no business, right? So rather have a list of 5, 000 people, but really dedicated people who want to hear from you, open your emails and, uh, yeah.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. So one thing that I think is always a worry, like we're saying, like, if you're not a household name, if you have a small audience, is it, so it's still possible using this framework with having a small audience, um, for your podcast or, or for your business to use this to build up that audience in the right way?

Simone Sauter: You actually, you don't even have to have an audience at all. You can start this [00:16:00] just, you know, from the beginning because, so it, it doesn't matter if it's a journalist, an editor or a podcast host, it always comes down to the value that you can offer. Like, you know, if you can offer amazing value, no podcast host would say like, Oh, you didn't have one client, you're not in business for like five years, you know, um, I will not take you on, right.

Except of like the, the big ones, like, you know, the Goldia and like all the, like, you know, the average, let's say the average podcast host would just say like, okay, you know, this is amazing information for my, for my audience and you know, come on. And it's the same for the media, same publications. Only really care about the value that you can add.

And, and you don't even have to have a business to, to be able to get into the media, but you know, if you have a business, uh, which you do, if you listen to that show, then, you know, you can just utilize their audience for your own audience and, uh, yeah, it's easier to. Build a business by using somebody else's [00:17:00] business, right?

Tapping into that business, but you know, that, that doesn't come for free, right? Obviously you need to bring something to the table, which is, you know, expertise, um, in the most, most of the podcast shows. And then for the media, it's a story to expertise, or it's a strong opinion, right? It's like, like taking a stand on something and, um, saying like, okay, this is how I think about it.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. Yeah. It's that delivery piece. I was speaking to a lady called Loretta Milan. She's come on the podcast as well and she's got the Rigid Air podcast and her mission is to, you know, wants everyone to believe that what they have to say matters. And she was talking about, you know, when you have a business or a podcast, it is about that impact.

That you're making that delivery, that is the best kind of quote unquote marketing promotion you can do is making sure that you're delivering something amazing to people that they actually want to hear it. And like you say, that it doesn't really matter what size you, your business slash podcast [00:18:00] is, you know, someone has thought you've made it hard for them to turn you down because you're, you're offering them something that is really valuable.

for them and for their audience.

Simone Sauter: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Rachael Botfield: Brilliant. It sounds like a really comprehensive step by step process. And I guess it is, it is a fairly simple one. I think a lot of the time should be spent, like, researching And then also knowing your own ideal audience and having those pieces because it is something that, um, like when I started my business, I, I did a copywriting course fairly early on, which is where I actually met Hannah, our mutual contact, and Chantal Davison, who's an awesome copywriter.

And we were learning, um, about your ideal client, and it's not something that I'd really thought about. Up until that point. And I think that's really important for something that you kind of keep going back to and [00:19:00] looking at in your business and for your podcast is to make sure that you're kind of on track in your.

And your focus is that ideal listener and you're making sure that the content that you're creating and everything is, is for them rather than for yourself.

Simone Sauter: Yeah. But that's also, I mean, that's like, you know, with all marketing strategies that we do, but I, I incorporate it into the framework because you know, a lot of people, Forbes, right.

And for many people, that's a great place to be featured, but for some people it's not the best option. Right. Right. So. There are other publications out there that people don't think about, but they just really think of Forbes, right? So, um, and yeah, so, so rather than going for only the big names go, go, you know, think about your ideal client and then also.

Think about special interest media. You can Google just special interest publications and then the industry where you're in and then see what comes up, right? Because that's where your ideal client [00:20:00] hangs out as well. Um, and then, you know, of course you can go for Forbes and all the big ones because they are also amazing for your reputation and obviously they have a big audience and yes, you can grow your business with them as well, but it's not only with them, but that's one of the things that I appreciate about it.

See that people think it's like, I, I, I have to go for the big ones. Right. And you don't have to, right. Because that's also a confidence thing. A lot of people that I talked to is like, Oh, I would love to, but I'm too scared. And I was like, okay, you, you will never start with Forbes, right? So you always build up.

So you build up a smaller publications, bigger blogs, websites, and, and then work yourself up. Right. So, uh, it's also not that you start your business and that's then, uh, you know, from one day to the other, you stand on this in a, in a, In a, in an arena of, you know, 50, 000 people and give a talk, this is not how you start your business, right?

You would, you would start, you know, getting on a smaller podcast and then maybe you give a workshop and then, you know, maybe you talk [00:21:00] to a group of a hundred people. So, you know, it's, it's the same with the media, right? So especially when you, when you, uh, when you don't have the confidence yet.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. And I think it's like that realistic kind of, I know organic is like bundled around a lot of the word, but I think growing.

in a more realistic, this has been my experience and a few of the people I've been speaking to as well, you know, there are always those people that do like, shape their trajectory up, but I think the realistic general, you know, people, you have to work hard at, growing your audience and, and, and growing that engagement and be realistic about, you know, even the amount of time that you have to invest in this.

