Using Podcasts as a PR Tool with Meg Androsiglio

Jillian

Welcome back to the mindset of podcasting. This is a really good episode, especially if you've been wanting to get on podcast more and be seen as an expert. Me and my guest Meg Meg Androsiglio are talking all about getting on podcasts pitching and how to make sure that your message is clear, especially when you're nervous. So with 15 years of experience at corporate agencies working with luxury lifestyle brands, fortune 500 companies, and beauty powerhouses, Meg's expertise has helped companies tell their stories to the masses. In 2021, Meg decided that agency work had run its course and started MJ andro Communications to bring corporate level PR strategies to female founders and small businesses. By focusing on helping purpose driven brands find their unique voices, Meg is able to share her love of public relations on a broader scale. So tune into this episode. We're going to give you tips on how to pitch to be on podcasts and how to make sure that your messaging is clear and that you're seen as an expert.

Hi, Meg. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today. How are you?

Meg

I'm so good. Thanks for having me, Jillian.

Jillian

Yes, of course. So to start with, do you want to tell the listeners who you are and what do you bring to this world?

Meg

Oh, yeah, of course. I'm happy to. So I'm Meg. Meg Androsiglio. I'm a public relations expert and entrepreneur. For 14 years, I was in the corporate PR industry. I represented brands like Asics, Unilever, PepsiCo, Class, Pass, jule of Beauty. Many more than that. But I left in 2021 to start my own business. I really wanted to focus on making public relations accessible and easy and productive for small business owners and female founders. So you still get the corporate level marketing and communications that I've been doing for 14 years, but now it's just easy to digest fun and supported atmosphere through my programs and one on one offerings. But my mission is really to give everyone a stage to share their gifts and whether that's through media headlines or partnerships, events, podcasts, which you're going to talk about today, it's all public relations related and I'm really excited to share it with the world.

Jillian

My favorite stage, obviously is podcast.

Meg

Yeah, it's a great one.

Jillian

Yes. So that's what I want to talk about today. So how are podcasts or doing podcast interviews a good PR tool for our business?

Meg

Yeah, that's a great question. Good PR is really all about achieving that third party credibility. So as business owners, as you know, we could pay for like a Facebook ad or Google advertisement, but that's not really connecting our business mission or passion to our ideal audience. It's just spreading our name in as many places as possible and we want to really create that connection with our ideal audience. And that's where placements and podcast interviews are just incredible tools to connect to the ideal audience because they're already interested in that niche and topic. And now you're taking the time to introduce yourself, introduce your brand in a medium that they're excited about and already participatory in. So you're really building that. No like and trust.

Jillian

Yes, that's always what I tell my clients. No like and trust is the thing we work on with you have your podcast.

Meg

Oh, huge. Yes.

Jillian

And I know being a guest on a podcast and even me as a host, we still get really nervous and we're afraid that our message isn't going to come out clear. So how can we get our message to come across how we want it while we're doing a podcast interview?

Meg

Yeah, that's a great question. And messaging is something I'm so passionate about. It is something you could work on with a business coach or one to one with someone. I think it really does live in the public relations realm, which is I might be biased, but why I'm so excited about it and all my clients, whether or not they've had public relations before, we have to start with messaging first. And if you think about like if you've ever started listening to a podcast, it happened to me today. I was really interested in learning more about the specific topic and I clicked on a podcast and started listening to the host and I could tell she just wasn't into the topic at hand and it really is not an awesome experience, right? You're like, can I skip through it? And you're like, when are you going to get to what I want to hear about? Then you keep scrolling and you find a different podcast on the same topic and the host in the interviewee are really passionate about it and all of a sudden it's a totally different experience. Like you listen to the full episode. If you listen to it twice, you look up the interviewee on Instagram, maybe you take one of our courses, which I've done before. It's a different relationship building moment and that all comes through showcasing your passions but supporting that with incredible messaging. So I really love to have a tangible resource to reference. When I'm either in an interview or ask for a quote or on a podcast like this, that when I'm asked a question. I have a place to go back to talk to some of my key talking points, making sure I'm being super clear so you're sharing your excitement rather than spending time, like looking for the right word and wondering what to say.

Jillian

Yes. That's what I like to I kind of like to know a little bit of what we're going to talk about ahead just so I can have notes kind of in my head like, this is the point. I want to make sure I hit something reference. Yeah.

Meg

It's so important because we're in our own heads for most of the day, right. So to actually put it out on paper, maybe say it out loud a couple of times, make sure it makes sense, makes a world of difference. Yes.

