Episode #81: How To Leverage Your Creative Business For Major Publicity
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Getting publicity for your toy business can seem like a daunting task at first. Imposter syndrome is often the culprit preventing many toy entrepreneurs from getting their name and toy products a well-deserved spotlight. Having been featured on NBC’s Access Daily, interviewed by Marie Forleo, and Amy Porterfield, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to teach you about getting media coverage.
By the end of today’s episode, you’ll have the tools you need to start highlighting and pitching your creative business to get major publicity. There are no shortcuts here, no quick wins, but there is a simple process that when done correctly will help you build a business that media outlets and public figures WANT to talk about.
This episode will highlight the importance of creating a content library of what you know, create, and believe in so that you form a clear identity and perspective that is easy for the masses to relate to. If you’re curious how I manage to land feature after feature and help my students do the same, then listen in to this episode.
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*The Toy Coach participates in affiliate programs. This means The Toy Coach may receive a referral fee if you sign up for either of the pitching services listed above.
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Azhelle Wade: [00:00:00] You are listening to making it in the toy industry episode number 81.
[00:00:04] Hey there toy people Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of the toy coach podcast, making it in the toy industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com.
[00:00:30] Thank you so much for joining me here. Today, we are going to dive in to how to leverage your creative business for major publicity. But if you didn't get a chance to listen to last week's episode, I'm going to ask you to hit pause and go back to that episode right now and listen in before listening to this one, the reason is my guest on the podcast last week was Amy Porterfield.
[00:00:58]My head mentor turned real life mentor and a woman who I can't believe was both a guest on my podcast and had me as a guest on hers. My chat with Amy inspired my episode today because so many of you have reached out to me asking how I landed a spot on NBC's access daily wondering how I got an interview with Amy Porterfield or even on Marie TV. And your questions to me are Azhelle how on earth did you land these amazing media segment? Well, I think it's a really important lesson that I want to share with you all today, because I know as toy entrepreneurs, you have a tendency to focus on the product and your belief that the product is needed and you're so focused on the belief that your product that you're creating is so needed. And so wanted that as soon as it's made, the masses will come, but that's not the case. And what you really need to make sure you have is a solid marketing plan before you create anything.
[00:02:12] And the biggest part of marketing is gaining awareness. And you do that by getting out there by being seen, by being heard, by going on those platforms that scare you and making the most of it. Well today, I'm going to share my secret tips with you. And by the end of today's episode, you should have the tools that you need to start leveraging your creative business and your opinions and beliefs to pitch your toy business for major publicity. Now, to start off this conversation, I want to talk about.
[00:02:54]What it takes for someone to want to feature you in the media. And it requires you to have a story that is relevant. So it has to be timely, but it also has to be a story that's interesting and unique. So when you want to get featured in these publications, you've got to give them something that is worth writing about.
[00:03:20] And the only way that you can do that is by working on increasing your visibility of whatever product, knowledge, or experience that you have before you created the product that you want to market. What is your backstory? And you've got to make sure that the world knows what you have experience with and that the media world knows that you're available and interested in coverage.
[00:03:52] So I'm going to break down the process of what you need to be set up for major publicity in today's world. And there are three parts to this process and each part cannot exist without the one before it you're really essentially building a triangle, your foundation is going to be the first step which we will get into in a minute.
[00:04:17] And you cannot continue until the second step until you have that first foundation. Okay. So let's talk about with, at the base of this triangle.
[00:04:26]The first step is. That you have to create a content library. Your content library is going to help you increase visibility and notoriety. It's essentially like building a record of yourself, being an expert on whatever toy product or category of toys that you want to be known for.
[00:04:51]Now if your end goal is to get coverage on a line of dolls that you created about salsa dancing, then you're going to have to first build up some sort of a content library that highlights what you know about dolls and what you know about salsa dancing. And this content library is not only going to focus on that, but it's also going to focus on the dolls that you create. And it's going to focus on the beliefs that you might have about salsa, dancing or dance in general, or maybe even health and fitness because dance and health are closely tied.
[00:05:32]But the important thing to think of when you're building this content library is you have to make sure that the three things that you're putting into it, what, you know, what you create and what you believe in those three things have to directly align with the product that you're actually trying to promote.
