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    (Becoming Known) How To Build A Press Worthy Personal Brand – with Brielle Cotterman (Episode 272)

    How to Gain Press by Building Your Personal Brand

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    This episode is for those in Phase  2 – 4  of the Lifestyle Entrepreneur Roadmap™

    Who is this episode for:

    This episode is incredible for entrepreneurs who are ready to scale by gaining media attention.

    Summary:

    If you’re looking to grow your personal brand and increase sales then using press is a smart avenue.  There are many ways to approach and land proper publicity. In this episode we talked to Brielle Cotterman  about how to build a foundation of celebrity and a press worthy personal brand through crafting stories. 

     

    Brielle breaks down her profitable storytelling framework and you will walk away from this episode knowing the three stories every entrepreneur must have in their bank to grow your business through press, and gain attention of highly sought after media.In this show we also break down the foundation of celebrity and the aspects of your business that you  want to have designed and structured before you move into the strategies here. 

     

    This is an excellent  episode for entrepreneurs who are ready to scale by gaining media attention. In order to leverage the  

    training taught in this episode you must have your online offers engineered that are ready to scale and a complete client journey laid out and ready to go. If you don’t have those things in place yet visit www.sweetlifeco.com

     

    At the end of this episode you will: 

     
     
    1. Know the Foundations of Celebrity
    2. Know the three stories that every entrepreneur must have
    3. Learn Brielle’s profitable storytelling format
     
     
    Resources mentioned: 
    Apply to work with us https://www.sweetlifeco.com/apply
     

    April Beach on LinkedIn


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    Full Show Transcript:

    272

     

    [00:00:44] April: Hi you guys. Welcome back to the show. I’m so glad you’re here for the NextGen of the Sweet Life Entrepreneur in Business Podcast and all the shows that I have lined up for you for the next five years. All of everything we’re gonna be talking about today can be found at [00:01:00] sweetlifeco.com. And all of our faithful listeners, you guys know that this is where you come to for business coaching and strategy that other coaches will charge you thousands for. 

    [00:01:09] April: Today’s episode is very powerful. My friend Brielle Cotterman is here and we’re gonna talk about how to create a press worthy personal brand. Who is this for? This is for those of you guys who are scaling your business. So we’ve already done a good job creating your offers. We have the client journey engineered. We know what’s gonna happen to all of the people we’re bringing into your business, after you earn media and press attention, after you speak on stages, that part is ready to go.

    [00:01:35] April: And now we’re talking about how to actually get you onto those stages, how to actually earn that media attention and what you’re gonna say in those, opportunities. You know, today, Brielle’s gonna break down her entire framework for the stories that you tell from stages. And this is a different approach to getting media in earning press like we’ve talked about here on this show.

    [00:01:56] April: And my other friends teach that we’ve actually had guests on this [00:02:00] show. Totally different approach. And what we’re talking about today, in my opinion, is really a prerequisite to the work you would do when you start the actual pitching process. Very, very, very important foundational work, so I’m very glad that you guys are here.

    [00:02:14] April: If we don’t know each other yet, I’m April Beach. I am the host here on the show and founder of the Sweet Life Company. And I’m a business architect and offer engineer, so I help experts, coaches, consultants, authors, and speakers scale their business online by creating million dollar programs, courses, trainings, license programs, and certification programs that lead them to high profit. Deep impact in the work they’re doing with the lifestyle freedom that they want. And I am so very glad that you’re here. You can always apply to work with us by cruising over to sweetlifeco.com. 

    [00:02:48] April: So let me tell you about our amazing, amazing guest today, Brielle Cotterman. She’s actually been in our community and in top our clients and worked with our clients. She’s actually gonna share one of our shared [00:03:00] clients that we have here. We’re gonna share some of the numbers here on this show about the impressions and the exposure that this client received because they have the things in place that we’re talking about here on this show. So we’re gonna give you some case studies from an actual client that. Is currently in the process of working with both of us. 