Jillian

Because you get so nervous sometimes your mind goes blank and you're like, yeah.

Meg

Oh my gosh, that's so true. I do it all the time.

Jillian

Me too. Yeah. My first podcast interview was horrible and I went so blank and I just like, sat there first.

Meg

I doubt it, but I feel you. Sometimes I listen back. I have my own podcast too, and I listen back. Sometimes I'm like, oh my God, I really should have written something down before I hit record. And when I do, it's always better.

Jillian

Yes. I always have an outline of making sure I hit supportings.

Meg

Yeah.

Jillian

Do you have any advice for how we can pitch ourselves to be on podcasts?

Meg

Yeah, so pitching itself is a whole other beast and we could do a totally different episode and different podcasts on that. But first and foremost, you have to make sure you're listening to the podcast that you're pitching. Right? There are so many out there. Of course I know that. Right. But you have a connection with certain podcasts and you know if your brand is going to be a fit. If you've been listening to the podcast and host, as I'm sure you can assess, it can tell when they're getting pitched from someone who's never listened to their podcast before. So it's really important to make sure that you are being genuine. You have a genuine interest maybe in your pet. You reference a couple of episodes that really resonated with you and then you offer to give your perspective on a topic that you're either like an expert in is in the current culture climate, or something. The host is really passionate about. You have to make sure that the pitch is about the host and the podcast, not about you. Right. Like, you are the resource for them to create an amazing episode. You are not like saving them in any way, shape or form. You're just there to help them as much as you can. And yes, the mutually beneficial relationship, but making the pitch more about them and not you is a big key tip.

Jillian

Yes, I've gotten those pitches that are like, I have so many followers on Instagram and blah, blah, blah. I'm like, that's great, but what are you going to give my listeners?

Meg

Right, exactly. Why are people going to press play?

Jillian

Yes. I don't care if you have one follower, you're going to get value then.

Meg

Exactly. So true. So true.

Jillian

What are your top three tips for coming across like an expert in podcast interview?

Meg

Yeah, that's a great question. So I think it's really a combination of that like masculine, feminine, working energy first, being the preparing and having your talking points on hand is really important for all the reasons we named before. So you're spending the interview showcasing your talents, your gifts, your offers versus trying to find the right word to say and sharing relevant experience, sharing stories. Like, people are tuning in, press and play, like we said, because they want to hear about you and they want to build a relationship with you and your brand. And you're going to do that through sharing some relevant experience. So make sure you have a couple of stories that you can reference or experience that you want to showcase in the interview as well. And then just be completely yourself. Like, it's very clear I talk with my hands even though you can't see it. Right. And I'm very excited and giggly and that's the way it was a person. I'm not going to try to change that or sound like a different CEO. I heard on that podcast once, I'm totally myself. And that's amazing because we want to create again the relationships. People want to get to know you, they don't want to get to know a shell of you or you pretending to be someone else.

Jillian

Yes, I'm the same way. I'm a little giggly on you.

Meg

I think it's great because I feel like you're in a conversation with someone, you're at a coffee shop and it's just fun for everyone being interviewed and everyone listening. Yes.

Jillian

So what is the name of your podcast and what's it about?

Meg

Yeah, so my podcast is Vision to Voice. I actually named it after my marquee course that I offer. I offer a PR accelerator for female founders. So you learn like suits and nuts what public relations is. And right now I'm talking about introducing entrepreneurs to what PR is, why media relations is important, what kind of results you can expect. And over the next few months, I'm going to start interviewing more and more people for the podcast as well.

Jillian

That sounds great.

Meg

Yeah.

Jillian

Interview skills on.

Meg

Yeah, exactly.

Jillian

Yes, it's very different being a host of being the interviewer.

Meg

I'm 100% sure of that.

Jillian

Is there any other specific things you want to talk about?

Meg

Yeah, that's great. We went through it really fast, so I don't know, I feel like the one thing I guess I will say is that public relations is becoming more and more important. Right. And I think podcasts is one of those places people kind of overlook that we should be paying more attention to. When you think PR, you're like, oh, I want to be on the COVID of Time or this piece and Vogue, or I really want to be in a gift guide in New York Magazine. But when I think back to those brands and people coaches that I really resonate with as a consumer, I probably found them through a podcast. I don't know if it's just me or if it's our generation, but I use the podcast app or Spotify, like Google, like, oh, I want to learn about this. There podcast on it. And then you find someone you resonate with and then you're down the rabbit hole of the brand and making a relationship with them. So I think from a PR standpoint, I'm really excited about podcasts and podcast interviews and offering those things to my clients. And there's literally like a huge list from each niche that you can kind of go down. Right. So it's a great place to kind of get started and explore with your marketing strategy.

