May 12, 2026

515. Why Podcasters Need a Publicity Plan

Growing a podcast gets exciting fast, but the moment podcasters need a publicity plan is usually the same moment things start feeling a little more exposed than expected. In this episode, our cast and crew talk with publicist Cyndee Harrison about what happens when your voice starts reaching beyond your own audience and why visibility brings more than just opportunity. We get into reputation, media attention, handling criticism, difficult guest moments, and the reality that people may judge your entire brand off one clip or one headline. You know the one, that comment or moment that sticks in your head way longer than it should. We also talk through practical ways creators can prepare before chasing more exposure, from media kits to personal branding and knowing what your show actually stands for before things go sideways. By the end, the conversation keeps circling back to one uncomfortable truth: the bigger your platform gets, the more important it becomes to know who you are before everyone else decides for you.

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Welcome and Setup

[02:50] Meet Publicist Cyndee

[05:06] What a Publicist Does

[06:25] Why Podcasting Is Going Mainstream

[10:17] Publicity Strategies for Podcasters

[14:55] DIY Media Outreach and HARO Tips

[23:19] Visibility Risks and Guest Controversies

[28:26] Crisis Lessons and Emotional Fallout

[31:47] Think Ahead Before Publishing

[40:54] Preparing for More Exposure

[44:49] When to Get PR Help

[53:52] Community Invite and Wrap-Up

Links & Resources:

Cyndee's PR Firm:

https://prshield.com/

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https://PodcastingMorningShow.com/spotlight

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Marc Ronick: Good morning

podcasters.

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Today is Tuesday May the 12th,
2026 and today we're
talking

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00:00:11,780 --> 00:00:15,719
publicity and reputation with
publicist Cyndee Harrison
and

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why podcasters need a plan
before their growing visibility

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brings public exposure,
responsibility and new


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challenges.
So if you're listening live on

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00:00:27,668 --> 00:00:32,203
clubhouse, hit
the share
button top right hand side of

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00:00:32,203 --> 00:00:35,893
the screen and share it

however clubhouse lets you.

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00:00:35,893 --> 00:00:40,913
And if you're catching us via

podcast, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc,

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00:00:40,991 --> 00:00:43,910
please share this with a fellow
podcaster.

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00:00:43,910 --> 00:00:49,204
And now give us about 30 seconds
and we'll get things
rolling.

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Thanks for being here.
The podcasting morning chat is


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powered by ironic media, helping
podcasters launch polish and


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00:00:57,986 --> 00:01:02,823
grow great shows, and by content
creators accountant, helping


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00:01:02,831 --> 00:01:07,188
creators build real business
behind their content.

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00:01:07,188 --> 00:01:10,368
Good
morning again, podcasting
morning show.

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Thank you for
being here.
I am your host, Mark ronick, and

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00:01:15,174 --> 00:01:20,200
currently on stage
with me.
We have Ralph Estep, DR Fay, Sid

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Meadows, Alex Baellish,
BC
babbles, and we also have our

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guest here, Cyndee Harrison, who

we will get to momentarily.

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So yes, like I said, joining us
today, Cyndee Harrison and she

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is going to help us dig into

this whole concept of publicity

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and how to handle that.
So we'll
dig in to that in

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just a second.
First, I want to dig into some


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housekeeping items for you.
First, empowered podcasting,


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live, our live stream every
other Wednesday returns


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tomorrow, Wednesday at 1pm
Eastern.

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That's Wednesday the
13th,
with one of our events creator

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partners, and somebody I
think
may be familiar to many of you,

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Sid Meadows is joining us.

We'll dig into Sid's success

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monetizing his podcast in 2026

which is some of what he'll

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share at the conference, as well

as a speaker, his experiences

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in podcasting, and, of course,
his
experience at empowered

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podcasting.
So join us.

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All you
got to do is go to
podcasting morning show.com/epc,

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live and
get all the info
there, and that just reminded

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me, I think I need
to update
that page for tomorrow's show,

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so I will make
sure to do that
first thing after this show.

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So we got
Cyndee here today
because Ralph actually just

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hired her recently
as his own
publicist.

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So I think the best way to do
this is to go
hand it to Ralph

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to introduce our guest, and then
we'll get
things going.

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Go ahead, Ralph, good morning.
Ralph Estep Jr: Good morning.


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Mark, good morning, Cyndee.
And today, joining us is Cyndee

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Harrison.
Cyndee is a publicist who works

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with individuals and
brands on
publicity, reputation, messaging

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and public exposure.

We're going to talk about what

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podcasters should know before

they step further into the

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spotlight.
Now today's
conversation is

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especially important for podcast
hosts, for
creators, business

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owners and anyone using media to
grow their
voice.

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We're going to talk about how
publicity works, what can go


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wrong, how to prepare, and why
having the right support


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matters.
So that's exactly so Cyndee, so

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glad that you could
be here
today.

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Cyndee Harrison: Thank you for

having me.

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I'm really excited for the
conversation.

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Marc Ronick: And what a great

guest.

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Like if you're not watching the
video right now,
she's got her

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microphone like she knows how to
be a good
podcast guest.

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We have no audio problems.
The video looks great.


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This is a great example of a
good guest right out of the


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gate.
Well, Cyndee Harrison: it's

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early yet.

It's early.

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Marc Ronick: Great to be here.

So Ralph, do you want to to kick

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things off with your first

question?

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Ralph Estep Jr: Sure,

absolutely.

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And Mark You and I had talked a
little bit before
the show.

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We talked about why I hired
Cyndee, and I think we can


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start there.
Marc Ronick: Yeah, let's see.

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Ralph Estep Jr: So the reason

that I hired Cyndee is my shows

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are starting to grow.
My
influence is starting to

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grow.
And I said, you know, I need to

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take it to the next level.
And I met Cyndee through the

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podcast
Professionals
Association, and I had just

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reached out to her, and
I
said, Cyndee, is this something

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you do?
Is this
something you could

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help someone grow their
influence, get me in
front of

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new audience?
And she said, Oh yeah, Ralph.

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She said,
that's exactly what
I do.

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So we struck up a conversation,
and we
become fast friends.

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I would say, you know, we
bounced a lot
of ideas off

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each other.
She just got finished her team


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building, I guess you call it a
press kit, and super impressive

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press kit, she makes me look
better than I could ever have


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been.
So I'm super excited about how

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having her help me really
take
it to the next level.

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I've shared with her, sort of my

hopes and dreams of what I

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want to accomplish.
Much in
podcasting, in the

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greater, you know, sphere of
influence.

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So
that's really the reason
that I hired Cyndee.

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But Cyndee, I want
to jump
into our first question, because

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a lot of people don't
know
what a publicist does.

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00:05:11,641 --> 00:05:14,442
Can you explain your role, the
types
of clients and

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situations you typically help
people with?

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Cyndee Harrison: Sure, well, and

thank you again for I am

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really excited, Ralph, you are
such a
great use case, because

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there are so many business
owners,
creators and leaders

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who work so hard to build a
brand and to
build in the case

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of podcast hosts, to build an
audience, and
so for podcast

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hosts specifically, it's always
interesting to see what a bank,

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if you will, of content is

available.

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But so many times that Bank of
content, those
videos, those

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show notes, those blog posts,
tend to live within
four

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walls, and at one time, that
wasn't such a problem,
because

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the audience would come and step
into those four walls
with

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that podcast host and enjoy that
content, and then business


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could transact or, you know, it
just sort of played out really


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naturally.
You know, we all build these

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silos around
ourselves
unintentionally, so a publicist

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can help you stretch
out of
that, and is typically known for

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connecting you with
mainstream
media.

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So, and I use that word very,
very carefully,
and I would

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love to hear how you guys agree
or disagree with
this, I feel

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like podcasting is now
mainstream, and so I am open


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to calling mainstream media
something else, but when I am


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using that word, I am thinking
of what we have traditionally


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called mainstream media, like
newspapers, magazines, places


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and media that have broader and
different audiences who are


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interested in what you're doing.
Marc Ronick: Yeah, I think that

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a lot of us, or a lot of
people, are now accepting

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podcasting
more as mainstream
media.

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I don't think it's quite there,
just in this just in the sense

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of the perspective of the public

eye.

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I don't know that everybody yet
considers it mainstream
media,

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but for all intensive purposes,
I think, I do think it
is, now

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these days, lot of people
referring to that as
their

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source for information, etc.
So we'll see.

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But I think
before we know it,
everybody's gonna just lump that

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in with the
rest of the media
out there.

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Cyndee Harrison: I agree.
Yeah,
when I first started my

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first foray into podcasting, I
was an
internal publicist for

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someone who had a really big
audience,
and CBS actually

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00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,760
came to him and said, you know,
we're dipping a
toe.

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This was in the play.it days.
Does anyone remember play
dot?

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Marc Ronick: I don't.
Cyndee Harrison: At the time,


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00:07:50,118 --> 00:07:53,080
they were calling it syndicated,
which I think would now be


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essentially a network anyway.
I'm just interested to see if


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anyone remembers that.
But it was C It was a CBS

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product, and
we were so
fortunate because we would show

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up at the local radio
station.
They would provide all of the

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infrastructure.
We just
lined up guests, spoke

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to them.
It was a great show.

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And what
they kept saying
repeatedly was we have to, in

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order to find
that podcast
audience, we've got to get you

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on other podcasts,
and we have
to figure out.

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And it was so funny because at
that
time, the podcast

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listening audience, the
population that
was engaging

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with podcasts, was such a
specific and tiny slice
of of

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everyone.
And it's been really nice in the

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00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,600
past few
years.
That was in 2015 and it's been

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really nice to kind of re

enter podcasting and go, Oh,

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these were the days that folks

in the business were looking

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forward to, back when I was

first trying to crack the code

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on, how do we grow this thing?

How do we engage with sponsors?

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How do we get advertisers like,
how is this so it's been really

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00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:05,616
an interesting time.
It's like,
I've time hopped

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00:09:05,616 --> 00:09:07,810
in.
I Marc Ronick: hear ya.

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00:09:07,810 --> 00:09:11,859
So let me
ask you when you
hear the word, well, I should

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00:09:11,859 --> 00:09:15,171
say, when people
hear the word
publicity, they often think it

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00:09:15,171 --> 00:09:17,428
only means press
or attention,
right?

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00:09:17,428 --> 00:09:21,740
How would you define publicity
in a more
complete way.

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00:09:22,340 --> 00:09:26,000
Cyndee Harrison: So I tend to

put it all in the bucket of

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00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,900
reputation, because reputation,
if you think about the good old

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days, reputation used to be a

work product, right?