    [00:03:17] April: Brielle, for the record, is a TEDx speaker, a publicity experts and celebrity maker. She’s been the better part of the last decade helping clients craft and scale dream careers to seven figures and beyond by leveraging their personal stories and passions in order to create speaking, speaking tours. Author, award-winning books, procure media placements, and inspire millions of people, millions of people that need to hear their story. She’s a survivor of attempted murder and domestic violence and advocate for a world where intimate partner abuse is not tolerated, and survivors are met with empathy, 

    [00:03:51] April: On the business side again, her are regularly featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Martha Stewart Living. She just [00:04:00] got one of our clients in, Cosmo, in GQ. It’s not in her bio, but that just happened. Um, and I’m sure she’s done that before too. NBC, CBS, In Style Magazine and so many other, media and press publications and it’s because of her fantastic approach that you’re gonna hear here today. Hear, here, today on the show, she’s been married for just over a year to the love of her life, and they live on a horse boarding farm, uh, which is amazing. Absolutely gorgeous with three children and many, many animals. So they’re very, very excited about their life. They, they’re truly living the. I can’t wait for you to get to know Brielle today on the show if you don’t, and to hear and implement what she says. So again, all the show notes can be found by going to sweetlifeco.com. Click on the podcast and this is episode number 272. So let’s dive into the show.

    [00:04:52] April: Hello Friends, it is 2023 when we are recording this show and this is a Next Gen of the Sweet Left Entrepreneur [00:05:00] Podcast and there was no better person who I have been wanting and needing to record a podcast episode honestly for a very long time with then my friend Braille Cotterman, who is here today. And I just wanna kick off the year right, kick off the year strong, and dive in with Brielle and welcome you to the Sweet Life family.

    [00:05:19] April: We’re really kind of a family of listeners here, of entrepreneurs that grow together by listening to amazing experts in applying what you teach us on the show. So welcome here to the show. Give everybody a short introduction of yourself and, and why you are in this place to lead other women. 

    [00:05:36] Brielle: Thank you, April. I appreciate it. As you know, I am honored and always super excited to be a part of anything that you’re doing. So it’s lovely to be here with you today. So I am a publicity expert and a celebrity maker. I’m a TEDx speaker. I’ve been in the PR world for more than a decade, and prior to that I was in C-suite level sales and marketing.

    [00:05:59] Brielle: [00:06:00] Uh, I’ve been a professional speaker on behalf of charitable organizations, and before that I competed in the Miss America Organization. So combine all of these talents, experiences, this unique skillset that I have, compiled along the way, and that’s what puts me in the position to help women and men like yourself, you know, incredible entrepreneurs with a cause step onto the world stage and share their story, not only to impact the world, but also their bottom line.

    [00:06:35] April: Wow. I love that. And I, I can’t wait to dive into what we’re gonna unpack here today. So today we’re talking about building a press worthy personal brand. And before we actually dive into how to go about doing this, and, and the reasoning behind it, which I can’t wait for people to hear, what you’re gonna talk about today is, can we talk about some of the mindset issues where maybe some leaders.

    [00:06:59] April: Aren’t [00:07:00] necessarily leaning into this, do they? Do people not believe that they, that their story is valuable? Or what are some of those blocks for any of our listeners that are thinking, wow, I’d love to do that, but I can’t because of what are maybe some of those lies or blocks that people may be telling themselves, so we can just get those out of the way before we even dive into nailing this objective.

    [00:07:19] Brielle: Yeah, so absolutely what I see all the time in April. So many people who are kind of like nose to the grindstone, building their business, creating their brand, and then they look up one day and they realize, if I wanna get where I really want to be, I have to have a personal brand that supports what I’m doing because people now care about me because I am the CEO O or I’m the founder, or you know, I’m in this place.

    [00:07:43] Brielle: And so with that, like you said, comes a whole host of mindset things, and that can be as much as. Not wanting your whole life to be public, not wanting, um, you know, to air your dirty laundry, so to speak. But there are [00:08:00] ways of sharing and telling stories that don’t include all of the details that are very inspirational and.

    [00:08:07] Brielle: You know, it also, a part of that is stepping onto the world stage means something different for everyone. That doesn’t necessarily mean that people are going to recognize you when you walk down the street, but what it does mean is you are taking advantage of the opportunities that we have right now in the world.

    [00:08:26] Brielle: Whether that’s media, whether it’s podcasting. Speaking, you know, whatever that piece might look like for you. And we are using that as this really phenomenal marketing tool to be able to leverage who you are and what you stand for. And in doing so, support the ultimate success of your business. So there are mindset issues around that, and I think that that’s the, the one that I hear the most.