Jillian

Yes, there's a podcast for everything. You can find one to be on that.

Meg

It doesn't have to be like the Goop podcast, you know what I mean? You can still make incredible waves and create really awesome relationships, make sales through podcasts that have a couple hundred listeners, a couple dozen listeners, because it's such a dedicated audience.

Jillian

Well, thank you so much for being on today.

Meg

Oh my God, I loved it.

Jillian

Can you tell the listeners how they can connect with you?

Meg

Yes, of course. You can find me on Instagram at Megandrusigliopr, and my website is MJ. Androcommunications.com on my website I have more information about that PR Accelerator course, Vision of Voice, where I teach entrepreneurs how to implement PR in their business from pitching, messaging, media lists, planning, so you can see your brand in the headlines and in podcast interviews just like this one. Great.

Jillian

And I will make sure all those links are in the show notes too. So go check Meg out. And thank you again so much. This was a great conversation.

Meg

Yes, I loved it. It was awesome.

Jillian

Meg is such a wealth of information, especially when it comes to PR, and I just loved her tips and how we can get on more podcasts and how to actually pitch ourselves to podcasts. Because one of the best ways to grow your podcast is to be on other podcasts. People are already listening to them, so it's really easy, since they're already in the app, to go and search your podcast and start listening to yours, too. So that is one of the best ways to promote your podcast. So I just love how she helps us make sure our message is clear, make sure we know what we want to talk about in a podcast interview. I would say being prepared is one of the best ways for a podcast interview. I was prepared for my first one, but I was so nervous and I didn't think it went well. Everybody else thought it did. I think you'll never think that your interviews go well until you start doing them more and more and more. So just start getting in the habit of doing them. Start reaching out to podcasts that you want to be on so that you can be seen as the expert in your area and help promote your podcast. 

So, podcast tip for you. I want to talk about writing Show Notes. So before I begin, I want to clarify the difference between an episode description and Show Notes. So an episode description is usually a short little description that will be in the podcast app for that episode. Show Notes are usually longer, they go on your website and they have more information. Some people use these words interchangeably. I always say show notes. I never ever call them episode descriptions because I am in the habit of writing longer form show notes for my clients. So I just like it for SEO reasons. So I call them show notes. So what are show notes? It is a summarized version of your podcast episode. So it's going to detail the main takeaways. It's going to highlight more about your guest in case people want to learn more about who you're talking to. And it's a place to also go to for any links that you mentioned. Links to products, resources, a way for them to contact the guest. So it is a way to let your listeners know also what they will learn in this episode. I always like to include a little bullet point of this is what you will learn in this episode. That way they can quickly scan it and see, hey, is this episode for me? Should I listen to it? So just make sure you cover all the basics and the highlights from the episode. Kind of like wet your listeners appetite and make them want to listen. Include the key points, the top takeaways, any memorable quotes. Use bullet points because that's easier for the eyes to scan. I usually start my show notes with a question to kind of entice the listeners to see how they ask themselves this question. Are they curious about this question so that they will want to tune in and listen? And just make sure that you include any resources or links that you mention, and especially if you have any affiliate links, just make sure you mention that there are affiliate links in the show notes. 

So an update while the holidays are coming, in case you didn't know, which I'm sure you do know, and what I like to do when the holidays come up is I'd like to make my clients feel special. So I stopped preparing ahead of time of what I'm going to send them so that I can be all set. Because we all know December gets super busy, so it's good to prepare ahead of time. So he has a little tip. If you're unsure of what to get your clients, if you're like. I have no clue what to get them. Go stock their instagram. Like, seriously, go stock the Instagram and look at the things that they're saying, what they're promoting, what they like, and you will find out so much. Now, it's really easy for me most of the time to know what my clients like because I listen to their podcast episodes and they talk a lot about things that they like. I know one of my clients loves to go to this coffee shop right around the corner from her house, so I'm going to get on there and get her a gift card for the coffee shop. Another one of my clients talks about this bookstore that she goes to all the time, so I'll get her a gift card for the bookstore. So just kind of see what they like, see what they're into and try to get something related to that. And if you can, always go local, always go around where they are by local, especially during the holidays. It helps so much. So thank you so much for listening to this episode. Please, please go right in. Review please hop over to Instagram at Jillian Grover Podcast Solutions and let me know what you thought of this episode and any takeaways you had, and I'll talk to you next week.