54. Gain Massive Exposure for Your Brand through Authentic PR with Josh Elledge

Nov 2, 2016

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This week we have the pleasure of hearing from Josh Elledge, a self-described “practicer of PR.” It’s clear Josh knows what he’s talking about, too; he has been on TV and radio over 1,500 times, has appeared on 75 different TV shows, and reaches over a million readers each week with his syndicated column. His Savings Angel podcast is the #1-ranked consumer shopping and savings podcast worldwide.

Josh is the founder and CEO of SavingsAngel.com, a membership-based website that helps consumers dramatically lower their grocery bills. It currently employs over 50 people and brings in over $5,000,000 in sales annually. Surprisingly, he has managed all of that with under $500 spent in advertising.

Instead of focusing on advertising, Josh has created his success through PR. After his success with SavingsAngel, he created upendPR, which is designed to inspire entrepreneurs and provide a roadmap to successfully increasing sales through PR. In this episode, Josh gives generous and open insight into his methods and strategies.

Find out more about Josh here:

@JoshElledge on Twitter www.savingsangel.com www.upendPR

In this episode:

[02:44] - What is and what isn’t PR? Josh gives us his definition, while offering some insight into his perspective.
[04:21] - Josh describes his experiences in hiring recent graduates who studied public relations and in doing so emphasizes the importance of understanding what an audience wants rather than just studying PR in an academic setting.
[06:18] - Josh describes his frustration and disillusionment with hiring PR firms and the disconnect he sees between what the PR industry is offering and what small-business owners truly need. We also learn about the roots of his company upendPR.
[09:01] - Josh tells us about SavingsAngel and what it does, and the importance of exposure in success.
[10:50] - Josh describes his outreach attempts to local media companies in the early days of SavingsAngel and his successful strategies for getting exposure without paying for ads. He explains how this ballooned into his current success.
[13:32] - Being positioned as a “subject-matter expert on the way to thought leadership” is vital to entrepreneurs. Josh explains why it’s important and how to fill that role.
[14:30] - Josh gives an example of how to offer value instead of directly selling your product and emphasizes the importance of becoming a brand journalist.
[16:40] - If you had two minutes to do PR work, what would you do? Josh reveals that the most common answers aren’t the best. He explains that newsjacking is the next step after having some authority in your space, and how best to go about it.
[19:30] - Especially the first few times you’re working with an influencer or producer, play it very cool, and go very soft on self-promotion. Josh explains why this matters so much.
[21:57] - If you’re starting out and have been working on building your authority, how do you make contacts who are influencers if you don’t have them already? Josh gives a step-by-step path to knowing any influencer.
[23:45] - As part of this path, Josh explains the importance of Twitter. He also gives specific tips on how to use Twitter and goes over the basics of how to get your first few hundred followers. He then expands on how to get on the radar of influencers.
[28:20] - Josh talks about identifying journalists, creating a Twitter list, and monitoring that list separately from your general feed.
[29:47] - Our host, Stephan, talks about Followerwonk, a Twitter tool created by Rand Fishkin, the founder of Moz. He asks if Josh has used it, and Josh answers (and also lists other valuable PR tools).
[31:33] - Stephan talks about the database Cision, which is a powerful (but expensive) tool for obtaining information about influencers. He also talks about HARO and gives advice on how to be the source chosen for inquiries through this tool.
[37:22] - One of Josh’s clients got 28 media placements in one month, mostly from HARO. Josh gives us more information about this.
[37:52] - We hear about Josh’s close brush with the reality TV world.
[39:30] - Josh gives us a step-by-step path toward becoming a columnist with prominent publications.
[45:42] - Josh explains that outlets usually want a commitment of consistency if you’re going to be a guest writer. This is worth taking into consideration when deciding whether to write for others or just to publish articles on your own site.
[46:55] - Don’t make the mistake of publishing an article you wrote for another publication on your own site. Josh discusses how to handle this.
[49:15] - Are there secrets to getting rebooked by media outlets, beyond those we’ve already heard about? One tip that Josh lists is building a press kit, and he gives some insight into what to include.
[53:30] - Josh tells listeners what specific services his company provides.
[55:39] - Josh wants to give you a free gift! To get his $100 Twitter publicity mastery course for free, go to www.upendpr.com/fire. (If you need a publicity code, use “fire”.)

Links and resources:

@JoshElledge on Twitter SavingsAngel upendPR Twitter Marketing & Public Mastery Course (for free!)Rand Fishkin Moz Cision HARO Followerwonk Newsjacking