420: Power Talk Friday: Amanda Berlin- Visibility Strategies for Your Interior Design Business

Welcome to Power Talk Friday! We are really delighted to introduce you to Amanda Berlin today. Amanda is a communications consultant specifically for entrepreneurs. She teaches visibility strategy, to help people to be seen and appreciated for their uniqueness. She tells us that what she does daily, in her PR niche, is much the same as every one of us, as entrepreneurs, has to do when marketing our businesses. It's about creating a story around a business or a product that really connects it with an audience. On the show today, she and LuAnn talk about the kinds of pitches that designers need to write, the types of media that are the right fit for designers, and how to create relationships with writers and reporters to get yourself and your projects featured more easily and more often. Tune in today, to find out how to be seen and appreciated! Amanda studied journalism at George Washington University. She interned at CNN, wrote for a local paper, and spent a decade writing media pitches for companies like Disney, Dove, Brawny, Baskin Robbins, Colgate, and Campbell’s. The pitches Amanda wrote resulted in appearances on almost every level of local television outlet in the country and on every national cable and network morning show at one time or another. Amanda has been featured on Carol Cox's Speaking Your Brand and she also has a podcast, The Empowered Publicity Podcast. Listen in today, to hear what Amanda has to share! Show highlights: Amanda has a really awesome 'about me' page. Starting with goals. Thinking about goals when considering media and visibility. Amanda explains what a PR opportunity looks like. Working out what's most important. Unearthing the evergreen and newsworthy opportunities. The two kinds of pitches that every designer needs to write. Why you need to be really specific about what you have to teach. Different pitches for different kinds of media. Looking at mainstream consumer media. Twitter is an excellent source of information about the media. The Profile Pitch. To get you deeper in with your niche audience. Telling your own story. Why you need to be willing to own your story. Going back to who you were before you became who you are. Pitching for podcasts. Making it as easy as possible for media to say 'yes'. The services that Amanda offers. Go to her website Amanda Berlin Bio: I’m a New Yorker by way of New Jersey with stints in Washington, DC and Madrid, Spain. I’m told my Jersey often shows through, whatever that means. I’m a mama of an only. I’m obsessed with my family as well as finding the exact right word to complete my thought in every conversation (it can get annoying). And peanut butter. I’m also obsessed with peanut butter. I was born to make sure we are all heard and seen and appreciated for our unique genius. I about died when I got a poem published in my high school literary magazine. I studied journalism at The George Washington University, interned at CNN, wrote for a local paper, and then came back to New York City. For a decade, I wrote media pitches for companies like Disney, Dove, Brawny, Baskin Robbins, Colgate, and Campbell’s. Clients would come to me with a spokesperson and some message points and I’d package it up and create a story that would get pitched to news outlets across the country. The pitches I wrote resulted in appearances on nearly every local television outlet in the country and every national cable and network morning show at one time or another. My day-to-day in this niche of PR is exactly what every last entrepreneur is tasked with doing when marketing their business. Take a spokesperson (themselves) and a message (their business or product) and create a story that connects with an audience. Amanda Berlin was referred to LuAnn by Amber De La Garza #385. Shows that correlate with this one: Amy Flurry #108 and #323 Ren Millar #12 Ashley Hotham-Cox #321 Jane Dagney #351 Andrew Joseph #39 Jenny Madden #332 Links: Amanda's website: Amanda Berlin Amanda's podcast: Amanda Berlin Find Amanda on Facebook: Amanda Berlin Coaching Follow Amanda on Twitter: Amanda Berlin Valerie Fund Designer Showhouse April 23- May 19, 2019 Previous guests participating in the showhouse: Gail Davis Tina Ramchandani Blanche Garcia Marina Umali WindowWorks is supporting several designers in the Valerie Fund Showhouse by providing window treatments for their rooms. Kips Bay Showhouse May 2- May 30, 2019 Previous guest participating in Kips Bay: Corey Damen Jenkins Links to LuAnn's books: Book 1: Luann Nigara Book 2: Luann Nigara