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00:09:32,780 --> 00:09:37,740
So I'm from a small town in East
Tennessee,
and I grew up

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00:09:37,740 --> 00:09:41,340
knowing and believing that if
you do the
work, you earn the

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00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:43,340
reputation, and the rest will
take care of
itself.

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And that applied to pretty much
everything.

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00:09:45,556 --> 00:09:49,260
And
nowadays, like, if you do
a Google search for reputation


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management, which is what I
really call what I do, what is


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00:09:53,538 --> 00:09:56,602
it talking about?
It's all talking about AI,

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00:09:56,602 --> 00:09:59,832
online
visibility, the ability
to be found.

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00:09:59,832 --> 00:10:04,928
Found as the subject
matter
expert that you are Marc Ronick:

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00:10:04,928 --> 00:10:06,694
awesome.
Anyone
else have another

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00:10:06,694 --> 00:10:09,080
question along these lines?
We have plenty of
questions

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00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,680
for her, but I just want to make
sure that everyone
else can

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00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:15,050
pop in if they'd like, Oh, all
right.

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00:10:15,050 --> 00:10:17,525
Well, Ralph, do
you want to
take the next Ralph Estep Jr:

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00:10:17,525 --> 00:10:20,215
one absolutely
and so the next
question is, from podcast is a

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00:10:20,215 --> 00:10:22,679
powerful
platform now, and
from your perspective, why

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00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,828
should
podcasters think about
publicity different than someone

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00:10:25,828 --> 00:10:27,300
with
their traditional
business?

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00:10:27,300 --> 00:10:30,463
And actually, this goes along
the
lines of what you and I've

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00:10:30,463 --> 00:10:33,341
had many conversations about
now,
and that is, how do we

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00:10:33,341 --> 00:10:36,415
you know, one of the things you
said to me
when you were

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00:10:36,415 --> 00:10:39,433
building my press kit is like,
well, we're not
going to be

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00:10:39,433 --> 00:10:42,339
starved for material for you.
But how do we bridge
that, you

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00:10:42,339 --> 00:10:44,660
know, how should podcasters
against the audience
we're

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00:10:44,660 --> 00:10:47,478
talking to you today?
How should podcasters think

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00:10:47,478 --> 00:10:50,389
about
publicity differently
than someone with a traditional

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00:10:50,389 --> 00:10:52,328
business?
I know you've worked with

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00:10:52,328 --> 00:10:54,803
traditional businesses.
We
talked a little bit about

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that before the show.
You actually
work with some

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pawn businesses that they
actually had a reality
TV

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show, which is really cool, but
you know, how do you bridge


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that gap between the podcast and
the traditional business?

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Cyndee?
Cyndee Harrison: So that's a


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great question.
I think it sort of goes back to

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what I alluded
to a little
earlier.

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How podcasters put so much into
building their show, right?

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They pour everything into
growing and
sort of feeding

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and watering that audience, and
now there are
so many golden

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nuggets that tend to be buried
within that podcast
ecosystem.

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So what I think my job as a
publicist, specifically
for

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podcasters, is is to help them
take that and mine that
gold

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and share it with journalists
and others who are
are looking

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for that content.
You know, all of us are old


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enough to remember the days when
reporters, you know, I mean,


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television news, was the way we
got our information every single

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day.
You know, folks read the

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newspapers to start their day,

and then we've seen a decline of

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it, but now we're seeing like in

real time.

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AI tools are looking for
verifiable sources, so media


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is scrambling to make this huge
comeback, and as a result, there

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are journalists who have been
starved.

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They've been starved of

budget.

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They've been starved of all the
luxuries of their
timeline.

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They're hungry to connect with
people who can lend
expertise

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and lend a unique kind of AI,
which is authentic
insight to

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the stories that they are now
charged with producing.


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So that's the media side of it.
And what's really nice is that


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that findability, that that look
that is coming from the


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perspective of media, is really
beneficial for an entirely


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different audience.
And I want to talk a little bit

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about what
podcasters goals
are.

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And I don't know if any of your
audience, ever you know, states

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this as a goal, but nowadays

there are monetization

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opportunities, whether that's a
brand partnership or an

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advertising partnership.
And the
reality is that a lot

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of those network executives or
sponsors
or brand partners,

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they may never have the time to
take a
deep dive into all that

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gold that's laying there in your

many, many podcast episodes.

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So they you need to make sure
that
you are serving them up

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little golden nuggets in the
highly
visible media hits.

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It's really, really an important
way to make
sure that you're

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tapping into that second
audience, that non
listening

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audience that has a lot of
influence over your your


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show's success, and Ralph Estep
Jr: that's kind of
what you're

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00:14:00,090 --> 00:14:01,820
doing for me, right?
I mean, that's the whole point.

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I think, I hope I don't offend

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00:14:03,110 --> 00:14:05,750
anybody when I say, you, you

said part of your job is Kissing

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00:14:05,750 --> 00:14:08,095
Frogs.
And I thought that was a


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00:14:08,103 --> 00:14:11,450
really interesting way to put
it, but it is the truth, right?

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Cyndee Harrison: It's 100%

Kissing Frogs.

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00:14:13,292 --> 00:14:17,024
It's much like taxes.
I could do my own taxes.


247
00:14:17,032 --> 00:14:21,107
I could paint my own car.
I there's a lot of things I

248
00:14:21,107 --> 00:14:23,717
could
do myself.
And so we live in a world where

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darn near anything
is
available to us.

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00:14:26,174 --> 00:14:30,189
And so I do believe that the
work of a
professional

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00:14:30,189 --> 00:14:34,220
publicist is helpful when you
reach a certain
level of and

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Ralph, I'm not pandering to you,
but I mean,
you have reached a

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certain level where you have
built a bank of
content, and

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00:14:41,996 --> 00:14:45,266
you've built an audience that
it's time for you
to take that

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00:14:45,266 --> 00:14:47,168
step up.
But not every podcast host has

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to start
there.
There are a lot of things that

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00:14:49,655 --> 00:14:55,400
you can do to get that
media
attention entirely on your own.

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00:14:55,700 --> 00:14:58,631
Marc Ronick: Can you give us an
example Cyndee Harrison: for

259
00:14:58,631 --> 00:14:59,912
sure?
So
there are two.

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00:14:59,912 --> 00:15:02,250
Tools.
Have you heard of HERO Help a

261
00:15:02,250 --> 00:15:04,800
Reporter
Out?
Yes, that's one of my favorite

262
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:06,929
tools, for a number of

reasons.

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That's one of many.
There's muck rack and quoted and

264
00:15:11,015 --> 00:15:14,449

I'll think of others.
I'll think of others.

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But there are all
sorts of
tools where journalists go to

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00:15:18,675 --> 00:15:23,759
try to connect with people
who
can serve as a source, and so

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that's a great place to
start.
You can subscribe to heyro.

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00:15:27,830 --> 00:15:30,530
Heyro Originally, they've

changed the acronym now, but it

269
00:15:30,530 --> 00:15:33,410
originally stood for Help a

Reporter Out, and it meant

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00:15:33,410 --> 00:15:37,290
exactly that.
So imagine the job
of a

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00:15:37,290 --> 00:15:41,960
journalist and you have been
assigned a story and you
have

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fleshed it out.
Now, if you're a journalist, you

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00:15:45,538 --> 00:15:48,581

obviously can't just give your
opinion on everything.

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It is
your job to connect with
people who are experts in the

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field and
do your research.
You've put it all together, and

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00:15:55,145 --> 00:15:57,875
then your
editor says, not
enough sources.

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So what do you do?
It's like,
I'm at deadline.

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00:16:00,515 --> 00:16:03,275
I'm freaking out.
So someone very smartly


279
00:16:03,283 --> 00:16:09,200
invented this system for just
putting the word out, and if you

280
00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:14,175

subscribe to to lists like
that, then you get insight, and

281
00:16:14,175 --> 00:16:16,913
it
will teach you how
journalists operate.

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00:16:16,913 --> 00:16:22,096
You'll see in real
time, the
types of angles that they work

283
00:16:22,096 --> 00:16:25,700
on now in your field.

So let's take Ralph as an

284
00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:28,871
example.
In the personal finance
for or

285
00:16:28,871 --> 00:16:33,855
creator economy, you can just
start watching what are


286
00:16:33,863 --> 00:16:39,563
articles that are the angles
that align with his expertise,


287
00:16:39,571 --> 00:16:45,089
and then you're very welcome to
now in those examples, those are

288
00:16:45,089 --> 00:16:48,160

situations where those are
reporters that are under


289
00:16:48,168 --> 00:16:51,455
deadline, so you're that's when
I say it's Kissing Frogs,


290
00:16:51,463 --> 00:16:56,015
because you have people like me
who employ an entire team who do

291
00:16:56,015 --> 00:17:00,667

nothing else but watch these,
just like you would watch like A

292
00:17:00,667 --> 00:17:02,894

stock ticker.
They're watching these all the

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00:17:02,894 --> 00:17:05,435
time for
opportunities.
This not the only way you can

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00:17:05,435 --> 00:17:08,950
also just find, oh,
there's a
reporter who just wrote an

295
00:17:08,950 --> 00:17:10,990
article about my area
of
expertise.

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00:17:10,990 --> 00:17:14,470
I'm going to give them a couple
of days to finish
this, and

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00:17:14,470 --> 00:17:18,770
I'm going to just reach out and
introduce myself
and say, Hey,

298
00:17:18,770 --> 00:17:21,931
noticed this article.
I saw the finished
piece, I

299
00:17:21,931 --> 00:17:23,573
really align with this
perspective.

300
00:17:23,573 --> 00:17:27,214
And next time you
need a
subject matter expert, I'd love

301
00:17:27,214 --> 00:17:29,735
to collaborate with
you.
Marc Ronick: Very cool.

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00:17:29,735 --> 00:17:32,025
Thank
you for the examples.
I think that's really helpful

303
00:17:32,025 --> 00:17:34,802
for a lot
of us, because I
think there are plenty of people

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00:17:34,802 --> 00:17:37,949
in our audience
that may not
be ready yet for a publicist,

305
00:17:37,949 --> 00:17:40,429
but they're intrigued
by this
conversation.

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00:17:40,429 --> 00:17:43,290
So, yeah, the more we can
provide, I think
the better.

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00:17:43,290 --> 00:17:45,020
But Dr, I think you had a
question.

308
00:17:45,020 --> 00:17:47,030
D.R.
Fay: Yeah, I have a
question.

309
00:17:47,030 --> 00:17:51,618
As soon as you mentioned HERO, I
perked up
because I have

310
00:17:51,618 --> 00:17:56,256
access to Haro through press.
I forgot the
platform that I

311
00:17:56,256 --> 00:17:59,656
belong to.
I just don't know how to use

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00:17:59,656 --> 00:18:02,432
Haro.

