Saying goodbye to 2023 ᵕ̈

If you know me, you know I can talk. I love this line of work because there’s a lot of opportunity to do just that. I want to continue to blog on my site, but I need it to work for me, which means no more ‘monthly roundups.’ Rather, I’ll continue to write as I feel inspired when it makes sense to me. 

With that being said, I just spent the last hour updating my portfolio and was left feeling inspired to share more. I love the week leading up to the holidays because things tend to slow down, which means I can give a little more to self-reflection, which is exactly what this post is about. 

What I’m Proud Of 

Supporting my husband in going back to school 

For 7 months, Wil (husband) attended a remote, intensive program to learn back-end software development. The program was so time-consuming that he could not work while attending the program. It involved months of late nights (including weekends), roughly 60 hours a week. I somehow managed to work full-time while managing our house and ensuring we had good, home-cooked meals. I’m happy to report that my good cooking (😆) and his hard work paid off. In a year where it is difficult to break into the tech field, Wil begins his first job as a ruby developer this January. He’ll be fully remote and freelance, just like me. This is a life-changing experience for us. I couldn’t be more excited. 

Producing 15 podcast episodes 

It was a lot, but we did it. I had my head down during the planning, recording, and creation of the show notes/writing, that I didn’t realize just how much content we actually created this past year. Special thanks to my co-host/sound producer, Britt who tipped me off to this number. This was a nice reminder to keep going with the passion project. 

Retaining old and adding new clients

I started out the year with just 1 client I really loved. I’m very fortunate to have a client that pays enough for us to live off of. That being said, with layoffs happening in tech and Wil going back to school, I decided to focus on diversifying my client roster. In years past, whenever I’d taken on more clients, I always had to hire help. It’s not that I don’t like working in teams, but when I did the math, I was not really making what I needed to in order to justify the extra effort it took to find/manage contractors and ensure that they were working to my standard. 

I’m not going to lie, although I’m proud of “figuring it out,” this was probably my least favorite part of 2023. There were a lot of conversations that went nowhere, difficult conversations with colleagues/clients, and a few sleepless nights praying that I would be able to impress my newest client. 

I am so happy to say that I have finished off the year strong with 3 very happy clients, all with arrangements that leave me very flexible to say no when I need while also ramping up my hours as-needed. I will not need to hire help either. It’s a dream come true. 

What I Wish I Hadn’t Done 

Entertained the “hustler”/scarcity mindset 

It makes sense that I developed this attitude due to my personal circumstances and the current state of things, however, the endless hustling I found did not sit well with my spirit.  

Made assumptions that served nobody

Again, perhaps due to my circumstances, I had a few emotionally charged conversations with colleagues. The common thread was this assumption that I wasn’t viewed as “good enough” or “responsible enough.” I realized that my fear of judgment clouded my view of reality. I’m grateful for the grace that these colleagues were able to give me. I’m grateful to be surrounded by people who are able to have these frank, honest conversations with me. 

I can’t get things right 100% of the time, but I’m glad that I’m always working toward betterment. That’s something worth being proud of. 

Did things I didn’t want to do because I felt I “had to”

This ties into the previous point. I am a high-achiever and recovering perfectionist, and it can be to the detriment of my health if I’m not careful. To balance work with other aspects of my life, I tend to try and ‘stay fluid’ through intuitive living. I naturally wake up with no alarm clock, have an intentional slow morning, have daily rituals like prayer/meditation/breathwork/yoga, and I slowly make a plan to “conquer my day.” 

Aside from work, a typical day might include a long conversation with a friend or loved one, time throwing pottery at home or in-studio, and making intricate meals. It means that I don’t always have time for things like “self-promotion,” nor do I always feel like I want to. This year, out of fear of not appearing successful I forewent the activities that light my soul in order to make way for early morning email correspondence and posting on LinkedIn when I didn’t feel like it. It did not sit well with me, and I don’t want to do that in 2024.  