[00:05:52]Now, if you're wondering what this content library is like, what it should be made of? Well, your content library is just filled with content. It could be a blog filled with articles. It could be a YouTube channel filled with 10 minute shows it could be a clubhouse room that you have every week and you record and post somewhere. It could be as simple as an Instagram page. Where you post really important information, or it could be as complex as a podcast, but before you rush to pick whatever type of content library you're going to create, just know that you actually should be choosing your content library based on the form, that one, your ideal target market is most likely to engage with, but two that will really draw attention from the types of media outlets that you want to be featured in. Now I actually dive into the process of how you can figure out what type of content a library or what type of content creation is best for you and your product and your ideal target market. As a part of my course toy creators academy. So if you would like to learn more about that head over to toycreatorsacademy.com to learn more.
[00:07:17]So aside from filling your content library with things that you know, or things that you've researched, you should also be filling it with the things that you create. So let's say you are making this line of salsa dancing dolls, but perhaps you haven't finished it yet. So you don't have production samples.
[00:07:38] Well, you might have. In progress samples that you can share, or you might have drawings of salsa outfits. The idea is to share anything that is directly related to the product that you are going to sell to get anyone that starts to follow you or falls into your world to get them acquainted with the product that eventually you want to sell to them.
[00:08:05] Now this content could be, like I said, drawings of clothes that maybe you plan to put on the salsa dancing dolls. It could be video testimonials from people that have. received your product and loved it. It could just be test videos of someone interacting with your product and testing it all.
[00:08:28] Now in your content library, the final bit of content that you need to have in, in here is the content that highlights what you believe in. And this is really important because this is the part of your content library. That is that adds the human factor, the emotional piece. That's going to be what you sell to the media outlets so that they can sell it to their listeners or their viewers so that they will want to engage with you.
[00:09:01]That emotional piece will allow you to craft a compelling story that can connect with people and ultimately draw the attention of the media. Now, sharing your own hopes and your dreams, and being able to align those hopes and dreams. With your product and with those of the ideal target market who will buy your product is just the recipe for pure success in gaining media publicity.
[00:09:33]Now if you aren't quite sure what kind of content you would create and remember the content library. And all the three pieces inside of it, that is just the base of our pyramid. I talked about a pyramid at the top of the episode a pyramid that we're building up to gain publicity. So this content library is just the bottom of the pyramid and it has all of this stuff in it.
[00:09:58] Now, if you're still not sure what should go into that content library, even after all of the examples I gave you. I'm Actually going to recommend that you've listened to another podcast episode of mine in which I go into the pieces of. you And the pieces of you episode is episode number 69. So you can head over to thetoycoach.com/69 to listen to that.
[00:10:22] And it's really a great episode about finding the special pieces of you, the puzzles of you, and figuring out the ways that they fit together. It's going to be hard for you to put this three part media publicity plan into play. If you don't have a strong foundation with content, I would say it might be a little, almost impossible to be really successful with this without that strong content foundation.
[00:10:52] And you can't have a really compelling foundation of content, unless you truly understand the pieces of you. So when you have a moment head over to thetoycoach.com/69 to listen in to that episode. Now, once you figured it out, once you have your, your content library, your bottom foundation of this triangle is all done.
[00:11:19] It's time to move on to the next level of that triangle. And the next level after building that foundation is to augment it to the world that tell the world about it, but put a megaphone up to your lips and tell everyone that you have something to share Now the big question here is always, where do you start?
[00:11:40]Starting with friends and family is a good entry way, especially if you've never advertised yourself or promoted anything of your own. Starting with friends and family, super safe, they'll be kind, they'll usually respond and give you a thumbs up.
[00:11:55] But the goal here is to keep sharing this stuff with them. So you can get an honest reaction to your content. Is what you're producing really valuable. Is it really interesting? Is it really fun? Is it something that your ideal target market will truly want to engage with? You should ask your friends and family to share, like, and help promote all of the pieces of your content library, but you should also ask for their feedback and use that feedback to tweak what you create. Now once you've spent ample time testing and sharing with your family, or maybe testing with a group of kids that are more of your ideal target market, it is time to spread your message to the rest of the world and go toward a larger platform of people.
[00:12:50]You could do this sharing on Instagram, on TikTok, on Facebook, through email, it's really up to you, how you want to promote your content library. But the most important thing here is to promote. You have to make sure you're posting every day to one of these platforms to share and get people to view the incredible content library that you've built up.
