Ep; 186: Stop Pitching Like A Stranger And Start Getting Published | Guest Expert: Erica Holthausen

Speaker 2 0:33

Welcome to the Tiny Marketing Podcast. I'm Sarah Noal Block, and this show is made for solo consultants who wanna get booked out without burning out. If you've ever thought, I just want this to feel easier, you're not alone. Around here, we focus on simple, sustainable growth that actually fits into your life to growth, feels doable instead of overwhelming.

Speaker 5 0:54

Today we are talking about how to build authority with writing, which I, I'm excited about because I, I'm a writer. We talk, Erica and I talked about that on our pre-call. I love writing more than anything, but there is. I think like a fear or trepidation with a lot of people that writing isn't as relevant as it used to be because of, well, AI obviously, and waning attention spans. So I am excited to get into this topic and we're also gonna talk about how you can create a unique POV so you're not just blending in with everybody else. And that also kind of solves that AI issue because if you are giving that unique POV, nobody else is because a lot of them are just putting like copy and pasting from jbc. Erica, thank you so much for joining me today. Do you think you could introduce yourself the audience?

Speaker 4 1:55

Of course, Sarah, thank you so much for having me and it. Yeah, so my name is Erica Holsen. I am an authority development consultant. So like Sarah, I have a background in writing and I was a freelance writer and editor for over 20 years, and now I use that information to help consultants build their authority through writing, whether they're writing for their blog newsletter or for a high visibility publication.

Speaker 5 2:18

Yes, yes, yes, yes. So real quick. I want to get into like, I think the meat here is the authority that you can build with your writing and a unique POV, but because you touched on that you were a journalist and you have some insider information about ai, can you tell me what you told me on the pre-call about how AI is getting their information And Yes.

Speaker 4 2:49

It's fascinating, so I. Remember back in the day when publications were all print and advertising was all in print publications and making that transition from print publications to digital and a number of the publications that I wrote for at the time didn't survive that transition. Now we're in another transition. So these publications have always relied very heavily on advertising revenue. And now with ai, people are less likely to go to Google to search for something, click through to read the answer. They're instead going to Claude Chat, GPT Gemini, asking the question there. Getting an answer and they're not clicking through. So advertising website revenue, website traffic is down, which means advertising revenue is down for these publications. So. They're having to make an adjustment and they're adjusting in a few different ways. But the way that I think is ultimately going to actually work is more and more publications are starting to license the content on their platforms to AI companies so that AI companies have. Human generated content to train on because if an AI trains on its own stuff, it's sort of like making a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy after while. Just

Speaker 6 4:11

more bland and more bland.

Speaker 4 4:13

Yeah. Yeah. It gets like worse and worse and worse and just like implodes. So that's changing A lot of the way. Publications are looking at content. They're looking at stuff that is. Uniquely human. And similarly, ai, you now have, like, we used to deal with SEO and, and I have a lot of opinions on it because for the most part, I don't think it's all that essential for, high-end consultants. So we used to talk a lot about that. We are now talking about generative engine optimization. Generative engine optimization is looking at the entire digital landscape and it's able to connect everything in the digital landscape to Sarah, to Erica, to to you. So the more that you are putting things out there that have a digital footprint, generative ai, generative. Engine optimization can kind of look at that whole thing. And again, what it is looking for is stuff that it cannot create. AI can summarize what's out there in the world. It is never gonna take risks. It is never going to make connections between things that are completely disparate. That's what humans can do. Humans can take risks. Humans can get into like the messy stuff and humans can sort of make those new connections that AI is not capable of.

Speaker 5 5:43

Okay, so I wanted to start with that because my thought was people will see the. This topic and they'll be like, oh, AI makes this irrelevant now. And I wanted to really get into that piece first, that it actually matters a lot more to write and to write in varied places instead of just having your blog being featured in other media publications matters more. Now it shows more of your authority.

Speaker 4 6:13

Well, it's, it's now, it's going to become harder to get into these other publications, but it's going to matter a lot more. Now it's more about. Really that unique human angle, what can you bring to it? So it's what can you bring to the publication? Not only like, yes, it has to be really good for their readers. That's what they will always judge based on. But then it also has to have that thing that AI cannot do, that they can license it to those AI companies. Otherwise, that licensing agreement's not worth very much.