Looking Ahead To 2024 

Celebrating 8 full years of freelancing :) 

The other day, Wil asked me how long I’ve freelanced total. I sat down and did the math. Wow! In February, it will be 8 years. I started the journey when I was just 23 years old. I didn’t find it a big deal then, although my mom would constantly tell me how special of a thing it was to work for myself. I was just relieved to work remotely, make more, and spend time hanging out with friends during the day. 

Fast forward to today, and I realize that the journey I started then was very remarkable, and still is. 

Yet, it’s same motivation I had then that keeps me going today. I might not be aimlessly riding my bike or in my 20’s, but I’m currently able to forge strong relationships with my peers at the clay studio on a random Tuesday morning. Or, I’m calling my mom to see how her day’s going and letting the conversation unfold as it may, with me rarely having to cut her off and say, “I have to go.” It’s the ability to make Wil a nice lunch when he’s had his head down to code. 

I can’t believe I’ve been freelancing for the majority of my career. I’m so proud of myself. I don’t often say that out loud enough. But, this. More of this attitude in 2024, please. 

Prioritizing myself, family, and friends 

This cannot be stated enough, but I think I’ve explained it thoroughly enough already. :)

‘Being myself’ professionally 

Originally I had come up with We Earn Media for the re-launch of my freelancing career. I think I was still ‘high’ off of the success of helping build Student Loan Hero, that I had these aspirations of scaling up and creating an agency, hence the name. It never quite felt right, so when the podcast idea came up, we decided that the WEM brand would be perfect for it.

Still, elements of my freelancing brand are attached to the name (including my email address), so I’m in the process of transitioning WEM branding out of my own freelance business. And with that in mind, I decided I’m going to base my freelance business’ name on my own name, because I am my USP (unique selling position). Hence, I’m calling my business Jaclyn PR (hits the 3 s’s: short, sweet, straight-forward). 

And to continue the theme of being myself, I’m contracting a freelance illustrator who I admire to draw a logo and create some cute imagery for my site. There are many reasons I’m doing this, but to name a few: to support fellow creatives, to fight the culture of sameness, and to serve as the antithesis of ai art (barf). 

So, with all that being said, I want to thank you, if you’re reading this. It’s likely that you have had some sort of influence on me in some way shape or form. And, while I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for me, for now, I take the rest of the year off. See y’all next year!!!

My July 2023 Wrap Up ᵕ̈

Lots of musings and thoughts around the past month…

3 Ideas That Stood Out to Me in July 

Our world is becoming blander…

It’s something I’ve suspected and it was nice to get confirmation from this Inc. article that talks about how design and culture have all turned toward sameness. I have my theories as to why, but I’d rather not make this blog about my thoughts on capitalism.  

That said, as a freelancer, I am faced with the dilemma of my personal brand– do I follow proven formulas set out before me that attract potential clients (like the “classic” LinkedIn post formula that everyone seems to adopt), or do I resist, focus on branding activities that excite me?

It’s a question that I don’t always know how to answer, but am constantly asking myself these days. But, as cliché as it sounds, as a freelancer, I think going to the beat of my own drum will theoretically attract like-minded clients (of course, easier said if you’re already well-established). That said, I’ll operate off of this instinct of authenticity with my personal brand until further notice. 

Publicists must make peace with AI

A handful of years ago (2017ish), my boss took some of us to a business leadership conference. It was the kind where about 95% of the speakers were older white men in suits talking about the current state and future of business. One man stood out to me because, in a doomsday preacher-style delivery, he enlightened us on the power of AI. He said AI would be our savior if only we would believe and act NOW before the rest of the world catches on and tries to get rich off it.

Sadly, ai did not save me. Instead, I ignored his preachings and continued to focus on my family, hobbies, and career. 

Today, I’m taking a very neutral approach to ai. I don’t think it’s wise for anybody to write off technology unless they’re happily living in a commune or already very rich. But, if you’re like me, and you find yourself working for a living and having aspirations bigger than just living day-to-day, then this stuff is important to keep up with. 

This past month, we met a public health professional, Taneia Surles, who writes about general and sexual healthcare topics for a number of publications. One day, she ran an expert quote through an ai-detection tool and found that 100% of those words were computer generated. I’d file that under a “don’t” of utilizing ai.