I'm I think I need, like, a

313
00:18:02,513 --> 00:18:06,725
YouTube video tutorial or

something on how to use it

314
00:18:07,565 --> 00:18:10,459
Cyndee Harrison: well.
And I am
not in it every day.

315
00:18:10,459 --> 00:18:13,057
My team spends a lot more time
in it.

316
00:18:13,057 --> 00:18:16,505
So
just the quick so I'm
certain that someone has

317
00:18:16,505 --> 00:18:21,371
invented a
YouTube tutorial.
The basic premise, though, is

318
00:18:21,371 --> 00:18:28,181
that they
want you to submit
responses, typically in very

319
00:18:28,181 --> 00:18:33,770
specific
answers to questions.
And so they, also, most of the


320
00:18:33,778 --> 00:18:37,190
journalists that we work with,
are very, very deliberate.

321
00:18:37,190 --> 00:18:41,510
They
are trying to figure out,
how does AI play into all of

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00:18:41,510 --> 00:18:43,910
this.

And so I would encourage you to

323
00:18:43,910 --> 00:18:47,510
separate yourself.
If you are
responding to a hay

324
00:18:47,510 --> 00:18:50,030
row in you say, it hay row?
What do I say?

325
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,488
D.R.
Fay: I say, HARO, but it's,
it

326
00:18:52,488 --> 00:18:54,689
might be HERO.
Cyndee Harrison: I have an


327
00:18:54,697 --> 00:18:57,404
accident, so I D.R.
Fay: I'm in Nashville, so I


328
00:18:57,412 --> 00:19:00,460
know girl, I know Cyndee
Harrison: rep down south.


329
00:19:00,468 --> 00:19:02,918
I have lived in the Midwest 25
years, never know.

330
00:19:02,918 --> 00:19:05,876
Like
anything.
I say I'm like, I don't know

331
00:19:05,876 --> 00:19:10,991
with my and so, you
know, when
I've done it, I think the

332
00:19:10,991 --> 00:19:13,760
biggest benefit is, and I'm

curious, and I won't put you on

333
00:19:13,820 --> 00:19:17,405
the spot, but I'm curious, how

frequently do you check it?

334
00:19:17,465 --> 00:19:18,695
D.R.
Fay: I don't, because I
don't

335
00:19:18,695 --> 00:19:22,369
know how to use it, and it,
every time I go into it, I'm


336
00:19:22,377 --> 00:19:24,965
reminded i i really need help on
this.

337
00:19:25,925 --> 00:19:27,453
Cyndee Harrison: And it's like,
every darn thing.

338
00:19:27,453 --> 00:19:30,525
Every time I learn a new system,
I'm like,
dang it, they either

339
00:19:30,525 --> 00:19:33,615
move the D.R.
Fay: Yeah or update it to


340
00:19:33,623 --> 00:19:36,378
where it's no longer applicable.
Yeah, Cyndee Harrison: yeah.

341
00:19:36,378 --> 00:19:39,350
So I'm
the same, and I'm sure
that those tutorials, you know,

342
00:19:39,350 --> 00:19:42,274
there's probably some
influencer out there who will

343
00:19:42,274 --> 00:19:46,380
explain the
step by step, but
I think it's the best way to

344
00:19:46,380 --> 00:19:48,423
learn it is by
doing it every
single day.

345
00:19:48,423 --> 00:19:51,350
And that's the thing, that's why
I
call it Kissing Frogs, is

346
00:19:51,650 --> 00:19:54,090
there's really no magic to what
we do.

347
00:19:54,090 --> 00:19:57,565
It's like a matchmaker.
There's no great magic to any of

348
00:19:57,565 --> 00:19:59,725

this.
It's just making sure that we're

349
00:19:59,725 --> 00:20:01,399
ready.
Party to be
responsive.

350
00:20:01,399 --> 00:20:05,535
And here's here, I will tell you
this secret sauce,
we don't

351
00:20:05,535 --> 00:20:09,419
waste their time.
So last week, I just did a


352
00:20:09,427 --> 00:20:13,693
presentation from stage with two
it was such an honor, with two


353
00:20:13,701 --> 00:20:16,592
journalists, one of whom has won
30 Emmy Awards.

354
00:20:16,592 --> 00:20:19,175
I'm like, What
the heck?
And this guy was an

355
00:20:19,175 --> 00:20:22,715
investigative journalist, and

the other presenter, Steve

356
00:20:22,715 --> 00:20:24,703
Kelso.
It was Brad Edwards and
Steve

357
00:20:24,703 --> 00:20:26,972
Kelso.
And Steve used to manage the

358
00:20:26,972 --> 00:20:31,520
newsroom, and he was
there to
lend perspective into what

359
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,720
actually makes its way to a

reporter from the assignment

360
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,016
desk.
And I think that is the


361
00:20:38,024 --> 00:20:40,257
secret.
What he shared would be the

362
00:20:40,257 --> 00:20:43,580
secret sauce that I would

share with you is to avoid the

363
00:20:43,820 --> 00:20:47,645
what we call spray and pray and
so so many times, when you've

364
00:20:47,645 --> 00:20:51,185
worked so hard on something and
you've built, you know, whether

365
00:20:51,185 --> 00:20:54,545
it's a podcast or the local

bakery, you've just worked so

366
00:20:54,545 --> 00:21:00,425
hard on this thing, and this

story feels so real and so

367
00:21:00,605 --> 00:21:04,785
newsworthy to you that you want
to tell every reporter, and

368
00:21:04,785 --> 00:21:07,796
here you go.
You're Googling, you
know,

369
00:21:07,796 --> 00:21:10,976
what's Anderson Cooper's email?
And you're just really
trying

370
00:21:10,976 --> 00:21:15,345
to tell that story.
I think that the secret sauce is

371
00:21:15,345 --> 00:21:20,370

to be really, really
deliberate, and not like I say,

372
00:21:20,370 --> 00:21:25,538
not over
reach and to really
preserve that, that inquiry to

373
00:21:25,538 --> 00:21:29,135
times
where you really have
something that is newsworthy.

374
00:21:29,135 --> 00:21:33,761
Now the
question is, what is
newsworthy, and that, believe it

375
00:21:33,761 --> 00:21:38,045
or not, is
more, is more
subjective than it sounds, but

376
00:21:38,045 --> 00:21:40,250
newsworthy?
Well,
let me ask you guys,

377
00:21:40,250 --> 00:21:42,815
what do you think the word
newsworthy?

378
00:21:42,875 --> 00:21:47,135
Marc Ronick: Well, I mean, I

would say it's anything that

379
00:21:47,915 --> 00:21:50,785
that is in the mass public

interest.

380
00:21:50,785 --> 00:21:53,435
Would that be a fair way to put
it?

381
00:21:53,735 --> 00:21:56,340
Cyndee Harrison: Yeah, yeah.
I
think that's exactly it is

382
00:21:56,340 --> 00:21:58,440
that it's broad.
We live in a world
where

383
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,050
everything is based on audience
numbers.

384
00:22:00,050 --> 00:22:02,600
So but D.R.
Fay: could you create


385
00:22:02,608 --> 00:22:05,000
something and make it
newsworthy?

386
00:22:05,540 --> 00:22:08,213
Cyndee Harrison: Absolutely, so
I'll give you a good example.

387
00:22:08,213 --> 00:22:11,942
So we told a story.
Brad told a
story from the

388
00:22:11,942 --> 00:22:16,720
stage of a Lebanese restaurant.
And this
was, it was a

389
00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:21,065
beautiful immigrant story.
It was a
beautiful living the

390
00:22:21,065 --> 00:22:24,795
American dream story, and but it
was a
local restaurant on a

391
00:22:24,795 --> 00:22:29,129
corner in Chicago, and there was
just
nothing that was

392
00:22:29,129 --> 00:22:32,825
newsworthy.
And then there was a violence,

393
00:22:32,825 --> 00:22:37,883
an
eruption in Beirut.
Well, this restaurant owner was

394
00:22:37,883 --> 00:22:43,181
from
Beirut, and so he
connected the local news station

395
00:22:43,181 --> 00:22:48,190
that was
looking for local
relevance stories to the fact

396
00:22:48,190 --> 00:22:54,198
that there
was this, you know,
story from very, very far away.

397
00:22:54,198 --> 00:22:58,289
And they
came to the
restaurant, they asked for his

398
00:22:58,289 --> 00:23:00,286
perspective.
He
still had family over

399
00:23:00,286 --> 00:23:04,286
there, and so you can, I don't
know if it's
so much about

400
00:23:04,286 --> 00:23:08,479
creating the news, although we
do hear a lot of
that of

401
00:23:08,479 --> 00:23:11,860
people create news every single
day, typically with their


402
00:23:11,868 --> 00:23:15,689
phone in their face.
But yes, so that's all about

403
00:23:15,689 --> 00:23:18,875
crafting an
angle.
Yeah, that's a great question.

404
00:23:19,415 --> 00:23:20,555
Marc Ronick: All right.
Cool.


405
00:23:20,563 --> 00:23:23,705
Well, then my next question,
when we think about a podcast,


406
00:23:23,713 --> 00:23:27,487
it's something that gives us a
really public voice, right?

407
00:23:27,487 --> 00:23:30,972
So
what kind of opportunities
does that create?

408
00:23:30,972 --> 00:23:34,620
And I also want to
find out,
what are some of the risks that

409
00:23:34,620 --> 00:23:38,280
come with that
visibility.
Cyndee Harrison: So that's a


410
00:23:38,288 --> 00:23:42,280
great question, and I want to
make sure that we get to both of

411
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,699

them.
So first, I think one of the

412
00:23:44,699 --> 00:23:49,653
missed opportunities I see
so
many podcast hosts maybe skip is

413
00:23:49,653 --> 00:23:54,125
they invest so much into the

growth of their show that they

414
00:23:54,305 --> 00:23:56,255
sort of neglect their personal

brand.

415
00:23:56,255 --> 00:24:01,553
Do you guys ever see that where
everything is about the
show

416
00:24:01,553 --> 00:24:06,371
and what's happening again,
going back to when there is a


417
00:24:06,379 --> 00:24:11,700
journalist or a network exec or
a future brand partner, they're

418
00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:16,250
probably Googling your name.
So that would be one missed


419
00:24:16,258 --> 00:24:19,610
opportunity that I would see
with podcast hosts, and then you

420
00:24:19,610 --> 00:24:22,610

had a great second question,
and I knew the Marc Ronick:

421
00:24:22,610 --> 00:24:26,450
risks.
Cyndee Harrison: So the thing we

422
00:24:26,450 --> 00:24:29,920

were talking so much about,
when you connect with media and

423
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,910
you
get placed and you are
growing this, then there are


424
00:24:34,918 --> 00:24:39,105
vulnerabilities, and I think
that it's important to always


425
00:24:39,113 --> 00:24:42,147
anticipate them.
And I would love to hear you

426
00:24:42,147 --> 00:24:45,833
guys probably
have a ton of
stories, but one of the biggest

427
00:24:45,833 --> 00:24:49,235
vulnerabilities I
see with
podcast shows are the

428
00:24:49,235 --> 00:24:52,223
vulnerabilities that come along
with guests.

