Christina Daves, PR Strategist, is the best-selling author of, PR for Anyone™ – 100+ Affordable Ways to Easily Create Buzz for Your Business, and her new, #1 best-selling book, The DIY Guide to FREE Publicity that shares her journey of getting exposure for a product she invented, www.HealInStyle.com.
Having no resources for advertising or hiring a PR firm, Christina taught herself everything she could about generating her own publicity. She has appeared in over 1,000 national and local media outlets including The Steve Harvey Show, Dr. Oz, The TODAY Show, local affiliates of NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX, magazines such as, Forbes, Success and Entrepreneur, Sirius XM Radio, The Washington Post, and many more. She is also a regular contributor on Good Morning Washington and hosts More 2 Media on Daily Ad Brief.
FWM: What has surprised you the most as a PR Guru over the past 2 years?
Accessibility to journalists has really surprised me. Once everyone was home, and that was EVERYONE, we had a captured audience. It was very easy to find journalists, connect, and get responses. It’s important however to be sending in timely, newsworthy story ideas and not wasting time with fluffy stories. Give the journalists what they want/need and they will welcome you into their tribe.
FWM: Many small businesses have struggled due to the pandemic. How is your book, The DIY Guide to FREE Publicity helping small business to succeed during these times?
Right now we all need to find ways to stand out. The world is a noisy, noisy place. The tips I give in the book help businesses to do that. I provide over 120 different ways to get visible so if one doesn’t resonate, move on to the next one. There will be something in the book you can do to increase your visibility and help your business thrive. You can find the book on Amazon.
FWM: What are some of the affordable ways to Easily Create Buzz for Your Business?
Hands down, the number one way to easily create buzz for your business is to “newsjack.” This is one of the easiest ways to get media exposure for your business by taking what is already in the news and bringing a new spin to the story. A media cycle starts with a breaking news story. After that, the media is looking to add to the narrative with stories related to the breaking news but not that exact story. Think about what your expertise is on the matter? What is your “spin”? What information can you provide to keep the story going and position you as the expert on the topic? Remember to get creative and think outside the box.
I’ll be on NBC in May for pitching a personal brand story around graduation and why graduates need to have a brand. Think beyond the basic story.
There are many sources providing studies, statistics, and information in any industry. Find the research. If it’s a national study, use that and bring it home and what that means for your industry locally. If it’s a local trend, will it affect the industry nationally?
Another thing to look at is what is happening in the news that is trending online. Look at trends.google.com and Twitter trends to see what people are talking about. Even if it isn’t happening right where you are, talk about what it would mean if it was happening in your area? Weather events are a perfect example. If there is a wildfire, tornado or hurricane somewhere else in the United States, what would the ramifications be if it happened in your backyard? Talk about insurance, legal issues, psychological impacts, financial issues, etc. Think outside of the box to bring a national story home.
FWM: Share your proudest win over your career.
I actually have two proudest career wins. Being on the Steve Harvey Show and winning his top inventor competition was absolutely amazing. It put my product on the map. It gave me a much needed cash infusion into my business, and it gave me the passion for PR. That is actually what launched PR for Anyone® which has brought me so much joy and fulfillment over the past 10 years.
Second proudest career win was interviewing Hoda Kotb of the Today Show on her rise to success. Sharing a stage with someone like Hoda and being able to share her story with a huge audience and inspire the young women of Virginia Tech (our alma mater) was just amazing.
FWM: What is the key ingredient to getting publicity?
It’s actually a proven 3-step process I created called the Get PR Famous Formula. is simple. You want to be newsworthy. You need a great hook so the journalist reads your email. And then you need to make sure you are reaching the RIGHT journalist. With all three steps in place, you are much more likely to have success. You want to just make it easy for the journalist. Give them everything they want and need. You are basically handing it to them on a silver platter. Access to journalists used to be like a golden Rolodex but today, you can really reach anyone. By using the 3-step formula, you increase your chances of getting the yes.
Be newsworthy – Use “newsjacking.”
Create a great hook – Look at magazine covers for ideas. Magazines are impulse purchases and people buy them based on the “hooks” on the cover.
Find the right journalist – Use Google! Google is a question search engine. Ask it who covers your topic at “X” media outlet.
The formula works. I use it every single day in my own business and together with my clients we have over 1 billion views and over $100 million in sales.
FWM: Can we expect to see you in speaking engagements in the next 6-months?
Yes! I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be speaking at the BMW Conference in Greenville, SC in September. I’ll be speaking at both our live events, Speak from Your Power Live in New Jersey (right outside of NYC) in June and Get PR Famous in August. I’ve also submitted for a TedX so fingers crossed on that!