So when is ai appropriate in a PR setting? I loved Iona Townsley’s take on it for Screaming Frog. She lists almost 30 ethical use cases for utilizing it. Some use cases that stuck out to me were: topical research, brainstorming prompts, campaign mood boards, and data analysis. 

So, the next time I’m in a situation where I need to decide if ai is worth it to use or not, I’ll boil down to answering this question: Will it make me a smarter human while allowing me to ethically do my own job?

Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time!

*This section is a sign for you to just send that email and not be so self-conscious about it!

My first media placement earned was on the front page of the Tampa Bay Times. It was all about an EV expo we were promoting. I can tell you now as an experienced professional, that our promo strategy wasn’t technically very good. However, our supervisor said it best when we received the news, “Well, we got lucky. Gas prices skyrocketed overnight.” 

And that’s just how it goes sometimes with PR. 

In July, Kelsey Ogletree shared with us a beautiful, long feature she wrote for the WSJ. She tells the story of a pitch that was just “okay,” but resulted in that gorgeous feature. Talk about the right place, right time! 

What July Was Like + My Numbers:

Pitching Overlapping Clients/Topics

Summertime is the ‘high-season’ for one of my clients. And luckily, they’re in a very mainstream, consumer-focused space, so it means it’s ‘high-season’ for this topic for many consumers too. With this in mind, we strategically released various data pieces about this topic from all different angles to allow for pitching a variety of outlets- local, national, and trade. 

And, to know me is to know that I LOVE consumer educational segments. So, there was a clear component of that for the campaign. I took the opportunity to pitch a different, yet complementary consumer educational segment with a different client. Yes, there was overlap, but in a couple of instances, it meant I could work with the same producer on multiple segments. I love working smarter, not harder. 

Building Relationships the Right Way

Another thing to note is that I spent my time reaching out to a few key reporters I really wanted to work with just to introduce myself and relevant clients. The process took forever. I listened, read, and watched some stuff. I went into detail about what I liked about their work. It’s very much a basic outreach 101 tactic that everyone claims to use, but if we’re all to be honest, we do not have time to do this with 100% of contacts. However, it sure does work. Not everybody reached back out, but through my efforts, I was connected with a producer through a host for a show that is widely syndicated and pre-recorded a few segments for both clients. Not only that, but we have plans to continue collaborating in the future. That was worth all the time spent on this. 

I’ll definitely be exploring more personalization in August, and I’ll be strategic with how I go about it and to whom. 

Being Remembered by a Journalist

Someone I used to work with for a brief time at LendingTree who now writes for CNBC shared one of my client’s recent data pieces before I had a chance to pitch her. I thanked her, thinking I was reminding her that they were my client, and she let me know that she remembered me pitching that client a couple of years prior when she was at Lifehacker. Talk about lasting impressions. That obviously made my day.

My Numbers + An Outlier

And now, for the numbers. Keep in mind, lots of hard work, but a ton of serendipity and syndication. As always, take these numbers with a grain of salt.

Campaigns: 3 (1 having 4-sub topics)

Placements: 145*

*Confession: I had a pretty big outlier– a nationally syndicated program that resulted in above-average syndications. While I did openly include this in my reporting if I were to clear out that outlier, the number is really around 54. Still, really good 

Other Random Thing:

On the topic of attracting the right clients… My favorite show is I Think You Should Leave. I’m proud to say I’ve been a stan since season 1. When the new season comes out I’ll rewatch the season as many times as I can and quote parts of it multiple times every day until the new season comes out. It is a dream to work with someone who also loves this show as much as I do. I know that sounds silly, but it’s the truth.

3 Ways Teaching Yoga Is Similar to Practicing Digital PR

Did I just want an excuse to geek out about how much I love teaching yoga? Absolutely. 

Does this change the undeniable truth that there are specific, overlapping skills I possess that come in handy for both teaching yoga and performing media relations? Absolutely not! 

How it all started 

Vinyasa yoga has been part of my life since 2013. I began the practice as a way to “undo” the physiological and psychological effects of working at a desk on a computer. And, yes, it delivered far beyond my expectations. It changed my life. 