429
00:24:52,223 --> 00:24:58,535
And I'm curious if you guys have
any stories of
guests who they

430
00:24:58,535 --> 00:25:00,710
come particularly with a.
Live show.


431
00:25:00,718 --> 00:25:04,790
They come on your show and they
maybe unintentionally, perhaps


432
00:25:04,798 --> 00:25:08,030
intentionally, they say
something that's really


433
00:25:08,038 --> 00:25:12,664
controversial that ends up being
a sound bite that goes viral.

434
00:25:12,664 --> 00:25:16,087
I
think that's a very real
risk in your space.

435
00:25:16,087 --> 00:25:20,240
Have any of you ever
heard of
that sort of thing happening?

436
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:22,805
Marc Ronick: BC I see your hand
is up to an example.

437
00:25:23,285 --> 00:25:25,625
BC Babbles: So I shared the

story a little while ago on this

438
00:25:25,625 --> 00:25:30,305
show, but I actually, few years
ago, got myself in quite a bit

439
00:25:30,305 --> 00:25:33,785
of trouble and actually lost a

job because I was not careful as

440
00:25:33,785 --> 00:25:38,285
a host in the kind of

conversation I was facilitating

441
00:25:38,285 --> 00:25:41,585
with a couple of co workers I

had, I was in a brand new space,

442
00:25:41,585 --> 00:25:45,785
a lot of similar aged,

entrepreneurial people that I

443
00:25:45,830 --> 00:25:51,230
worked with, and so I found a

great kind of source of guests

444
00:25:51,230 --> 00:25:54,770
who could talk about growing in
a space that ships and you know

445
00:25:54,770 --> 00:25:58,970
how to adjust to new workflows

in the office and whatnot, But

446
00:25:58,970 --> 00:26:03,410
there was a particular toxic

underground to the workspace.

447
00:26:03,470 --> 00:26:08,039
And I had two people on who were

pretty hip deep in that

448
00:26:08,039 --> 00:26:11,566
element of the atmosphere.
And while
typically, I had

449
00:26:11,566 --> 00:26:14,771
known better to curve away from
that make sure
the

450
00:26:14,771 --> 00:26:18,435
conversation was productive and
whatnot, I let it go a


451
00:26:18,443 --> 00:26:21,610
different direction, and I did
the dumber thing, which was


452
00:26:21,618 --> 00:26:25,505
produce it and put it out there.
And the morning it went out, I


453
00:26:25,513 --> 00:26:28,986
got a call from my trainer from
the job, and said, Hey, I don't

454
00:26:28,986 --> 00:26:30,791
know if you made the best move
here.

455
00:26:30,791 --> 00:26:33,713
You might want to bring
this
down a little when you get to

456
00:26:33,713 --> 00:26:37,466
the office, which I did,
spent
my entire morning and taking it

457
00:26:37,466 --> 00:26:38,952
down every place that
I found
it.

458
00:26:38,952 --> 00:26:42,288
And that's when I That's the day
that I learned
about the

459
00:26:42,288 --> 00:26:45,212
dangers of secondary
distributors for podcasts, but I

460
00:26:45,212 --> 00:26:48,860

ended up losing my job because
of it, because I allowed the


461
00:26:48,868 --> 00:26:52,310
conversation to get too toxic.
I was not smart in how I


462
00:26:52,318 --> 00:26:55,295
facilitated it.
I did not curb it the right way.

463
00:26:55,295 --> 00:26:58,985
And yeah, that
was a big
learning moment for me as a

464
00:26:58,985 --> 00:27:02,285
podcaster, which is why I'm

much more methodical about pre

465
00:27:02,285 --> 00:27:07,145
interviews, planning ahead and

if and when I see a conversation

466
00:27:07,565 --> 00:27:11,105
go a place I don't want it to

go, I curve it immediately or

467
00:27:11,105 --> 00:27:15,245
put a pause on it, redirect and
make sure the conversation

468
00:27:15,245 --> 00:27:20,090
ultimately is productive and is
actually providing Something to

469
00:27:20,090 --> 00:27:23,810
the public, as opposed to really

spicy gossip content.

470
00:27:24,410 --> 00:27:27,230
Cyndee Harrison: Wow, I'm sorry
that happened to you.

471
00:27:28,430 --> 00:27:30,890
BC Babbles: I needed to learn

that I take that fully now as

472
00:27:30,890 --> 00:27:32,995
like, you know what?
I fully
owned it.

473
00:27:32,995 --> 00:27:35,810
I was like, You know what?
I gave them the mic.

474
00:27:35,810 --> 00:27:37,610
Don't
fire them.
They still fired them.

475
00:27:37,610 --> 00:27:39,829
All three of us got.
But D.R.

476
00:27:39,829 --> 00:27:43,597
Fay: you know what?
It
really speaks to the

477
00:27:43,597 --> 00:27:49,906
knowledge of the host, because
there are
some things that you

478
00:27:49,906 --> 00:27:54,410
wouldn't mind it going in a
different
direction, and you

479
00:27:54,410 --> 00:27:58,661
have to make that split second
decision as
to, is this going

480
00:27:58,661 --> 00:28:02,195
to be detrimental to my job, or
is
this just going to be, like

481
00:28:02,195 --> 00:28:06,465
a really big thing that might be

great for, you know, to get

482
00:28:06,465 --> 00:28:08,480
the name of the business out
there.


483
00:28:08,488 --> 00:28:13,262
So it's really a split second
thing that you have to, as a


484
00:28:13,270 --> 00:28:17,895
host be able to to manipulate.
BC Babbles: Oh, and boy, howdy,

485
00:28:17,895 --> 00:28:20,560
did those numbers go start
rising quickly, because once


486
00:28:20,568 --> 00:28:24,401
people within the in the
workspace learned who was on the

487
00:28:24,401 --> 00:28:26,590

episode, everyone started
clocking into the episode really

488
00:28:26,590 --> 00:28:28,085

quick.
That one got the highest

489
00:28:28,085 --> 00:28:32,405
numbers, I think, in the history

of my show, because of who was

490
00:28:32,405 --> 00:28:36,200
on it and what they presumed we
were likely talking about.

491
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,905
So lesson learned that was like
back in 2022 but I have

492
00:28:39,905 --> 00:28:41,705
definitely grown pretty well

since then.

493
00:28:42,245 --> 00:28:44,748
Cyndee Harrison: Well, I'm glad
to hear it, and that's the

494
00:28:44,810 --> 00:28:47,066
thing.
In fact, the first the
way I

495
00:28:47,066 --> 00:28:50,230
got into I learned about crisis
communications was, as
Ralph

496
00:28:50,230 --> 00:28:54,451
sort of alluded to, I had a job
that was in a high risk


497
00:28:54,459 --> 00:28:58,440
industry, and I was working for
people who were at the height of

498
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,751

visibility.
And so whenever anyone in that

499
00:29:00,751 --> 00:29:04,457
field had a
problem, they're
like, oh my gosh, I'll just call

500
00:29:04,457 --> 00:29:06,262
Cyndee.
She
knows what's going on.

501
00:29:06,262 --> 00:29:10,343
And so I would always think if I
had only
talked to you before,

502
00:29:10,343 --> 00:29:13,057
if I could turn back time,
because we do.


503
00:29:13,065 --> 00:29:15,510
We learn so many lessons the
hard way.

504
00:29:15,510 --> 00:29:19,106
So the good news for
you is
that you experienced what I

505
00:29:19,106 --> 00:29:22,735
always say, whenever I talk to

someone who is in the middle of

506
00:29:22,796 --> 00:29:25,190
a crisis, which is, everything

is temporary.

507
00:29:25,190 --> 00:29:28,899
So that was temporary, but at
that moment, I
want to talk

508
00:29:28,899 --> 00:29:31,328
more.
Now I feel like I'm digging into

509
00:29:31,328 --> 00:29:35,247
your
psyche, but just want to
hear it from you, instead of me

510
00:29:35,247 --> 00:29:38,948
telling
you, but tell me about
how did that feel for you?

511
00:29:38,948 --> 00:29:40,913
Like, what
was were you
emotional?

512
00:29:40,913 --> 00:29:43,868
Like?
BC Babbles: I felt very


513
00:29:43,876 --> 00:29:47,170
disappointed in myself because
this had been, I mean, this is


514
00:29:47,178 --> 00:29:50,494
my the show's my thought, baby.
This is my, like, my creative


515
00:29:50,502 --> 00:29:55,205
passion, and I had done so well
up to that moment, to bring in


516
00:29:55,213 --> 00:29:58,396
people from the space that
really added to the conversation

517
00:29:58,396 --> 00:30:01,872

in a way that I.
Just wanted the conversation to

518
00:30:01,872 --> 00:30:06,114
provide.
And so
when I realized how

519
00:30:06,114 --> 00:30:09,808
unexpectedly I slipped up in
such a way that
I hadn't

520
00:30:09,808 --> 00:30:12,450
before, and we're not just
talking about a force,
we're

521
00:30:12,450 --> 00:30:14,850
not just talking about me having
a full blown conversation


522
00:30:14,858 --> 00:30:16,828
station for an hour and not
hitting record.

523
00:30:16,828 --> 00:30:19,017
This is me
hosting a very
toxic conversation.

524
00:30:19,017 --> 00:30:24,011
I'm just like,
wow, I This
sucks in the moment, as I am,

525
00:30:24,011 --> 00:30:26,772
like pleading to the
hiring
managers, like I understand what

526
00:30:26,772 --> 00:30:29,615
I did.
This is
my fault, you know,

527
00:30:29,615 --> 00:30:32,072
give me all the onus and
whatnot.

528
00:30:32,072 --> 00:30:37,472
I think
emotionally, I was
just surprised to simply worded

529
00:30:37,472 --> 00:30:42,715
is
just surprising myself,
surprised in my capacity to


530
00:30:42,723 --> 00:30:48,340
falter in that way as a host and
as a producer, and to let that


531
00:30:48,348 --> 00:30:54,100
kind of thing go out there into
the ether, as I call it, a lot


532
00:30:54,108 --> 00:30:58,105
of times, the digital ether, and
let it get any kind of attention

533
00:30:58,105 --> 00:31:00,613

whatsoever.
So for me, it's like, you know,

534
00:31:00,613 --> 00:31:03,410
I don't often
learn the lesson
the easy way.

