Hi sister! Welcome back to another episode of a Taylored Adventure to Happiness. If you are new, welcome! If you are a regular, you know I love you!
Today, I’m super excited because we have a juicy scoop episode full of so many nuggets and takeaways for my aspiring boss babes out there. This one’s for you — the badass who wants to share your message and your light and all that goodness with the world. You want to get yourself out there and influence people with your truth, and you know I believe in you!
But to do this, you have to take on the responsibility of making your message known, and you know what that means — Two words, one expansive impact: Public Relations. Whether you have been building a business or wanting to start building one, you’re gonna have to get into that PR mindset. That place where you know exactly how to get yourself into those collaborations and partnerships that align with you and your business. The place where you can tap into that network that you need for your message to rise and thrive!
PR can be a place of fear for a lot of people. Maybe you’re uncomfortable with knowing how to interact with your audience or with your industry. Or maybe you aren’t exactly sure of how you want your brand to look like online. What has been holding you back from stepping fully into your power?
Today I am super psyched to talk with PR and marketing consultant and inspiring boss babe Lauren Salaun. Get out a piece of paper and a pen, because this girl gives some juicy tips that will change the fucking game for you and unleash your full PR potential.
In this episode, Lauren shared a ton of amazing PR strategies on getting yourself out there. We dove into pitching yourself on podcasts, how to create a one-pager to pitch to potential collaborators or partners, and how to navigate the PR world of Instagram. But Lauren also shared some refreshing vulnerability about her journey to stepping into her power. If you’re anything like me — which I know you are — you’re gonna want to hear what this girl’s gotta say.
A Bit About Lauren Salaun
Lauren Saluan is a lifelong athlete who spent much of her career in public relations, crisis communications, and marketing. In 2015 she launched a health and fitness coaching business while simultaneously continuing her PR and social media consulting, guiding entrepreneurs in the health, wellness, lifestyle, and personal development to expand their online influence and monetize their social media.
In 2019, Lauren launched influence+impact, a PR and influencer marketing agency, where she helps entrepreneurs elevate their visibility online and establish authority in their industry so they can increase their income and make even more of an impact.
Overcoming The Obstacles To Unlocking Your PR Potential
She’s done a lot, right?! Sometimes it’s so easy to hear all of those accolades and think, “Wow, it must be really fucking easy for them.” But there are always those unseen hurdles that everyone has to jump over to truly thrive. I asked Lauren how she got to where she is today and what obstacles she had to overcome.
“I studied graphic design and communications in college and then went right into advertising and PR and, and the bulk of my career was in PR and marketing. And then about five years ago, at this point I got to a place where I was really burnt out… I wasn’t fulfilled in the work that I was doing. And I didn’t feel like I had control over how I spent my time. Like I was just working nonstop. And so I left for two key reasons to do work that I was really passionate about. [I wanted to incorporate] my non-negotiables as part of my everyday life and to really build my work around what I wanted my lifestyle to look like.” – Lauren Salaun
Lauren explained how she worked as an entrepreneur for five years, getting back into the world of health and fitness for herself. She continued to do some PR and social media consulting while building a health and fitness coaching business. But she was reluctant to make PR her main focus because she associated it with her past agency and lifestyle of stress.
“It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started getting really specialized in influencer marketing and PR for entrepreneurs. And then I asked myself about six months ago, ‘Why am I not wanting to do this? Like, as the main thing. I’m very good at it. I am getting dream clients asking me to help them … What is the disconnect for me here? What’s missing, what’s in the gap?” – Lauren Salaun
I know a lot of you guys can relate to that feeling of disconnect. Maybe you are stuck in a place where you like some aspects of what you’re striving towards but dislike others, and you have to figure out what feels good to you. Lauren decided to dive fully back into PR in a way that excited her and distanced her from past negative PR experiences.
“If you’re gonna go into something and there’s some resistance there, you’re not going to jump all the way into it. I needed to clear that [resistance] up. ” – Lauren Salaun
I love seeing people fully commit to their goals like that. Where your attention goes, energy flows, and that energy is magnified within your work and to those around you. But it’s easy to let some of our limiting beliefs prevent us from fully diving in like this! I asked Lauren about some of the limiting beliefs that she had to push through:
“So for me — I’m sure you can relate to this, and so can a lot of people listening as well–I tend to be very much an overachiever, recovering perfectionist, workaholic, all those things. And so …I didn’t know how to do PR without it being an all-or-nothing sort of thing in the sense of completely consuming my time. Some of those limiting beliefs were trusting myself to set boundaries and then follow through on them.” – Lauren Salaun
Isn’t that so true? It’s so easy for us not to set boundaries for ourselves. To truly find abundance in our work, we have to commit to taking care of our minds and bodies, setting aside time to heal our souls. Another limiting belief Lauren shared is doubting her worthiness:
“I’m really good at so many different things, so I’m going to do so many different things. But at the end of the day, a lot of the time it’s like, ‘Oh no, I don’t trust myself to go all-in on the one thing. So that’s why I’m doing 25 other things just in case the one thing doesn’t work.’ And then the main thing isn’t going to work the way you wanted, because you’re not putting all your energy into it.” – Lauren Salaun
Doubting your worthiness prevents you from doing that one thing that could create so much abundance in your life. Remember: you have a unique gift. Don’t downplay it. Don’t fall prey to the mentality of fear because you are afraid your idea, dream, or passion is not good enough. You are so fucking worthy.