A Simple Pitch That Works

Speaker 5 6:48

Yeah, that makes complete sense and I'm glad we talked about that right at the top. So let's

Speaker 4 6:57

Yeah, so first a lot of people don't try, so keep that

Speaker 5 7:02

So try.

Speaker 4 7:02

mind first So first is try Second is, you know, a lot of publications will have something that is, they'll have contributor guidelines if they have contributor guide. Follow them Exactly. And to the extent that if it says, your subject line in your pitch should read, boom, boom, boom. Make sure your subject line reads boom, boom, boom. So don't give them a reason to to ignore you before you, you've even been able to make your case. And then it's really follow traditional, traditional pitch. Ideas like we have all been pitched, I guarantee you go to the spam folder right now in your email. I guarantee you there's a pitch there that you're like, what does this have to do with the price of BRI on Tuesday?

Speaker 5 7:52

I just deleted a whole bunch of those that came in the weekend.

Speaker 4 7:55

Yeah. Yeah. It's like if you bothered to do two seconds of research, you would know that this is not a fit. Same thing. So a lot of editors get a ton of pitches that have nothing to do with. What their magazine actually writes about. So make sure that your idea is tailored to the publication itself. There's a whole really relatively simple process, but we can get stuck in our head about it, where it's just like, give them the hook. I also, by the way, recommend writing the article before you pitch the article because as somebody who is writing to build your authority, your writing will never, ever, ever, ever, ever go to waste. Because if they don't say yes, you can put it on your blog. You can put it on Medium, you can put it on LinkedIn, you can put it all the other places. Yeah, so when you pitch a publication, follow the contributor guidelines, but basically you are giving them a little hook, like why is this of interest? Why should their readers care? Why you. Like, are you just a person with an opinion? Because all of us fit that category. So why specifically are you the right person to be writing about that specific topic? And then what is the solution? What is, what is the problem that it is going to help the readers solve? And. What is your unique take on how to actually solve that problem? So publications are always looking for actionable insights. They don't just want, they don't want you to be overly promotional. They don't just want a talking head. They want their readers to be able to read something and go, oh, here's a way I can take one small step towards. Navigating this tricky issue, solving this challenge, addressing this challenge, that kind of thing. So you say, who does this piece serve? What is the objective? In other words, why will this specific audience feel compelled to read it? What will they get out of it? So how will their thinking mindset or behavior change? And will this enhance or diminish your reputation? So is it in alignment with what you are trying to be known for out in the world?

Speaker 5 10:11

I really like that I. I remember when I first started my business, that's, that's how I got started was I would write articles and I would pitch publications with them, and that's how I got my first two clients was they just saw my byline and the little bio at the end and they're like, I like what I liked your perspective, and that like, that propelled everything else. That made me also realize that. Partnerships, borrowing other people's audiences is the easiest way to grow. And six years later, I'm still borrowing other people's audiences and doing the same thing.

Speaker 4 10:59

yeah. Anytime you can borrow somebody else's audience, it means you don't have to build your own audience.

Speaker 5 11:05

Mm-hmm. And can convert

Speaker 4 11:06

keep building your own audience, and that will, that's always something we're working on, but it lets you tap into one that's already established, already interested, and you get that added benefit of, You know, this is, this is somebody, somebody vetted you and okay, this is somebody who has something that my readers, my listeners, my community, they are going to find valuable. So that gives you that added credibility and trustworthiness because you're borrowing that as well as the audience.

Speaker 5 11:38

Yeah, that's exactly right. all different ways that you can leverage someone else's audience to build your own. And.

Speaker 3 11:47

Yeah

Speaker 5 11:48

Just my, my little 2 cents. Always have something for them to do next that would connect them and convert them into your audience too. So like Erica, I was like, what's your lead magnet? Because it's important. It's important that like if something resonates and they want to stay connected with you, they need a way to be able to do that immediately. Otherwise they'd be like, I loved Erica. And then they'll go on about their day, but now

Speaker 4 12:17

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 5 12:18

to be able to connect with you on.