535
00:31:03,410 --> 00:31:06,060
I had to learn it the hard way,
and this time was the hard way.

536
00:31:06,060 --> 00:31:10,097
So just take, Marc Ronick: you
know, Cyndee Harrison: and so

537
00:31:10,097 --> 00:31:12,444
you're
not alone in that.
Let's use your example.

538
00:31:12,444 --> 00:31:15,770
So thank you for
sharing that
very vulnerable moment.

539
00:31:15,770 --> 00:31:19,270
And let me tell you
something.
It is so common.

540
00:31:19,270 --> 00:31:23,720
In those moments we get so

emotional, and we feel all the

541
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,280
things that you're feeling.
We
feel disappointed in

542
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,480
ourselves, we feel betrayed.
We feel like
we betrayed

543
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:30,968
ourselves.
We feel stupid.

544
00:31:30,968 --> 00:31:34,940
And then when those
outside
forces, either it's in your

545
00:31:34,940 --> 00:31:38,840
case, you lost a job, in a

podcast hosts case, it could be

546
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,760
we lost a partnership, we lost a

collaboration, we lost an

547
00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,078
advertiser.
So I think I'm
really glad

548
00:31:46,078 --> 00:31:49,670
that you articulated those so
that's why the very,
very

549
00:31:49,670 --> 00:31:53,458
first thing that I always teach
people is to anticipate.


550
00:31:53,466 --> 00:31:56,996
And it sounds so simple, you'd
be shocked.

551
00:31:56,996 --> 00:32:00,873
How many people just
fail to
anticipate whatever their

552
00:32:00,873 --> 00:32:05,400
endeavor is, whether it is
a
business or they're building

553
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:10,860
influence, influencers tend to

be so focused on audience

554
00:32:10,860 --> 00:32:13,860
growth, and I'm talking about

like, specifically social media

555
00:32:13,860 --> 00:32:17,580
influencers, who I'm hearing

from an increasing number of and

556
00:32:17,580 --> 00:32:22,100
Some podcasters also consider

themselves influencers, you

557
00:32:22,100 --> 00:32:28,460
would be shocked at how little

anticipatory they just really

558
00:32:28,460 --> 00:32:35,060
fail to do that anticipatory

work beforehand and and so I

559
00:32:35,060 --> 00:32:39,200
think just spending a little

time fleshing that out

560
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:42,817
beforehand, you were having to

do it in real time.

561
00:32:42,817 --> 00:32:47,607
And none of us are as good on
our feet, no
matter how much

562
00:32:47,607 --> 00:32:50,520
we believe ourselves to be,
we're never as
fast on our

563
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,635
feet as we are with a little bit
of forethought.

564
00:32:53,635 --> 00:32:57,386
And
so that's why I always
recommend just anticipate.

565
00:32:57,386 --> 00:33:02,152
And that
includes for you,
particularly you were, am I

566
00:33:02,152 --> 00:33:04,586
right?
You had a
podcast that you

567
00:33:04,586 --> 00:33:06,412
weren't like, Buck didn't stop
there.

568
00:33:06,412 --> 00:33:09,933
It was
on behalf of a brand
that you didn't necessarily own.

569
00:33:09,933 --> 00:33:12,900
Right?

Sounds like it was part of your

570
00:33:13,140 --> 00:33:15,659
your job?
BC Babbles: No, it was my show.

571
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:18,773
Cyndee Harrison: Oh, BC Babbles:
so I had a show that
started

572
00:33:18,773 --> 00:33:21,745
way before the job and but when
I found myself amongst
all

573
00:33:21,745 --> 00:33:25,139
these similarly minded folks, I
thought, Ooh, a nice
pool of

574
00:33:25,139 --> 00:33:26,587
guests.
Cyndee Harrison: God, BC

575
00:33:26,587 --> 00:33:28,700
Babbles: that's what
happened.
Cyndee Harrison: Okay?

576
00:33:28,700 --> 00:33:31,876
I
understand.
Oh, well, then, ah, then that

577
00:33:31,876 --> 00:33:36,660
leads me to that whole
thing I
was talking about before of the

578
00:33:36,660 --> 00:33:40,620
second audience.
So I am
willing to guess, and

579
00:33:40,620 --> 00:33:45,350
we will never know, but, and, or
perhaps
they told you, but so

580
00:33:45,350 --> 00:33:50,937
many people have influence over,
in
this case, your job, your

581
00:33:50,937 --> 00:33:55,210
life, quite literally, who will
never
take the deep dive and

582
00:33:55,210 --> 00:33:59,014
hear your full show in all
context, Right?


583
00:33:59,022 --> 00:34:04,380
So maybe if they had gone back
and listened to all the prior


584
00:34:04,388 --> 00:34:07,670
episodes, they would get a feel
for and they would understand


585
00:34:07,678 --> 00:34:11,911
like, oh, okay, I get it.
This is sort of how, if we just

586
00:34:11,911 --> 00:34:14,516
trust
we're going to follow BC
down this path.

587
00:34:14,516 --> 00:34:17,495
And these are the
types of
conversations that he has.

588
00:34:17,495 --> 00:34:22,092
But they never did.
They
judged your entire

589
00:34:22,092 --> 00:34:24,440
persona based on sound BC
Babbles: wise.

590
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:28,339
So, Cyndee Harrison: yeah, yeah.
So
anticipating that and

591
00:34:28,339 --> 00:34:31,687
recognizing that this is the

life of the podcaster.

592
00:34:31,687 --> 00:34:36,601
You can't, you know, like I say
a
tax accountant has to sit

593
00:34:36,601 --> 00:34:39,393
back and go this.
I can't be afraid
of the IRS.

594
00:34:39,393 --> 00:34:43,315
This is the work I do.
And so a podcaster, you have


595
00:34:43,322 --> 00:34:46,359
to anticipate that sort of thing
going sideways.

596
00:34:46,359 --> 00:34:50,339
Now, what would
you have done
differently when it comes to as

597
00:34:50,339 --> 00:34:54,527
we said, we're
talking about
the topic of guests and the

598
00:34:54,527 --> 00:34:57,849
vulnerability
that guests
bring alongside them.

599
00:34:57,849 --> 00:34:59,523
If you had it to do over

again?

600
00:34:59,523 --> 00:35:00,684
Would you.
Have hit publish.

601
00:35:00,684 --> 00:35:02,309
Or would you retool?

What?

602
00:35:02,309 --> 00:35:05,219
What would you do if you could
go back in time?

603
00:35:05,700 --> 00:35:08,280
BC Babbles: Basically, I would

have held off and reflected on

604
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:10,960
the episode.
Do I have anything
here that

605
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,020
caters to what I'm supposed to
be using this
platform for?

606
00:35:14,020 --> 00:35:17,262
In that case, I would have said,
No, hey guys,
can we come back

607
00:35:17,262 --> 00:35:19,692
at some point?
Re record, redirect the


608
00:35:19,700 --> 00:35:22,208
conversation.
This thing cannot go out as it

609
00:35:22,208 --> 00:35:23,876
is, Cyndee Harrison: yeah, yeah.



610
00:35:23,884 --> 00:35:26,210
I've seen that happen.
And, you know, larger media

611
00:35:26,210 --> 00:35:28,070
shows will do
that quite
frequently.

612
00:35:28,070 --> 00:35:32,142
A lot of things end up on, you
know, the
proverbial cutting

613
00:35:32,142 --> 00:35:36,080
room floor that we never end up
seeing for
exactly that

614
00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:40,244
reason, and it's because what
they do, they
anticipate.

615
00:35:40,244 --> 00:35:45,710
They also have the they not
always, because we see
a lot

616
00:35:45,710 --> 00:35:51,175
of missteps in the media too,
but they have an idea of
the

617
00:35:51,175 --> 00:35:54,030
values and the purpose of their
show.

618
00:35:54,030 --> 00:35:58,300
And so when things
go a little
sideways, they're able to ask

619
00:35:58,300 --> 00:36:01,506
themselves, okay,
does this
align with what I'm building,

620
00:36:01,506 --> 00:36:06,734
and if not, then we
either
need to redirect, which it

621
00:36:06,734 --> 00:36:09,060
sounds like that's what you

would have done if you had a

622
00:36:09,060 --> 00:36:12,240
chance to do it over again.

They'll either redirect, they'll

623
00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:14,964
cut it all together.
They make a
decision on the

624
00:36:14,964 --> 00:36:18,432
fly.
And so sticking with that whole

625
00:36:18,432 --> 00:36:21,544
anticipate theme.
It's important that when you are

626
00:36:21,544 --> 00:36:25,004
setting up
your show, and
you're deciding on the focus of

627
00:36:25,004 --> 00:36:28,995
your show, and
you are
deciding on, will your show

628
00:36:28,995 --> 00:36:32,240
include guests, if so, is
it
live, you know, and you're

629
00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:34,580
walking through all this

decision making of what this

630
00:36:34,580 --> 00:36:38,540
show is going to be, you really
should anticipate and consider

631
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,928
all of those things.
If you talk
about

632
00:36:40,928 --> 00:36:43,210
controversial topics you can
there's only one mouth that


633
00:36:43,218 --> 00:36:46,395
you can control, so maybe you
reconsider how you invite guests

634
00:36:46,395 --> 00:36:49,336

into the space.
But that's a great I'm sorry I

635
00:36:49,336 --> 00:36:51,436
spent a lot of
time on Marc
Ronick: that's okay.

636
00:36:51,436 --> 00:36:53,675
I
think real life examples are
important here for this


637
00:36:53,683 --> 00:36:56,683
conversation, so I think that
works well, and I know that Sid

638
00:36:56,683 --> 00:36:58,860
has a question for you as well.
Go ahead.

639
00:36:58,860 --> 00:37:01,132
Sid, Sid Meadows: good morning,
everybody.

640
00:37:01,132 --> 00:37:03,915
Thanks, Mark.
So the situation that BC

641
00:37:03,915 --> 00:37:09,140
described the
to the extreme
is kind of the fear that I get

642
00:37:09,140 --> 00:37:12,615
when reaching
out to podcast
guests, because I My show is

643
00:37:12,615 --> 00:37:14,934
basically energy
show, and I
hear all the time, oh, I can't

644
00:37:14,934 --> 00:37:16,509
do that.
My boss is
going to get mad or

645
00:37:16,509 --> 00:37:20,098
what if I say something wrong.
So it's a
real thing that I

646
00:37:20,098 --> 00:37:23,970
think guests go through on a
regular basis,
and as hosts, I

647
00:37:23,970 --> 00:37:26,200
think especially if they are,
you know, have a
full time

648
00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,265
job, it's something we have to
be very cognizant of how
we

649
00:37:29,265 --> 00:37:31,830
approach that and how we handle
it.