    [00:08:49] Brielle: You know, when it comes to story, it’s either, oh, I have so many stories, I don’t know where to begin. Or, the other camp is, I don’t know that my story is, would even matter to. 

    [00:08:59] April: [00:09:00] Right, right, right. I can resonate with both of those sides. 

    [00:09:03] Brielle: Yeah. 

    [00:09:03] April: Just so you know, I, I have thought both of those things and, um, so I’m very excited and, and grateful for your leadership for, for me as well. Okay. So today diving into building a press worthy personal brand, what actually is a press worthy personal brand? Let’s start there. 

    [00:09:20] Brielle: Yeah. So when you think about organizations, it’s very important to remember that information that is shared by an individual converts seven times faster than information that’s shared from a corporation or an organization. And what that means is if you are the ceo, you are the face of your organization, you are a leader, and you are sharing content, information that it’s, it doesn’t have to be exactly the same as what your organization shares, but it’s in support of it. So basically, you think. That press worthy personal brand is the brand that is an authentic representation of who you are and what you stand for, what makes you [00:10:00] unique, and it allows you to intersect with the values, mission, and vision of your organization.

    [00:10:06] Brielle: So really a personal brand. Everybody has one. I always say that some people, you know, they’re like, oh, well I haven’t taken the time to create it. Well, you have one. It’s just whether or not you are curating that personal brand, and we always say that a personal brand is how you leave people feeling how they feel after they’ve had an interaction with you.

    [00:10:27] Brielle: Maybe they see you speak on the stage, or maybe they listen to your podcast or check out your website or your social media, or maybe they read an article that you’ve written, and chances are there is not a cohesive lens there. That’s what I run into most of the time with people who are really successful leaders, advocates, entrepreneurs.

    [00:10:45] Brielle: And even in the C-Suite. And of course, we want that sort of information that’s coming from you, who you are, what you stand for, what makes you unique to be a true representation of your heart. [00:11:00] 

    [00:11:00] April: Hmm. Wow. Okay. So I think all of our listeners right now are saying, yes, I, I, that’s what I want. And that’s different than maybe what that I, I thought that it was mm-hmm. and I, I feel like even the way that you explained it takes a lot of pressure off of some people that feel like it’s really all about them. It’s actually not all about them. It’s really just about, like you said, how they make people feel and how that resonates in their, with their work in the mission that they’re doing and and forwarding the work of their company and obviously building relationships as well.

    [00:11:33] April: And so you said, so what you see. Is it, it’s not cohesive across all of those outlets. Is that usually the case in when people come to you and they’re saying they might have this per, they might give this sort of impression off in, in this place and this and this place is, do you find that people are inconsistent with their brand across platforms?

    [00:11:55] Brielle: Absolutely. And well, not just their, uh, I’m with their [00:12:00] personal brand. The thing that I find the most is that people don’t understand how they are interpreted, perceived, or recieved so. 

    [00:12:09] April: Got it. 

    [00:12:09] Brielle: We hear all the time. Share stories. Share stories, you know, I mean, it’s constant. Um, one, I see a lot of people not sharing the right stories, and two, I see them not sharing stories in a way that our minds easily comprehend, recall, and can share. So anytime we share a statement or a fact, when we wrap that in a story, it’s more than 70 times as likely to be remembered. 

    [00:12:40] April: That’s amazing. I love that stat. Okay, . It just blows my mind every single time, but it’s also not surprising. So let’s talk about, what do you mean when you say foundation of celebrity? We haven’t brought it up here yet in this podcast and, and I’d love to dive into that first. You speak all the time and you help entrepreneurs and leaders all the time [00:13:00] establish their foundation of celebrity. What actually is that? 

    [00:13:04] Brielle: So basically that is a thorough examination. My personal brand, how does my personal brand support, uh, what it is that I’m doing professionally or with my advocacy or that my organization is doing?

    [00:13:18] Brielle: And then, , the, not only the stories that go along with that, but making sure you have a sound business. You know, honestly, you help clients and people to develop a large portion of that foundation of celebrity. Because here’s the deal. When we talk about a press worthy brand, what is a press worthy brand?