Speaker 4 12:20

Which is one of the challenges with publications because some publications won't actually allow you. To have a pitch at the end. That's one of the reasons I always say like, your perspective is your differentiator. That's the thing that different. We get into differentiation and, and we make it way more complicated than it needs to be. If something happens from somebody reading your article like it did with you. Awesome. Fantastic. Don't expect it though. Where those publications are even more valuable is it turns it into an asset that can help you with your sales process. So you now have a business asset that you can use to introduce yourself to somebody to have one of your referral partners introduce you to the right folks to follow up. On an initial conversation with, Hey, I wrote this article, this was, it touches on some of what we talked about. I thought it would be of interest. So using it as an asset and not expecting it's not a one and done, like getting published is awesome, but you aren't writing to get published. You're getting published to achieve a specific business goal.

Build A Unique Point Of View

Speaker 5 13:32

Yeah, that's a good segue too. And into how do you create your own unique POV, so people, so these publications actually care to, to publish you So what the first thing that you recommend for people to do?

Speaker 4 13:48

so part of that really is a practice, and for some of us, you kind of write your way into it and then it's like, huh. Cool. Everyone will never be a hit, ever, ever, ever. So. Some of it is you keep writing and also interrogating your own ideas. That's one of the reasons that I love writing, is it lets me interrogate my own ideas and the writing has to stand by itself and on its own two feet with speaking. I can self-correct, I can read the room, I can interact with people and, and you know, Sarah, you can come back and be like, Hey, say more about that. While I like just railroad through with writing. You can't, you can't do all of that self-correction. So it has to stand on its own. So it starts to let you see, huh, do I really believe this? that's interesting. So often when I do a first draft, I use a lot of brackets. But I'll put brackets sometimes and be like, do I? Do I really think this? And then it forces me to really think deeply. So part of that is part of the practice and it's also. For developing your perspective and your point of view. It's reading or listening to other things, and anything that catches your attention. Write down the quote, write down where you got the quote, and then use one of I, I always use these three prompts in response to it. Yes and yes, but no because. Further the conversation you wanna take that thing, it caught your eye for some reason. So you wanna take that thing and then explore, okay, why? Why did that capture me? Why was that interesting enough for me to write down and looking for those places where you. Either wanna add some nuance or you disagree. So editors by the way, love any kind of contrarian take. there's someplace in your industry where it's like, okay, people have way oversimplified this or way over complicated this, or I just think it's a bunch of malarkey, like that gets editors attention because it continues a conversation.

Speaker 5 16:11

Yeah. Yeah. I really like that that filter that you have, because it does force you to think like, what is my perspective on this thing?

Speaker 6 16:20

That makes complete

Speaker 5 16:21

sense.

Speaker 4 16:23

Yeah. And don't be afraid to, you know, as consultants, our job is to often give our clients like hard news that they may not really want to have to deal with. Don't be afraid to have the hard stuff in. Your writing. Writing as well, because that's, that's what makes you different and stand out. That's what, that's what people were responding to. Sarah, when, when they read your article and they were like, Ooh, I really like her perspective. You were saying something in a different way. It that they hadn't either, that they hadn't heard before at all, or you were saying it in a new way that like hit home.

Speaker 5 17:02

Yeah. Yeah. I even, I still remember that one. It was about, I mean, this was a long time ago. It was probably like. 2018 maybe. Um, but it was about how I use publications, media downloads, like those PDFs to help build my, um, my messaging frameworks so I can understand their audience and then I can, because they have a lot more money than me to do market research, so I can their media kits for that.

Speaker 4 17:33

Nice. Oh, I love that. And that's, that's also a great way if you're, if you're thinking about writing for a specific publication, study how they set up their articles because they will have, they will have a pattern. And once you know what that pattern is, it also becomes easier to be like, oh, okay, this is how I, this is how I plug in. This is how my thing fits. Exactly with how they like to present their ideas.

Speaker 5 18:02

Yeah, that. Uh, that's kind of funny too because I think we talked in our pre-call how I write fiction also. And, um, everything that you're saying also kind of applies to that. Like if you are pitching a magazine for short story or if you are pitching an agent to sell your novel, um, or whatever, you have to do exactly the same thing that you're

Speaker 4 18:27

Yeah. Yeah. You have to show them like, yes, I belong here. Yes. fits here. Yes. Like you can,

Speaker 5 18:33

you and what you want, and this is why this, this matters.