Um, I myself, I have, although my kids are teenagers now, my husband works away. So I know that I need to do school pickups and stuff and, and I only have a set amount of time that I can, can do that in. So you also then have to be realistic about what you can achieve in that amount of [00:22:00] time.

Simone Sauter: Yeah, exactly.

But I had to adjust a lot in my business since I have kids. So my kids are three and four. They need still need a lot of attention, obviously. Right. But before I had kids, I mean, I was also like a little bit of a workaholic. I really I love what I do. And I, you know, 12 hour workdays, like they were just, you know, They were not unusual, like not an everyday thing, but they were not unusual, but I cannot work 12 hours a day now.

Right. So, um, it's just impossible and I don't want to anymore, but obviously growth is now slower than it used to be because I can't invest that much time. Right. But that's also why I'm a big fan. Of tapping into already existing audiences because it's some sort of shortcut, but like what people don't get is like the shortcut is not copy pasting stuff, um, and send it out.

The shortcut is, okay, I really make myself valuable to the person that I pitch and then I am allowed to tap into this audience. Right. So, um, that is the shortcut. Yeah. Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: Going [00:23:00] back and just to what you talked about as the final step about promoting and not just doing it once or twice and then letting it fall by the wayside and factoring in how much time you've got, would you say that it's best to invest your time in, in getting those pitches rather than spending that time maybe Cultivating social media posts.

I mean, I know, you know, in terms of value of time spent, would that be better if you've got, especially if you want to grow your audience to focus maybe on this type of PR rather than just posting on LinkedIn or Instagram?

Simone Sauter: Yeah, absolutely. So I'm, I'm on LinkedIn. That's also the only platform where I'm at.

I don't like social media. The thing is. On social media, like, you know, and I'm, I'm only on LinkedIn, as I said, I'm like from the last year to now, um, I'm down to one third of the visibility that I used to have, because they also have this algorithm shifts now, they want to do more pay for play, [00:24:00] like, you know, it's the same, like with Facebook at the beginning, everybody could see everything, and now everybody can see nothing, right?

Because, uh, it's just how the algorithm works. If you don't pay to play, then you're almost invisible. And the growth is just really small. And if you, I mean, you can grow, of course, um, also on LinkedIn, but then you have to engage. You have to talk to a lot of people and post and comment a lot of things.

And that takes up a lot of time. And I'm not saying you, you shouldn't do this. You should, um, but focus on one platform, right. And don't be everywhere. But then also understand that when you, for example, pitch a podcast host, um, it takes time to, to do the research and to, to write the pitch and everything.

But when you get accepted, then you create something that you can also utilize as your social media content, because you have a show, you can create this audiograms, you can, you know, transcribe it. You can, you know, you can create a lot of content around this one episode. And that way you [00:25:00] create social media content, but you also get to tap into the podcast host audience.

And they will also promote the show, obviously, because they want the show also to grow, right? And that's also something just on a side note that a lot of People don't understand. It's like, especially with a podcast show, the collaboration is a, is a two way street, right? So a lot of people, they, they, they think of getting on a podcast to promote themselves, but they don't understand that They need to also promote the show because this is how the host, like the, the podcast show grows.

Right. So I said this on Hannah's podcast as well. You know, I used to do done for you, pitching, um, for podcast shows. And I stopped doing it because I got so many replies from hosts that said, we don't take on anybody from a publicist or a PR agency anymore. Because from my experience or from the host experience, those people just want to advertise for free and they don't promote the show.

Right? [00:26:00] So, and I, and I get this, right? Because if you hire a publicist or a PR agency, the goal is that you get onto the show, but they often don't have a strategy in place to actually also promote their interview. Right? So, uh, then it's a, it's a, it's a one way street, like the, the guests being promoted by the host, but the host doesn't like, is unable to grow the show because the guest doesn't promote the show.

Right. Right. And that this is not how it works. Like with podcasts, it's really a collaboration, as we said earlier, right? It's a long term relationship and you want to invest in that also by, you know, promoting the show.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, that's, I know that can be a big thing with, with podcast You know, ensuring that their guests do promote the show.

Myself, I always try to encourage my guests to promote the show. I'll create some audiograms colours. So if they wanted to share it in their brand colours, audiograms and things. So that it's not got my [00:27:00] podcast brand colours all over their social media if they want to. And then try to make it as easy as possible for someone to be able to promote the show.

And then, you know, I mention them and tag them into posts. on LinkedIn so that they're easily shareable as well, which I find is quite a good way. If they're busy themselves, if I create a post and mention them in it, they'll tend to share it and add their own thoughts to that as well. So I think that that, that does work well as, as well.

That was one of the, you brought up a good thing about, um, you stop doing done for you pitching because And that's interesting as to whether or not people would reply if it's someone else on their behalf, because you think, are they actually bothered about really being on the show or would you, your experience, it's, it's best for the host to be you directly contacting other people.

Simone Sauter: Yeah. And it's, it's, it's the same for the media. Right. So, um, and you know, at the end of the day, it's all rocket [00:28:00] science. And if you hire a PR industry, a PR agency, it doesn't really matter if it's for podcasts or the media. At the end of the day, you're not their only client. Uh, they pitch a lot of people at the same day.