    [00:13:36] Brielle: It’s going to capture attention. Okay? It’s going to get GQ and Cosmo and Forbes and Business Insider to say yes. But if we get all of those incredible, publications to say yes, what’s going to happen if we have nowhere to push them? We have nowhere for those people to go or when they get there. It’s confusing.

    [00:13:56] Brielle: We want people to be able to take one step closer to you in a [00:14:00] way that is easeful and makes total sense. For your ideal client and really for who your ideal client hopes to be. And that’s something you know that you and I share from our perception of who are we speaking to when it comes to marketing, and that’s definitely what we look at.

    [00:14:16] Brielle: So foundation of celebrity, you’ve gotta have a sound business, you’ve gotta have that client journey. When the different points of entry, when they come into your space, how are they going to take one step closer to you? It’s phenomenal to get GQ and Cosmo. But if we get GQ and Cosmo and people come to your site and then they’re struggling, like, what, what do I do next? You know, people, we, we lose them and that’s not at all what we wanna do. So, um, having that foundation of celebrity looks a, it’s a lot more complex than just being able to give a really incredible interview and knowing how to show up on television, what to say and how to say it. But it’s the behind the scenes that really matters when it comes to making an impact on your bottom [00:15:00] line.

    [00:15:01] April: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I, I believe that there are so many people that do actually put themselves out there that don’t have those business structures in place. And that’s exactly what you’re saying that you see as well. 

    [00:15:12] Brielle: Absolutely. 

    [00:15:12] April: All everybody, so foundation of celebrity, you guys, when you get out there and, and we want you out there. We want you telling your story, which we’re gonna dive into next. We want you to have this. Amazing personal brand, but let’s also make sure that the rest of your business is in place and ready for the attention, and really like a sponge to be able to absorb that work that you do when you put yourself out there, when you earn press and, and you speak on stages.

    [00:15:38] April: So now that we have the foundation lead, foundation of celebrity, the reason why you need a personal brand, all of these things. Something you said earlier really hit home for me, and it’s something that I’ve struggled with for years, is how to actually take my experiences and turn them into stories where, people [00:16:00] understand it’s not about me or even my story so much, but how do we make it so that other people can see themselves in our stories and then take that next step with us?

    [00:16:11] April: And it is something I am the first one to admit. I’ve struggled with this. For years and years and years. And so I would love for you to help all of us just really understand how to move into this direction. You have an amazing framework. I know, but let’s talk about stories a little bit. What do we say We got up there on stage. What? And then what do we say? 

    [00:16:31] Brielle: So, you know, we all know stories are memorable. That’s the way we’ve been teaching since the beginning of time. Our. Human brains are really literally hardwired to learn through story. And story does two things. It creates connection and it inspires action. And those are only stories that are told. Well, April. And so that’s the thing. It’s. You know, most of us, by the time we are in a place where people begin to, and when I say people, I mean [00:17:00] like press and like, you know, those massive numbers like we, we were talking about before, 85 and a hundred million people that are consuming content of our clients.

    [00:17:10] Brielle: They begin to care about our stories when we’ve lived a lot of life typically. And so sorting out what are the stories to tell. Doing that from the perspective of I wanna tell a story that’s gonna create connection and inspire action, and I wanna inspire the right action. Um, you know, you mentioned earlier it’s not just about pitching.

    [00:17:31] Brielle: So it’s not just about pitching the media, it’s not just about getting the win, it’s about being prepared and knowing. When I do get this media win, am I going to do myself more good than harm by telling the right stories and having that foundation of celebrities. So that’s a big piece. You know, taking your own experiences and looking for moments in time that are transformational.

    [00:17:54] Brielle: So that’s my. That’s always my best advice when you begin to break down, and we have three [00:18:00] stories that we recommend everyone tell, but you know when you begin to assess and you look at that, we want to show people who you are through your story rather than tell them so. That’s the, that’s one of the biggest mistakes I see people make all of the time.

    [00:18:16] Brielle: They wanna list their whole resume. You know, they wanna go through this whole laundry list of, well, I’ve done this and I’ve accomplished that, and blah, blah, blah. And really, at the end of the day, your consumers and your media decision makers, they don’t care. They wanna, they want a real person. Yeah. They wanna create connection.