During the early stages of the pandemic, like many folks, I found myself soul-searching hard. What big move was I going to make in my life? My best friend Ana encouraged me to sign up for a 200-hr yoga teacher training. So, as things began to open back up, I enrolled, and by November 2021, I was a certified yoga teacher. 

I teach at a few places in the community, but my favorite style to teach by far is heated vinyasa. The studio I was trained in offers this style. It’s also in a strip mall and sells Lululemon. As a self-proclaimed ‘creative’, I never thought I’d ever teach at a yoga studio that feels so corporate, yet here I am, loving every chance I get to be there. 

I’ve since learned that I thrive in high-expectation, structured environments. It’s within the structure that I find myself upholding these standards but also doing it in a way that is authentically and creatively my own. And, to this day, the best classes I’ve ever taught were at this studio.

Without further ado, 3 ways in which yoga teaching and Digital PR overlap…

Every detail impacts the experience. And, the experience matters.

In a 95-degree (Fahrenheit, lol) room, when you direct people to a 1-minute forearm plank, you can make or break the experience for students in so many subtle ways. Or, more directly, I can either torture students or bring them to a flow state (if you’re not sure what flow state is, read this, it’s a concept that’s incredibly important to me, and what I try to help students achieve through this experiential design). 

Before each class, I design the experience: a philosophical theme, colors (love Hue lights), an explicitly timed playlist, and a sequence that all cohesively works together to create an energetic container that brings students to a higher state of consciousness and a closer feeling to bliss. 

In media relations, the experience you provide the media is everything. That’s why it’s important to think of the details: what time of day I reach out, what I reference within the email, what font I utilize, etc. I’m also concerned with providing a pleasurable experience during the collaboration phase as well. I want a journalist or editor to have a nice time working with me. All these little details in media relations matter, just like in a yoga class. 

Clear, concise, and direct language is a must. 

Maintaining an experience that gets people to a flow state requires minimal, yet direct cues, that get yoga students from point A to point B with minimal confusion. When developing direct language and effective communication, I look to teachers like Yoga with Adriene. There are many reasons why Adriene is Youtube’s favorite yoga teacher, and her communication is definitely a key part of it. 

These same principles are undoubtedly followed when writing a good, persuasive pitch email. In most cases, emails should be brief, direct with what it is asking/offering, and written in a friendly, yet professional manner. 

Mindfulness, non-attachment, and acceptance are key.

This final point is more heady and elusive, but perhaps the most important aspect of all, because they are applicable to all parts of life, not just yoga and PR. 

You see, just like pitching media isn’t easy, neither is teaching yoga in a public setting. In fact, it might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. For one, I have to really put myself out there, not just with the energetic container I designed and my teaching style but also show up unapologetically as myself. I have to accept that not everybody will like me. Regardless of how students might feel toward me, I must be responsible for them, building an environment of safety and trust. 

Rather than clam up or be in my head about the implications of this, I must stay in the present moment, let go of any attachments to how I feel I should be perceived, and accept who I am at my core.

And, the same could be said of digital PR. Sometimes it’s tempting to worry about what a journalist might think of your pitch email or campaign (or even in this case, what a colleague might think of a blog post), but time is undoubtedly better spent moving forward anyway. That’s something I’ve never regretted doing. 

Namaste, y’all.

My June 2023 Wrap Up ᵕ̈

Hello, hi. Welcome to the first iteration of my monthly recap. I’m obsessed with doing this on my Instagram (go ahead and add me, it’s fine), as I think it’s a nice way to view time as a concrete thing that I can wrap up and put a bow on. Plus, blogging is fun! And, I miss the old Internet. Also, it’s not the end of June yet, but I’m just too excited to wait any longer. 

So, in the spirit of all that, here we are. Let’s get started... 

3 things I said out loud this month*:

*To nobody but myself, because I work from home!

“Journalists who used to work in PR are awesome.” 