They don't understand your business as good as you do. Uh, you're the expert, you're flexible. If an editor says like, okay, this topic isn't quite what we're looking for, but could you also talk about this, right? Then, then you, you can say yes, or you could even suggest something else. No agency can do this for you because they are not you.

And yeah, it's, I, I believe, especially now with AI, like building relationships, um, becomes more and more important. And I just really don't believe that, that this is a great strategy. And I mean, yes, it works. And some agencies have amazing contacts, right. But those people also charge you 15 K per month, right.

Um, and you know, and it's a good ride because they have, they have these contacts, right. But from my experience, If you build this, these contacts and these relationships for yourself, you don't lose them because you go for an [00:29:00] agency, let's say you go for an agency, you pay 15 K for the six months retainer, which is, you know, 90 K there already just to, to get started.

And you, you leave, you don't have the contacts, right? So yes, it's a, it's an easy way because you just pay and then you obviously, you know, should expect to get featured or published. Yeah. Wow. That's not always how it works. So yeah. Publicist is really. And, and, you know, I teach my clients how to do this in two hours per week.

You don't have to invest hours and hours. Right. I mean, think about how, how much time you invest in social media, content creation, and then think about.

Rachael Botfield: And that cost barrier, it just isn't realistic. I mean, I think the majority of my listeners. You know, they're like me, we're, we're solo business owners. Um, maybe we've got some support team with us at a VA or somebody working with their social media or things like that.

But that kind of money is not an option. And like you say, [00:30:00] Nobody knows your business like you do and you are your best promotional tool because all that passion and uh, drive that you have will come through when you do your, your pitches like you say. And I think that's a really great approach for, for other solopreneurs, you know, out there that you have a podcast for their business.

Simone Sauter: Yeah. And it's also so much easier to, to, to write a personalized pitch, right? Because you can, you relate to that person. So I, I once, um, pitched a podcast host, um, and also got on the show and, and she really loved knitting and all this crafting, handcrafting, and I'm really, I'm really You know, I'm not, not good at that.

But then, you know, in, in the PS section, I mentioned that my, that my mom sued my wedding dress, right. And that I, I really did not inherit any, any of her talent. Um, and that was the starting point for our conversation. She was like, Oh, this is amazing. Like a wedding dress. And that would suit, is it suit a wedding dress?

Um, [00:31:00] and so, yeah, like, you know, as an agency, you're, you're just like, uh, you know, this is my client. This is like her expertise. And, you know, take it or leave it, but, but then this entire human, human experience is just isn't there. Uh, whereas when you pitch yourself and, uh, you know, you, you built this relationship and it doesn't have to be that you need to investigate for hours and hours.

But if you follow somebody on Instagram or on LinkedIn or whatever it is. Then you, you understand what this person is about. Right. And then you can see like, okay, where do we have something in common? And then you can just use this and, and, and pick this up and build a core with that person and also show that you did your research and that you're not just code pitching.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, that's a good point, actually, is during your research, having a look at what their social media presence is and, and, you know, connecting with them there and maybe being able to contribute to their content and things like that, that's another way to start that [00:32:00] collaborative relationship. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. Wow. So that's so much information there, Simone. Absolutely brilliant. I think there's a lot there for everyone to take away. We'll put all your information in the show notes. I'd love you to just leave us with kind of like your top tip. What's the most, uh, important thing where people should start? I think the

Simone Sauter: most important thing is to understand that building, like, the confidence you get to really get yourself out there on the bigger podcast shows, on the bigger publications, is really by starting small and building up, right?

So it's, we, we, We get confident by doing the things and not by thinking about things. And it's, it's less nerve wracking to, you know, to write a guest article for another website than to write a column for Forbes, right? So there is a big difference there, but then, you know, when you publish your first. you get [00:33:00] your first podcast interview and you, your system, basically your nervous system is like, Oh, okay, this actually felt, it felt good because, you know, once it's published, it's like, Oh, you know, I can send it.

I can share it. I'm published, you know, and then, you know, you, um, you build this confidence and you can see, and more importantly, feel that nothing, nothing bad happens actually, um, because that's a thing that my clients, um, face involves like fear of visibility and, uh, fear of, I am not good enough, To write for big publications or be featured in a, I always say Forbes because it's just a number one publication that everybody wants to get in.

So yeah, confidence starts by really, by really doing the things and not thinking about the things.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, that's a great thought to leave with. There is that feeling of I did it is just the best feeling and yeah, starting small with one, one piece, one focus and then building, building on that. Yeah, exactly.

Brilliant. Thanks so much for coming on and chatting with me today, [00:34:00] Simone, and hope to catch up with everybody soon. Thanks. Bye. Thanks. Thanks for listening to the show. If you'd like to connect with me or get in touch, then head on over to my website. If you liked the episode, then I'd love it if you could leave me a review in your chosen podcast app.

Your feedback is much appreciated. See you next time.