    [00:18:33] Brielle: Mm-hmm. , um, you know, we talk about no, like, and trust and more than it’s, these are new numbers too. Um, more than 86% of all consumers say a brand’s authenticity is one of their, the reasons for their major, major decision making when it comes to buying or not buying. .

    [00:18:54] April: Wow. Wow. So when we talk about these stories and [00:19:00] we get up on stage, whether it’s an online stage or an offline stage, or somebody is writing an article about us and um, In a magazine, um, or, or even when somebody’s talking about us or a, a business partner is talking about us and saying, Hey, you should really go to Brielle or whoever.

    [00:19:17] April: Um, how do we craft these stories so that people remember how do we actually build these stories? You have this amazing framework. I know that you’ve taught our clients in, in one of our private settings before, and it’s just so powerful, and I can’t wait for our listeners to hear this. You call it the profitable storytelling framework. Is that correct? 

    [00:19:37] Brielle: Yeah, yeah. So our profitable storytelling format, but, and there’s three stories that we ask every brand to be telling, because most of us have a million stories, and I love to ask people to create a story bank. Once you master the profitable storytelling format, you’re gonna have three foundational stories to your personal brand.

    [00:19:54] Brielle: But beyond that, develop a story bank because you are going to have opportunities with social, [00:20:00] you’re gonna have opportunity for your email list, for articles. You know, you’re gonna be able to pull some of those additional stories. And once you really master the format, then you should be able to keep this log, develop this bank.

    [00:20:12] Brielle: Just make a a Google Doc and just drop them in there. And, and not only will you. You know, does it make this incredible piece of kind of like your media playbook, but it also is inspiring. so when you think about story, we talk about a breakthrough story. So, We call it that because it helps you to break through the noise, but it’s typically based around a major breakthrough of transformation.

    [00:20:36] Brielle: And then we also ask for you to tell a business zone of genius story. Why are you the very best at what it is that you’re doing? And then we ask you to tell your passion story and just one caveat there. , 99% of all entrepreneurs, when we ask what their passion is, they say what it is that they do, um, with their work, and we ask you to choose something different.

    [00:20:59] Brielle: [00:21:00] So I’m a wild friend, champion equestrian. I live on a farm. I know you are passionate, you love the ocean and the beach and all of those things. And so telling a story that allows people to create there because where those three stories intersect. , that’s really where your soulmate level clients live, and that’s, you know, we all wanna be working with the people who inspire us and light us up. So that profitable storytelling format helps us to do that, and it makes it super simple. 

    [00:21:27] April: Okay, so three stories were the breakthrough story, the zone of genius story, and the passion story. 

    [00:21:33] Brielle: Yes. 

    [00:21:34] April: That is so powerful. And are these big huge stories or are these just little moments in time? That or, or doesn’t matter Is really, is, is what we’re looking at here.

    [00:21:44] Brielle: So the way we ask our clients to do that is we ask you to take the three stories and distill them down to three bullet. So, you know, if you are in a format where you have a 45 minute podcast interview, or you’re giving a keynote, [00:22:00] potentially you can bring in a lot more details, a lot more of the rise intention in the story, so to speak.

    [00:22:07] Brielle: Um, But really you should be able to distill it down to its simplest format because I can’t tell you April how many times I have had people booked for a five minute television segment and then breaking news happens, and then their segment gets cut down to a minute and 45. So the simplistic storytelling format that I’m getting ready to share really seems so simple, but it is how our brains are hardwired to interpret and remember and share stories.

    [00:22:41] Brielle: So it is using what we know from a psychological perspective and leveraging that it’s using the information that we have learned. You know, centuries of teaching, communicating, marketing, all of the things that humans are doing with [00:23:00] stories. So use what we know and leverage that instead of working against it.

    [00:23:05] April: Wow. All right. So hopefully your wheels are spinning you guys, and if you’re taking notes listening to this, uh, you’re, you’re a smart cookie , you can always come back and replay it again. Um, so let’s dive into that storytelling format. , what does this actually look like and how do you guide entrepreneurs through this process?