Maximizing Your Online Presence and Standing In Your Authority
So once you overcome your limitations, what’s next? You have found an opportunity, that beautiful silver lining that was gifted to you by the universe. You’re ready to start shining online. Lauren gave some incredible tips about stepping into that leadership role online, whether you have 5 followers or 15,000.
“There are beautiful opportunities to really show up in the online space right now. And if you’re just getting started, I would say some of the key things are to know what your niche is…what is your industry? Where do you fit in the space and what are you passionate about? Who are you trying to connect with and who are you trying to help?”- Lauren Salaun
She emphasized that the first thing to tackle is defining your brand for yourself, focusing on consistency. Once you have figured out exactly what you want to do and what you want that to look like, you can display that on the platforms available for you. Here comes the good shit that I know you all have been waiting for — those juicy tips I promised.
We started by focusing on creating an intentional strategy with Instagram stories. Do you get uncomfortable sharing your voice on an Instagram story, or aren’t sure what content you should be sharing to maximize your business? Here are Lauren’s practical solutions:
“Just get in there and start doing it. If it’s really awkward, you can delete it! And if not, it’ll just be up for 24 hours, it’s fine. Continue to show up, because you get so much more comfortable as you go on. Something that is really handy is when you’re talking to the camera, talk to your phone. Instead of imagining everyone who could be following, think of that perfect person that you are looking to connect with and looking to help, and talk to that one human.”- Lauren Salaun
As far as content on Instagram stories goes, Lauren had some incredible nuggets of advice. Instead of just showing your community the touched up version of you, show them the unfiltered, unapologetic version of you:
“People like to have … a behind-the-scenes look at your life. They are going to buy from someone they know, like, and trust. So when we are able to show our real and unfiltered sides…people are going to feel more connected to you that way.” – Lauren Salaun.
She also emphasized the importance of having a balance of the content you put on your Instagram story. A great PR strategy is sharing what your clients have said about you:
“Also show work that you’re doing. If you get a client that texts you something awesome about how you help them, ask for permission before sharing, but you can share those sorts of things in your story to show those little snippets of what you’re up to and bring people along that journey with you.” –Lauren Salaun
I am so fucking on board with all of this. What sticks out to me most is just being your genuine self and giving your clients the truth. You can learn from other influencers, but don’t compare yourself to them, and realize that you are YOU and people are going to fucking love that. So get out there and apply that Insta-advice to expand your influence and shine! You got this.
The Magic of Podcasting Pitching
What about pitching yourself on other mediums, like podcasts? Lauren has some magical superpowers when it comes to podcast presence, and blessed us with some examples of her powers, explaining ways to begin pitching yourself to podcasters.
One of the top things she mentioned is a pitch page, or one-sheeter, which is a document that is like a speaker profile. It includes a picture of yourself, contact information, and places that you have been featured in that build credibility and talking points. It is critical to make these points super juicy. Word them in distinct ways that draw a podcaster’s attention and let them know exactly what your conversation with them is going to look like!
“[Podcasters] can see it playing out. So you’re helping them know that they’re going to have a really awesome show for their audience…thinking about what are those interview topics that I like would crush and I’m really passionate about speaking into and how do I then tweak those to be like really juicy clickable titles? ” – Lauren Salaun
Lauren also touched on the limiting belief of worthiness when pitching yourself to podcasters. The belief in yourself, your business, and your creative purpose is essential to getting yourself out there. So say it again like a mantra: “I am so fucking worthy.” To broaden the horizons of your influence, you have to believe in your own ability to be a boss — believe that it’s your time to be all that you know you can be! Reach out to people with that mindset, the confidence that you are your own hero.
“If it’s scary to pitch yourself to somebody ‘big’, think — what’s the worst that can happen? They’ll say no…who cares? They might say no, and no just means not right now. Right?” – Lauren Salaun
Damn, that’s some juicy stuff! Lauren had plenty more nuggets of inspiration to share about podcast pitching, Instagram presence, and her personal journey in the world of PR. Go listen to the podcast for all of the good stuff, and trust me — its so fucking worth it.
Oh, by the way, it gets better! She has just launched a PR accelerator, a “mastermind type of container for up-and coming-entrepreneurs” who know they need to be doing PR but aren’t completely sure how to start and need guidance.
“We get you set up to create a custom campaign, helping you execute it in a way that’s super-efficient and effective. And we will teach you how to train your team or VA on how to offload some of that work for you so that it makes everything super manageable.” – Lauren Salaun
Ok, sign me up already! Lauren is super accessible, with an open invite to DM her on her Instagram account @laruensalaun or feel free to hit up her website!
Remember, I love you. I see you. Cheers to maximizing your influence and seeing the results in your life. And remember — Always choose happiness because, well, why the fuck not?
Key Takeaways:
+ Seeing what´s fun
+ Trusting myself to set boundaries
+ Am I worthy of this?
+ Saying no
+ Remember, you have a unique gift
+ Thinking about what´s really important to us
+ Know what´s your industry and where do you fit in
+ People will stay connected to people they know they can trust
+ IG Stories is a great place for market research
+ Juicy headlines that make the podcast host want to know more
+ Start commenting on podcasts that you love
+ We are pitching all the time
+ Wherever you are, is amazing and perfect
Standout Quotes:
“If you´re going into something new, there will be some resistance”
“Look at what´s happening as an opportunity to grow in your business”
“If you really believe in what you´re doing, you know that more people need to hear about it”