Speaker 4 18:38

Yeah. Yeah. The worst thing you can do is is, and this happens all the time. When I was editing, I often got these and it was like, I'd love to write for your magazine. Um, and it's like, well, great, but I am not gonna do your work for you. Now. Go do your research and pitch me an actual idea. Don't make me tell you what your pitch should be. Um, and that happens a lot. So it, you know, on the one hand, not a lot of people actually go after these publications on the other. Of those who do a good portion, do it poorly, where they either pitch something that has nothing to do with the price of bread on Tuesday, or they want the editor to do their work for them. And then you have the rest, which are often very good pitches. Sometimes those are also turned down, and that can be, not because the pitch wasn't good, but because oh we just, you know, we've had it several articles about that very same topic, so not the right fit. Or we are focused right now on innovation and creativity, so like. Great idea, but it's not the right fit for us right now. So sometimes you get turned down, even though it's a great pitch, but it's just not what they are looking for in that moment. And then you can pitch again because there's no reason not to pitch again.

Speaker 5 19:56

Yeah. and as you're saying that, I'm like that same thing happens also in fiction writing, where an agent will be like, I love this book, but right now our agency is focusing on this, this genre or these specific tropes are doing well for us. So it

Speaker 3 20:15

a hundred percent.

Speaker 5 20:17

on a lot of things. So. People are listening to this and they're like, okay, I can understand now why I should be pitching these media companies and, and why it matters, like how AI is making it evolve in a way that it actually matters a little bit more. And I need to have my unique POV. You mentioned that you can't really pitch yourself in these publications. So for myself, I was looking at the publications I was in. They gave me like a little bio at the end. So people were just googling me after or clicking on the link to go to my website after. But how do you build authority through? In these publications and showcasing your, your POV, how do you, how do you tie that all in together to the thing that you wanna be known?

Speaker 4 21:12

Yeah, so the first thing is. Don't write for high visibility publications before you have your POV figured out. That's what your blog can be great for because your your own blog. You can delete things if you want to. You can update them want to. You can always manage that. So you wanna develop your POV through writing for your own platforms. It can also be for social media, because social media, it lasts a hot second and nobody's looking back five years to see what you posted on LinkedIn. Because you've kind of hit the cap with where you are. Are you looking to sort of refine your client profile where it's like, okay, I have these great clients, but. I'm kind of a set of hands and not getting to do the real crunchy, fun, sink your teeth into work that I want to do. I'm gonna start writing for these larger publications where I can start being known for that. So in terms of building your authority through, through writing, all of it helps. By the way, so even the stuff that's on your website helps. Once you are writing for a publication, look at what you know. Use those articles first and foremost. So don't just promote it once on LinkedIn and let it like gather dust in the corner of the internet someplace. Make sure you're actively using it and sharing it. Specifically with individuals one at a time. So great to put it out to your email newsletter if you have an email newsletter, but also specifically to individuals to be able to say, Hey Sarah, we had a great conversation a few weeks ago, like I actually wrote about it and I wanted to share that article with you. That's a great way to kind of use it as a tool to help nurture a relationship. Is your reputation, if it's confusing to the reader what it is that you stand for. That hurts your trust and it hurts your reputation because they don't know, oh, I thought I thought you did this, but now you're talking about this other thing. So I don't, I don't know where to put you. So make sure that everything is consistently aiming towards that same, here's what I wanna be known for. Make sure every single thing that you do is, you know, pointing to that same thing.

Speaker 5 24:40

Yeah. Yeah. I. I really like that. So generally when you have a consultancy or whatever, you have, an outcome that you're trying to get for your clients and that can end up being your North Star. Like, I want all of my content to lead to, like, this is why this outcome will happen if you do these things.

Speaker 4 25:04

Yeah.

Speaker 5 25:04

And generally what I recommend is use the framework, the general journey that you take people through to be your guideline on what content you should talk about. That always leads them to the outcome. So it's kind of the

Speaker 4 25:18

I love

Speaker 5 25:19

becomes your POV.

