How I Got Interviewed by PR Week

I got to be on PR Week’s podcast last week!  It was such a cool experience!

I’ll tell you how that came about.  I met Steve, the Editor-in-Chief of PR Week, at a Cision seminar I attended last month.  Cision is a PR and social software company (and I manage the social media for a PR company, so that’s why I was there).  

Steve was one of the panelists who spoke, and I really liked some of his observations and expert insights.  I spotted him by the bar after Cision’s presentation and boldly decided to introduce myself and tell him how great I thought he was on the panel.  Steve was gracious and kind to me, and we had a very animated conversation about social media and influencer marketing.  It’s a subject I know a lot about on account I am addicted to it, and I get pretty passionate.  After a good half-hour of talking, Steve invited me to be on his podcast.  This was never my goal when I began speaking to him, but naturally I squealed with delight and accepted immediately.  

If you haven't seen it already, please enjoy it here (the other gent is "Franktastic" Frank):

So here are my take-aways if you want to get invited onto podcasts or the like:

• Go to events and places where media-types hang out. So much of this is being in the right place at the right time, and while some of that is luck, you can increase your chances with effort.  The right place is never at home on your couch. Get out there!
• Don't be shy. Introduce yourself! (See networking tips here.)
• Have something to say once you introduce yourself. The seminar and Steve's remarks provided a built-in conversation in my case.
• Say "yes"! I didn't have an agenda to get anything out of the conversation other than a pleasant experience with someone very knowledgable in a subject I enjoy. And that's probably the best way to approach an interaction, because I think people can sniff out a user pretty quickly. But, when Steve presented me with the opportunity, I quickly pushed aside any nervousness I was feeling about being interviewed and said that I would love to. In fact, keeping an open mind and an open heart to new experiences is probably my number one tip.

UPDATE:  Read where I am quoted by PRWeek here.