650
00:37:31,830 --> 00:37:36,190
But my question is
really more
about outreach.

651
00:37:36,190 --> 00:37:44,280
So I probably get five to 10
emails a
day from publicist

652
00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,010
pitching someone on my show Marc
Ronick: you can't see, and


653
00:37:48,018 --> 00:37:52,170
Cyndee is giggling right now.
Sid Meadows: And like, I


654
00:37:52,178 --> 00:37:57,190
published a show about, like, I
published a show about AI.

655
00:37:57,190 --> 00:38:01,260
And
goodness gracious, my
email fills up with publicists,

656
00:38:01,260 --> 00:38:06,995
and
the problem is, out of all
these, I get less than 0.005% of

657
00:38:06,995 --> 00:38:11,200

them actually will fit my
show, because my whole show is

658
00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,800
very
niche in a very niche
community, and I'm not really, I

659
00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:17,673
mean, I
just ignore them,
honestly, is what I do with

660
00:38:17,673 --> 00:38:19,514
them.
And so I
get a few

661
00:38:19,514 --> 00:38:21,736
occasionally, probably I've had
two people on my show
that

662
00:38:21,736 --> 00:38:24,740
actually came from a publicist,
and those people were
actually

663
00:38:24,740 --> 00:38:28,430
in my industry, are related to
it, so I could have
them on

664
00:38:28,430 --> 00:38:31,210
board, but it's extremely
frustrating, and I'm
not sure

665
00:38:31,210 --> 00:38:35,900
as a podcaster what I could do
differently to help
these

666
00:38:35,900 --> 00:38:38,960
people understand that, hey,
this is not my Show.

667
00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:43,088
This
guest is not for my show.
Cyndee Harrison: Deep sigh.

668
00:38:43,088 --> 00:38:46,260
I
don't know what.
I don't know how to make it

669
00:38:46,260 --> 00:38:48,598
stop.
They're
giving us all a bad

670
00:38:48,598 --> 00:38:51,540
name.
It is a really common problem,

671
00:38:51,540 --> 00:38:57,324
and at
least Sid have a show
that does have guests, you'd be

672
00:38:57,324 --> 00:38:59,500
shocked.

Maybe you wouldn't be shocked at

673
00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:04,225
all at how frequently I hear

from podcasters who never have

674
00:39:04,225 --> 00:39:08,305
guests, and they are alone on

the mic, and they get pitched

675
00:39:08,305 --> 00:39:12,880
every single day to to bring a

guest onto a show.

676
00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:17,213
It's a real problem, and I wish
I had the
solution.

677
00:39:17,213 --> 00:39:21,125
I don't.
All I can do is, as I said

678
00:39:21,125 --> 00:39:24,653
earlier, it's
really important
that we not replicate that and

679
00:39:24,653 --> 00:39:28,030
kind of stop
the madness.
When you engage with a

680
00:39:28,030 --> 00:39:30,594
professional publicist,
that's
the very last thing they want to

681
00:39:30,594 --> 00:39:32,005
do.
Because if you think
about it,

682
00:39:32,005 --> 00:39:34,844
and if there are any publicists
out there, I wish
they would

683
00:39:34,844 --> 00:39:37,894
hear me say this.
I've been at this game a long,


684
00:39:37,902 --> 00:39:42,610
long time, and here's the truth.
When that podcaster receives


685
00:39:42,618 --> 00:39:48,735
that email, they are not only
going to kind of mentally cross

686
00:39:48,735 --> 00:39:54,355
you off of their list, but that
impacts every client that you


687
00:39:54,363 --> 00:39:57,570
have.
And so that impacts everyone

688
00:39:57,570 --> 00:40:00,245
that you work with.
And
so it goes.

689
00:40:00,245 --> 00:40:05,146
Back to Ralph, I do say, and I
have a little statue
of a frog

690
00:40:05,146 --> 00:40:10,179
prince, because a publicist job
is to know which
frogs to

691
00:40:10,179 --> 00:40:14,890
kiss, so that one will
eventually turn into, in this


692
00:40:14,898 --> 00:40:18,856
case, your show about AI.
So it's disappointing to hear

693
00:40:18,856 --> 00:40:23,050
that
I wish I had the I really
wish I had the solution.

694
00:40:23,050 --> 00:40:27,886
You know, what
I do in those
situations is I just have like a

695
00:40:27,886 --> 00:40:31,558
canned response
of try, trying
to live into like a BE THE

696
00:40:31,558 --> 00:40:34,480
CHANGE moment, like
letting
them know, stop this.

697
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:36,805
This is not a solid practice for

our industry.

698
00:40:36,805 --> 00:40:41,065
Marc Ronick: The best is when I
get emails asking me if I want

699
00:40:41,065 --> 00:40:43,405
to, how I want to grow my

podcast, you know, hey, do you

700
00:40:43,405 --> 00:40:45,555
want to grow your podcast?
I got
all the solutions.

701
00:40:45,555 --> 00:40:48,350
It's like, Hey, I help people do
that too,
buddy.

702
00:40:48,350 --> 00:40:50,809
You know, they just don't pay
any attention.

703
00:40:50,809 --> 00:40:53,425
And, yeah,
it's usually AI
that's doing it.

704
00:40:53,665 --> 00:40:55,770
Yeah, Ralph, take it.
Ralph Estep Jr: Cyndee, I wanted

705
00:40:55,770 --> 00:40:58,464

to pivot here a little bit,
and I want to get to some


706
00:40:58,472 --> 00:41:00,010
practicality.
So what should podcast hosts

707
00:41:00,010 --> 00:41:02,483
have in place
before they
start seeking more exposure.

708
00:41:02,483 --> 00:41:05,516
Because a lot of
people say,
Well, I want to go get more

709
00:41:05,516 --> 00:41:08,529
exposure, but Cyndee,
what are
the things that you need to have

710
00:41:08,529 --> 00:41:11,269
lined up before you
do that?
Because I think it's real easy

711
00:41:11,269 --> 00:41:14,141
to say, Well, yeah,
I'm going
to go out there and get that

712
00:41:14,141 --> 00:41:16,209
viral moment.
I'm going
to do this and this

713
00:41:16,209 --> 00:41:18,458
to broaden this exposure.
But there's some
things you

714
00:41:18,458 --> 00:41:21,492
got to have in place correct
before you go and make
that

715
00:41:21,492 --> 00:41:23,060
reach, Cyndee Harrison: you're
right.


716
00:41:23,068 --> 00:41:24,658
So that's a great pivot.
Look at you.

717
00:41:24,658 --> 00:41:27,140
You should have a show or
two,
Ralph Estep Jr: you know, I


718
00:41:27,148 --> 00:41:28,260
think I might know what I'm
doing here.

719
00:41:28,260 --> 00:41:31,310
Man, I'm not sure.
Cyndee Harrison: So that's a


720
00:41:31,318 --> 00:41:34,820
great question, and I think it's
a really important takeaway for

721
00:41:34,820 --> 00:41:38,408
any podcaster that's listening.
So it's really important that


722
00:41:38,416 --> 00:41:41,672
you anticipate, that's my
favorite word of the day, that


723
00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:45,828
you anticipate that when you
reach out to media, they have a

724
00:41:45,828 --> 00:41:50,165
responsibility to vet you, and
so you can very easily do


725
00:41:50,173 --> 00:41:52,835
exactly what you know they're
going to do.

726
00:41:52,835 --> 00:41:55,295
You can anticipate
that they
are going to search for you, and

727
00:41:55,295 --> 00:41:57,045
they're going to
hear me very
well.

728
00:41:57,045 --> 00:42:00,945
They're going to typically
search for you by
your name,

729
00:42:00,945 --> 00:42:04,733
your human name, not necessarily
your show name.

730
00:42:04,733 --> 00:42:10,485
So
it's really important that
you have a personal brand that

731
00:42:10,485 --> 00:42:14,582
is
findable.
Because it used to be that

732
00:42:14,582 --> 00:42:17,930
whatever we stuck on our

website, the interwebs would

733
00:42:17,930 --> 00:42:22,490
just take our word for it and

oh, we say that we are an expert

734
00:42:22,490 --> 00:42:25,130
in these keywords.
And so the
interwebs were

735
00:42:25,130 --> 00:42:28,218
like, Okay, here's your expert
in these
keywords, like,

736
00:42:28,218 --> 00:42:30,635
whatever.
Now, of course, we know the


737
00:42:30,643 --> 00:42:33,790
algorithms are highly
sophisticated, and so search is

738
00:42:33,790 --> 00:42:37,209
all and Sid is an expert in
these things.

739
00:42:37,209 --> 00:42:40,253
He's probably
forgotten more
than I'll ever know about AI.

740
00:42:40,253 --> 00:42:45,359
But these AI
tools are now
generating answers based on 360

741
00:42:45,359 --> 00:42:48,731
degrees of
visibility.
And so to your question, Ralph,

742
00:42:48,731 --> 00:42:52,881
what we need to
do is make
sure that we have a vetable and

743
00:42:52,881 --> 00:42:56,608
verifiable personal
brand.
Guess what it is?

744
00:42:56,608 --> 00:42:59,056
Old time we talk Marc Ronick:
about it all the
time.

745
00:42:59,056 --> 00:43:01,034
Cyndee, it's not in this not in
these circles.

746
00:43:01,034 --> 00:43:03,091
No, we say
it's not old timey
at all.

747
00:43:03,091 --> 00:43:04,920
We encourage it to our
community.

748
00:43:05,035 --> 00:43:07,855
Cyndee Harrison: You have to

make it easy for them, because,

749
00:43:07,855 --> 00:43:13,375
again, realize it is not their

job to promote and protect your

750
00:43:13,375 --> 00:43:14,755
show.
That's your job.

751
00:43:14,755 --> 00:43:19,000
So make
it easy for them.
So make yourself or have someone

752
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,628
make
for you a media kit and
keep it updated.