Choose Publications That Fit Goals

Speaker 4 25:21

Yeah. Yeah. Your POV is like, what is the relationship you wanna build that and, and that relationship is based on, I love what you just said. It is based on like, what do you want most for your clients? That becomes, I always use a forest analogy, so that becomes like the canopy of the forest, which sets the whole parameters of your body of work. A forest canopy is created by what are called the mother trees, the oldest and largest trees in the forest. Those are the themes. So every theme that you talk about that leads to this. Canopy, this reputation, and then you have smaller trees and shrubs. Those are the topics. So under each of your themes, you'll have several topics that can basically be an unending number of topics. Then the other thing that creates the forest is underground. There's a Microrisal network and it connects all of the trees and shrubs to each other, and that's, that's us and our expertise based. Our, our experience-based expertise, that's what we bring to the table and we tie the whole thing together. So if everything we do from the services we offer, from the presentations we give, from the articles we write is sort of going in that same direction and helping our clients achieve that outcome that we most want for them, then we're in good shape.

Speaker 5 26:42

Yeah, that. I can picture that exactly. You can take this writing process. Build relationships that way too, by finding authorities within your niche that you wanna interview and bringing them in, quoting them in those articles. And that's another way that you can extend your reach even more by building relationships. And then you're also giving them this amazing spotlight because you're pitching it to publications and they get mentioned in it.

Speaker 4 27:12

For certain publications. So that's one of those things that if that's one of your goals, to be able to interview other experts, to be able to interview and profile some of your clients. Set that goal first because that will help you figure out which publications to select. Some allow you to do that. Like Ink allows you to, quote other experts to profile client stories, that kind of thing. Entrepreneur does not. So knowing what each, what you want out of this whole thing and then being able to. Pair your goals for your business with the publication that can actually help you achieve those goals. That's, that's sort of the nice, the nice, combination there.

Speaker 5 27:56

Yeah.

Speaker 4 27:57

From my perspective, a high visibility publication is any publication that will help you achieve your business goals. And oftentimes, like we often talk about the big ones, Inc. Entrepreneur, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, but oftentimes it's the association publication. So don't. Neglect those because that can be a great way to get exactly in front of the exact right people. And it may not have the sex appeal, but it often has a much better return on investment.

Speaker 5 28:30

That's really good advice. I hadn't even, that hadn't even occurred to me to pitch associations.

Speaker 4 28:38

Yeah. Yeah. And certain for certain consultants, like if you are a specialty in like manufacturing. Find the manufacturing associations, because first your clients are probably members. They are also probably reading whatever the association actually puts out, and the association probably has a bunch of other ways that you might be able to get involved. So they probably host a conference at some point. They might host webinars, they might, you know. They might have a podcast. So there are other ways that once you have sort of shown the association folks like, Hey, look, I'm providing real value to your members. I'm not just looking at your members as walking wallets. Which associations have had a lot of that experience where people come in and just treat their members like walking wallets. So that. That's a much more relational situation, but once you're in and you show that you are providing their members with real value, they are going to be happy to find, oh, what are other ways that you can connect with our members, because that helps us.

Speaker 5 29:37

I love that advice and that just reminded me this also can apply to communities. So one of my clients, she writes articles for a specific community with like women entrepreneurs in it, and she has gotten multiple clients from those articles. Just people seeing it. Then she gets opportunities to be on their podcast or be a guest speaker in that community. So that's another, like another way that you can like find where your ICP hangs out and build your authority there. Mm-hmm

Speaker 4 30:13

everything in value, and you just, you can't go wrong. that's what you're there for. Anchor it in value, provide good stuff, and that's, that's what helps build the authority, because now I see, oh. This is somebody I really like their worldview. I like their perspective. I like what they bring to it. And then it's the smaller things like, you know, if you say studies show please for the love of God, cite a study. Like, have links. Where it's like, yes, here's, here's how I am an authority. This is why, here's some more reasons why you should trust me. Not in an obnoxious way, but that's where clients, client case studies also can be very, very helpful. Where you say something like, you know, oh I, you know, I was working with, and sometimes you can't name the client and that's okay. I was working with a Fortune 500 company on this particular thing that immediately also some authority.'cause it's like, oh, okay, this is somebody who like. They're in the know, they're working with clients that have problems similar to ours. They're, you know, that kind of thing.

Speaker 5 31:16

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. And your comment on some publications allow it, some don't. I know that firsthand because a lot writers, that I'm friends with, they would reach out to me to. To quote, and they're like, and two of them one, one wrote for entrepreneur, one wrote for Thrive, and them were like, they don't allow me to do that anymore.