    [00:23:22] Brielle: So anytime we’re talking about, um, our profitable storytelling format, we look at three pieces to every story. Like I mentioned earlier with the breakthrough story. We wanna begin with what is that transformational moment? So what is the climax of the story? Take us to that moment in time. I did a workshop recently live, um, with an incredible group of women in Nashville and called one of them up onto the stage and we were able to workshop some of her stories and, you know, cuz she was one of those girls that was like, I don’t, I don’t have a story. I don’t know, you know, I’m great at what I do, but I, my story’s not gonna affect [00:24:00] anyone. Um, there’s two things to remember. 

    [00:24:03] Brielle: One, your story does not have to be filled with drama and trauma to make a difference. And to make an impact and to inspire. It does not have to be that sell everything and move to Bali moment. You know? Um, just your story and the authentic interpretation and conveyance of that story really can inspire action and allow people to take ownership of their own story as well. 

    [00:24:29] Brielle: And then two, you know, this is a woman who I was workshopping with who has accomplished incredible things in her lifetime, created amazing foundations and organizations and sh we can, through telling a story, we don’t have to say. she’s tenacious, she is creative, she’s accomplished all of these things. We can show people that through a very well told story, and that’s what the profitable storytelling format does. 

    [00:24:59] Brielle: So you [00:25:00] begin dissecting your stories, thinking of what are transformational moments in time? What is a moment in time that I can take people to, that’s the climax. So that’s the second piece of the story. And then just very simpl. Who was I before and who was I after? So who was I before? That’s the exposition. The start of the story. This is going back to like 10th grade literature, you know, English composition. How should a story arc be created? Who were you before the tension rises?

    [00:25:29] Brielle: Then there’s the climax or the major transformation in the story, and as the tension. you, it is, you are sharing your rise. And then the climax, you know, the, the tension falls after the climax because here you are now. And so every story, each one of those three foundational stories for your brand should be told using your profitable storytelling format. So who are you before major transformation or climax? Take us to that moment in time, and then who are you [00:26:00] after? 

    [00:26:01] April: Mm. And with that format, is there usually, um, you know, some time and break. It obviously depends on the different venue. If, if somebody’s being interviewed on the Today Show, there isn’t gonna be that back and forth conversation, but is in some settings, do we craft that story as well for people who are the listeners who are the audience to have a moment to relate or resonate or absorb in the actual delivery of these stories.

    [00:26:26] April: And, and have them even workshop internally. Is that part of something that you feel like is important, is finding those break points where the listeners to the stories can, I don’t even know if it’s actually like a break point in the speaking, but do you, is that actually really identified through the whole entire story, or are there periods of time in which maybe there will be trigger where it’s like, does this relate to you or do you, do you see this happening in you?

    [00:26:50] April: I don’t necessarily ask questions like that. I think it depends on who your audience is. Here’s one thing that you have to remember, and I love that you used this example. When you see people on [00:27:00] Good Morning America, when you see people on Jimmy Kimmel Live, you have to understand that their foundation of celebrity is strong.

    [00:27:08] Brielle: Okay? This did not just happen on accident. They do not show up looking like a million bucks, knowing how to sit, how to speak, what stories to. How to get a laugh. They do not just show up this way. There is a lot of preparation and a lot of work that goes into ensuring that they are going to have. That, you know, knock it out of the park moment when they’re on Good Morning America and on Jimmy Kimmel Alive and a story that is told well, does not require us to ask our audience to reflect story that is told, well, touches that person in their heart and creates a connection.

    [00:27:47] Brielle: And then you don’t have to ask them to please remember this or you know, this is how the, when you think of me think of the story, you don’t even have to make that ask because you’re just one human being speaking to another. I. [00:28:00] 

    [00:28:00] April: That’s fantastic and your framework is so powerful and you guys listening to this, our clients have taken Brielle’s framework and we have a shared client that Brielle said that Brielle has just gotten on crazy press in and this woman knows how to tell her story. And she is absolutely amazing at it Exactly because of, of the guidance that she’s received in this process of training to do it. And so when we’re talking to people who aren’t that far along, let’s talk about people who are just starting out. Um, W and you said it’s really important to have the most, you know, at least one of these stories, the zone of genius story. Um, you know, the breakthrough story. Which one do you feel like is the most important as it relates back to their business for them to craft first? Is it dependent on the entrepreneur or is, do you find one across the board for the, that’s the best one for them to lean into? 

    [00:28:54] Brielle: The breakthrough story is the most important.

    [00:28:57] April: Okay. All right. Makes sense. 