[00:13:17]Now, once you've gone through family and friends, you're going to find that it's a lot harder to get strangers to like, and engage with your content. Now social media has increasingly become a pay to play game. You might start noticing that you need to put some ad money behind your post to make sure that people see them, even if it's people that are already following you.
[00:13:46] Because, unless you are a Kardashians and Instagram knows that your posts are keeping people on the platform, the platform is actually going to know that you need them more than they need you. And you'll end up needing to spend money on pay-per-click ads to gain true visibility for your content library.
[00:14:06]But if the content that you've created is actually really valuable and you're really clear on who your ideal target market is, the cost will be nominal to get people, to engage with the extensive content that you've built up. Now, listen, I know all of this self promotion can seem scary. It is started promoting myself and my products, I was so nervous about what everyone would think, but I've learned since then, if you don't have the confidence in what you are bringing to the table, nobody's going to have that confidence for you.
[00:14:46] So I really want you to walk away from this and not be shy. You're allowed to be humble, but you can't be shy. As an entrepreneur you have to promote your business. Every day, you are the only one who's going to uplift it. Make sure it stays top of mind for the entire world. So share your accomplishments, share your stories, share your research, tie everything back to that toy product that you hope to sell one day or the product that you're currently selling.
[00:15:22]Okay. So once you have. Promoted that content library that you created, you can move on to the top of this pyramid. This is the pyramid to getting you major publicity. So at the top of this pyramid at the final step, you're going to need to hire professional help.
[00:15:43]Professional help can come in the form of hiring a PR agency to completely promote your product and your story for you. But it can also come in the form of hiring an educator. Someone who does this work for clients, but is also willing to teach people how they get that work done. Whether you decide to hire someone to do it for you, or you want to pay to learn how to do it yourself, both of these options can bring a lot of value and visibility to your toy business quickly if you commit to them.
[00:16:22]So first let's talk about what it takes and what it's like to hire a professional to run your PR for you. Now, when you first see the price tag of a PR agency, you may be sticker shocked, but if you're a toy entrepreneur, you know, this cost can be a really worthwhile investment. Having a PR agency whose primary focus is to get you featured to get you on TV or in media, is going to allow you to free up your mind, to continue developing the product and developing your business in other ways. Promoting yourself and your product is a full-time job. So if you're already stealing hours in your schedule just to create and launch your toy product, a PR agency may be your best bet to help you gear up for the next big launch of one of your items.
[00:17:19] So I have an agency I'd love to recommend to you today, it's called Davelle PR. If you're looking for hiring or working with a PR agency checkout Davelle PR. Davelle supports influencers and organizations in articulating their authentic purpose and infuses that purpose into both long-term and short-term marketing strategies.
[00:17:44]What is even better about Davelle is that they have offered a special gift for listeners of the toy coach podcast. If you mentioned the toy coach, when you reach out to Davelle then you can get an additional week of PR management added to your signed contract for free.
[00:18:04]So if you have a big launch coming up and you just know that you won't have the time to promote yourself and get yourself out there, I want you to look into an agency maybe they can help you out.
[00:18:17]The second way to get professional help. Remember we're at this pyramid to get major publicity right now. We're right at the top. And we've got two options for getting help. Now the second option for getting professional help is to learn from a professional. Now if by this point of the episode, you were already thinking, Nope, Azhelle I've got zero money to commit to publicity not going to happen.
[00:18:43] Well, listen up because this DIY option may be for you. You can learn to pitch yourself and your product for publicity through a variety of courses that are available online. Now, the course that I would highly recommend because I utilize this course myself is called, go pitch yourself by Angie Trueblood.
[00:19:10]This course will teach you how to craft pitches, reach out to hosts and editors follow up for media features. And guess what? I actually reached out to Angie, the creator of the course go pitch yourself and snagged a special discount offer for listeners of the toy coach podcast.
[00:19:30] With a promo code, the toy coach, you will save 10%. If you buy the go pitch yourself program. Now I have to be straightforward here. DIY pitching isn't for everyone. The whole process takes a lot of time and patience and consistency to build media features and book interviews. But if you are a true entrepreneur and you have come to understand that this business has to be your baby and you are truly committed to your business in every aspect. And if you are willing to pay your dues and work your way up the media ladder, then pitching yourself may be for you. I absolutely loved the process. I loved the skill and it helped me with many areas of pitching, not just the specific areas covered in the course.