753
00:43:22,628 --> 00:43:26,995
You need to make sure
that
your media hits your expertise

754
00:43:26,995 --> 00:43:31,720
is extremely
digestible for
them, they need to be able to

755
00:43:31,720 --> 00:43:37,123
put their finger
on it fast so
a media kit can be I mean, you

756
00:43:37,123 --> 00:43:41,901
could start with a
simple body
of an email with links to your

757
00:43:41,901 --> 00:43:46,315
snippets of your
own show,
your appearances on other shows,

758
00:43:46,315 --> 00:43:50,365
whatever you've got
to do to
make yourself easy to vet,

759
00:43:50,365 --> 00:43:53,965
because they are certainly
not
going to put you in front of

760
00:43:53,965 --> 00:43:57,865
their editors if their editor

isn't able to find any

761
00:43:57,865 --> 00:44:01,705
verification that you are who

you Say you are the expert that

762
00:44:01,705 --> 00:44:05,694
you presume to be.
So that
that's the that's what

763
00:44:05,694 --> 00:44:09,130
it boils down to.
You have to be vetable
and

764
00:44:09,130 --> 00:44:12,330
verifiable.
A really fast track way to do

765
00:44:12,330 --> 00:44:16,744
that is LinkedIn
posts.
LinkedIn is being, you know,

766
00:44:16,744 --> 00:44:21,970
really, really Reddit is
also
really, really searchable.

767
00:44:22,090 --> 00:44:24,645
It is responding well to AI

tools.

768
00:44:24,645 --> 00:44:29,105
And again, I get a little bit
self conscious when I talk
too

769
00:44:29,105 --> 00:44:32,467
much about AI tools, because I'm
like, Yeah, you know, I'm
I'm

770
00:44:32,467 --> 00:44:36,829
learning these as as I go, too.
But the fact of the matter
is

771
00:44:36,829 --> 00:44:41,845
that you have to be easily found
in well beyond the four
walls

772
00:44:41,845 --> 00:44:46,225
of your show or even your
website, so you have to make


773
00:44:46,233 --> 00:44:49,255
sure that you are growing your
personal brand.

774
00:44:49,495 --> 00:44:52,960
Marc Ronick: So then what are

some of the early warning signs

775
00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:57,700
that a podcaster might need when

they might need reputation or

776
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,232
publicity support?
Cyndee Harrison: So.

777
00:45:00,232 --> 00:45:01,660
Wow, that's
it.
That's a great question.

778
00:45:01,660 --> 00:45:04,104
It's, it's fairly nuanced.
I'll
tell you.

779
00:45:04,104 --> 00:45:08,860
When is the wrong time?
The Wrong time is when you


780
00:45:08,868 --> 00:45:12,188
already are battling the
alligators, when you have


781
00:45:12,196 --> 00:45:15,320
already stepped into the swamp,
right?

782
00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:18,223
BC, when you when you're

already there.

783
00:45:18,223 --> 00:45:20,685
It's very, very difficult for a
publicist.

784
00:45:20,685 --> 00:45:24,085
Now,
what a publicist can do
in those moments, and I've

785
00:45:24,085 --> 00:45:27,855
actually built
a lot of my
career doing this, is a

786
00:45:27,855 --> 00:45:30,805
publicist can help you

mitigate damage when you are in

787
00:45:30,805 --> 00:45:36,085
that moment, but what I am

dedicated is to helping you

788
00:45:36,310 --> 00:45:40,030
avoid them, because the best PR
crisis is the one that never

789
00:45:40,030 --> 00:45:42,795
happens.
So if a good publicist
does

790
00:45:42,795 --> 00:45:48,090
their job, then it looks like as
on the crisis end of the


791
00:45:48,098 --> 00:45:51,060
scorecard, nothing much happens,
you know.

792
00:45:51,060 --> 00:45:54,250
And and doesn't mean
that
things don't go sideways.

793
00:45:54,250 --> 00:45:56,238
Things are going to go sideways.



794
00:45:56,246 --> 00:45:59,539
You are going to get haters.
You can't grow without the

795
00:45:59,539 --> 00:46:01,255
haters.

And you are going to get

796
00:46:01,315 --> 00:46:03,979
imitators, and you are going to
get detractors.

797
00:46:03,979 --> 00:46:07,159
Things are going to go wrong.
You're going to get
negative

798
00:46:07,159 --> 00:46:08,755
feedback.
Sometimes the robots are giving

799
00:46:08,755 --> 00:46:11,455
you the
negative feedback.
If you're growing a show, then

800
00:46:11,455 --> 00:46:13,165
things are
going to go
sideways.

801
00:46:13,165 --> 00:46:17,181
All you are able to control is
how you
respond to it, and the

802
00:46:17,181 --> 00:46:20,695
best way to respond to it is to
anticipate what could go wrong.

803
00:46:20,755 --> 00:46:23,500
If you have a show about AI, for

example, like the caller did a

804
00:46:23,500 --> 00:46:26,356
moment ago, you should probably
be anticipating.

805
00:46:26,356 --> 00:46:28,633
What would the haters say about
you?

806
00:46:28,633 --> 00:46:32,248
What would
haters say about
you if you had a show about AI?

807
00:46:32,248 --> 00:46:36,430
I can't answer
that off the
top of my head, but you can,

808
00:46:36,430 --> 00:46:38,680
because you know your

business, if you have a show

809
00:46:38,860 --> 00:46:42,220
that's about gardening, what

would a hater say about you?

810
00:46:42,220 --> 00:46:44,920
What would a hater say about

what would a detractor say about

811
00:46:44,965 --> 00:46:46,981
your show?
Spend some time
anticipating

812
00:46:46,981 --> 00:46:51,245
that, and then the next step is
to fortify your
brand position

813
00:46:51,245 --> 00:46:56,191
so you see big brands.
I mean, think of any
big,

814
00:46:56,191 --> 00:46:59,851
major podcaster, whether it's
Mel Robbins or what, who
are

815
00:46:59,851 --> 00:47:03,769
some of the big names that
people throw out all the time,


816
00:47:03,777 --> 00:47:06,795
these big podcasters.
Do you think they never mess up?

817
00:47:06,795 --> 00:47:09,148
Do you
think they never have
that goes sideways?

818
00:47:09,148 --> 00:47:12,382
The only difference
between
them and you is they have a

819
00:47:12,382 --> 00:47:16,375
really fortified, strong
brand
position, and they have that

820
00:47:16,375 --> 00:47:20,170
position as a person, their

personal brand and as a show.

821
00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:22,670
Ralph Estep Jr: Cyndee, I want

to go, I want to go, I want to

822
00:47:22,726 --> 00:47:26,073
go into a little deeper here as
we start to wrap up, because

823
00:47:26,128 --> 00:47:29,587
this is the very conversation

you and I had, because I live in

824
00:47:29,643 --> 00:47:32,823
two very different worlds.
As
you know, I have a very big

825
00:47:32,878 --> 00:47:36,114
faith based podcast, and at the
same time, I'm a financial

826
00:47:36,170 --> 00:47:38,552
professional.
And you and I had
a long

827
00:47:38,552 --> 00:47:41,690
discussion about what the order,
what the sequence is in
this.

828
00:47:41,690 --> 00:47:44,930
And one of the things that I
worry about sometimes I'm


829
00:47:44,938 --> 00:47:48,136
almost I'm also an emotional
person, and I think it's real


830
00:47:48,144 --> 00:47:51,356
easy for a podcaster to get
themselves in a strong emotional

831
00:47:51,356 --> 00:47:53,885

response.
So what is the best strategy to

832
00:47:53,885 --> 00:47:57,411
avoid doing that
when you feel
attacked or you feel criticized

833
00:47:57,411 --> 00:48:00,421
or you feel
misunderstood
publicly, because this happens

834
00:48:00,421 --> 00:48:03,337
to me all the time.

Like, I have a huge, what we

835
00:48:03,393 --> 00:48:06,689
call it, YouTube presence, and I

put a lot of content there,

836
00:48:06,689 --> 00:48:10,032
and people say some of the most
rotten, disgusting, nasty

837
00:48:10,032 --> 00:48:13,212
things that you can imagine.
And when I
first started this,

838
00:48:13,212 --> 00:48:16,842
even my wife would say to me,
she goes, Why
do you do that?

839
00:48:16,842 --> 00:48:19,708
Like people just, they just,
they hate on
you constantly.

840
00:48:19,708 --> 00:48:21,714
I said, but that's not my
audience.

841
00:48:21,714 --> 00:48:25,300
So how
do you train the person
I'll put myself in under the

842
00:48:25,300 --> 00:48:28,144
looking
glass here?
How do you train me to not

843
00:48:28,144 --> 00:48:31,118
respond emotionally when
I'm
being attacked in a way that

844
00:48:31,174 --> 00:48:34,353
makes me want to just put the

fist up like I'm on the you

845
00:48:34,409 --> 00:48:36,920
know, the bully on the

playground afterwards?

846
00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:39,260
Cyndee Harrison: Well, it does

feel like a bully, and that's a

847
00:48:39,380 --> 00:48:42,535
that's a great analogy.
So I am
a former school

848
00:48:42,535 --> 00:48:46,328
teacher, and I can remember my
first career was
teaching,

849
00:48:46,328 --> 00:48:49,192
teaching elementary school
children, and I can
remember

850
00:48:49,192 --> 00:48:53,010
telling them you will never be
better at bullying than
the

851
00:48:53,010 --> 00:48:56,220
bully, because the bully is
practicing all day long.

852
00:48:56,220 --> 00:49:00,612
All you
can do is just avoid
being in their crosshairs.

853
00:49:00,612 --> 00:49:05,184
And so that
analogy somewhat
translates to podcasting,

854
00:49:05,184 --> 00:49:09,546
because you you just
need to
remind yourself you're never

855
00:49:09,546 --> 00:49:14,084
going to out troll the
trolls.
And so having that knowledge and

856
00:49:14,084 --> 00:49:19,048
going into that
does help tamp
those emotions a little bit.

857
00:49:19,048 --> 00:49:23,590
Also, it's really
important to
maintain focus if you have

858
00:49:23,590 --> 00:49:27,226
launched a show, and
hear me,
well, if you have launched a

859
00:49:27,226 --> 00:49:32,552
show, then you are
doing it,
and you are doing it a heck of a

860
00:49:32,552 --> 00:49:37,400
lot better than any of
the
trolls who are in your feed.

861
00:49:37,580 --> 00:49:39,920
Like, what I always want, I

always want to say to a troll

862
00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:41,894
is, yeah, well, what have you

got?

863
00:49:41,894 --> 00:49:43,920
Show me what you're doing.
That's better.

864
00:49:43,920 --> 00:49:46,090
I'm coachable.
So
what have you got?

865
00:49:46,090 --> 00:49:48,184
So I think it's really
important.

866
00:49:48,184 --> 00:49:53,072
But my
best advice for anyone
who's in the creative space is

867
00:49:53,072 --> 00:49:57,352
tap into a
network who can be
your sounding board.

868
00:49:57,352 --> 00:49:59,869
So for you, Ralph, that's
me.
I'm your publicist now.