    [00:28:58] Brielle: Because like I said, whether [00:29:00] you are, you know, a C-suite executive and you are crafting your fir, your personal brand for the first time because you’re getting attention and you realize now that’s important. Or you are an entrepreneur who has built this business and you look up and you’re like, okay, well if I wanna scale to the next level, I have to kind of step up behind the curtains and I’m gonna have to do some media.

    [00:29:21] Brielle: I’m gonna have to do some podcasts. I’m gonna have to go on some stages. Regardless of where you are, the breakthrough story is really what allows people to know who you are and what you stand for. Think of the breakthrough story as the story of your why. And that’s kind of, you know, that hot button word, uh, question. Tell us about your why. You know, all of those things. We can all rattle off a long list of the reasons why we do things or don’t do things or things are important to us. But imagine if you can share that in a story. 

    [00:29:54] Brielle: There again, that becomes 70 times more memorable and we’re thinking about in this contemporary [00:30:00] world where there is so much noise in the marketplace, there are so many different things that you can buy, product services, people out there. And what we are really doing is we are helping people to create that contemporary word of mouth. So thinking back to, you know, when I was, when I was growing up, if I wanted to buy. anything. You know, if I wanted to buy a new sweater, I would wanna call up one of my girlfriends or my cousin and say, you know, where did you get that? That’s so cute. And they would ra make a recommendation? Oh, we’ll go down to the square and that sort of thing. 

    [00:30:38] Brielle: You know, cuz we were all buying things in person and mm-hmm. now we have this incredible ability to create that. Level of top of mind marketing and that same level of word of mouth endorsement and third party verification by being featured in the publications [00:31:00] that are ideal consumer and who they hope to be, where they are consuming their content. So if they are a devout reader of Business Insider and Business Insider chooses to feature you and they could have chosen anyone.

    [00:31:13] Brielle: You are literally putting yourself in that exact same position, so they are now giving you that endorsement. Just like when I used to call up my cousin and ask her what I should go by. 

    [00:31:23] April: I love that. All right, and so what are the next steps for our listeners? They are gonna go through and see this in the show notes, and obviously we’ll make sure that they can connect with you as well, but they’ve gone through this process. They’ve, first of all made a. Is this important to them? Is this something that they have maybe dragged their feet on for one of those mindset issues or the, the lack of confidence in the beginning that we talked about In this show, you’ve brought them very clearly through understanding why everybody needs to pay attention to their personal brand, 

    [00:31:54] April: not why everybody needs a personal brand. I love that you’ve. Love that you said that too, because we all do have a [00:32:00] personal brand. I even remember talking to my, my three little boys going to elementary school and when they’re, you know, the kids that they hang out with and the clothes that they wear, that’s like, you know, their little brand and that affects us and we’ve all been doing it. We all are aware of, of how we come across and how we make each other feel. I, and I was just recalling a conversation actually last week with one of my kids about this new kid in school and that every, everybody was being mean and he had a choice of of who he is gonna be.

    [00:32:29] April: Right. And that’s the brand of who he is. That’s what he’s known for. And it’s so interesting how we don’t even identify that as a young age, but we’re all quite aware that how we show up and the stories we tell and who we are to other people and the influence that we have in any situation, whether it’s a large situation or a small situation, really does affect our lives and our businesses.

    [00:32:52] April: And so, uh, you teach. Getting pressed different than anybody I know. All right, I’m gonna say this [00:33:00] here. So the way that Brielle does this, you guys, and we’ve done tons of episodes and I have lots of friends that talk about how to land big press deals, and there are ways that we can talk about pitching press and doing media kits and all these things.

    [00:33:15] April: None of that can be talked about until we have mastered and done what Brielle is talking about here. Because that is the action of, of going out when there’s so much more from a foundational level that needs to be discussed and decided upon. And you as a leader, and I’m saying this to me too, you know, and, and I have received a lot of press in the past and I knew none of this.

    [00:33:42] April: And so I feel like. , this process was a huge missing link in my history of understanding. And that there, that my impact on the exposure that I had received in the past could have been [00:34:00] so much better, so much greater. I mean, and this is a long time ago, guys. This is like 12 years ago. Okay? So I’m gonna now age myself.