[00:20:30]Now I'd love to share a story with you about the very first podcast I ever got booked on as a result of the go pitch yourself course. And that podcast was called the creative introvert. And I pitched this podcast. I was so surprised to see a yes in my inbox the next day.
[00:20:51] To say I was nervous. The day of the interview would be a monstrous understatement for sure. So, I just don't want you to feel that you aren't made for pitching, just because you get a few butterflies or a lot of butterflies, all of that goes away in time and it's a worthwhile trade for the amount of exposure you can potentially get for taking on that nerve wracking experience.
[00:21:25]So there you have it. That is the top of the pyramid. You need to hire a professional, either someone like devel PR to do it for you or buy a program, like go pitch yourself to learn how you can pitch yourself, head over to thetoycoach.com/81 if you want more information about either of those professional options with Angie Trueblood or Davelle PR.
[00:21:54]Before I jump into my quick recap of what we learned in today's episode, I'd like to take a quick break and give a shout out to listener Hayleybryn. Hayley left a review that says sending love and light. Hayley says, thank you so much for sharing your stories and showing up so honestly, by discussing your personal struggles and how racial microaggressions led to internal shame, I never want to be a part of that cycle. I appreciate the vulnerability and will always strive to do better. Hayley I love this review.
[00:22:32] Thank you so much. Those episodes were extremely hard to release. So hearing that they are making the positive change that they were intended to make really means so much to me. And I assume you're in the toy industry, which would make it even cooler. If you're wondering what episodes Hayley is referring to.
[00:22:51] Check out thetoycoach.com/20 for the very first ripple effect of racial bias episode. Then you could check thetoycoach.com/40 for the next. And then finally Jacqueline Vong came and chatted about her experiences as a CanAsian woman. And that's in thetoycoach.com/66. So I hope you enjoy those episodes as much as Hayley did. If you love this podcast and you haven't already left a review, what are you waiting for? I read every single review that comes through and your positive messages really keep me inspired to come back each and every week and deliver valuable toy advice.
[00:23:39] Okay, let's pop on over to the conclusion of today's episode. What did we learn today? We learned to build out our triangle towards major media publicity. So the very first step all the way at the bottom is you've got to build a foundation, a foundation of a content library filled with what you know, What you're going to create or what you have created and what you believe in this is going to help orient you as an expert in a specific category within the toy industry.
[00:24:11] Now on top of the bottom layer of that triangle. Next up we have share your content library. You're going to use social media to share your content library with your family, and then the world you're going to get feedback, implement changes, and just scale share, and maybe even put a few ad dollars behind your posts or behind your content posts to get more eyeballs. If you've done your research the right way. If you've tweaked, according to the right comments, then any new listeners or new viewers or new Watchers or followers should stay following and in-touch with you even after you turn those campaigns off.
[00:25:00] Now the final top to this pyramid on how you get major publicity is hire a professional. Now we talked about two ways. You can do that. You can hire a professional to do it all for you, or you can hire a professional to teach you how to do it yourself. I gave two examples. Davelle PR is a results driven agency that will do it for you, whereas go pitch yourself by Angie Trueblood is a DIY pitching program that will teach you how to pitch yourself. For all of the information to get the special bonuses and discounts offered only to the toy coach listeners, head over to thetoycoach.com/81 to grab the links and more information.
[00:25:46] Okay. Your action item for this week is I want you to create something new for your content library. I don't care how much or how little you have. I just want you to create one new thing that might mean you're making one blog post or you're making one social media post or one Facebook live scheduled, or you're going to make a YouTube video, whatever it is.
[00:26:09] Just make one new thing. And the topic of that piece of content should either be around something that, you know, something that you've created like a toy or something that you believe in maybe in education and free play . Now I want you to tag me on Instagram when you post whatever this new content is that you're going to create.
[00:26:33] I really want to see you getting things done. I want to support you. I want to click and like, and share. So make sure that you tag me on Instagram when you do that.
[00:26:43] As always, thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there. So it means the world to me that you tune into this one until next week, I'll see you later. Toy people.
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🎓Learn more about how you can develop and pitch your toy idea with Toy Creators Academy® by clicking here to visit toycreatorsacademy.com and join the waitlist.