869
00:49:59,869 --> 00:50:02,739
Now, and I'm honored to do so,
and
we'll navigate those

870
00:50:02,739 --> 00:50:05,660
things together.
But not every podcast
is ready

871
00:50:05,660 --> 00:50:10,500
for a publicist, and so make
sure that you have someone
who

872
00:50:10,500 --> 00:50:13,800
understands what you're doing.
They understand the
values, as

873
00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:17,074
we talked about earlier, BC
like, what's the
purpose of

874
00:50:17,074 --> 00:50:19,568
this show?
What are the values of this

875
00:50:19,568 --> 00:50:22,613
show, and
what's the audience
that we're aiming for, they

876
00:50:22,613 --> 00:50:26,609
understand and
align with that
so that you don't feel alone.

877
00:50:26,609 --> 00:50:30,835
Because
building something,
whether it is a podcast, show a

878
00:50:30,835 --> 00:50:32,893
brand, it
is a lonely
endeavor.

879
00:50:32,893 --> 00:50:36,628
And so I think those emotions,
that means
you're passionate

880
00:50:36,628 --> 00:50:40,786
about your show, and so without
them, you'd
be pretty lousy at

881
00:50:40,786 --> 00:50:42,724
it.
I think your emotional

882
00:50:42,724 --> 00:50:46,704
connection to
this audience is
probably a big reason behind

883
00:50:46,704 --> 00:50:50,335
your success in
the space.
So you're not going to be able

884
00:50:50,335 --> 00:50:54,460
to check that at the
door, but
it's like the famous words of Dr

885
00:50:54,460 --> 00:50:57,340
Seuss.
Those who
mind don't matter,

886
00:50:57,340 --> 00:51:03,658
and those who matter don't mind.
So focus,
focus, focus on the

887
00:51:03,658 --> 00:51:07,775
audience you're aiming for, and
then you
can also to kind of

888
00:51:07,775 --> 00:51:10,879
mitigate that.
I always tell my clients
to

889
00:51:10,879 --> 00:51:16,100
sort of gamify it instead of
looking at and I do this myself,

890
00:51:16,100 --> 00:51:19,980

instead of looking at that
comment or whatever, because you

891
00:51:19,980 --> 00:51:24,244

do want to reply, the
algorithms are telling us we got

892
00:51:24,244 --> 00:51:28,264
to be
responsive.
So if you can gamify it and

893
00:51:28,264 --> 00:51:32,546
remind yourself that if
you
engage, you're not talking to

894
00:51:32,546 --> 00:51:35,600
this troll, you're talking to

everyone who's going to come

895
00:51:35,600 --> 00:51:40,294
after and so use that as an

opportunity to with you.

896
00:51:40,294 --> 00:51:44,790
You have a very broad audience
in
the faith based space, and

897
00:51:44,790 --> 00:51:48,160
what you may be doing is

demonstrating how a person of

898
00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:50,830
faith responds to controversy

and conflict.

899
00:51:50,830 --> 00:51:55,408
So look at it as a challenge,
like a branding
challenge, and

900
00:51:55,408 --> 00:51:59,056
take that as an opportunity.
And at the end of
the day,

901
00:51:59,056 --> 00:52:01,785
take a walk.
You know, I always like, take a

902
00:52:01,785 --> 00:52:03,772
beat.
We
feel like we build so much,

903
00:52:03,772 --> 00:52:06,420
and everything's got to be in
real
time that they just

904
00:52:06,420 --> 00:52:09,694
posted, and I got to post back.
No, you
know, there's no law

905
00:52:09,694 --> 00:52:12,240
about that.
Just give yourself a minute, and

906
00:52:12,240 --> 00:52:14,520

everything always looks better
at the span of time.

907
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:18,125
Marc Ronick: By the way, PR,

shield.com, that's where you can

908
00:52:18,186 --> 00:52:21,844
learn more about Cyndee and what

she does, and that's also in

909
00:52:21,844 --> 00:52:24,497
the show notes as well, in case
you
forget.

910
00:52:24,497 --> 00:52:27,020
So go check that out.
Check out Cyndee.

911
00:52:27,020 --> 00:52:30,478
Show her some
support.
And one more question for you,

912
00:52:30,478 --> 00:52:32,428
Cyndee, before we wrap
up
here.

913
00:52:32,428 --> 00:52:36,118
And this actually comes from the
YouTube chat, and I'm
guessing

914
00:52:36,118 --> 00:52:39,940
this is somebody who may know
you, Rachel, just
because of

915
00:52:39,940 --> 00:52:43,331
an earlier question or an
earlier comment she made,
I'm

916
00:52:43,331 --> 00:52:46,769
guessing she knows you, because
I think she was saying
hello

917
00:52:46,769 --> 00:52:49,240
to you.
So with that, it's what's the

918
00:52:49,240 --> 00:52:52,960
best part of being a publicist?
Cyndee Harrison: Oh, I love


919
00:52:52,968 --> 00:52:54,760
that, and I do know Rachel.
Marc Ronick: Okay.

920
00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:57,940
Cyndee Harrison: Rachel is my

partner, and happens to be my

921
00:52:57,940 --> 00:53:01,800
daughter, but she is a very well

qualified publicist on her own

922
00:53:01,800 --> 00:53:05,336
right.
The very best part of
being a

923
00:53:05,336 --> 00:53:08,145
publicist is seeing people be
seen.

924
00:53:08,145 --> 00:53:14,100
It is so nice to
be able to be
brought into someone else's

925
00:53:14,100 --> 00:53:18,440
world and see
their passion
about something that I may have

926
00:53:18,440 --> 00:53:21,080
never even
considered.
I've talked to people who've

927
00:53:21,080 --> 00:53:24,530
dedicated their
lives to
endeavors that I had never

928
00:53:24,530 --> 00:53:30,414
previously heard of, and
to
watch that passion convert into

929
00:53:30,414 --> 00:53:36,442
visibility and growth, and
see
that this storytelling conveys

930
00:53:36,442 --> 00:53:40,298
into them being able to

achieve their dreams.

931
00:53:40,298 --> 00:53:43,765
I'll take it all day long.
Marc Ronick: Yeah, Cyndee

932
00:53:43,765 --> 00:53:45,924
Harrison: very
privileged.
Marc Ronick: And Cyndee, I know

933
00:53:45,924 --> 00:53:48,442
I mentioned your website, but
is there anywhere else, anything

934
00:53:48,442 --> 00:53:51,612

else going on that you'd like
our audience to know about?

935
00:53:51,612 --> 00:53:53,770
Yes, Cyndee Harrison: yes, yes.
So
I'm starting a school

936
00:53:53,770 --> 00:53:56,120
community.
I talked about it a little bit


937
00:53:56,128 --> 00:53:57,926
beforehand, and I'm nervous
about it.

938
00:53:57,926 --> 00:54:02,200
I have had a I've had
school
for a really long time, and I

939
00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:04,950
just don't pull the
trigger on
it, I don't tell anyone about

940
00:54:04,950 --> 00:54:05,850
it.
And guess what?


941
00:54:05,858 --> 00:54:08,450
If you don't tell anybody about
it, they don't just accidentally

942
00:54:08,450 --> 00:54:10,680

show up.
So I'm building it in real time.

943
00:54:10,680 --> 00:54:12,840
It's pretty empty.

Now, I would love for your

944
00:54:12,840 --> 00:54:17,400
audience to come and build it

with me, and we will create that

945
00:54:17,400 --> 00:54:22,100
community and allow that will be

a safe space where you can go

946
00:54:22,100 --> 00:54:24,860
and say, oh my gosh, look at

what this trouble just said to

947
00:54:24,860 --> 00:54:26,204
me.
How should I proceed from


948
00:54:26,212 --> 00:54:28,108
here?
And you'll be surrounded by a

949
00:54:28,108 --> 00:54:31,912
community that gets it.

We're like minded, Marc Ronick:

950
00:54:31,912 --> 00:54:34,030
awesome, very cool.

Well, we will check that out,

951
00:54:34,082 --> 00:54:37,184
and we can check that out at the

actual website, PR,

952
00:54:37,184 --> 00:54:39,438
shield.com, or Okay, great.
Cyndee, thank
you so much.

953
00:54:39,438 --> 00:54:42,512
I am so glad you and Ralph
connected and that you
were

954
00:54:42,512 --> 00:54:45,061
able to come here and join us
this morning.

955
00:54:45,061 --> 00:54:48,164
Great
conversation, and we'd
love to have you come back

956
00:54:48,164 --> 00:54:49,624
sometime.
Cyndee Harrison: Thank you.

957
00:54:49,624 --> 00:54:51,856
I
really enjoyed this.
Only one cup of coffee.

958
00:54:51,856 --> 00:54:55,540
I'm so Marc Ronick: yeah, well,
the
good news is that we could

959
00:54:55,540 --> 00:54:58,525
have asked you a couple weeks
ago,
and that would have meant

960
00:54:58,525 --> 00:55:00,894
that you'd have to join us in
our.


961
00:55:00,902 --> 00:55:04,284
Earlier because we made our time
later, just so we could get more

962
00:55:04,284 --> 00:55:06,468

guests like you.
So thank you for being one of

963
00:55:06,468 --> 00:55:08,216
the first to do
that.
Cyndee Harrison: Yeah, well,


964
00:55:08,224 --> 00:55:09,920
thank you.
On behalf of all the lazy bones

965
00:55:09,920 --> 00:55:13,420
like me, thank you.
Marc Ronick: You are welcome,


966
00:55:13,428 --> 00:55:16,348
and we are back tomorrow's 8am
Eastern Time.

967
00:55:16,348 --> 00:55:20,265
We are doing all
the news and
headlines around the world of

968
00:55:20,265 --> 00:55:22,186
podcasting.
We will
share our thoughts and

969
00:55:22,186 --> 00:55:23,852
opinions on those stories.
So come join
us.

970
00:55:23,852 --> 00:55:26,930
Be in the know as a podcaster.
I think it's
important for us

971
00:55:26,930 --> 00:55:30,180
to know what's going on in this
crazy world of
podcasting.

972
00:55:30,180 --> 00:55:33,320
So come join us then, and you
can find us at
podcasting

973
00:55:33,320 --> 00:55:36,752
morning show.com/join, US, and
you can
choose whether or not

974
00:55:36,752 --> 00:55:41,411
you want to watch Listen Live or
catch us
as a podcast on your

975
00:55:41,411 --> 00:55:45,292
favorite podcast platform.
So until
tomorrow, make it a

976
00:55:45,292 --> 00:55:46,495
great day.
Everybody.

977
00:55:46,495 --> 00:55:47,440
Take care.
Bye.