    [00:34:07] April: You know, when I first really started receiving big press, right? But now it’s different. Now it’s even more important because it’s so noisy and it’s so loud and everybody’s out there screaming me, me, me. But those that are able to craft these powerful stories and to create this celebrity foundation, like Brielle is saying, here are the ones that it’s, it’s like we’re gonna be separating oil from water.

    [00:34:35] April: We’re talking a lot about that. I really feel like that’s gonna be the theme of 2023 is separating those who are just out there doing it from those that are committed to the way they’re going about running their businesses. Um, and so I, I really love and appreciate this conversation so much, Brielle, and I know our listeners are gonna love us too.

    [00:34:54] April: And what a great way to kick off the year. It doesn’t matter when you’re listening to this, um, but, you know, kick off the [00:35:00] year and really roll forward in our commitment to ourselves in. in our calling, if that’s kind of like a cheesy word, our calling. But really I believe that this is an important conversation to have in that journey to gaining media attention and and being on podcast. So what else did I not ask that I need to be asking for people to be able to take action from this show? 

    [00:35:22] Brielle: Well, one of the things that I wanna touch on real quickly, April, is what you just said, what you just pointed out. That’s the reason why people traditionally. Upset with their PR firms. We’re not a traditional PR firm.

    [00:35:36] Brielle: We’re more like an executive level finishing school, coupled with a. PR agency that gets you those incredible opportunities to use as a marketing tool. So, you know, we look at everything from personal brand through how do we incorporate and really fuse that marketing plan with a strategic PR campaign and.

    [00:35:59] Brielle: You [00:36:00] know, it’s exactly what you said. There are ways to pitch the media. There are ways to go out there and get featured, but if you don’t have a strong foundation, if you’re not doing you’re, you could be doing yourself more harm than good . And so, you know, there are so many different pieces from image all the way through to how do you leverage that media, and I think really every single person who has an interest in pursuing media and whether or not you have an interest or you just recognize the importance of it, is starting to dissect and refine and define those three foundational stories.

    [00:36:36] Brielle: Because if you begin telling those, you are going to begin to create consistency, even if there hasn’t been consistency in your own personal. Once you identify those three stories and you can begin to tell them, I think that’s the very first important strong step towards standing out and creating that press worthy personal brand.

    [00:36:59] April: thank you. [00:37:00] Thank you so much. Thank you for your leadership here and your leadership to my clients and in our programs, and how much you, um, give your time to come in and work with our clients too as well. So for people to find you. And move forward. You guys have the Celebrity Incubator coming up, but people are gonna, you know, people listen to podcasts forever.

    [00:37:19] April: So if you’re listening to this in the beginning of 2023, you guys have Celebrity Incubator, so let’s talk about how they can find you as far as, um, you know, are evergreen links, so they always are able to access you and learn more about what’s going. 

    [00:37:34] Brielle: Yes, it’s always my name. It’s my name. It’s Brielle Cotterman, B R I E L L E, and it’s Cotterman, C O T T E R M A N, on Insta, on LinkedIn, on Facebook, and that is our actual U R L.

    [00:37:49] Brielle: So that is always the best way to find us and what’s going on with our agency and all the incredible things that our clients are doing in the world as. [00:38:00] 

    [00:38:00] April: Thank you so much, Brielle. So glad you’re here. 

    [00:38:03] Brielle: Likewise. Thank you my friend. 

    [00:38:05] April: Okay guys, great show with Brielle. Now we have 60 seconds to implement. What is one thing that you’re gonna take from this show and start and do today? So whether it is, do you remember those three stories? She said that everybody needs to have the breakthrough story, the zone of genius story or the passion story. Which one of those do you already? And if you don’t have one, maybe your call to action for yourself today is just to create and determine what that breakthrough story is going to be. All right? So I know sometimes you can’t do all the things we talk about on the show, but I want you to walk away and I want you to take action on one thing so that we can always keep moving your business forward. Again, all the show notes are sweetlifeco.com. 

    [00:38:44] April: If you find yourself in a place where you’re not ready for this, because we haven’t engineered your offer ecosystem in the client journey and your actual programs yet, then you can also find out how you can apply to work with us so we can get you ready to then apply what we’re talking about on today’s show. All right, you guys be. [00:39:00] And I’ll see you next week.