Follow-Up Tactics Editors Notice

Speaker 4 31:39

Yep. Yep. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so that's, that's part of it too. And also making sure that when you do quote somebody else, because once you start writing for a publication, you will have PR folks come out of the woodwork and pitch you on interviewing their clients. That's their job. So it's a hundred percent okay that they do it. Your job is to basically figure out, okay. Would this, is this an association that I want that is good for me and my brand? Because you're, you're writing to build your own authority, right? So keeping that top of mind and being able to say, okay, but here's someplace where this person can add some nuance and have an interesting conversation that makes it even more valuable. But I'm not. I'm not just suddenly becoming a reporter because you're not a reporter, that's not your job. And especially figuring that out early so you don't get caught off guard when somebody's like, oh, you should interview me for your article in Inc. And you're like, oh my God, but I don't even know you. Or, oh my God, but. No,

Speaker 5 32:46

That happens when you have a podcast too, all the time.

Speaker 4 32:49

preach. Yes.

Speaker 5 32:50

pitched every single day.

Speaker 4 32:53

Yeah. Yeah. So knowing what you're gonna say yes to and what you say no to from the beginning and sort of having some guidelines around that for yourself will make it easier. So when it does happen, you aren't completely caught off guard.

Speaker 5 33:06

Yeah. Yeah, I like that. And I'm, I'm gonna steal that from my podcasting too,'cause I end up getting overwhelmed and I probably delete wonderful pitches that would make sense to me, but it's just so overwhelming that I'm like, delete.

Erica’s Links And Authority Lab

Speaker 4 33:21

Yeah, so that same feeling is what editors are feeling when they're getting pitched, which is part of why, you know, it's also often you will have to follow up with an editor because their inbox is a hot mess of crazy. They have thousands of pitches in there. So what I always recommend is at the end of the pitch saying, if I don't hear back from you in 10 days, I will follow up. And then mark your calendar and follow up in 10 days, and it's basically forwarding that original pitch to them again, so they don't have to dig through their email to find it and ask, asking again, and that resurfaces it so that it gives a better chance of seeing it.

Speaker 5 34:02

that's really good. I like going into my sense and. Hitting reply. So then it's an ari at the beginning.

Speaker 4 34:09

Yeah.

Speaker 5 34:10

That seems to have a little bit, more sway when they see the ari. Like, oh,

Speaker 4 34:14

I hadn't thought of that, but that totally works. that's smart. I Okay. Do what Sarah said.

Speaker 6 34:21

Yeah. Because they assume that we've continued the conversation.

Speaker 4 34:26

Oh my gosh. That's brilliant. Yes, yes. that

Speaker 6 34:30

We'll that.

Speaker 5 34:31

Okay. Anybody who wants to work with you or find you online, how would they do that?

Speaker 4 34:36

So my website is catchline communications.com. That is a great place to see all of the things, more information than you would ever need.

Speaker 5 34:46

Excellent. And can you tell us about the Authority Lab?

Next Step With Booked Out Blueprint

Speaker 4 34:49

Yeah, so I love the Authority Lab. And then we open the floor to questions and any questions that folks have in the room. I stick around and I answer them, and we go for about an hour, and I do it every single month. So it's one of those things where you can register once and then you can come whenever it suits your schedule.

Speaker 5 35:08

Awesome. I have the link for that, so I'll make sure that it's in the show notes and hey, I'm, I might come that, that

Speaker 4 35:17

You would be so more than welcome. That's other thing is there are always, there's a lot of wisdom in the room, so I always encourage folks in the room, like pipe up, get to know each other as well, because I have the experience. I have. But you just said that like go back into your send and like reply and I was like. Brilliant. Never would've occurred to me ever in a million years. So yeah, you would be more than welcome, Sarah.

Speaker 5 35:43

Oh, thank you. I'm gonna sign up. I think this was incredibly helpful and I can't wait to share it.

Speaker 3 35:52

Well, thank you so much. This was absolutely lovely.

Speaker 5 35:55

Yes. Okay.

Speaker 35:57

If this episode made things go a little more doable, I'd love to help you take the next step with the Booked Out Blueprint. It's a practical, low pressure session to clarify your offers, your marketing, and what actually moves the needle. You can book yours through the link in the show notes. You don't have to figure it out alone.