We often hear that the best publicists are former journalists! Well, it goes the other way around too. This is evidenced by our 2 latest We Earn Media podcast episodes. Shoutout to both Olivia Morley (AdWeek) and Greg Sleter (Store Brands), for coming onto the show! 

It turns out that both guests used to work in PR! In both episodes, they each talk about remembering the challenges that they faced while in the PR field and how it has shaped the way in which they collaborate with publicists to this day. 

I came across both Olivia and Greg on Twitter. Both journalists are generous with their knowledge, kindly tweeting helpful tips to publicists from time to time. Olivia even has her own Discord for publicists, if you feel like checking that out. 

“The best campaigns do the heavy lifting for you.”  

If you’re in this line of work, then this is pretty self-explanatory. However, if you aren’t and you’re confused about what I mean, it’s this fact: the number of placements you earn from any given campaign is never a direct correlation of how hard you “worked it.” (This reminds me of a conversation we had with Hannah Smith about benchmarking campaign performance.)

But, the sad reality is that for those pieces that aren’t “killing it,” you end up having to work harder at outreach, just to try and salvage. And, sometimes, it doesn’t pan out the way you would have liked. But still, you got to try. 

My best advice here: post-mortem it and theorize to death. Sometimes you did all the right things, and it just ends up being circumstantial. Still, dig deeper: try and hypothesize, and bring those learnings to the table when you ideate the next campaign.  

“Everyone else is as obsessed with syndications as I am!” 

During my SLH days as a manager, I had the pleasure ( 😬) of quarterly reviews with every one of my employees. Thankfully, our HR department made them a structured and seamless process. As a manager, I would fill out a quick form about the employee, and they (the employee) would fill out the same form about themself. Then, we’d get together for the “big reveal” to see if we both wrote the same things or if we had some more communicating to do (yes, kind of like the Newlyweds game). Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying that I had an employee lament that if you held up the magnifying glass to her placements, it’s a ton of syndication. My response as her manager was that I viewed her style of outreach as very strategic. She knew which authors were widely shared and she purposefully built better relationships with those folks so that her efforts could spread further and wider. That to me, is working smarter, not harder. 

This is why when BuzzSumo came out with their syndications report earlier this month, I was ecstatic to see that fellow experts in the industry agree. While the report didn’t exactly surprise me, it was nice to see an in-depth resource that actually mapped the different networks. Fellow Digital PR’s, I would bookmark this in case you’d like to be as strategic, or even more strategic than my former employee. And, don’t lament at your next employee review. Instead, tell them how much of a genius you are.

My numbers: 

I’m not sure that I’ll always be sharing this, but as I figure out this blogging thing, I thought it might be interesting/helpful. Obviously, I’m open to feedback/reasons as to why that’s a terrible idea. In this case, please email me so I stop shooting myself in the foot. :) 

This month felt like a nice bounce-back from May, which was a slow month in terms of the number of placements. Now, I know there’s a danger as a digital PR professional to only look at volume for performance. When I communicate my numbers to clients, I take a ‘counter-balance approach,’ and communicate more granularly: domain rank, backlinks, syndication, etc. But, for the sake of a quick ‘snapshot,’ I think these numbers are sufficient at telling the story of how I felt my month went. What can I say? I like it when my pitch emails are answered and when the answer to what I’m asking for is a yes! 

By the way, in terms of numbers, this month was bonkers. That placement number is usually not this high. But hey, maybe I can keep the momentum going. Guess you’ll have to stay tuned for my July wrap-up.

Campaigns: 3

Placements*: 61

*This number includes syndications. Always. And, this month I was fortunate to place with a publisher with a lot of syndication partnerships.  

Other random things: 

• Season 2 of The Bear delivered. I cried multiple times. Highly recommend.

• I don’t think I need to explain why my husband and I decided to watch the Titanic. I cried multiple times. Highly recommend. 

• I missed out on buying a mug from my favorite potter, Melissa Weiss, again. I cried multiple times. I don’t highly recommend.

Coming Soon ᵕ̈

This will be my space to chat about things related to working online, as well as life outside of the Internet. I can’t wait to share more of what’s in my brain and heart with you.